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

Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin was born in the small provincial town of Elabuga, located on the banks of the Kama. As a child, the future artist could wander through the forest for hours, admiring the beauty of pristine nature. In addition, the boy painstakingly painted the walls and doors of the house, surprising those around him. Finally, in 1852, the future artist entered the Moscow School of Painting and Sculpture. There, teachers help Shishkin recognize exactly the direction in painting, which he will follow throughout his life.

Landscapes became the basis of Ivan Shishkin's work. The artist skillfully conveyed the species of trees, grasses, boulders overgrown with moss, uneven soil. His paintings looked so realistic that it seemed that the sound of a stream or the rustle of leaves was about to be heard somewhere.

Without a doubt, one of the most popular paintings by Ivan Shishkin is "Morning in a pine forest"... The painting depicts not just a pine forest. The presence of bears seems to indicate that somewhere far away, in the wilderness, there is a unique life.

Unlike his other canvases, this artist did not paint alone. The bears are by Konstantin Savitsky. Ivan Shishkin judged in all fairness, and both artists signed the picture. However, when the finished canvas was brought to the buyer Pavel Tretyakov, he became angry and ordered to erase Savitsky's name, explaining that he ordered the painting only to Shishkin, and not to two artists.

The first meetings with Shishkin caused mixed feelings among those around him. He seemed to them a sullen and taciturn person. In the school he was even called a monk behind his back. In fact, the artist revealed himself only in the company of his friends. There he could argue and joke.

Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin (1832-1898) - Russian landscape painter, painter, draftsman and engraver-aquafortist. Representative of the Düsseldorf Art School.

Academician (1865), professor (1873), head of the landscape workshop (1894-1895) of the Academy of Arts.

Ivan Shishkin was born on January 13 (25), 1832 in the city of Elabuga. Descended from the ancient Vyatka family of the Shishkins, was the son of the merchant Ivan Vasilyevich Shishkin (1792-1872).

At the age of 12, he was assigned to the 1st Kazan gymnasium, but having reached the 5th grade there, he left it and entered the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (1852-1856). After graduating from the course of this institution, from 1857 he continued his education at the Imperial Academy of Arts, where, together with Ginet, Jongin and others, he was listed as a student of Professor S.M. Vorobyov. Not content with studies within the walls of the academy, he diligently drew and painted sketches from nature in the vicinity of St. Petersburg and on the island of Valaam, thanks to which he acquired more and more familiarity with its forms and the ability to accurately convey it with a pencil and brush. Already in the first year of his stay at the academy, he was awarded two small silver medals for a class drawing and for a view in the vicinity of St. Petersburg. In 1858 he received a large silver medal for a view of Valaam, in 1859 - a small gold medal for a landscape from the outskirts of St. Petersburg and, finally, in 1860 - a large gold medal for two views of the Cucco area, on Valaam.

Having acquired, along with this last award, the right to travel abroad as a pensioner of the academy, he went to Munich in 1861, attended the workshops of famous artists Benno and Franz Adamov, who were very popular animal painters, and then in 1863 he moved to Zurich, where, under under the guidance of Professor R. Koller, who was then considered one of the best depicts of animals, he sketched and painted the latter from nature. In Zurich he first tried to engrave with "aqua regia". From here he made an excursion to Geneva in order to get acquainted with the works of F. Didet and A. Kalam, and then moved to Dusseldorf and wrote there, by order of N. Bykov, "View in the vicinity of Dusseldorf" - a painting that, being sent to St. Petersburg, delivered the title of academician to the artist. Abroad, in addition to painting, he did a lot of pen drawings; his works of this kind astonished foreigners, and some were placed in the Dusseldorf Museum next to drawings by first-class European masters.

Longing for his homeland, in 1866 he returned to St. Petersburg before the expiration of his retirement period. Since then, he has often undertaken travels with an artistic purpose in Russia, almost every year he exhibited his works, first at the academy. After the Association of Traveling Exhibitions was established, he produced pen drawings at these exhibitions. Since 1870, having joined the circle of aquafortists formed in St. Petersburg, he again began to engrave with "royal vodka", which he never left until the end of his life, devoting almost as much time to it as painting. All these works every year increased his reputation as one of the best Russian landscape painters and incomparable aquafortist. The artist owned an estate in the village of Vyra (now the Gatchinsky District of the Leningrad Region).

