In 1885 Vasnetsov made a trip to Italy, where he studied Byzantine mosaic and painting of Italian Renaissance; he visited Venice, Ravenna, Florence, Rome and Naples. From 1885 till 1891 the artist lived in Kiev, where he was engaged in wall painting of the St. Vladimir’s Cathedral; summer months he spent in Abramtsevo. In 1891 Vasnetsov returned to Moscow; till 1896 he made a trip to Kiev every year in order to finish works in the St. Vladimir’s Cathedral. In 1891 Vasnetsov with V. D. Polenov designed a chapel over the tomb of A. S. Mamontov.

In 1892 Vasnetsov was appointed to the rank of professor. In 1893–1894 he built a house with workshop for himself by his own design in Moscow. Vasnetsov was elected the honorary member of Reims Academy of Arts. In 1901 the artist executed sketches of mosaic for the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg, having begun to work on it in 1883. In 1896–1904 Vasnetsov drew sketches of iconostasis for the St. George Cathedral in Gus-Khrustalny, in 1899–1901 — sketches of mosaic for the Orthodox Church in Darmstadt, in 1901–1903 — sketches of exteriors at the Palace of the Facets in the Moscow Kremlin. In 1900–1901 Vasnetsov executed design of facade and sketch of majolica frieze for the Tretyakov Gallery; frieze was made in pottery Abramtsevo in Butyrki and was installed in 1903. In 1899-1903 Vasnetsov worked on a project of I. E. Tsvetkov’s house on Prechistenskaya quay and on sketches of majolica frieze for its design. In 1904–1913 the artist painted icons for iconostasis in the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia; in 1906–1911 — mosaic sketches for the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Warsaw.

In 1899 the first personal exhibition of the artist was held in St. Petersburg. Later several exhibitions of Vasnetsov’s works were organized in 1903 and in 1905 in St. Petersburg, in 1904, 1910, 1911–1912 — in Moscow.

In early 1900s Vasnetsov bought an estate in the village of Van’kovo in Dmitrov district, which he renamed Novoe Ryabovo and lived there during summer months. In 1900 the artist became a member of the Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow, in 1902 — honorary member of the Stroganov School of Industrial Art, in 1903 — honorary member of Kiev society of art and antiquities, in 1908 — honorary member of the Russian Historical Museum. Viktor Vasnetsov with his brother Apollinary was one of the founders of the Museum of Art and History in Vyatka. After the revolution of 1917, Vasnetsov joined the art association Izograf.

In 1924–1925 works by the artist were exposed at the Travelling exhibition of the Russian art in USA and in Canada. In 1926 the last lifetime personal exhibition of the artist was held in the museum-estate Abramtsevo. In 1927 the memorial exhibition of Vasnetsov’s paintings and drawings was organized in the State Tretyakov Gallery. Retrospective exhibitions were held in 1948 and in 1990–1991 in the State Tretyakov Gallery, in 1980 — in the State Museum-Reserve “Abramtsevo”.

Viktor Vasnetsov is an outstanding representative of Russian art of the last third of the 19th — the beginning of the 20th centuries. During early period (late 1860s — the first half of 1870s) Vasnetsov’s works were close to the art by the Itinerants; he was under the influence of I. E. Repin’s art. Later the artist tried to find and develop national style in Russian art. He developed his own recognisable style based on Byzantine and Old Russian painting and architecture, folklore, the traditions of folk visual and applied arts, in particular ornament, native costume, wood carving etc. Vasnetsov’s easel paintings could be characterized by narrative and literary message, decorative colours, and academic traditions in composition. The artist’s works are based on realism style, art nouveau and historical painting, but it’s difficult to attribute his art or period of his art to any concrete style of painting.

Vasnetsov had a great influence on the art of many artists of the Abramtsevo circle, where he became one of the founders of New Russian style of painting. Meanwhile, Vasnetsov’s art was perceived as ambiguous and was sometimes subjected to criticism, evoking contentious debates in the art society.

Works by Viktor Vasnetsov are in many museum collections in Russia and abroad, including the State Tretyakov Gallery, the State Russian Museum, the State Historical Museum, the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Nizhny Novgorod State Art Museum, Kiev Museum of Russian Art, the National Art Museum of the Belarus Republic in Minsk, the State Museum-Reserve “Abramtsevo” and others. The House-Museum of V. M. Vasnetsov was opened in Moscow.