It is difficult to find someone who has not at least once seen a painting by Ivan Shishkin "Morning in pine forest» , be it a reproduction on the wall or an illustration in a school textbook. But most of us know it from the wrapper of the “Bear-toed Bear” candies. How it happened that bears appeared in the landscape painter’s painting, and the recognized masterpiece began to be associated with candies - later in the review.

Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin was considered highest degree a master when it was necessary to write out every leaf, every blade of grass, but he had no problem with depicting people or animals. That's why on famous painting“Morning in a Pine Forest,” a bear family, was painted by another artist, Konstantin Savitsky.

The painting was signed by both artists, but when it was taken to the customer Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov, he erased Savitsky’s name with turpentine, declaring that he had ordered the painting from only one painter.

Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin received 4,000 rubles for the painting. He gave one thousand to Savitsky. Konstantin Apollonovich was indignant that the fee was not divided in half, and even angrily stated that his bears occupy a central place in the picture, and the forest is only a background. These words offended Shishkin very much. The artists no longer painted joint paintings.

Around the same period when the painting “Morning in a Pine Forest” was presented to the general public, a new type of candy was produced at the Einem Partnership confectionery factory: chocolate-covered wafer plates with a layer of almond praline. The need arose to create a wrapper for candy, and then the eyes of the owner of the company, Julius Gates, accidentally fell on a reproduction of Shishkin’s painting. A solution has been found.

After October revolution the candy factory was nationalized and renamed “Red October”, although for several years they added “formerly” in parentheses. “Einem”, the brand was so popular. The candy “Teddy Bear” became the favorite sweet of Soviet citizens. Over time, Shishkin's painting became associated with the wrapper, and its title was simplified to "Three Bears", although there are four of them on the canvas.

Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin was remembered by descendants not only for his painting “Morning in a Pine Forest”. He, like no one else, managed to convey through his paintings the beauty of the pristine forest, the endless expanses of fields, and the cold of a harsh region. so realistic that it seems that the sound of a stream or the rustling of leaves is about to be heard somewhere.

Painting: 1889
Canvas, oil.
Size: 139 × 213 cm

Description of the painting “Three Bears” by I. Shishkin

Artist: Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin, Konstantin Apollonovich Savitsky
Title of the painting: “Morning in a pine forest”
Painting: 1889
Canvas, oil.
Size: 139 × 213 cm

In our country, you will not find another such “hit” canvas, the plot of which is present on a rare grandmother’s bedspread, an embroidered little thought, a tablecloth, plates, and even on wrappers with cute clubtoes. Memories of parents chocolate candies and the moves of PR people - this is what does not allow us to forget about I. Shishkin’s painting “Morning in a Pine Forest” or, in common parlance, “Three Bears”.

But only Shishkin? The bears were painted on canvas by K. Savitsky, who at first depicted two clubfooted bears, and then raised their number to four. Previously, it was believed that Shishkin, despite his rather significant successes in animal painting, was not able to depict bears, so he simply exploited poor Savitsky and did not even allow him to sign the picture. In fact, the artists were friends, and the bears appeared after the latter said that the canvas was not dynamic. Shishkin could draw anyone, but not bears, so he gave Savitsky the opportunity to revive the picture and put a signature. The collector P. Tretyakov was not so loyal: he bought the painting from Shishkin, which means that the authorship is his, so there can be no Savitskys here. In general, the inscription was erased and “Morning in a Pine Forest” began to be considered one of the key paintings in the work of one of the most outstanding Russian landscape painters.

The “Teddy Bear” candies with Shishkin’s reproduction on the candy wrapper gave the name to the painting “Three Bears”. The delicacy that appeared was filled with almonds and cocoa beans, it was expensive, but it was so tasty that even the agitator of everyone and everything, V. Mayakovsky, could not resist and wrote that if you want “Bears,” then put a certain amount of money into a savings book. This is how “Teddy Bear” became “Three Bears” (and there are four of them in the picture), candy became one of the signs of the USSR, and I. Shishkin became a people’s artist.

