What is the name of Shishkin's painting? Masterpieces of Ivan Shishkin: The most famous paintings of the great Russian landscape painter

Name: Ivan Shishkin

Age: 66 years old

Activity: landscape artist

Family status: widower

Ivan Shishkin: biography

Ivan Shishkin “lives” in almost every Russian house or apartment. Especially in Soviet time the owners loved to decorate the walls with reproductions of the artist’s paintings, torn from magazines. Moreover, Russians get acquainted with the artist’s work early childhood- bears in pine forest decorated the wrapper chocolates. Even during his lifetime, the talented master was called the “forest hero” and “king of the forest” as a sign of respect for his ability to glorify the beauty of nature.

Childhood and youth

The future painter was born into the family of merchant Ivan Vasilyevich Shishkin on January 25, 1832. The artist spent his childhood in Yelabuga (in tsarist times it was part of the Vyatka province, today it is the Republic of Tatarstan). Father was loved and respected in a small provincial town, Ivan Vasilyevich even occupied the chair of the head for several years settlement. On the initiative of the merchant and with his own money, Elabuga acquired a wooden water supply system, which is still partially operational. Shishkin also gave his contemporaries the first book about history native land.

Being a versatile and pragmatic person, Ivan Vasilyevich tried to interest his son Vanya in natural sciences, mechanics, archeology, and when the boy grew up, he sent him to the First Kazan Gymnasium in the hope that his son would receive an excellent education. However, young Ivan Shishkin was more attracted to art from childhood. Therefore in educational institution He quickly got bored, and he left him, declaring that he did not want to turn into an official.

The son's return home upset the parents, especially since the son, as soon as he left the walls of the gymnasium, began to draw selflessly. Mom Daria Aleksandrovna was indignant at Ivan’s inability to study; it was also annoying that the teenager was completely unsuited to household chores, sitting and doing unnecessary “smudged paper.” The father supported his wife, although he secretly rejoiced at the awakening desire for beauty in his son. In order not to anger his parents, the artist practiced drawing at night - this was how his first steps into painting were marked.

Painting

For the time being, Ivan “dabbled” with a brush. But one day, artists who had been sent from the capital to paint the church iconostasis came to Yelabuga, and Shishkin for the first time seriously thought about creative profession. Having learned from Muscovites about the existence of a school of painting and sculpture, the young man was inspired by the dream of becoming a student of this wonderful educational institution.

The father, with difficulty, nevertheless agreed to let his son go to distant lands - on the condition that his son did not give up his studies there, but preferably turned into a second one. The biography of the great Shishkin showed that he kept his word to his parents impeccably.

In 1852 Moscow school painting and sculpture took into its ranks Ivan Shishkin, who came under the tutelage of the portrait artist Apollo Mokritsky. And the aspiring painter was attracted by landscapes, in which he selflessly practiced. Soon the whole school learned about the bright talent of the new star in the fine arts: teachers and fellow students noted his unique gift for drawing an ordinary field or river very realistically.

A college diploma was not enough for Shishkin, and in 1856 the young man entered the St. Petersburg Imperial Academy of Arts, where he also won the hearts of the teachers. Ivan Ivanovich studied diligently and surprised with his outstanding abilities in painting.

In the first year, the artist went for a summer internship on the island of Valaam, for the views of which he later received a large gold medal from the academy. During his studies, the painter's piggy bank was replenished with two small silver and small gold medals for paintings with St. Petersburg landscapes.

After graduating from the academy, Ivan Ivanovich had the opportunity to improve his skills abroad. The academy awarded a special pension to a talented graduate, and Shishkin, not burdened with the worries of earning a living, went to Munich, then to Zurich, Geneva and Dusseldorf.

Here the artist tried his hand at engraving with “regia vodka” and wrote a lot with a pen, from which the fateful painting “View in the vicinity of Düsseldorf” came out. Svetlaya, aerial work went to her homeland - for her Shishkin received the title of academician.

For six years he became acquainted with the nature of a foreign country, but longing for his homeland took over, Ivan Shishkin returned to his homeland. In the first years, the artist tirelessly traveled across the expanses of Russia in search of interesting places, unusual nature. When he appeared in St. Petersburg, he organized exhibitions and participated in the affairs of the artists’ artel. The painter was friends with Konstantin Savitsky, Arkhip Kuinzhdi and.

In the 70s, classes increased. Ivan Ivanovich founded, together with his colleagues, the Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions, and at the same time joined the association of aquafortists. A new title awaited the man - for the painting “Wilderness” the Academy elevated him to the rank of professor.

In the second half of the 1870s, Ivan Shishkin almost lost the place he managed to occupy in artistic circles. Experiencing a personal tragedy (the death of his wife), the man started drinking and lost his friends and relatives. With difficulty I pulled myself together, immersing myself in my work. At that time, the masterpieces “Rye”, “First Snow”, “Pine Forest” came out from the master’s pen. Ivan Ivanovich described his own state as follows: “What interests me most now? Life and its manifestations, now as always.”