In 1873, the academy elevated him to the rank of professor for the painting "Wilderness in the Forest" she acquired. After the entry into force of the new charter of the academy, in 1892 he was invited to lead its educational landscape workshop, but for various reasons he did not hold this position for long. He died suddenly in Petersburg on March 8 (20), 1898, sitting at an easel, working on a new painting. He was buried at the Smolensk Orthodox cemetery. In 1950, the artist's ashes were transferred along with the monument to the Tikhvin cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

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Shishkin Ivan Ivanovich (1832-1898)

Kramskoy I.N. - Portrait of the artist Shishkin 1880, 115h188
The 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 “in a learned way” (IN Kramskoy) and loved it with all the strength of his mighty nature. From this knowledge and this love, images were born that have long become a kind of symbols of Russia. Already the very figure of Shishkin personified Russian nature for contemporaries. He was called “forest hero-artist”, “king of the forest”, “old forest man”, he could be compared with “strong old pine tree, overgrown with moss”, but, rather, he is like a lonely oak tree from his famous painting, despite many fans , pupils and imitators.

"Among the flat valley ..."
1883
Oil on canvas 136.5 x 203.5

Kiev

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

The successes of the young artist, marked with gold and silver medals, confirm the opinion of his former mentor Mokritsky, in connection with Shishkin's admission to the Academy: “We have lost an excellent and talented student, but we hope to see him as an excellent artist over time, if he is with the same love study at the Academy ”. Its development is progressing rapidly. For his successes, Shishkin consistently receives all possible awards. The firmness of his hand is astonishing: many of his meticulously made, complex landscape drawings with pen and ink seem to be engravings. Experimenting in lithography, studying various printing methods, looking closely at etching, which was not very common in Russia at that time. He 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 the young man associated with the nature of his native Urals.
In 1860, for two Valaam landscapes, Shishkin received the Great Gold Medal and the right to travel abroad.

View on the island of Valaam1858

View on the island of Valaam. Cucco area 1858-60

Landscape with a hunter. Valaam Island 1867

However, he was in no hurry to go abroad and in the spring of 1861 went to Yelabuga, where he paints a lot in nature, “from which there can only be significant benefits for 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 Environs of Dusseldorf" (1865).

"View in the vicinity of Dusseldorf"
1865
Oil on canvas 106 x 151

St. Petersburg

Now he writes with pleasure “Russian expanse with golden rye, rivers, groves and Russian countryside”, 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 "
1869g
Oil on canvas 111.2 x 80.4

Moscow

"Pinery. Mast forest in the Vyatka province "
1872g
Oil on canvas 117 x 165
State Tretyakov Gallery
Moscow
For Shishkin, as well as for his contemporaries, Russian nature is inseparable from the idea of \u200b\u200bRussia, the people, and their fate. 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 VV 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 IN Kramskoy: "A deaf forest and a stream with ferrous, 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 bone, deeply feeling and passionately loving nature ... "

Kramskoy, who highly appreciated Shishkin's art, helped him, to the extent that he provided his workshop to work on the competitive painting "The Mast Forest in the Vyatka Province" (1872, this picture 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, then it is exactly in his element, here he dared, and does not think how, what and why ... here he knows everything, I think that this is the only one with us a man who knows nature in a scientific way ... Shishkin -: this is a man-school. "

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

The picture is dedicated to the nature of the Urals. The artist chooses a high point of view, striving to depict not so much a specific place as 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 silvery lake in the center of the composition. Forests overflow and flow into each other, like sea waves. For Shishkin, the forest is the same primary element of the universe, like the sea and the sky, but at the same time it is a national symbol of Russia. One of the critics wrote about the picture: "The distant perspective of forests covered with a light haze, the outstanding water surface, sky, air, in a word, a whole panorama of Russian nature, with its unobtrusive beauties, is depicted on canvas with amazing skill." The picture was painted at a time when the artist began to be interested in the problems of the plein air. Keeping the epic nature of the image of nature, Shishkin's painting becomes softer and more free.

