About creativity
In the treasury of Russian art, Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin has one of the most honorable places. The history of the Russian landscape of the second half is connected with his name. XIX century. Works by an outstanding master, the best of which have become classics national painting, have gained enormous popularity.
Among the masters of the older generation, I. I. Shishkin represented with his art an exceptional phenomenon, which was not known in the field of landscape painting in previous eras. Like many Russian artists, he naturally possessed enormous natural talent. No one before Shishkin, with such stunning openness and such disarming intimacy, told the viewer about his love for his native land, for the discreet charm of northern nature.
Biography of the master
Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin was born on January 13 (25), 1832 in Elabuga (Vyatka province) in a poor merchant family. Having not completed his studies at the Kazan gymnasium, Shishkin left it and continued his education at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (1852-56), and then at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts (1856-65). Shishkin I.I. died suddenly on March 8 (20), 1898 in St. Petersburg, while working on new picture.
Paintings by Ivan Shishkin
It seemed that it could mid-19th centuries to be more familiar and ordinary for anyone 
resident middle zone Russia, than the view of a pine forest or a field of ripe rye? Ivan Shishkin had to appear to create creations that are still unsurpassed works of landscape art, in which with amazing clarity it is as if you are seeing new protected places for the first time.
Before us appear lush coniferous thickets, rich fields, the boundless expanse of the Fatherland. No one before Shishkin, with such stunning openness and such disarming intimacy, told the viewer about his love for his native land, for the discreet charm of northern nature.
Ivan Shishkin - "King of the Forest"
Shishkin was called the “king of the forest”, this reveals his devotion to the theme of “Russian forest”. Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin was truly the “King of Valera”: the artist was completely subject to the highest sign easel painting- Valer, the ability to paint a picture using the finest nuances of light, shadow, and color. This technique requires the master to have excellent mastery of drawing, color painting and a jeweler’s sense of the light-air environment, the general tone of the picture, determined by a single state in time.
Such canvases seem to be sung in one breath, where there are no rough contours or false effects. There is only imitation of one great artist - nature. In each of his paintings, the artist shows himself to be a remarkable connoisseur of nature, every smallest part of it, be it a tree trunk or just sand covered with dead wood. For all their realism, Shishkin’s paintings are very harmonious and imbued with a poetic feeling of love for the homeland.
The meaning of the artist's creativity
Ivan Shishkin is an artist of enormous creative passion and determination. He amazed his contemporaries with his efficiency. Bogatyrsky stature, strong, healthy, always working - this is how his friends remembered him. He died sitting at an easel, working on a new painting. It was March 20, 1898.
The artist left a huge legacy: more than 500 paintings, about 2000 drawings and graphic works.
All creative path Shishkina appears before us as a great feat of a Russian man, who in his works glorified his homeland, dearly and dearly loved by him. This is the strength of his creativity. This is the guarantee that his paintings will live forever.
“Shishkin is a people’s artist,” wrote V.V. Stasov back in 1892. And our people secured this right to an honorary title for Shishkin.
You can download the full version of the finished abstract from the link below.
Ivan Ivanovich was born in January, on the 25th (or the 13th according to the old style), in 1832. The city of Elabuga, located in the Vyatka province, became his native land. The painter came from the ancient Vyatka family of the Shishkins. Shishkin's father was the merchant Ivan Vasilyevich Shishkin.At the age of 12, Ivan Ivanovich was assigned to the first Kazan gymnasium. However, after studying there until the 5th grade, he made a decision and left the gymnasium. Instead, he entered Moscow school architecture, painting and sculpture. After graduating from this institution, he continued to study at the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg: there he was a student of S.M. Vorobyov. Classes at the Academy did not satisfy Shishkin, so he persistently wrote sketches and painted on the island of Valaam and in the vicinity of St. Petersburg. Thanks to such activities, he became more and more familiar with local forms, and learned to convey them better and better with the help of a brush and pencil. In his first year of study at the Academy, Ivan Ivanovich was already awarded 2 small silver medals for an excellent drawing in which he conveyed the landscape of the outskirts of St. Petersburg. 1858 brings the artist a large silver medal through a view of Valaam. In 1859 Shishkin was awarded a small gold medal for a drawing of a landscape of St. Petersburg. And in 1860, for the view of the area Cucco, Ivan received a large gold medal.
