Troika Apprentices carrying Water - Perov (1866)

In the second half of the 1860s, Perov creates his best genre works, in which society becomes critisised even more. The painting Troika addresses the issue of child labour. This is Perov’s largest genre painting in terms of size and, at the same time, the most emotional. The children’s faces are directed at the viewer. They reveal the childrens’ charm, timidity and suffering. The gloomy walls of the monastery create a mood of hopeless melancholy. The painting’ title brings to mind the Old Testament Trinity. There arises a symbolically generalised image of an abnormal “dislocated” world, which the artist rejects with all its manifestations. There is a whole story behind the tallest boy in the middle, which makes your eyes water. Want to read more about it? Visit the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.