V. M. Vasnetsov’s religious creativity: genesis, spiritual and artistic influences

The origins of V. M. Vasnetsov’s art, the formation of his creative philosophy, the main factors and prevailing vectors of spiritual and artistic influences that determined his self-consciousness and the development of creativity remain insufficiently studied at the present time. Their research is the purpose of the article. The semantic and artistic integrity of his work is obvious, therefore it is important to determine its spiritual dominants. Relying on the study of biographical information based on archival materials, a number of which are being introduced into scientific circulation for the first time, on the study of his works, we identify the concept of “believing mind” as the key to the formation of the artist. The meaning of this concept is analyzed when referring to the origin of their family, the etymology of the surname, the little-known facts of the adolescence and youth of V. M. Vasnetsov, as well as his brothers - representatives of the spheres of Orthodox culture and science. For the first time, it is concluded that it was the religious and philosophical content of the concept of “believing mind” that allowed Vasnetsov to achieve the capacity of interpretations of eternal meanings in his multifaceted art, constantly developing in the mainstream of Orthodoxy.