Along with the last award, Shishkin also receives the opportunity with which he can travel abroad as a pensioner of the Academy. And so, in 1861, the painter went to Munich. There he visited the workshops of great artists (such as Franz and Benno Adamov, who were very popular among animal painters). In 1863, Ivan moved to Zurich. Here he, under the guidance of Koller, who at that time was considered perhaps the best depicter of animals, wrote from those very animal natures and copied them. It was in Zurich that the landscape artist first tried engraving with “royal vodka”. After Zurich, Ivan's next goal was Geneva, where he became acquainted with the works of Kalam and Dide. From Geneva Shishkin went to Dusseldorf. Here, by order of N. Bykov, he painted a painting called “View in the vicinity of Dusseldorf.” In the future, this same picture was sent to St. Petersburg. And it was with her help that Shishkin received the title of academician. However, Ivan Ivanovich did not only paint abroad, he also drew with a pen. His works of this kind caused great surprise to foreigners. In addition, several such works were placed next to drawings by leading European masters in the Düsseldorf Museum.
Ivan Ivanovich missed his fatherland, so in 1866 he returned to St. Petersburg ahead of schedule. Since that time, he has traveled quite often around Russia for artistic purposes, exhibiting works at the academy almost every year. After the establishment of the Association of Exhibitions, he made pen drawings at such exhibitions. In 1870, Shishkin joined the circle of aquafortists and again engraved with “royal vodka”. Since then, the painter has not neglected this art and devotes exactly the same amount of time as he does to his other activities. Every year, Ivan’s works cemented his reputation as an incomparable aquafortist and, in general, one of the best painters in our country. Shishkin had at his disposal an estate in the village of Vyra (now Leningrad region, Gatchina district). The year 1873 became very important for the artist - “Forest Wilderness” prompted the Academy to award Shishkin the title of professor. After the adoption of the new academic charter, Shishkin was invited in 1892 as the head of the landscape training workshop, but this position did not lie on his shoulders for long. Ivan Ivanovich died in March 1898, sitting at his easel and working on a new work.
Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin(1832-1898) - Russian landscape artist, painter, draftsman and engraver. 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. He came from the ancient Vyatka family of the Shishkins, was the son of the merchant Ivan Vasilyevich Shishkin (1792-1872).
Ivan Kramskoy.
Portrait of I. I. Shishkin.
(1873, Tretyakov Gallery)
At the age of 12, he was assigned to the 1st Kazan gymnasium, but having reached the 5th grade, he left it and entered the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (1852-1856). Having completed the course at this institution, from 1857 he continued his education at the Imperial Academy of Arts, where, together with Gine, Jongin and others, he was listed as a student of Professor S. M. Vorobyov. Not content with studying within the walls of the academy, he diligently drew and wrote sketches from nature in the vicinity of St. Petersburg and on the island of Valaam, thanks to which he acquired increasing 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 area of Cucco, 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 and attended workshops there famous artists Benno and Franz Adam, who were very popular animal painters, and then in 1863 moved to Zurich, where, under the guidance of Professor R. Koller, then considered one of the best depictors of animals, he sketched and painted the latter from life. In Zurich I tried engraving with “regia vodka” for the first time. From here he made an excursion to Geneva in order to get acquainted with the works of F. Dide and A. Kalam, and then moved to Dusseldorf and painted there, at the request of N. Bykov, “View in the vicinity of Dusseldorf” - a picture that, being sent to St. Petersburg, gave the artist the title of academician. Abroad, in addition to painting, he did a lot of pen drawings; his works of this kind surprised foreigners, and some were placed in the Düsseldorf Museum next to the drawings of first-class European masters.
Feeling homesick for his homeland, he returned to St. Petersburg in 1866 before his pension expired. Since then, he often traveled for artistic purposes throughout Russia, and 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. In 1870, having joined the circle of aquafortists formed in St. Petersburg, he again began engraving with “royal vodka,” which he did not leave until the end of his life, devoting almost as much time to it as to painting. All these works each year increased his reputation as one of the best Russian landscape painters and an incomparable aquatic painter. The artist owned an estate in the village of Vyra (now the Gatchina district of the Leningrad region).
In 1873, the Academy elevated him to the rank of professor for the painting “Wilderness” it acquired. After the new charter of the academy came into force, in 1892 he was invited to head its educational landscape workshop, but due to various circumstances he did not hold this position for long. He died suddenly in St. 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.
Creation
"Portrait of I. Shishkin."
