He turned out to be the son of a Kyiv leatherworker, Jan Usmar, who with honour passed the test set for him - with his hands he stopped the running bull by tearing off a piece of leather.

[1] In the estimation of art historian Alla Vereshchagina, Testing the strength of Jan Usmar represents the pinnacle of Ugryumov's oeuvre, despite the fact that this painting is comparatively deficient in historical and ethnographic detail in comparison to some of the artist's other works.

[6] Art historian Alexei Savinov noted the effective composition of the canvas, which combines a dynamic group of warriors on the left, Prince Vladimir on the right, and Jan Usmar with an enraged bull in the centre.

[12][11][10] In 1785, Ugryumov was awarded the Small Gold Medal of the Academy of Arts for his painting, Hagar and Ishmael in the Desert (now housed in the State Russian Museum).

[9][13] Between 1793 and 1794, he was commissioned by Empress Catherine II to create a large canvas, Alexander Nevsky's Ceremonial Entry into the Town of Pskov after his Victory over the Germans (now in the State Russian Museum).

"[9] On 5 October 1795,[Note 1] the Academy Council presented him with a programme for the title of academician, the nature of which was defined as follows: "On the battlefield, in the presence of Grand Prince Vladimir, the youngest son of the Russian warrior demonstrates his unusual strength by grabbing a raging bull at full gallop by its side with his hand, tearing away skin and flesh as much as he could grasp.

"[1][2][3] The painting was completed during a complex period in Russian history, as Catherine II passed away on 6 November 1796,[Note 1] and her son Pavel Petrovich, known as Paul I, became emperor.

[9] During this period, he created two large-scale historical paintings: Invitation of Mikhail Fyodorovich Romanov to Tsardom and Capture of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible (both completed by 1800, now in the State Russian Museum).

[22] According to art historian Vladislav Zimenko, in this sketch by Kiprensky "the influence of Ugryumov is evident, for example, in the powerful athletic figure of the pagan on the far left, vividly reminiscent of Jan Usmar.

The work on the painting Testing the strength of Jan Usmar was carried out by a team from the State Russian Museum's Restoration Department, including Marat Dashkin, Alexander Minin and Natalia Romanova.

'"[34] And the Kyiv leatherworker came to him and told him about his youngest son - Jan Usmar (other spellings include Usmoshvets, Usmovich or Ushmovets), who was not distinguished by great height, but was so strong that he could tear the skin with his hands.

[35] The painting depicts the dynamic moment when Jan Usmar, extending his left leg forward for balance, grasps the bull's hide firmly with both hands.

"[37] Art historian Alla Vereshchagina wrote that Ugryumov's Jan Usmar is "a man with the muscles of Heracles, a wrestler, a warrior, the embodiment of physical power.

The fallen warrior's figure lies in a position similar to where Usmar himself might have ended up if he had failed to subdue the bull—this technique aligns with the "method of simultaneous depiction of movement stages" often used in painting.

[6] "With a slight wave of his hand," the prince seems to direct Usmar's actions—thus, in Ugryumov's interpretation, this episode from ancient Russian history "transforms almost into an allegory of the ideal relationship between supreme power and the people, capable of creating wonders together.

"[4] However, another interpretation suggests that Vladimir's raised right hand could signify "restrained fear," and the movement of the warrior in a helmet topped with a serpent might be seen as an attempt to protect the prince from a potential attack by the enraged bull.

[46] Savinov highlighted Ugryumov's successful compositional structure, combining the dynamic group of warriors on the left, Prince Vladimir on the right, and Jan Usmar with the enraged bull in the center.

[7] According to Savinov, in this work, the artist "was still far from realistically recreating the environment and appearance of a folk hero from a specific historical era," and in portraying Usmar's athletic physique, he relied significantly on examples from ancient sculpture, which was a common technique in academic painting of that time.

She noted that "for the artist, it was significant that the subject allowed him to show the strength of an ordinary warrior, which earned him the right to an honorable duel—in this was reflected an echo of the democratic currents associated with Russian Enlightenment.

Overall, according to Zonova, although Ugryumov was unable to depict the past with a sufficient degree of accuracy, he successfully used the academic framework to create a "vivid patriotic painting, instructive and exciting.

According to Kuznetsova, "'Yan Usmar' is one of Ugryumov's most expressive paintings," and "the high drama inherent in this canvas is enhanced by its rich colors, play of light and shadow, and the masterful modeling of the figures.

According to Vereshchagina, "the artist's evident intention to elevate the image of the main character to the level of world-renowned heroes of antiquity is noticeable"—performing a feat worthy of Heracles or Antaeus, Jan Usmar even resembles them in appearance.

[49] Discussing Ugryumov's work, art historian Andrey Karev wrote that "to the greatest extent the possibilities of his skill and features of temperament were embodied in the painting 'Testing the strength of Jan Usmar'".

"[51] Moreover, Karev argues that an analogy can be drawn between Usmar's test of strength and one of Heracles' labours - the taming of the Cretan Bull - since both events involved a struggle with an enraged animal.

Karev also noted that Ugryumov's painting reflects the influence of the Baroque style, likely tied to the artist's aim to "find means of expression equivalent to the scene, referring both to the sphere of strong passions in general and to the circumstances of the turbulent, heroic period of domestic antiquity.