The Arrival of a Governess at a Merchant's Home by Vasily Perov

Perov had something new to say in many genres, but his real vocation was genre painting, to which he devoted all his talent and the best years of his life. In this genre he took up social problems of inestimable importance, expressing the most progressive ideas of the time. His famous works include Funera Procession, Troika, The Drowned Woman, At the Last Inn.
In the painting The Arrival of a Governess at a Merchant's Home Perov told about the fate of women. We see a governess, a modest, intelligent girl, timidly and embarrasedly presenting herself to the merchant's family, who brazenly and unceremoniously looke her up and down. The artist's disctinctive marks are a sharp satirical flavour and apt characterisation, clear composition and gentle, muted colours.