Moscow Courtyard

In 1877–78 Polenov rented rooms in a wing near the Church of the Saviour on the Sands. This familiarity with the place led to Moscow Courtyard. In central Moscow he found grass, sheds, a horse and children. Tretyakov bought the painting when it appeared at the Wanderers’ exhibition in 1878.

The white Church of the Saviour on the Sands rises above service buildings. Polenov preserved an identifiable place within an everyday courtyard.

A bell tower rises above the roofs on the right. Buildings of different heights and uses stand together, characteristic of old Moscow.

A harnessed horse stands on the right. The city courtyard includes activities now more easily associated with village life.

A girl stands on a worn path. Her small figure gives scale to the grass, fence and buildings around her.

Two children sit on the grass. Polenov places people at different distances, leaving sunlit ground between them.

A woman works near the shed while chickens walk nearby. These small episodes form part of the courtyard’s daily life.

Paths cross the grass along the residents’ habitual routes. Yellow and green areas differ with light and wear.

Polenov expanded and reworked an earlier view of this place. Architecture and the spaces between buildings became more prominent. Observation from life meets a carefully arranged landscape.