Shortly before his death, Ivan Shishkin was invited to teach at the Higher Art School at the Academy of Arts. Late XIX century was marked by the decline of the old school of artists, young people preferred to adhere to other aesthetic principles, however

Assessing the artist’s talent, biographers and admirers of Shishkin compare him to a biologist - in an effort to depict the unromanticized beauty of nature, Ivan Ivanovich carefully studied plants. Before starting work, I felt the moss, small leaves, and grass.

Gradually, his special style was formed, which showed experiments with combinations of different brushes, strokes, attempts to convey elusive colors and shades. Contemporaries called Ivan Shishkin a poet of nature, able to see the character of every corner.

The geography of the artist’s work is wide: Ivan Ivanovich was inspired by the landscapes of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, the forest on Losiny Island, and the expanses of Sokolniki and Sestroretsk. The artist painted in Belovezhskaya Pushcha and, of course, in his native Yelabuga, where he came to visit.

It is curious that Shishkin did not always work alone. For example, animal painter and comrade Konstantin Savitsky helped paint the painting “Morning in a Pine Forest” - from the pen of this artist the bear cubs came to life on the canvas. The painting has two signatures.

Personal life

The personal life of the brilliant painter was tragic. Ivan Shishkin walked down the aisle for the first time late - only at 36 years old. In 1868 he got married Great love with the sister of the artist Fyodor Vasiliev Evgenia. In this marriage, Ivan Ivanovich was very happy, could not stand long separations and was always in a hurry to return early from business trips around Russia.

Evgenia Alexandrovna gave birth to two sons and a daughter, and Shishkin reveled in fatherhood. Also at this time, he was known as a hospitable host who gladly received guests in his house. But in 1874 his wife died, and soon after her he left little son.

Having difficulty recovering from grief, Shishkin married his own student, artist Olga Ladoga. A year after the wedding, the woman died, leaving Ivan Ivanovich with his daughter in his arms.

Biographers note one feature of Ivan Shishkin’s character. During his years at the school, he bore the nickname Monk - he was so nicknamed for his gloominess and isolation. However, those who managed to become friends with him were later surprised at how talkative and humorous the man was around his loved ones.

Death

Ivan Ivanovich left this world, as befits masters, to work on another masterpiece. On a sunny spring day in 1898, the artist sat down at his easel in the morning. In addition to him, an assistant worked in the workshop, who told the details of the teacher’s death.

Shishkin feigned something like a yawn, then his head simply dropped to his chest. The doctor diagnosed a heart rupture. The painting “Forest Kingdom” remained unfinished, and the last completed work of the painter is “ Ship Grove", today delighting visitors of the Russian Museum.

Ivan Shishkin was first buried at the Smolensk Orthodox Cemetery (St. Petersburg), and in the mid-20th century the artist’s ashes were transported to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

Paintings

• 1870 - “The Lodge in the Forest”
• 1871 - “Birch Forest”
• 1878 - “Birch Grove”
• 1878 - “Rye”
• 1882 - “At the edge of a pine forest”
• 1882 - “Edge of the Forest”
• 1882 - “Evening”
• 1883 - “A stream in a birch forest”
• 1884 - “Forest distances”
• 1884 - “Pine on the Sand”
• 1884 - “Polesie”
• 1885 - “Foggy Morning”
• 1887 - “Oak Grove”
• 1889 - “Morning in a Pine Forest”
• 1891 - “Rain in the Oak Forest”
• 1891 - “In the wild north...”
• 1891 - “After the Storm at Mary Hovey”
• 1895 - "Forest"
• 1898 - “Ship Grove”

Shishkin Ivan Ivanovich (1832-1898)

Kramskoy I.N. - Portrait of the artist Shishkin 1880, 115x188
Russian Museum

Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin is not only one of the largest, but also perhaps the most popular among Russian landscape painters. Shishkin knew Russian nature “scientifically” (I.N. Kramskoy) and loved it with all the strength of his powerful nature. From this knowledge and this love, images were born that have long become unique symbols of Russia. Already the figure of Shishkin personified Russian nature for his contemporaries. He was called the “forest hero-artist”, “king of the forest”, “old forest man”, he could be compared to “an old strong pine tree overgrown with moss”, but, rather, he is like a lonely oak tree from his famous painting, despite many fans , disciples and imitators.

“In the midst of a flat valley...”
1883
Oil on canvas 136.5 x 203.5

Kyiv

Ivan Shishkin was born on January 25, 1832 in Elabuga (Vyatka province, now Tatarstan). His father was a merchant of the second guild - Ivan Vasilyevich Shishkin.
His father quickly noticed his son’s passion for art and sent him to study at the Moscow School of Painting and Sculpture. Mentor young artist became A. Mokritsky - a very sensitive and attentive teacher. He helped Shishkin find himself in art.
In 1856, the young man entered the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts under S. Vorobyov.

