''The Great Taking of the Veil'' is an oil on canvas painting executed in 1897–98 by the Russian Symbolist painter

Mikhail Nesterov Mikhail Vasilyevich Nesterov (russian: Михаи́л Васи́льевич Не́стеров; – 18 October 1942) was a Russian and Soviet painter; associated with the Peredvizhniki and Mir Iskusstva. He was one of the first exponents of ...

. It is now in the collection of the

Russian Museum The State Russian Museum (russian: Государственный Русский музей), formerly the Russian Museum of His Imperial Majesty Alexander III (russian: Русский Музей Императора Александра III), on ...

in Saint Petersburg. The canvas depicts a solemn procession of nuns accompanying a novice to the taking of the veil in the Volga countryside, after which she would renounce her worldly life for a life of religious devotion in a nunnery. In the artist's words: "The theme is sad, but the reviving nature, the Russian north, quiet and delicate ... makes the picture touching, at least for those who have a tender feeling". It ensured Nesterov's election in 1898 to the Russian

Imperial Academy of Arts The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by the founder of the Imperial Moscow University Ivan Shuvalov under the name ''Academy of the Thre ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Great Taking of the Veil (Nesterov), The 1898 paintings Paintings by Mikhail Nesterov Collections of the Russian Museum

See also

References