What's going on in the painting ‘The Interrupted Engagement’ by Adrian Volkov? 

However, it's unlikely that this would have helped him, as the scandal was witnessed by a respectable merchant family – as well as a priest. The painting centers on the engagement of a young man and a young woman. The bride appears to be from a wealthy merchant family, as evidenced by the home’s furnishings and surroundings: the paintings on the walls, the luxurious crystal chandelier and the white tiled stove. Just like the bride's magnificent pink silk dress. Witnesses to this joyful event are the young woman's parents, household members and the invited guests. On the cushion to the left, in front of the icons, the engagement rings await their moment, but it seems they will remain unclaimed.

It’s all because of some unexpected guests – an elderly man, a low-ranking official and his daughter, who is holding a baby in her arms. She shyly covers her face with her hand while her father addresses the assembled group. They are shocked and the groom is petrified. The bride has fainted – her relatives are rushing to her aid. Her father stands behind her, and, next to him, the priest, no less surprised than the merchant, spreads his arms in disbelief.

It appears there will be no engagement, much less a wedding. The handsome groom hadn’t told anyone about the other woman or, of course, about the child. The only one who doesn't seem shocked is the steward standing next to the official who has just arrived. He’s clearly pleased with the outcome.

Adrian Volkov, a native of the Nizhny Novgorod province, was the son of a serf. At the age of 14, having received his freedom along with his father, he decided to enroll in the Academy of Arts. At first, he studied there as an auditor in the history painting class, then transferred to the folk scene painting class. His works brought to life bustling markets with their lively trading, the merriment of tipsy peasant men in a tavern and the hum of idle chatter in a cafeteria. Similarly, in ‘The Interrupted Engagement’, the silence that reigns in the room is literally palpable.

For his painting ‘The Interrupted Engagement’, Adrian Volkov was awarded the ‘Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun’ Gold Medal in 1860. The French artist, who had lived in Russia for six years, bequeathed an annual award to be presented to an outstanding student in the painting class at the Imperial Academy of Arts.

In 1879, philanthropist Pavel Tretyakov purchased Volkov's painting from his widow. It has been in the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery ever since.