Bogatyrs by B.Zvorykin - Russian postcard. Public domain image.

Boris Zvorykin (1872—1942) was born to a family of a merchant. He was interested in drawing from early childhood. He did not study at any art school or university. He probably attended Moscow School of painting, sculpture and architecture (MUZhVZ) as a noncredit student in early 1890s. Zvorykin was under the influence of drawings by E. D. Polenova, paintings by V. M. Vasnetsov, S. V. Malyutin.