True, he was a singer of nature native land and before the Bears. The artist wanted and knew how to surprise, first of all, with landscapes, which he painted so brilliantly that he earned the reputation of a master of detail. Only here you will see a haze of fog, as if floating among the branches of hundred-year-old pines, soft and cozy moss on the boulders, clear water stream, morning or evening coolness, midday heat of summer. What’s interesting is that all the artist’s paintings are partly epic, but always monumental. At the same time, Shishkin is not pretentious, he is simply a person who sincerely admires the majestic nature of his native land and knows how to portray it.

“Morning in a Pine Forest” pacifies with the balance of its composition. Three bear cubs look very harmonious with their mother bear, and you just want to apply divine proportion to the two halves of a fallen pine tree. This picture is like a random shot on an old camera that a tourist managed to take after searching for true virgin nature for so long.

And if you look at the coloring of the picture, it’s as if the artist is trying to capture all the richness of the colors of the dawn time. We see air, but it is not the usual shade of blue, but rather blue-green, a little cloudy and foggy. The predominant colors that surrounded the clubfooted inhabitants of the forest are green, blue and sunny yellow, reflecting the mood of awakened nature. The bright flickering of golden rays in the background seems to hint at the sun that is about to illuminate the earth. It is these highlights that give the picture solemnity; it is they that speak of the realism of the fog above the ground. “Morning in a Pine Forest” is another confirmation of the tactility of Shishkin’s paintings, because you can even feel the cool air.

Look closely at the forest. Its appearance is conveyed so realistically that it becomes clear: this is not a forest clearing, but a deep thicket - a true concentration of living nature. The sun had just risen above her, the rays of which had already managed to make their way to the top of the tree crowns, splashing them with gold and again hiding in the thicket. The damp fog, which has not yet cleared, seems to have awakened the inhabitants of the ancient forest.

The cubs and the mother bear woke up, developing their vigorous activity. Satisfied and well-fed bears have been exploring the world around them since the very morning, exploring the nearest fallen pine tree, and the mother bear is watching the babies, who are touchingly clumsily climbing the tree. Moreover, the mother bear watches not only the cubs, but also tries to catch the slightest sounds that could disturb their idyll. It’s simply amazing how these animals, painted by another artist, were able to revive the compositional solution of the picture: the fallen pine tree seemed to have been created for this bear family, busy with their important matters against the backdrop of a remote and wild corner of Russian nature.

The painting “Morning in a Pine Forest” reveals mastery realistic image and its quality, which is in many ways superior to modern digital technology. Every blade of grass, every ray of sun, every pine needle was written by Shishkin lovingly and reverently. If the foreground of the canvas depicts a fallen pine tree with bears climbing on it, then in the background there is an ancient forest. Bear cubs and the rest of nature evoke a calming feeling in every person. positive emotions. Animals, like toy animals, fill the beginning of a new day with kindness and set the mood for positive thinking. Looking at these cute animals, it’s hard to believe that they are predators by nature and cannot be capable of cruelty. But that’s not even the main thing. Shishkin focuses the viewer’s attention on harmony sunlight, which comes from the background of the painting with cubs in the foreground. Visually draw a line through them - and you will certainly notice that these are the brightest objects in the picture, and everything else, including the irregularly shaped pine tree, is just complementary touches.

It seems that “Morning in a Pine Forest” depicts real, living bears in some kind of fantastic landscape. Vyatka forest, from which nature is copied, researchers say, is very different from Shishkin’s. I just wonder if bears exist there now, because for a century the painting has been nurturing the aesthetic and moral taste of people, asking them to take care of the surrounding nature.

Perhaps the most famous picture the outstanding Russian landscape painter I. I. Shishkin - “Morning in a pine forest.” The painting was painted in 1889.

It is believed that the idea for the painting was suggested to Shishkin famous artist Savitsky K.A. By the way, it was this artist’s hand that painted the bear and the playing cubs. However, Tretyakov, who acquired the painting, decided to assign Shishkin’s authorship to it, since he believed that the main work was done by him.