The successes of the young artist, marked by gold and silver medals, confirm the review of his former mentor Mokritsky, in connection with Shishkin’s admission to the Academy: “We have lost an excellent and gifted student, but we hope to see him as an excellent artist over time, if he will be with the same love study at the Academy.” Its development is proceeding rapidly. For his successes, Shishkin consistently receives all possible awards. The steadiness of his hand is astonishing: to many, his carefully crafted, complex pen-and-ink landscape drawings appear to be engravings. Experiments in lithography, studies various ways printing, looks closely at etching, which was not very common in Russia at that time. Strives for “fidelity, similarity, portraiture of the depicted nature” already in his early works.

In 1858 - 1859, Shishkin often visited Valaam, the harsh, majestic nature of which was associated by the young man with the nature of his native Urals.
In 1860, for two Valaam landscapes, Shishkin received a Big Gold Medal and the right to travel abroad.

View on the island of Valaam1858

View on the island of Valaam. Cucco area1858-60

Landscape with a hunter. Valaam Island 1867

However, he is in no hurry to go abroad and in the spring of 1861 he goes to Yelabuga, where he writes a lot in nature, “which can only be of significant benefit to a landscape painter.”

"Shalash"
1861
Oil on canvas 36.5 x 47.5
State Museum of Fine Arts of the Republic of Tatarstan
Kazan

Shishkin went abroad only in 1862. Berlin and Dresden did not make much of an impression on him: homesickness also affected him.
In 1865, Shishkin returned to Russia and received the title of academician for the painting “View in the vicinity of Dusseldorf” (1865).

"View around Düsseldorf"
1865
Oil on canvas 106 x 151

Saint Petersburg

Now he writes with pleasure “Russian expanse with golden rye, rivers, groves and Russian distance”, which he dreamed of in Europe. One of his first masterpieces can be called a song of joy - “Noon. In the vicinity of Moscow” (1869).

"Noon. In the vicinity of Moscow"
1869
Oil on canvas 111.2 x 80.4

Moscow

"Pinery. Mast forest in Vyatka province"
1872
Oil on canvas 117 x 165
State Tretyakov Gallery
Moscow
For Shishkin, as for his contemporaries, Russian nature is inseparable from the idea of ​​Russia, the people, their destiny. In the painting “Pine Forest” the artist defines his main theme - the mighty, majestic Russian forest. The master creates a theatrical stage, offering a kind of “performance”. It is no coincidence that the time of day was chosen - noon as an image of Russia, full of dormant internal forces. Art critic V.V. Stasov called Shishkin’s paintings “landscapes for heroes.” At the same time, the artist strives for the most reliable, “scientific” approach to the image. This was noted by his friend the artist I.N. Kramskoy: “There is a dense forest and a stream with ferruginous, dark yellow water, in which you can see the entire bottom, strewn with stones...” They said about Shishkin: “He is a convinced realist, a realist to the core, deeply feeling and passionately loving nature..."

Kramskoy, who highly appreciated Shishkin’s art, helped him, even to the point of lending his workshop to work on the competition painting “Mast Forest in the Vyatka Province” (1872, this painting is now called “Pine Forest”), wrote about Shishkin’s merits: “Shishkin He simply amazes us with his knowledge... And when he is in front of nature, he is definitely in his element, here he is bold and does not think about how, what and why... here he knows everything, I think that he is the only one among us a person who knows nature in a scientific way... Shishkin -: this is a man-school.”

"Forest distances"
1884
Oil on canvas 112.8 x 164
State Tretyakov Gallery
Moscow

The painting is dedicated to the nature of the Urals. The artist chooses a high point of view, trying to depict not so much a specific place, but to create an image of the country as a whole. The space is built with clear plans, drawing the viewer’s gaze deeper into the silver lake in the center of the composition. Forest areas shimmer and flow into each other, like sea ​​waves. For Shishkin, the forest is the same primary element of the universe as the sea and sky, but at the same time it is a national symbol of Russia. One of the critics wrote about the painting: “The distant perspective of forests covered with a light haze, the water surface protruding in the distance, the sky, the air, in a word, the whole panorama of Russian nature, with its beauties that do not strike the eye, is depicted on canvas with amazing skill.” The painting was painted at a time when the artist began to be interested in the problems of plein air. While maintaining the epic nature of the image, Shishkin’s painting becomes softer and freer.

These works outlined the direction that was subsequently developed by the Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions. Together with I. N. Kramskoy, V. G. Perov, G. G. Myasoedov, A. K. Savrasov, N. N. Ge and others in 1870, he became a founding member of the Partnership.
In 1894-1895 he headed the landscape workshop of the Higher Art School at the Imperial Academy of Arts.

"Morning in a pine forest"
1889
Oil on canvas 139 x 213
State Tretyakov Gallery
Moscow

The motif of a coniferous forest, which Shishkin refers to in this picture, is typical of his work. Evergreen pines and spruces emphasize the sense of grandeur and eternity of the natural world. Often found in the artist’s paintings and compositional technique, when the tops of the trees are cut off by the edge of the canvas, and huge powerful trees seem to not fit even into a fairly large canvas. A unique landscape interior appears. The viewer gets the impression that he is inside an impenetrable thicket, where bears sit comfortably on a broken pine tree. They were portrayed by K.A. Savitsky, who told his family: “The painting was sold for 4 thousand, and I am a participant in the 4th share.” Savitsky further reported that he had to put his signature under the painting, but then he removed it, thereby renouncing copyright.

