The prominent artists Konstantin Korovin, A. Arkhipov, Valentin Serov, and Lev Pasternak were his teachers. During the training the beginning artist mixed with Robert Falk, Aristarkh Lentulov, Aleksandr Kuprin, Ilya Mashkov, and Pyotr Konchalovsky. 
 

Almost from the very beginning Vasily Rozhdestvensky diverted from classical painting to its modern trends. He started participating in various exhibitions and painting landscapes in the manner of Impressionism. Vasily Rozhdestvensky with his adherents organized the Jack of Diamonds community in 1911.
 

The artist’s early works stood out with special decorative effect, and bright color design (like in The Tavern). His trip to Italy in 1912 brought new motives into his creativity. During that period the artist influenced by Giotto’s frescos, Ravenna’s mosaics and Cubism introduced greater clarity and precision into his composition. At the same time he kept up the expressiveness and emotionality of his canvasses (like in Cup and Coffee Pot Still Life).
 

During World War I the artist was mobilized to the front. After returning Vasily Rozhdestvensky went on his creative path despite of all the difficulties of that hard period. He taught in the State Free Art Studios, travelled a lot around Altai, Central Asia, Karelia, the Caucasus, and the Crimea, and participated in numerous exhibitions.
 

Vasily Rozhdestvensky was invited to work in the Tver Province and lived and worked there till 1923. This period became very important for development of the artist’s painting manner. He painted from life a lot and followed Savrasov and Levitan's traditions more and more (The Uzbek Tea, Parade of National Parts of the Red Army, Coast-Dweller Setting Nets). That late period of Vasily Rozhdestvensky’s creativity was mostly dedicated to greatness and beauty of the Russian nature. The artist conveyed the power of human characters against its background. The epic and the lyrical go hand in hand in his paintings.
 

Vasily Rozhdestvensky died in Moscow on May 20, 1963.