I. N. Kramskoy
(1880, Russian Museum)
Among Russian landscape painters, Shishkin undoubtedly holds the place of the most powerful artist. In all his works he is an amazing connoisseur of plant forms, reproducing them with a subtle understanding of how general, as well as the smallest distinctive features of any species of trees, bushes and grasses. Whether he took on the image of a pine or spruce forest, individual pines and spruces, just like their totality, received from him their true physiognomy, without any embellishment or understatement - that appearance and with those particulars that are fully explained and determined the soil and climate where the artist made them grow. Whether he depicted oaks or birches, they took on completely truthful forms in his foliage, branches, trunks, roots and in all details. The very area under the trees - stones, sand or clay, uneven soil overgrown with ferns and other forest herbs, dry leaves, brushwood, dead wood, etc. - received the appearance of perfect reality in Shishkin's paintings and drawings.
“But this realism often harmed his landscapes: in many of them it obscured the general mood, giving them the character not of paintings conceived not with the aim of arousing this or that feeling in the viewer, but of random, albeit excellent sketches. It should also be noted that with Shishkin what happens with almost every particularly strong artist was repeated: the science of forms was given to him to the detriment of color, which, while not being weak and inharmonious for him, still does not stand on the same level with masterful drawing. Therefore, Shishkin’s talent is sometimes expressed much more clearly in one-color drawings and etchings than in works in which he used many colors,” some critics say. His paintings and drawings are so numerous that indicating even the most important of them would take up too much space; Especially many of them were sold among art lovers after a retrospective exhibition of the artist’s works over forty years of his activity was organized in 1891 and the sale after his death of what remained in his studio. It will be enough to mention Shishkin’s works in public collections. The Moscow Tretyakov Gallery is richest in them. It contains paintings: “Forest cutting”, “Afternoon in the vicinity of Moscow”, “ pine forest", "Burnt Forest", "Rye", "Wilds", "Apiary", " Spruce forest" and "Morning in a Pine Forest" and, in addition, seventeen masterful drawings. The Russian Museum owns the paintings: “Ship Grove”, “Meadow with Pines”, “Forest Wilderness” and “Glade”, five sketches and two drawings. According to the will of K. Soldatenkov, the Moscow Public Museum received the painting “View in the vicinity of Moscow” and one drawing.
D. Rovinsky numbered up to a hundred of all the etchings performed by Shishkin; he pointed, in addition, to 68 original lithographs and 15 zincographic experiments of this master. A. Beggrov, in 1884-1885, published in two series a collection of 24 phototypical photographs from charcoal drawings made for him by Shishkin. In 1886, the artist himself published an album of his selected engravings, numbering 25. Subsequently, the prints from the boards that served for this album, corrected and somewhat altered, were published by Marx (with the addition of several other etchings) in the form of a new album.
"Morning in a pine forest."
I. Shishkin, K. Savitsky
In the 1880s, Shishkin created many paintings, in the subjects of which he still turned mainly to the life of the Russian forest, Russian meadows and fields, however, touching on such motifs as sea coast Baltic. The main features of his art are preserved even now, but the artist by no means remains motionless in the creative positions developed by the end of the seventies. Such canvases as “A Stream in the Forest (On a Slope)” (1880), “Reserve. Sosnovy Bor"(1881), "Pine Forest" (1885), "In a Pine Forest" (1887) and others are close in nature to the works of the previous decade. However, they are interpreted with greater pictorial freedom. IN the best landscapes Shishkin of this time reflects the trends common to Russian fine art, which he refracts in his own way. The artist enthusiastically works on paintings that are wide in scope, epic in structure, glorifying the expanses of his native land. Now his desire to convey the state of nature, the expression of images, and the purity of the palette is becoming more and more noticeable. In many works, tracing color and light gradations, he uses the principles of tonal painting.
Among all the artist’s works, the most popular painting is “Morning in a Pine Forest.” Its plot may have been suggested to Shishkin by K. A. Savitsky. There is another version that the impetus for the appearance of this canvas was the landscape “Fog in a Pine Forest” (1888), painted, in all likelihood, like “Windfall,” under the impression of a trip to the Vologda forests. "Fog in the Pine Forest", which was a success traveling exhibition in Moscow (now in a private collection) could make Shishkin and Savitsky want to paint a canvas repeating the motif of the famous painting, but with the inclusion of a genre scene.
Family
The grave of I. I. Shishkin at the Tikhvin cemetery in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra (St. Petersburg).
- First wife (from October 28, 1868) Evgenia Fedoseevna Vasilyeva (1847-1874). In this marriage, Shishkin had three children: sons Vladimir (1871-1873) and Konstantin (1873-1875), daughter Lydia (1869-1931).
- Lagoda-Shishkin's second wife, Olga Antonovna (1850-1881) - landscape artist, Shishkin's student. On June 21, 1881, their daughter Ksenia was born, who, after the death of her mother, was raised by her sister, V. A. Lagoda.