At the Second Exhibition of the Itinerants, Shishkin presented the painting “In the Wilderness of the Forest,” for which in 1873 he received the title of professor. With the help of a shaded foreground and spatial construction of the composition (somewhere in the depths, among the stunted trees, a faint ray of sunlight is visible), the artist makes it possible to feel the dampness of the air, the humidity of mosses and dead wood, to be imbued with this atmosphere, as if leaving the viewer alone with the oppressive wilderness. And like a real forest, this landscape does not immediately appear to the viewer. Full of details, it is designed to be looked at for a long time: suddenly you suddenly notice a fox and a duck flying away from her.

"Backwoods"
1872
Oil on canvas 209 x 161
State Russian Museum
Saint Petersburg

And, on the contrary, his famous painting “Rye” (1878) is full of freedom, sun, light, air. The picture is epic: it seems to synthesize features national character Russian nature, that dear, significant thing that Shishkin saw in it: “Expansion. Space. Land, rye. God's grace. Russian wealth...”

"Rye"
1878
Oil on canvas 187 x 107
State Tretyakov Gallery
Moscow

The landscape combines two traditional motifs for the artist: fields with a road running into the distance and mighty pine trees. The inscription made by Shishkin on one of the sketches for the painting says: “Expansion, space, land, rye, the grace of God, Russian wealth.” Critic V.V. Stasov compared the pine trees on the canvas with the columns of ancient Russian churches. Before the viewer is a majestic panorama of Russian nature, presented as a theatrical spectacle. Shishkin understands nature as the universe correlated with man. That's why two tiny dots are so important - human figures that set the scale of the image. Shishkin wrote his sketches not far from his native Elabuga, located on the banks of the Kama River, but his paintings are always composed, there is nothing accidental in them.

Shishkin was often reproached for illusory details. Many artists found his painting non-picturesque and called his paintings a painted drawing. Nevertheless, his paintings, with all their detail, always give a holistic image. And this is an image of the world that Shishkin cannot “lubricate” with the arbitrary movements of his own soul. In this sense, it is far from what was emerging in the 1880s. in Russian painting “landscape mood”. Even the smallest thing in the world contains a particle of the big, therefore its individual appearance is no less important than the image of an entire forest or field (“Travki”, 1892
That is why small things are never lost in his programmatic paintings. It comes to the fore, as if under our feet, with every blade of grass, flower, butterfly. Then we move our gaze further, and it gets lost among the vast expanses that have absorbed everything.

"Herbs"
Etude.

“Snow-grass. Pargolovo"
Etude.
1884
Canvas on cardboard, oil. 35 x 58.5 cm
State Russian Museum

The sketch "Drowning Grass. Pargolovo" is one of the many "exercises" of the great master of landscape. In front of us is a neglected corner of a country garden, overgrown with weeds. The very name “snot-grass” can tell a lot. After all, the word “snitch” is nothing more than a modified Russian word"food" (food, food). This plant really served as food for our ancestors in ancient times...

Sunlight, picturesque thickets of grass, a country fence - that’s all the simple content of the picture. Why is it difficult to take your eyes off this work by Shishkin? The answer is simple: left to human attention, this small corner is beautiful in its simplicity and naturalness. There, behind the fence, there is another world, changed by man to suit his needs, and here nature is accidentally granted the right to be itself... This is the magic of the work, its ingenious simplicity.

“In the midst of a flat valley...”
1883
Oil on canvas 136.5 x 203.5
State Museum of Russian Art
Kyiv

The canvas “Among the Flat Valley” (1883) is imbued with a poetic feeling; it combines grandeur and soulful lyricism. The title of the painting was lines from a poem by A. F. Merzlyakov, known as folk song. But the picture is not an illustration of poetry. The feeling of Russian expanse gives rise to the figurative structure of the canvas itself. There is something joyful and at the same time pensive in the wide-open steppe (this is exactly the feeling evoked by the free, open composition of the picture), in the alternation of illuminated and darkened spaces, in the dried stems, as if creeping under the feet of a traveler, in the majestic oak towering among the plains .

The painting “Among the Flat Valley...” was painted by Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin a year after sudden death beloved wife. He was deeply affected by the loss. But the native nature, which always attracted the artist to itself, did not allow him to dissolve in his grief.

One day, walking along the valley, Shishkin accidentally came across this majestic oak tree, which towered lonely above the surrounding expanses. This oak reminded the artist of himself, just as lonely, but not broken by storms and adversity. This is how this painting was born.

The central place in the picture is occupied by an oak tree. It rises above the valley like a giant, spreading its mighty branches. The sky serves as the background. It is covered with clouds, a thunderstorm has already gathered in the distance. But she is not afraid of the giant. No thunderstorms, no storms can break him. It stands firmly on the ground, serving as a shelter for the traveler in both heat and bad weather. The oak is so strong and strong, so powerful, that the clouds approaching in the distance seem insignificant, not even capable of touching the giant.

