Vasili Pukirev

Vasili Pukirev was a Russian genre painter in the Realistic style. He was born to a peasant family and was originally apprenticed to an icon painter in Mogilev. He studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture under Sergey Zaryanko and Apollon Mokritsky. He became an academician of history and portrait painting in 1860 and a professor in 1863. He traveled abroad to view art galleries and participated in the Russo-Turkish War as a war artist. He joined the Peredvizhniki movement and exhibited his works with them. He was admired by Pavel Tretyakov, who bought many of his paintings for his gallery. His most famous painting is The Unequal Marriage, which depicts a young bride forced to marry an old and wealthy man. It sparked a heated debate in the press and society for its criticism of the commercialism of marriage. He also painted portraits, landscapes, and religious subjects. He taught at the Academy of Arts and the Moscow School of Painting. He died in 1890 at the age of 57.