Grandma's fairy tales

Maximov employs a restrained palette of warm earth tones, allowing the soft glow of a lantern—rendered with delicate chiaroscuro—to illuminate faces and wooden interiors. The brushwork is precise yet unembellished, avoiding sentimentality while preserving the vitality of each figure’s expression and the texture of the humble surroundings.

In 1870 Maximov received the rank of class artist of the first degree, partly on the strength of this work.

Created between 1866 and 1867, the canvas was finished on 27 November 1867 and exhibited that winter under the title *Old Woman Telling Fairy Tales on a Winter’s Evening* at the Society for the Encouragement of Artists in St. Petersburg. It earned the exhibition’s first prize and was purchased directly from the show by Pavel Tretyakov. In 1870 Maximov received the rank of class artist of the first degree, partly on the strength of this work.

The painting reflects the 19th‑century Russian realist movement’s focus on everyday peasant life, aligning with contemporaries who documented rural customs without romanticizing them. Critics such as Apolinary Horawski praised its authoritative presence, while later scholars, including Alexander Zamoshkin, noted Maximov’s ability to render vital, unsentimental images of the Russian countryside.