Perhaps it was the entertaining plot of the painting that contributed to its popularity, but the real value of the canvas is determined by the accurately conveyed state of nature. Before us is not just a pine forest, but a deep thicket that begins to awaken in the early morning. The sun is just rising. Its bold rays have already gilded the tops of huge trees and penetrated deep into the thicket, but the damp fog has not yet cleared over the deep ravine.

The inhabitants of the thicket woke up - three bear cubs and a she-bear. It looks like the kids are full and happy. They carelessly and clumsily fumble on the broken trunk of a fallen pine tree, and the bear carefully watches their play, sensitively reacting to the rustling of the awakening forest. A mighty pine tree, which a hurricane once uprooted, and a family of bears frolicking on it - all this gives us a feeling of deafness and remoteness of this corner wildlife.

The painting “Morning in a Pine Forest” shows how skillfully Shishkin solves the problem of the interaction of color and light in painting. The color of the background of the canvas is transparent, indefinite, and the foreground is deep, colorful, well-developed. The painting, which is deservedly considered a model of landscape for many generations, fully conveys the artist’s admiration for the beauty and richness of pristine nature.

In addition to the description of the painting by I. I. Shishkin “Morning in a Pine Forest”, our website contains many other descriptions of paintings by various artists, which can be used both in preparation for writing an essay on the painting, and simply for a more complete acquaintance with the work of famous masters of the past.

“Three Bears” is a painting so called by the common people, it has official name- "Morning in a pine forest". The canvas was painted in oil in 1889, its dimensions are 139 x 213 (quite large), it is stored in the State Tretyakov Gallery. The signature under the picture is only Ivan Shishkin.

The most replicated painting

The official title more closely matches the painting itself, since there are four bears on the canvas, not three. But there is no person on the territory of the CIS who does not know this work, and precisely under the name “Three Bears”. The picture is incredibly popular, it can be argued that, speaking modern language, this is the most promoted picture. This was facilitated by candy wrappers of the most popular and delicious candies in Soviet times, tablecloths, bedspreads and wall rugs repeating the plot. And it is the bears depicted in the foreground that enjoy fame among wide sections of the population, and the beautifully depicted morning forest serves as a backdrop.

Not a very successful collaboration

And the bears were painted by another artist - Konstantin Apollonovich Savitsky (1844 - 1905), genre painter, academician, friend of Shishkin. Savitsky convinced Shishkin that the picture lacked dynamics, and the animals in the foreground would fill the gap. Art critics write that Shishkin was not successful with bears, but Savitsky, on the contrary. And, indeed, the clubfoot turned out so well that, by mutual consent, the friends put their signatures under the picture. But Tretyakov and Savitsky had some friction at that time, and when buying a painting for his gallery, he demanded that Savitsky’s signature be removed. Obviously, the collector’s desire was the law, and only Shishkin’s signature remained, and he received the fee alone and probably did not share it with the co-author, because they stopped being friends.

Island covered with pine trees

This is the “wrong side” of the “Three Bears” canvas. The picture is so beautiful, calm, blissful. Of course, Tretyakov was a connoisseur and fine connoisseur of painting, and the forest, depicted by an unsurpassed master, represented for the buyer true value, and I didn’t even like the bears. And experts are delighted with the landscape spied by Shishkin on the island of Gorodomlya (Lake Seliger), brilliantly transferred to the canvas.

Popularly known as “The Three Bears,” the painting truly wonderfully conveys the state of nature. At first glance it is clear that it is morning. The fog pierced by the rays of the rising sun is amazingly depicted.

Queen of Landscapes

The brilliant landscape painter, in love with Shishkin, very often painted pine trees. Different, at any time of the year, illuminated by the sun and covered with snow, they are beautiful.

The smallest needles are visible on his canvases, the roughness of the bark is felt, it seems that the pine smell comes from the paintings of Ivan Ivanovich. “Three Bears” - depicting the wilderness of the forest. It seems that you can hear the crackling of the trunks of centuries-old pines, and how you feel the depth of the cliff located behind the right bear cub. And the infinity of the forest is depicted brilliantly. And the fog, still blue at the edges, already illuminated by the sun in the center. And the bear cub drawn on the right seems to have admired the beautiful morning. And nature has not yet fully woken up, and the morning cool is blowing. A work of genius, a masterpiece. Maybe he didn't need dynamics.