These works outlined the direction that 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 IAH.

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

The motif of the coniferous forest, to which Shishkin refers in this picture, is typical of his work. Evergreen pine and spruce trees emphasize the sense of grandeur and eternity of the natural world. Often found in the artist's paintings and a compositional technique, when the tops of trees are cut off by the edge of the canvas, and huge powerful trees seem to not fit even in a large enough canvas. A kind of landscape interior appears. The viewer gets the impression that he is inside an impenetrable thicket, where bears, perched on a broken pine tree, feel comfortable. They were portrayed by K.A. Savitsky, who told his relatives: "The painting was sold for 4 thousand, and I am a participant in the 4th share." Further Savitsky reported that he had to put his own signature on the picture, but then he removed it, thereby giving up copyright.

At the Second Exhibition of the Itinerants, Shishkin presented the painting "In the Wilderness", for which in 1873 he received the title of professor. With the help of the shaded foreground and the spatial construction of the composition (somewhere in the depths, among the stunted trees, a weak sunlight is visible), the artist makes it possible to feel the dampness of the air, the moisture of moss and dead wood, to feel this atmosphere, as if leaving the viewer alone with the oppressive deafness. And like a real forest, this landscape does not immediately open to the viewer. Full of details, it is designed for a long examination: suddenly you suddenly notice a fox and a duck flying away from it.

"Backwoods"
1872
Oil on canvas 209 x 161
State Russian Museum
St. 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 the traits of the national character of Russian nature, the native, significant that Shishkin saw in it: “Expansion. Plenty. Land, rye. God's grace. Russian wealth ... "

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

The landscape combines two traditional motives for the artist: fields with a road running away into the distance and mighty pines. In the inscription made by Shishkin on one of the sketches for the painting, it says: "Expansion, space, land, rye, God's grace, Russian wealth." The critic V.V. Stasov compared the pines on the canvas with the columns of ancient Russian temples. Before the viewer - a majestic panorama of Russian nature, presented as a theatrical show. Shishkin understands nature as a universe correlated with man. Therefore, 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, standing on the banks of the Kama River, but his paintings are always composed, there is nothing accidental in them.

Shishkin was often reproached for the illusory writing out of details. Many artists found his painting unpainting, called his paintings painted designs. Nevertheless, his paintings, for all their detail, always give a holistic image. And this is an image of the world that Shishkin cannot “smear” with the arbitrary movements of his own soul. In this sense, it is far from the one that emerged in the 1880s. in Russian painting "a landscape of mood". Even the smallest in the world carries a particle of the big, therefore its individual appearance is no less important than the image of an entire forest or field ("Grass", 1892
That is why the small is never lost in his programmatic pictures. It comes to the fore, as if under our feet, with every blade of grass, flower, butterfly. Then we look further, and he gets lost among the vast expanses that have absorbed everything.

"Herbs"
Etude.

“Dreaming is a herb. Pargolovo "
Etude.
1884
Oil on canvas mounted on cardboard. 35 x 58.5 cm
State Russian Museum

Etude "Runny-grass. Pargolovo" is one of the many "exercises" of the great master of landscape. Before us is a neglected corner of the country garden, overgrown with snow-grass. The very name "runny-grass" can tell a lot. After all, the word "sleep" 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 summer cottage fence - that's all the simple content of the picture. Why is it difficult to take your eyes off this work of Shishkin? The answer is simple: left by human attention, this small corner is beautiful in its simplicity and naturalness. There, behind the fence, there is another world, changed by man to please his needs, but here nature is accidentally granted the right to be itself ... This is the magic of work, its ingenious simplicity.

"Among the flat valley ..."
1883
Oil on canvas 136.5 x 203.5
State Museum of Russian Art
Kiev

The canvas "Among the flat valley" (1883) is imbued with a poetic feeling, it combines greatness and soulful lyrics. The title of the picture was the lines from the poem by A.F. Merzlyakov, known as a 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 that the free, open composition of the picture evokes), in the alternation of illuminated and darkened spaces, in dried stems, as if creeping under the feet of a traveler, in a majestic oak tree towering among the plains ...

