As a prominent member of the Itinerants, sometimes known as the Wanderers, Abram Arkhipov played a central role in the Russian realist movement of the late 19th century, a major cultural force that sought to reflect the contemporary political and social issues in its creative output. Arkhipov, alongside his fellow Itinerants, rejected the neoclassical and mythological subjects that the Imperial Academy of Arts favoured and instead embraced the subjects of the Russian landscape, namely the Russian peasant. Thanks to their efforts, the Itinerants popularised art that had a focus on social commentary and regional identities, massively contributing to Russian cultural development in the 19th century and the creation of Russian national identity and consciousness.
Although permanently domiciled in Moscow, Arkhipov travelled to the Ryazan and Nizhny Novgorod provinces in the 1910s and the 1920s, painting there his most notable canvases of dynamic peasant women which convey the vivacity and vitality of its subjects. The present lot is highly likely to form part of that period in his oeuvre. Peasant girl displays the artist's Impressionist tendencies and combines his characteristic use of expansive and free brushstrokes with the bright colour palette of the red and fuchsia from the peasant girl’s clothing. The girl's resplendent attire, namelyher embroidered headscarf and national costume, underline her proud peasant identity as well as highlight the vibrancy of folk arts and crafts. Her expression is stoic and calm while her cheeks are ruddy and almost weathered, thereby implying a certain weariness. Subsequently, the picture avoids a sentimentalising depiction of the peasant girl. The bold patterns, brightly coloured clothing and Arkhipov's energetic brushstrokes suggest an underlying and more complex and lively inner life and persona.
Although much of the output of the Itinerants glorifies or idealises the life of the Russian peasantry, Arkhipov’s humble origins suggest a closer affinity and sensibility to his subjects. Born into a peasant family, Arkhipov recalled drawing constantly as a child and learnt his rudimentary artistic skills from travelling icon painters. One of these icon painters, a student at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, noticed Arkhipov's innate artistic talent and natural proficiency. The icon painter helped him enter the institute which Arkhipov intermittently attended from 1877 to 1888, where he became acquainted with and influenced by other Itinerant artists including Vasily Perov (1834-1882), Vasilii Polenov (1844-1927) and Konstantin Makovsky (1839-1915). He went on to study at the Imperial Academy of Arts but, dissatisfied with its teachings, returned to the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture to study, and eventually began teaching there in 1894. From 1890, he became a member of the exhibiting society known as the Itinerants, and in 1924 joined and exhibited with the Union of Russian Artists and the Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia (AKhRR).