Monastic Refectory

Vasily Perov was a leading master of genre scenes. This particular work was regarded as a direct attack on the hypocrisy of the church. Such human vices as gluttony, self-interest, arrogance and envy are personified in the figures of the priests sitting at the refectory table, symbolically placed between a woman begging for alms and a crucifix. The bright sunshine pouring in through the window offers hope for the possibility of spiritual renewal.