The painting "Among the flat valley ..." was written by Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin a year after the sudden death of his beloved wife. He was very worried about the loss. But the native nature, which always attracted the artist to itself, did not allow him to dissolve in his grief.

Once, walking along the valley, Shishkin accidentally came across this majestic oak tree, which lonely towered over the surrounding expanses. This oak reminded the artist of himself, the same lonely, but not broken by storms and hardships. This is how this painting was born.

The central place in the picture is taken by an oak tree. It rises above the valley like a giant, spreading its mighty branches. The sky serves as a background. It is covered with clouds, a storm 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 both in heat and bad weather. The oak is so strong and sturdy, so powerful that the clouds rolling in in the distance seem insignificant, not even able to touch the giant.

The trampled path runs straight to the giant oak, 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 an old Russian song "Among the flat valley ...", which sings about a lonely oak, about the grief of a man who has lost a "gentle friend." The artist seemed to come to life after this meeting. He again began to create, walking through life alone, but firmly standing on his native land, like that oak in his painting.

Despite Shishkin's successes in landscape painting, close friends persistently advised him to pay attention to expressive means, in particular, to the transfer of a light-air environment. And life itself demanded it. Suffice it to recall the coloristic merits of the works of Repin and Surikov known by that time. Therefore, in Shishkin's paintings "Misty Morning" (1885) and "Pines illuminated by the sun" (1886), it is not so much a linear composition that attracts as the harmony of light and shade 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

The painting by II Shishkin "Misty Morning", like many works of the great master of landscape, conveys a surprisingly calm and peaceful atmosphere.
The artist's focus is on a quiet, foggy morning on the river bank. The sloping bank in the foreground, the water surface of the river, in which movement is barely guessed, the hilly opposite bank in the haze of morning fog.
The dawn seemed to wake up the river, and, sleepy, lazy, she is only gaining strength to run deep into the picture ... The three elements - heaven, 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, passes into the tops of hills covered with a cap of fog, then passes into the green of trees and grass. Water, reflecting all this splendor, without any distortion, emphasizes and refreshes the morning.
The presence of a person is hardly guessed in the picture: a narrow path in the grass, a sticking out post for tying a boat - these are all signs of a human presence. The artist thereby only emphasizes the greatness of nature and the great harmony of God's world.
The light source in the painting is located directly in front of the viewer. Another second and sunlight obscures this whole corner of Russian nature ... Morning will come into its own completely, the fog will dissipate ... That is why this moment before dawn is so attractive.

"Pine Trees 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 of sunlight, however, lose to it, merge, are swept away by it ... Only ineradicable shadows lying on the side opposite to the pines create volume of the picture, give it depth. The light lost not only to the trunks, but also got entangled in the crowns of trees, unable to cope with the twisting thin branches dotted with 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, as it were, surrounds the viewer, hugs him and does not let go.

Endless combinations of yellow and green colors so realistically convey all the shades of the color of needles, pine layered and thin bark, sand and grass, convey the warmth of the sun, the coolness of the shadow, 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 enigma, mystery. The forest is ready to meet on this clear and warm day.

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

"Golden Autumn" (1888),

"Mordvin's 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, a personal exhibition of Shishkin (more than 600 sketches, drawings and prints) was held at the Academy of Arts. 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 of the 60s. In 1894, the album “60 Etchings by II Shishkin. 1870 - 1892 ”. In this technique, he then did not know his equal and also experimented in it. For some period he taught at the Academy of Arts. In the process of teaching, as in his work, he used photography to better study natural forms.

"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
Kiev

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

Mischievous sunspots on the grass, illuminated crowns and trunks of century-old oak trees seem to radiate warmth, awakening in the soul the memories of a cheerful summer. Despite the fact that the oaks depicted in the picture have already acquired shriveled branches, their trunks bent, and their bark peeled off in some places, their crowns are still green and lush. And you involuntarily think that these oaks will be able to stand for more than one hundred years.

It is noteworthy that Shishkin's path from the idea of \u200b\u200bpainting the Oak Grove to the first brush strokes in the landscape was three decades! It took so much time for the artist to form a vision of this monumental canvas, and this time was not wasted. The picture of the oak grove is often called the best work of the brilliant artist.