The well-trodden path runs straight down to a giant oak tree, which is ready to cover you with its branches. The crown of the tree is so thick that it resembles a tent; a dark shadow spreads under the tree. The oak itself is brightly illuminated by the rays of the sun, which has not yet been covered by thunderclouds.

Standing by the mighty tree, Shishkin remembered the words of the old Russian song “Among the Flat Valley...”, which sings about a lonely oak tree, about the grief of a man who has lost a “tender friend.” The artist seemed to come to life after this meeting. He began to create again, walking through life alone, but firmly standing on native land like that oak tree in his painting.

Despite Shishkin's successes in landscape painting, close friends persistently advised him to pay attention to means of expression, in particular, on the transmission of the light-air environment. And life itself demanded this. It is enough to recall the coloristic merits of the works of Repin and Surikov, known by that time. Therefore, in Shishkin’s paintings “Foggy Morning” (1885) and “Pines Illuminated by the Sun” (1886), what attracts attention is not so much the linear composition as the harmony of chiaroscuro and color. This is both an image of nature, magnificent in beauty and fidelity in conveying the atmospheric state, and a clear illustration of such a balance between the object and the environment, between the general and the individual.

Foggy morning
1885. Oil on canvas, 108x144.5

I. I. Shishkin’s painting “Foggy Morning,” like many of the works of the great master of landscape, conveys a surprisingly calm and peaceful atmosphere.
The artist focuses on a quiet, foggy morning on the river bank. The gentle bank in the foreground, the water surface of the river, in which movement is barely discernible, the hilly opposite bank in the haze of the morning fog.
Dawn seems to have awakened the river, and, sleepy, lazy, it is only gaining strength to run deeper into the picture... Three elements - sky, earth and water - harmoniously complement each other, revealing, it seems, the very essence of each of them. They cannot exist without each other. The pale blue sky, saturated with color, turns into the tops of the hills covered with a cap of fog, then turns into the greenery of trees and grass. Water, reflecting all this splendor, without any distortion, emphasizes and refreshes the morning.
The presence of a person is barely discernible in the picture: a narrow path in the grass, a protruding post for tying a boat - these are all the signs of human presence. The artist thereby only emphasizes the greatness of nature and great harmony God's peace.
The light source in the painting is located directly opposite the viewer. Another second and the sunlight will cover this entire corner of Russian nature... The morning will fully come into its own, the fog will dissipate... That’s why this moment before dawn is so attractive.

"Pines illuminated by the sun"
Etude.
1886
Canvas, oil. 102 x 70.2 cm
State Tretyakov Gallery

In the picture, the main component of the plot is sunlight. Everything else is just decoration, background...

Pines standing confidently on the forest edge resist the flow sunlight, however, they lose to him, merge, are swept away by him... Only the ineradicable shadows lying on the side opposite from the pines create the volume of the picture, giving it depth. The light lost not only to the trunks, but also got entangled in the tree crowns, unable to cope with the winding thin branches strewn with pine needles.

The summer forest appears before us in all its fragrant splendor. Following the light, the viewer's gaze penetrates deep into the thicket of the forest, as if taking a leisurely walk. The forest seems to surround the viewer, hugging him and not letting go.

Endless combinations of yellow and green colors so realistically convey all the shades of the color of pine needles, layered and thin pine bark, sand and grass, convey the warmth of the sun, the coolness of the shadows, that the illusion of the presence, smells and sounds of the forest is easily born in the imagination. He is open, friendly and devoid of any mystery or mystery. The forest is ready to greet you on this clear and warm day.

"Oak trees"
1887
Canvas, oil. 147 x 108 cm
State Russian Museum

“Golden Autumn” (1888),

"Mordvinov Oaks"
1891
Canvas, oil. 84 x 111 cm
State Russian Museum

"Autumn"
1892
Canvas, oil. 107 x 81 cm
State Russian Museum

"Rain in the Oak Forest"
1891
Oil on canvas 204 x 124
State Tretyakov Gallery
Moscow

In 1891, the Academy of Arts hosted a personal exhibition of Shishkin (more than 600 sketches, drawings and engravings). The artist masterfully mastered the art of drawing and engraving. His drawing has undergone the same evolution as painting. The drawings of the 80s, which the artist made with charcoal and chalk, are much more picturesque than the pen drawings dating back to the 60s. In 1894, the album “60 etchings by I. I. Shishkin. 1870 - 1892.” At that time he had no equal in this technique and also experimented with it. For some period he taught at the Academy of Arts. In the learning process, as in our work, for better study natural forms he used photography.

"Oak Grove"
1893
Etching. 51 x 40 cm

"Forest River"
1893
Etching. 50 x 40 cm
Regional Art Museum

"Oak Grove"
1887
Oil on canvas 125 x 193
State Museum of Russian Art
Kyiv

The painting "Oak Grove" depicts a bright sunny day in an oak forest. Powerful, spreading, silent witnesses of the change of centuries and generations amaze with their splendor. Carefully drawn details bring the picture so close to naturalness that sometimes you forget that this forest is painted in oil and you cannot enter it.

