Every true masterpiece has its own story. To understand the tragedy of Rembrandt’s painting “The Return of the Prodigal Son,” you need to know that the artist depicted here the outcome of his own life. And Van Gogh, in one of his last paintings, even depicted his imminent death, giving it a look no less frightening than Munch’s “The Scream.” The author of this book is the editor-in-chief of the Artifex.Ru project and the most charming art critic on the RuNet, Nikolai Zharinov. It will not only draw readers’ attention to the details of the paintings, but will also reveal the stories of their creation in the context of the era and the lives of the artists. Biographies come to life on these pages. They become almost tangible, thin threads of associations that connect the masterpiece, the creator and us living now. The book examines in detail 13 iconic paintings: “The Rooks Have Arrived” by Alexey Savrasov, “The Seated Demon” by Mikhail Vrubel, “The Crucifixion” by Nikolai Ge, “The Girl” on the Ball" by Pablo Picasso, "Unequal Marriage" by Vasily Pukirev, "The Ninth Wave" by Ivan Aivazovsky, etc. You can view the paintings in color reproductions. Get ready for an exciting journey into the world of art!