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

The painting by II Shishkin "Before the Thunderstorm" is one of the most colorful works of the master. The artist perfectly managed to convey the atmosphere of thick stuffiness before the 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 earth, yearning for this very moisture, a shallow river, trees.
The abundance of shades of blue and green colors, brilliant mastery of perspective, complex, non-uniform light are striking.
The viewer feels the approach of a thunderstorm, but as if from the outside ... He is only a spectator, not a participant in the natural mystery. This allows him to calmly enjoy the details of the pre-storm landscape. Those details that always escape the human eye in nature. At the same time, there is absolutely nothing superfluous in the picture. Harmony.
Strange, but looking at the picture, the question arises: did the artist himself get caught in the rain or did he manage to hide? The work itself is so realistic that the question of the reliability of the landscape does not arise at all.

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

"Fly agaric"
1880-1890th,
Tretyakov Gallery

Shishkin's study "Amanita" is a vivid example of a talented sketch of the great Russian artist. The plot of the etude is akin to a Russian fairy tale: fly agarics are an indispensable attribute of evil spirits, magical rituals, riddles and transformations.

The viewer sees a family of bright mushrooms in the thicket of a virgin forest. Each of the seven depicted fly agarics seem to have its own character, biography, fate. In the foreground are a pair of young strong handsome men guarding the elders of the clan in the center of the composition. In the center, on the contrary, there are old mushrooms with traces of decay, wilting ... The artist schematically, vaguely and indistinctly 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, the whiteness of the spots on the caps.

The deliberate incompleteness of the work creates a feeling of fabulousness and unreality of the image. As if before us 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 drenched in the summer sun. Sun-bleached sandy paths indicate that the sea is likely nearby. The whole picture is filled with a pine scent, a special coniferous vigor and silence. Nothing disturbs the forest peace in the morning hours (shadows on the sand indicate that this is morning).

Apparently, before us is one of the suburbs of St. Petersburg dacha, where so often the artist found subjects for his works. And now, walking in 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 tinted with yellow ... This whole palette of natural colors could not leave Shishkin indifferent. Looking at the picture, you begin to remember the pine spirit, in your ears you can barely hear the sound of the cool Baltic Sea. Quiet, warm, fragrant. Summer serenity ...

Like any other work of Shishkin, the picture "Pine Forest" is striking in its authenticity, pedantic attitude to the smallest details, the reality of the plot and unthinkable beauty.

Gatehouse in the forest
1870th. Canvas, oil. 73x56
Donetsk Regional Art Museum

"Guardhouse in the Forest" is an amazing masterpiece by I. Shishkin, which amazes with its simplicity and originality. It would seem like a common 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 picture, painted to suit the mood. What immediately catches your eye are the tall birches on either side of the road. They stretch upward - closer to the sun.

The picture is dominated by dark green tones and only in the background we see the grass and foliage of trees illuminated by the rays of the sun. The sun ray 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 you look at it, you can feel the depth - the viewer seems to be surrounded from all sides by trees and beckon forward.

The forest depicted by Shishkin seems dense. It is not so easy for sunlight to break through it, but in the very center of the picture - where the gatehouse 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 gatehouse in comparison with the mighty trunks of pines and tall birches? Only 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 of Musical Culture. M.I. Glinka

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

"Kama near Elabuga"
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 by Shishkin oil in 1896. At the moment, the painting is in the Yaroslavl Art Museum.
The picture is dominated by shades of green, brown and white. It would seem that the color combination 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.
The birch grove, drenched in the sun, seems to emit a special light itself, felt by everyone who sees the picture. By the way, Shishkin, being a patriot of his country, knowingly chose the birch as the heroine of this picture, because it is she who has been considered the national symbol of 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 a real one, and each birch leaf makes you remember the scent of a birch grove.
This landscape is painted so naturally that it is difficult to even call it a painting. Rather, the name is a reflection of reality.

"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 a strict balance and a clear adjustment of plans, but it lacks the composition of the landscape characteristic of painting of the 18th - first half of the 19th century.
Subtle observation and an unmistakably found point of view allow you to successfully capture a piece of nature, turning it into a stage platform for living nature. Sensitive perception of nature, love comprehension of her features and masterful transfer of her charm in 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 fresh air.