Playful sun spots on the grass, illuminated crowns and trunks of centuries-old oak trees seem to radiate warmth, awakening memories of a cheerful summer in the soul. Despite the fact that the oak trees depicted in the picture have already acquired withered branches, their trunks are bent, and the bark has peeled off in some places, their crowns are still green and lush. And you can’t help but think that these oaks will be able to stand for hundreds of years.

It is noteworthy that Shishkin’s journey from the idea of ​​painting the Oak Grove to the first brush strokes in the landscape took three decades! It took exactly this long for the artist to form a vision for this monumental canvas, and this time was not wasted. The painting oak grove is often called best work genius artist.

"Before the storm"
1884
Canvas, oil. 110 x 150 cm
State Russian Museum

I. I. Shishkin’s painting “Before the Storm” is one of the master’s most colorful works. The artist perfectly managed to convey the atmosphere of thick stuffiness before a thunderstorm. A moment of complete silence before the rampant elements...
The horizon line divides the landscape into exactly two parts. The upper part is a pre-storm leaden sky, full of life-giving moisture. The lower one is the land yearning for this very moisture, the shallow river, the trees.
The abundance of shades of blue and green, the brilliant mastery of perspective, and the complex, heterogeneous light are striking.
The viewer feels the approach of a thunderstorm, but as if from the outside... He is only a spectator, and not a participant in the natural mystery. This allows him to calmly enjoy the details of the pre-storm landscape. Those details that always elude the human eye in nature. At the same time, there is absolutely nothing superfluous in the picture. Harmony.
It’s strange, but looking at the picture, the question arises: did the artist himself get caught in the rain or did he manage to take cover? The work itself is so realistic that the question of the authenticity of the landscape does not arise at all.

"Foggy morning"
1897
Canvas, oil. 82.5 x 110 cm
State Museum-Reserve "Rostov Kremlin"

"Amanitas"
1880-1890s,
Tretyakov Gallery

Sketch by Shishkin "Amanitas" - shining example talented sketch of the great Russian artist. The plot of the sketch is akin to a Russian fairy tale: fly agarics are an indispensable attribute of evil spirits, magical rituals, mysteries and transformations.

The viewer is presented with a family of bright mushrooms in the thicket of a virgin forest. Each of the seven depicted fly agaric mushrooms seems to have its own character, biography, and destiny. In the foreground are a couple of young, strong, handsome men guarding the elders of the family in the center of the composition. In the center, on the contrary, there are old mushrooms with traces of decay, withering... The artist schematically, blurry and unclearly depicts the forest around the main “characters” of the picture. Nothing should distract the viewer’s attention from the picturesque group of fly agarics. On the other hand, it is the green forest and brown leaves that favorably emphasize the brightness of the mushroom caps and the whiteness of the spots on the caps.

The deliberate unfinished nature of the work creates a feeling of fabulousness and unreality of the image. It’s as if we are seeing a vision inspired by insidious and poisonous mushrooms in a magical forest.

"Pine Forest", 1889
V. D. Polenov Museum-Reserve

In the picture we see a corner of a pine forest bathed in summer sun. Whitewashed sunlight sandy paths indicate that the sea is most likely nearby. The whole picture is filled with the smell of pine, special pine cheerfulness and silence. Nothing disturbs the peace of the forest in the morning (shadows on the sand indicate that it is morning).

Apparently, this is one of the dacha suburbs of St. Petersburg, where the artist so often found subjects for his works. And now, walking through the forest on a summer morning, the intersection of sandy paths attracted the attention of the master. Dozens of shades of green, bluish mosses, dazzling sand slightly tinged with yellow... This entire palette of natural colors could not leave Shishkin indifferent. Looking at the picture, you begin to remember the pine spirit; you can barely hear the sound of the cool Baltic Sea in your ears. Quiet, warm, fragrant. Summer serenity...

Like any other work by Shishkin, the painting “Pine Forest” amazes with its authenticity, pedantic attitude to the smallest details, the reality of the plot and uncontrived beauty.

Lodge in the forest
1870s. Canvas, oil. 73x56
Donetsk Regional Art Museum

“The Lodge in the Forest” is an amazing masterpiece by I. Shishkin, which amazes with its simplicity and originality. It would seem like an ordinary plot: trees, a road, a small house. However, something beckons us to contemplate this picture for a long time, as if hoping to find an encrypted message in it. Well, such a masterpiece cannot be just a painting painted to suit the mood. What immediately catches your eye are the tall birch trees on both sides of the road. They stretch upward - closer to the sun.

The picture is dominated by dark green tones and only in the background do we see grass and tree foliage illuminated by the rays of the sun. A ray of sun also falls on the wooden gatehouse, thereby highlighting it in the picture. It is the main highlight of the masterpiece - the most striking detail. The picture is striking in its volume. When looking at it, there is a feeling of depth - it’s as if the viewer is surrounded by trees on all sides and beckoned forward.

The forest depicted by Shishkin seems dense. It is not so easy for sunlight to break through, but in the very center of the picture - where the guardhouse stands - we see a gap. The painting is imbued with admiration for nature and at the same time expresses the contrast between nature and man. What is this lodge compared to the mighty pine trunks and tall birch trees? Just a small speck in the middle of the forest.

