Here are two other paintings by Viktor Vasnetsov that belong to his cosmological/mythological facet. He clearly possessed a great technical skill in his previous realistic style, which to me is a sort of pre-requisite to a fully successful artistic career. In fact, all of the most successful modern painters previously demonstrated a great pictorial ability during their more realistic stages. Picasso and Dali are good examples of this, they used to paint superb realistic portraits prior to their abstract and surreal stages.

Like many other artists in his time, Vasnetsov seems to have been looking for a personal style while in Paris, and when he finally painted his famous Flying Carpet he drew strong criticism from his fellow co-nationals, especially those belonging to the realistic school, who said he had betrayed their postulates; but at the same time, he attracted great attention from the public. I believe this was the main reason behind his change of style.

Of course, there was an intermediate stage where he mainly drew inspiration from the Slavic mythology; but from that to look for inspiration in fairy tales seems to have been too much for his critics.

That is what I love of Nicholas Roerich. Except for a few paintings inspired in the mythological Russian past, he apparently became obsessed by religion in its most authentic manifestations, those he was able to see and share in everyday during his constant travels. In a way, he did not have to chose a subject. His subject chose him.

This said, here are Vasnetsov's paintings (don't miss to click on the photos for great enlargements).

Viktor Vasnetsov - Kashchei the Immortal (1917–1928, oil on canvas)

Viktor Vasnetsov - Four Horsemen of Apocalypse (1887)