Shishkin's personal life was tragic. Both his spouses died quite early. Behind them - and both of his sons. The deaths did not stop there - after the people dear to the heart, perhaps the closest person, the father, died. Shishkin plunged headlong into 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 he wrote in the workshop, then visited his relatives and returned to the workshop. At some point, the master simply fell off the chair. This was immediately noticed by the assistant, but, running up, he saw that he was no longer breathing.

"Self-portrait"
1886
Etching. 24.2x17.5 cm.
State Russian Museum
St. Petersburg

The homeland of one of the most famous, even iconic artists in Russia is the city of Elabuga. He was born in this provincial town on January 13, 1832. In the future, he became known as a landscape painter, with photographic accuracy conveying the smallest details of the nature of his native land.

Family and study

His father had a great influence on the formation of Shishkin's views and creative style. A poor merchant who was fond of archeology and who wrote "The History of the City of Elabuga" was the man who managed to pass all his knowledge to his son. Shishkin Sr. sold grain, and with his own funds he restored the old buildings of Yelabuga, developed a local water supply system.

The path of the future artist was predetermined from childhood. He entered the 1st Kazan gymnasium, but did not graduate from an educational institution. In the fifth grade, Shishkin left school, returned home and devoted all his attention to drawing from life. For four years he painted Elabuga forests, and in 1852 he entered the Moscow School of Painting and Sculpture.

The exhibition of Caucasian mountain views by L. Lagorio and seascape paintings by I. Aivazovsky was fateful for Ivan Shishkin. There he saw a canvas that fascinates and inspires many. It was Aivazovsky's "Ninth Wave". Another factor that determined the further work of the artist was studying in the class of Mokritsky, who admired the work of K. Bryullov. The teacher was able to discern talent in a quiet, even shy student and in every possible way encouraged him to engage in landscape painting.

In 1856 Shishkin graduated from college and entered the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg. In the first year of study he was awarded a silver medal. The award went to him for a pencil drawing and a view of St. Petersburg, made with a brush. The artist became one of the best students of the Academy, and in 1860 he graduated with the Great Gold Medal. Such a high award gave the right to travel abroad for three years to improve creative skills. But Shishkin preferred the place where he spent his childhood and adolescence - Yelabuga.

Foreign twists and turns

The artist left Russia only in 1862. He visited Zurich, Munich, Geneva and Dusseldorf. He got acquainted with the works of famous painters and studied with R. Koller himself. In the same period, by order of N. Bykov, he wrote "View in the vicinity of Dusseldorf", for which he received the title of academician.

Shishkin constantly improved his skills, developed his own style. What are some pen drawings, scrupulously conveying the details of the surrounding objects! Two such works are still on display at the Dusseldorf Museum.

In 1865 Shishkin returned to Russia. He is already a recognized and recognizable artist, capable of creative achievements. In the works of the early 1860s. attempts to achieve maximum similarity with nature are traced. This, as can be seen from the painting "Logging", somewhat violates the integrity of the landscape. Working long and hard, the artist overcomes the academic tenets of an abstract landscape and creates a series of paintings. An example of a “reborn” master is the canvas “Noon. In the vicinity of Moscow ". The picture is filled with light, it breathes with peace and tranquility, it is able to create a joyful, even blissful mood.

The place of the forest in Shishkin's work

In 1870 he became one of the founders of the Association of the Itinerants and presented the painting "Pine Forest" at the second exhibition of the society. The work to this day amazes with the integrity of color, the photographic nature of the transmission and the incredible combination of colors.

Other paintings that recreate the majestic woodlands - "Black Forest", "Wilderness", "Spruce Forest", "Reserve. Pine Forest "," Forest (Shmetsk near Narva) "," A corner of an overgrown forest. Snyt-grass "," In a pine forest "and others. The painter depicts plant forms surprisingly accurately, carefully writes out every twig, every blade of grass. The paintings resemble beautiful, but still accidentally taken photographs. This tendency is typical only for works where a large color palette is used. Canvases depicting a forest, made in a single color scheme, fully reveal the artist's talent.

