Boris Kustodiev. Night Festival on the Neva

Boris Kustodiev painted "Night Festival on the Neva" in 1923 in Petrograd, a few years before his death. It is a late work by an artist loved above all for his vivid festive scenes: Maslenitsa carnivals, fairground booths, folk festivities.

Kustodiev (1878–1927) was seriously ill for many years: the first signs of a spinal cord tumour appeared in 1909, operations brought only temporary relief, and in the last years of his life he was confined to a wheelchair. Yet it was this late period that produced his most vivid and life-affirming works. Among the festive canvases of the post-revolutionary years is "Festival in Honour of the 2nd Congress of the Comintern on Uritsky Square" of 1921.

Oil on canvas. Kustodiev's name is listed on the painting collection page of the Museum of Contemporary History of Russia.