Ivan Zarevič sul lupo grigio

Viktor Vasnetsov painted this in 1889, in the middle of a long stretch of religious work. He spent much of that decade high on scaffolding, covering the walls of St Vladimir's Cathedral in Kiev with frescoes, and the fairy tale was his rest from all that. It comes from an old Russian folk story in which a grey wolf becomes the hero's helper, and Vasnetsov catches the moment of flight: Ivan Tsarevich clutching Elena the Beautiful as the wolf carries them through a dark, swampy forest, away from pursuit. He belonged to a generation trying to build a Russian art out of the country's own folklore rather than borrowed classical subjects. Notice the apple tree breaking into pale blossom over the fugitives, a small promise of safety in an otherwise black wood.