The sketch “The First Snow” reveals the main features of Vladimir landscape painting of the 1930-1940s. Moreover, it reveals the standard of work for next generation artists to achieve. The picture is a view of the winter landscape performed in the classic realistic style. 

The artist does not create color schemes on the contrast, he does that on the delicate color shade scheme. In the background there are tree shapes that are dissolving into air environment. The painter does not use bright, pure colors and impasto. There are distinct thick dabs of oil paint only on the tree shapes in the foreground.

The author of the sketch is Vladimir Ivanovich Markellov (1885—1976), one of the oldest painters of Vladimir regional branch of the Union of Russian Artists. Thanks to the local artist N.N. Nikolaev and Pereslavl-Zalessky art school attendance he acquired artistic skills.

Olga Della-Vos-Kardovskaya (the artist D.N. Kardovskiy’s wife) was a founder and a director of the art school. Vladimir Ivanovich Markellov had a financial education, he worked at financial institutions for almost 40 years. Creative work was his hobby. Afterwards he became a deputy director for the study course at Vladimir art-and-craft specialized school.

Such destiny was typical for visual artists of that time. Many masters had painted pictures in their free time before the vocational Union of Artists was organized. The masters had not had an opportunity to take part in the exhibitions as there had not been exhibition halls. They had not been able to sell their works as there had not been art shops. 

After the organization of the Union of Artists in 1945 V.I. Markellov featured his works in the first regional exhibition, there was picture “The First Snow” among them. In 1946 the All-Union exhibition devoted to the Victory in the Great Patriotic War took place. Vladimir artists featured their works in order to participate in the exhibition. 20 pictures were selected by the commission in Vladimir, Markellov’s picture with the title “The First Snow” was in the list too. 

S. Maximovich commented on the event in the article. He wrote that the selected pictures did not reflect the theme of the war and victory. Unfortunately, the artists had chosen topics devoted to old Vladimir and had painted cathedrals, side streets, backyards, forests and gardens. Most probably, for the reason, there was no Markellov’s picture in the final catalogue of the exhibition. But the fact that his work was selected by the regional commission to the All-Union exhibition, shows significance of his art achievements for art developing in Vladimir.