"Swamp. Polesie"
1890
Oil on canvas 90 x 142
State Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus
Minsk

“In the forest of Countess Mordvinova. Peterhof"
1891
Oil on canvas 81 x 108
State Tretyakov Gallery
Moscow

"Summer day"
1891
Canvas, oil. 88.5 x 145 cm
State Tretyakov Gallery

"Summer"
Canvas, oil. 112 x 86 cm
State Central Museum musical culture them. M.I.Glinka

"Bridge in the Forest"
1895
Canvas, oil. 108 x 81 cm
Nizhny Novgorod Art Museum

"Kama near Yelabuga"
1895
Oil on canvas 106 x 177
Nizhny Novgorod State Art Museum
Nizhny Novgorod

"Pinery"
1895
Canvas, oil. 128 x 195 cm
Far Eastern Art Museum

"In the park"
1897
Canvas, oil. 82.5 x 111 cm
State Tretyakov Gallery

"Birch Grove"
1896
Oil on canvas 105.8 x 69.8
Yaroslavl Art Museum
Yaroslavl

The world-famous painting “Birch Grove” was painted in oil by Shishkin in 1896. On this moment The painting is in the Yaroslavl Art Museum.
The painting is dominated by shades of green, brown and white. It would seem that the combination of colors is more than simple, but surprisingly successful: looking at the picture, you completely feel yourself among these trees, you feel the warmth of the sun's rays.
Sunlit Birch Grove as if she herself was emitting some kind of special light, felt by everyone who sees the picture. By the way, Shishkin, being a patriot of his country, did not for nothing choose the birch tree as the heroine of this picture, because it is she who is considered national symbol Russia since ancient times.
The incredible clarity with which all the details are drawn is surprising: the grass seems amazingly silky, the birch bark is like real and every birch leaf makes you remember the aroma of a birch grove.
This landscape is painted so naturally that it is difficult to even call it a painting. The name reflection of reality would be more appropriate.

"Ship Grove"
1898
Canvas, oil. 165 x 252 cm
State Russian Museum

The painting “Ship Grove” is one of the last in the master’s work. The composition of the work is characterized by strict balance and clear precision of plans, but it does not have that composition of the landscape characteristic of the painting of the 18th century. half of the 19th century century.
Subtle observation and an unmistakable point of view allow you to successfully capture a piece of nature, turning it into a scenic platform for living nature. Sensitivity of perception of nature, loving comprehension of its features and masterful transmission of its charm through the language of painting make Shishkin’s canvases tactile, giving the viewer the opportunity to feel the resinous smell of the forest, its morning coolness and the freshness of the air.

Tragically personal life Shishkina. Both of his wives died quite early. Behind them are both his sons. The deaths did not stop there - following dear to my heart people died, perhaps the most close person- father. Shishkin plunged headlong into his work, which remained his only joy. Shishkin died at work. This happened on March 20, new style, in 1898. The artist died suddenly. In the morning I painted in the studio, then visited my family and returned to the studio again. At some point the master simply fell from his chair. The assistant immediately noticed this, but when he ran up, he saw that he was no longer breathing.

"Self-Portrait"
1886
Etching. 24.2x17.5 cm.
State Russian Museum
Saint Petersburg

Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin is rightfully considered a great landscape artist. He, like no one else, managed to convey through his canvases the beauty of the pristine forest, the endless expanses of fields, and the cold of a harsh region. When looking at his paintings, one often gets the impression that a breeze is about to blow or the cracking of branches is heard. Painting occupied all the artist’s thoughts so much that he even died with a brush in his hand, sitting at his easel.

Unlike his other paintings, the artist did not paint this alone. The bears are by Konstantin Savitsky. Ivan Shishkin judged fairly, and both artists signed the painting. However, when the finished canvas was brought to the buyer Pavel Tretyakov, he became angry and ordered Savitsky’s name to be erased, explaining that he had ordered the painting only from Shishkin, and not from two artists.

Shishkin Ivan Ivanovich (1832-1898) - the most famous Russian painter and graphic artist who depicted nature in all its glory. The variety of the creator’s works is amazing: in his paintings you can find steppe and forest-steppe, coniferous landscapes not only of the expanses of Russia, but also of other countries. It is popular both in our country and throughout the world.

Ivan Shishkin: biography

This outstanding man was born into a merchant family and lived ordinary life before school years. As you know, Shishkin was unable to study at regular school, so he left her and went to art school. From there he entered the university in St. Petersburg, where students were taught not only painting, but also architecture and sculpture. Such a base had a very good influence on the development of young Shishkin’s abilities. However, the study tasks turned out to be not enough for the artist, and he spent his free time from classes in the open air.

Shishkin's independent practice

Plein air is painting in the open air. Artists created on the street in order to create light, atmospheric paintings, in contrast to the idealized paintings that were completed in workshops (using the imagination). Ivan Shishkin also took part in plein airs. The biography of this man consists of constant travel to different parts of the world to learn how to draw different landscapes.

