Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf

The tale about Ivan Tsarevich and his loyal companion the Gray Wolf is a favourite in Russian folklore. It is impossible not to be drawn into this almost detective story, where Ivan Tsarevich’s luck seems never to run out and where he builds a warm friendship with an animal. Famous Russian artist Viktor Vasnetsov, a passionate enthusiast of ancient Rus’ with its beautiful and poetic folk tales, could not resist using this unique storyline for one of his paintings. His workIvan Tsarevich riding the Gray Wolfinspired this stone sculpture.

Vasnetsov produced this painting at the peak of his career. He searched for the true Russian beauty and greatness and found it in history and folklore. He came up with the idea for the painting rather unexpectedly. In the late 1880s, he was commissioned to paint the St. Volodymyr’s Cathedral in Kiev with biblical stories and portraits of heroes from the past. However, when the idea for a painting about Ivan Tsarevich suddenly occurred to him, he locked himself up in his studio and worked passionately on the painting.

The folk tale focuses on the adventures of Ivan Tsarevich, the youngest of the tsar’s three sons, who set off on a quest for the wonderful Fire Bird and came back not only with the Bird, but also with Elena Prekrasnaya (‘The Beautiful’) and the Horse with the Golden Mane. The Gray Wolf volunteered to help Ivan to make it up to him for coveting his horse. During Ivan’s journey the wolf shows the way, carries Ivan on his back, gives valuable advice and helps in every possible way. Interestingly, only Ivan perceives the wolf as a friend and an equal, while the rulers of other kingdoms are extremely frightened when they see the werewolf in his wolf guise.

The picture, as well as the stone sculpture, depicts Ivan with abducted Elena Prekrasnaya fleeing on Gray Wolf’s back. They seem to be floating above a bog in a dark, dense and sinister forest. Vasnetsov painted the clothes and the landscape with great precision; Ivan’s golden kaftan and Elena’s blue dress immediately conjure up the images of a fantasy world, full of magic and wonders. He made the wolf’s eyes seem almost human, reflecting the ambiguous nature of a werewolf.

When reinterpreting this story in stone, the stone carvers managed to preserve the magical ambiance of a fairy tale through bright colours, precision and a dynamic composition, which together tell the wonderful story of friendship between a human and an animal.