Addresses in St. Petersburg
- 1880-1882 - 5th line of Vasilyevsky Island, 10;
- 1882 - 03/08/1898 - 5th line, 30, apartment building I. N. Schmidt.
Memory
A monument to I. I. Shishkin was erected in Yelabuga; the I. I. Shishkin Memorial House-Museum has been operating since 1962, next to which the Shishkinsky Ponds are located. The Children's Room is named after Shishkin art school No. 1 and street.
A number of streets in various cities of Russia are named after I. I. Shishkin.
In philately
In the USSR and Russian Federation Stamps were repeatedly issued to celebrate the anniversaries of I. I. Shishkin and reproduce his works.
50 years since the death of I. I. Shishkin. I. N. Kramskoy. Portrait of the artist Ivan Shishkin. USSR, 1948, (DFA (ITC) #1264; Mi #1220).
I. I. Shishkin. "Rye". USSR, 1948, (DFA (ITC) #1265; Mi #1221).
I. I. Shishkin. "Morning in a pine forest." USSR, 1948, (DFA (ITC) #1266; Mi #1222).
I. N. Kramskoy. Portrait of the artist Ivan Shishkin. USSR, 1948, (DFA (ITC) #1267; Mi #1223).
Fifth International Congress on Forest Protection. The stamp reproduces the painting “Ship Grove” by I. I. Shishkin. USSR, 1960, (DFA (ITC) #2466; Mi #2384).
I. I. Shishkin. "Sosnovy Bor" USSR, 1971, (DFA (ITC) #4058; Mi #3935).
175 years since the birth of I. I. Shishkin. I. N. Kramskoy. Portrait of the artist Ivan Shishkin. Russia, 2007, (DFA (ITC) #1160; Mi #1392).
I. I. Shishkin. “In the wild north...” Russia, 2007, (CFA (ITC) #1161; Mi #1393).
Gallery of works
"Guard in the Forest"
1870
"Birch Forest"
1871
"Birch Grove"
1878, National Museum arts of Azerbaijan
biography and creativity
The birthplace of one of the most famous, even cult artists of Russia is the city Yelabuga. He was born in this provincial town on January 13, 1832. In the future, he became known as a landscape painter, conveying with photographic accuracy the smallest details of the nature of his native land.
Portrait of I.I. Shishkin by I.N. Kramskoy
Family and study
On the formation of views and creative style Shishkina The father had great influence. A poor merchant who was fond of archeology and wrote “The History of the City of Yelabuga” was the man who managed to pass on all his knowledge to his son. Shishkin Sr. sold grain, and own funds restored ancient 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 finish 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 the forests of Yelabuga, and in 1852 he entered the Moscow School of Painting and Sculpture.
Self-portrait
The exhibition of Caucasian mountain views by L. Lagorio and marine paintings by I. Aivazovsky was fateful for Ivan Shishkin. There he saw a painting that fascinates and inspires many. It was “The Ninth Wave” by Aivazovsky. Another factor that determined further creativity artist - studying in the class of Mokritsky, who admired the work of K. Bryullov. The teacher was able to discern talent in the quiet, even shy student and in every possible way encouraged him to take up landscape painting.
In 1856, Shishkin graduated from college and entered the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg. In his 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 a 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 vicissitudes
The artist left Russia only in 1862. He visited Zurich, Munich, Geneva and Dusseldorf. He became acquainted with the works of famous painters and studied with R. Koller himself. During the same period, by order of N. Bykov, he wrote
"View around Düsseldorf"
for her he received the title of academician.
Shishkin constantly improved his skills, developed own style. Just look at the pen drawings, which meticulously convey the details of the surrounding objects! Two such works are still among the exhibits of the Düsseldorf 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 resemblance to nature can be traced. This is as can be seen from the picture
"Forest cutting"
somewhat disrupts the integrity of the landscape. Working long and hard, the artist overcomes the academic postulates 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 painting is filled with light, it exudes peace and tranquility, it can 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 Partnership of Itinerants and presented a painting at the second exhibition of the society
"Sosnovy Bor"
The work still amazes today with the integrity of its color scheme, photographic rendering of nature and incredible combination of colors.
Other paintings that recreate majestic forests are “Black Forest”, “Forest Wilderness”, “Spruce Forest”, “Reserve. Pine Forest”, “Forest (Shmetsk near Narva)”, “Corner of an overgrown forest. Snitch-grass”, “In a pine forest” and others. The painter depicts plant forms with amazing precision, carefully depicting every twig, every blade of grass. The paintings resemble beautiful, but still accidentally taken photographs. This trend is typical only for work that uses large color palette. Canvases depicting forests, 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 though the bears were written by K. Savitsky, each of us associates these animals with small children.