Creative techniques

The most famous painting by the master is Morning in a Pine Forest, presented at the exhibition of the Itinerants in 1889. The popularity of the work is that it is filled with serenity, the expectation of something beautiful and is a symbol of the homeland. And even if K. Savitsky wrote the bears, each of us associates these animals with small children.

The result of Shishkin's entire creative path is the painting "Ship Grove" (1898). It is completed in accordance with all the laws of classicism, fully reveals the artistic image. The picture has one more property - incredible monumentality.

I.I.Shishkin died in his workshop on March 8 (20), 1898. He never finished painting "Forest Kingdom", but the remaining legacy to this day can touch the soul of our contemporaries.

Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin was once nicknamed "King of the Forest". And not without reason - most often he portrayed the northern forest. The artist is one of the most popular landscape painters of the 20th century. His paintings are classical national painting.

On the banks of the Kama, in the small town of Elabuga, on January 13, 1832, the great Russian landscape painter was born. As a child, Shishkin was inspired by the beauty of the harsh northern nature, however, only at the age of twenty he entered the Moscow School of Painting and Sculpture. His teacher was the famous portrait painter Apollo Mokritsky. It was there that Ivan Ivanovich's love for landscapes was determined.

Pine on Valaam, 1858

The next step in the career of the famous artist was entering the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. The great landscape painter received a silver medal for the sketch "Pine on Valaam". Shishkin showed a decent level of skill while studying at the Academy and graduated from it in 1860 with the Great Gold Medal. This was not the only award - he got a chance to travel abroad for three whole years. But at that time, the painter preferred his native land.

View in the vicinity of Dusseldorf, 1865

In 1862, the popular artist went abroad, where he painted a picture, for which he was awarded the title of academician and the Order of Stanislav III degree - "View in the vicinity of Dusseldorf".

Shishkin came to his homeland in 1865. By that time, he had become a fairly well-known artist.

Logging, 1867

One of the most famous paintings by Shishkin is "Logging".

Shishkin's love for nature, in particular, for the forest is not a secret for anyone. At the time of the painting, people, in connection with the revolutions in the laws, did not have an easy life. The forest and trees were used not only for construction, but also served as an outlet for exhausted human souls. Peace and tranquility could be found among the tall pines.

Rye, 1878

The work of the landscape painter "Rye" is quite popular.

The artist combined the main colors of the fine arts of Russia: blue and gold. It seems as if the author sought to equalize the divine nature and the Russian one. In those days, this color scheme was typical of Orthodox icons.

Among the valley of Rivne, 1883

In the work "Among the Rivny Valley", loneliness, tragedy and a certain sadness are clearly traced. It is noteworthy that the picture was painted during the period when his best works were created.

Forest distances, 1884

The landscape "Forest Dales" was also painted in difficult times for Ivan Ivanovich. Not so long ago, the artist buried his wife. The picture vividly shows the beauty of Russian nature, which looks virgin, as if a human's foot had not stepped there.

Pine Trees in the Sunshine, 1886

"Pines illuminated by the sun" is one of Shishkin's most famous paintings.

Nature also seems to be untouched, but the painting itself seems to radiate warmth and positive energy. It seems that the author wanted to fill the hearts of art lovers with light and vital energy.

Oak Grove, 1887

Amazingly, according to literary data, in order to paint the landscape "Oak Grove", the painter was looking for suitable oaks for about thirty years.

Morning in a pine forest, 1889

Perhaps everyone knows the name of the next composition - "Morning in a pine forest". It depicts bears that appear to be alive. The work is written so realistically that the quality resembles a photo. The cubs look very cute and cause a feeling of tenderness in the beholder.

Ship Grove, 1898

In 1898, the great master of his craft wrote his last major work "Ship Grove". At first glance, the landscape seems simple enough, but if you look closely, the picture resembles the very thicket, warmed by the sun, which we imagine when we read Russian fairy tales. Fantastic and realistic at the same time.

Conclusion

It is impossible to assess the contribution of Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin to the development of Russian fine art. He is rightfully considered a fan of his craft - the great landscape painter died on March 20, 1898 while painting, holding a brush in his hand.

Fdnjh cnfnmb ^ DThe artist is one of the most popular landscape artists of the 20th century. His paintings are classical national painting.