Shishkin went for walks with paints or graphic materials (pencils, charcoal) and wrote about the area of ​​St. Petersburg. Thanks to this habit, the young man quickly improved his skills in depicting shapes and details.

Soon the merits of the young painter were noticed in the educational institution, and the artist Shishkin received many medals for these works. The pictures became more realistic and he made fewer mistakes. Soon the young man became one of the most famous artists in Russia.

"Afternoon in the vicinity of Moscow"

This picture is very light and bright. The first thing that catches your eye is the contrast of sky and field, blue and yellow flowers. The artist (Shishkin) allocated more space for the sky, probably because the sheaves are already very bright. Most of the picture is occupied by gray clouds. You can find many shades in them: emerald, blue and yellow. The field is separated from the sky only by a thin strip of bluish horizon. In this distance you can see the hills, and a little closer are the dark blue silhouettes of bushes and trees. Closest to the viewer is a spacious field.

The wheat is already ripe, but wild, unseeded land is visible to the left. The riot of burnt grass stands out against the background of the yellowish mass of ears and creates an extraordinary contrast. In the foreground we see the beginning of a wheat field: the artist arranged reddish, burgundy and dark ocher strokes so that the depth of these sheaves is felt. Along the road that runs between grass and field, the artist Shishkin depicted two figures. You can tell from the clothes of these people that they are peasants. One of the figures definitely belongs to a woman: we see a scarf tied on her head and a dark skirt.

"Pines illuminated by the sun"

Ivan Shishkin wrote many amazing works. He loved to depict the pine forest most of all. However, it is worth paying attention to other paintings: they are not devoid of beauty and sometimes turn out to be much more interesting than more famous paintings.

Pines are one of the eternal themes in the work of such an artist as Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin. The play of light and shadow is especially noteworthy in this landscape. The sun is shining from behind the artist; it is midday or late afternoon. In the foreground are two tall pine trees. Their trunks stretch so strongly towards the sky that they do not fit into the picture. Therefore, the tree crowns begin only in the middle of the picture. Although the trunks are not very old, moss has already grown on their bark. From the sun it appears yellowish and gray in some places.

The shadows from the trees are very long and dark, the artist depicted them almost black. Three more pine trees are visible in the distance: they are arranged compositionally so as not to distract the viewer from the main thing in the picture. The color scheme of this work is warm and consists mainly of light green, brown, ocher and yellowish shades. This palette evokes joy and a feeling of peace in the soul. All this is diluted by several cool shades, which Shishkin skillfully distributed throughout the picture. We see emerald shades on the top of the pine crowns and on the left in the distance. Thanks to this combination of colors, the composition looks very harmonious and at the same time bright.

"Landscape with a Lake" (1886)

This painting is one of the few by Shishkin that depicts water. The artist preferred to paint the thick of the forest, in contrast to the light vegetation in this work.

The first thing that attracts attention in this work is the lake. The surface of the water is painted in great detail, so that you can see light ripples near the shore and precise reflections of trees and bushes.

Thanks to the clear light blue and in some places purple sky, the water in the lake seems very clean. However, ocher and greenish inclusions give the impression that this lake is real.

Foreground of the painting

In the foreground is a green bank. The small grass is so bright that it seems acidic. Near the very edge of the water, she gets lost in the lake, here and there peeking out from its surface. In the contrasting grass, small wildflowers are visible, so white that it seems as if they are glare from the sun on the plants. To the right, behind the lake, a large dark green bush interspersed with bright light green shades sways in the wind.

On the other side of the lake on the left, the viewer can make out the roofs of several houses; there is probably a village next to the lake. Behind the roofs rises an emerald, dark green pine forest.

The artist (Shishkin) chose a very correct combination of light blue, green (warm and cold), ocher and black.

"Dali"

Shishkin’s painting “Dali” exudes something mysterious, the landscape seems to be lost in the sunset. The sun has already set, and we see only a light streak of light on the horizon. Lonely trees rise in the right foreground. There are many plants around them. The greenery is very dense, so almost no light breaks through the bushes. Closer to the center of the canvas is a tall linden tree, which bent over from the weight of its branches.

The sky, as in other paintings, occupies most of the composition. The sky is the brightest on the canvas. The gray-blue color of the sky turns into light yellow. Scattered light clouds look very light and dynamic. In this work, Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin appears before us as a romantic and a dreamer.

In the foreground we see a small lake that goes into the distance. It reflects dark stone and faded ocher and yellow-green grass. In the distance there are purple, gray hills, not very high, but noticeable.

Looking at the picture, you are filled with a feeling of sadness and comfort. This effect is created thanks to the warm shades that the artist Shishkin used in his work.

Ivan Shishkin is one of famous painters and graphs that depicted nature. This man was truly in love with the forests, groves, rivers and lakes of Russia, so he worked on them until the smallest details in his works. Using Shishkin’s paintings you can not only describe the climate of Russia, but also study the basics of plein air painting. The artist mastered both oil paints and graphic materials perfectly, which is quite rare among creative people. It is difficult to name people who painted nature as well as the artist Shishkin. This man’s paintings are very naturalistic, contrasting and bright.