The result of Shishkin’s entire creative path is the canvas
“Ship Grove” (1898).
It is completed according to all the laws of classicism, fully reveals artistic image. The painting has one more property - incredible monumentality.
I. I. Shishkin died in his workshop on March 8 (20), 1898. He never finished the painting “The Forest Kingdom,” but the legacy that remains is still capable of touching the soul of our contemporaries to this day.
Sestroretsky Forest 1886
View on the island of Valaam. Cucco area1858-60
Birch Forest 1871
Oak. grove1887
Birch Grove
Birch and mountain ash 1878
Before the Storm 1884
Among the flat valley... 1883
View in the vicinity of St. Petersburg 1865
Winter in the forest, frost 1877
In the wild north
Above the embankment 1887
Coniferous forest 1873
Winter 1890
Coniferous forest. Sunny day 1895
Rye 1878
Sosnovy Bor. Mast forest in Vyatka province
Evening 1871
Seaside view
Rain in an oak forest 1891
Autumn landscape. Park in Pavlovsk 1888
Forest 1897
Early autumn 1889
Autumn forest 1876
Mountain path. Crimea 1879
Golden Autumn 1888
Winter forest
pine forest
Forest in Mordvinovo. 1891
Mushroom pickers
Stream in a birch forest 1883
Dali
Winter. Moscow region. Etude
Pines. sunlit
The Ligovka river in the village of Konstantinovka near St. Petersburg. 1869
Two female figures 1880s
Children in the forest
First snow 1875
A Walk in the Woods 1869
Oak trees 1886
In Crimea. Monastery of Kozma and Damian near Chatyrdag 1879
Pine on a rock. 1855
Forest in the evening 1868-1869
On the banks of the Kama River near Yelabuga
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”, “the king of the forest”, “the 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 with his famous painting, despite many fans, students 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 fine arts 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
“Sosnovy Bor. 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 high point 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 IAH.
"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, sitting on a broken pine tree, feel comfortable. 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 near 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 paintings to be non-picturesque and called his paintings painted drawings. Nevertheless, his paintings, with all their detail, always give complete 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 of “mood landscape”. 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 "Snow-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 thoughtful in the wide-open steppe (this is exactly the feeling that is 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 the sudden death of his beloved wife. He was deeply affected by the loss. But native nature, which always attracted the artist to herself, did not allow him to dissolve in his grief.
One day, walking through the valley, Shishkin accidentally came across this majestic oak, 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 oak tree occupies the central place in the picture. 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's focus is quiet, foggy morning on the river bank. The sloping shore is in the foreground, water surface a river in which movement is barely discernible, the hilly opposite bank in the haze of morning fog.
Dawn seems to have awakened the river, and, sleepy and 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 visible 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 the great harmony of God's world.
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
Oil on canvas. 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 confidently standing on the forest edge resist the flow of sunlight, however, they lose to it, merge, are swept away by it... 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.
"Oaks"
1887
Oil on canvas. 147 x 108 cm
State Russian Museum
“Golden Autumn” (1888),
"Mordvinov Oaks"
1891
Oil on canvas. 84 x 111 cm
State Russian Museum
"Autumn"
1892
Oil on canvas. 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, Shishkin’s personal exhibition (more than 600 sketches, drawings and engravings) 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 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 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
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. Picture oak grove often called best work genius artist.
"Before the Storm"
1884
Oil on canvas. 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. Upper part- 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
Oil on canvas. 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 green forest and brown leaves 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. Oil on canvas. 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's not that easy to get through sunlight, 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
Oil on canvas. 88.5 x 145 cm
State Tretyakov Gallery
"Summer"
Oil on canvas. 112 x 86 cm
State Central Museum musical culture them. M.I.Glinka
"Bridge in the Forest"
1895
Oil on canvas. 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
"Sosnovy Bor"
1895
Oil on canvas. 128 x 195 cm
Far Eastern Art Museum
"In the Park"
1897
Oil on canvas. 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 at the 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
Oil on canvas. 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 painting of the 18th - first half of the 19th centuries.
Subtle observation and an unmistakable point of view allow you to successfully capture a piece of nature, turning it into a stage 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.
Shishkin’s personal life was tragic. Both of his wives died quite early. Behind them are both his sons. The deaths did not stop there - after the people dear to our hearts, 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