The result is complete harmony

To be fair, it must be said that the bears do not spoil the canvas in any way; they fit into it very well. The painting “Three Bears”, described above, is very organic, and it is impossible to imagine it without these good-natured representatives of wildlife. Perhaps the complacency emanating from a mother bear with three cubs is explained by the absence of a person nearby. And this peace of animals also emphasizes the depth of the forest. “...And the fresh moss is crushed under the paws, the dry branches are cracking under the weight...” - the poet’s wonderful words about the painting. Morning, silence, harmony in the plant and animal world, in nature in general - the picture has a very calming effect: “... and just look at this beauty, and I know that it will save, warm!”

Ivan Shishkin glorified not only his hometown(Elabuga) for the whole country, but also for the entire vast territory of Russia and for the whole world. His most famous painting is “Morning in a Pine Forest.” Why is it so famous and why is it considered practically the standard of painting? Let's try to understand this issue.

Shishkin and landscapes

Ivan Shishkin - famous landscape artist. His unique style of work originates from the Düsseldorf School of Drawing. But, unlike most of his colleagues, the artist passed the basic techniques through himself, which made it possible to create a unique style, not inherent in anyone else.

Shishkin admired nature all his life; she inspired him to create numerous masterpieces of a million colors and shades. The artist always tried to depict the flora as he sees it, without various exaggerations and decorations.

He tried to choose landscapes untouched by human hands. Virgin like the forests of the taiga. combine realism with a poetic view of nature. Ivan Ivanovich saw poetry in the play of light and shadow, in the power of Mother Earth, in the fragility of one Christmas tree standing in the wind.

The versatility of the artist

It's hard to imagine such a thing genius artist the head of the city or school teacher. But Shishkin combined many talents. Coming from a merchant family, he had to follow in the footsteps of his parent. In addition, Shishkin’s good disposition quickly endeared him to people throughout the city. He was elected to the post of manager and helped develop his native Elabuga as best he could. Naturally, this was also manifested in painting. Shishkin’s pen is “History of the City of Elabuga”.

Ivan Ivanovich managed to draw pictures and participate in exciting archaeological excavations. He lived abroad for some time, and even became an academician in Düsseldorf.

Shishkin was an active member of the Itinerants Society, where he met other famous Russian artists. He was considered a real authority among other painters. They tried to inherit the master’s style, and the paintings inspired both writers and painters.

He left behind a legacy of numerous landscapes that have become decorations in museums and private collections around the globe.

After Shishkin, few people managed to depict all the diversity of Russian nature so realistically and so beautifully. No matter what happened in the artist’s personal life, he did not allow his troubles to be reflected on the canvases.

Background

The artist treated forest nature with great trepidation; it literally captivated him with its countless colors, variety of shades, and the rays of the sun breaking through the thick pine branches.

Painting "Morning in pine forest"became the embodiment of Shishkin’s love for the forest. It quickly gained popularity, and was soon used in pop culture, on stamps, and even on candy wrappers. To this day it is carefully kept in the Tretyakov Gallery.

Description: “Morning in a pine forest”

Ivan Shishkin managed to capture one moment from an entire forest life. He conveyed with the help of a drawing the moment of the beginning of the day, when the sun was just beginning to rise. An amazing moment of the birth of a new life. The painting “Morning in a Pine Forest” depicts an awakening forest and still sleepy bear cubs that are getting out of a secluded dwelling.

In this painting, as in many others, the artist wanted to emphasize the immensity of nature. To do this, he cut off the tops of the pine trees at the top of the canvas.

If you look closely, you will notice that the roots of the tree on which the cubs are frolicking have been torn out. Shishkin seemed to emphasize that this forest is so uninhabited and deaf that only animals can live in it, and the trees fall on their own, from old age.

Shishkin indicated the morning in a pine forest with the help of the fog that we see between the trees. Thanks to this artistic move, the time of day becomes obvious.

Co-authorship

Shishkin was an excellent landscape painter, but rarely took on images of animals in his works. The painting “Morning in a Pine Forest” was no exception. He created the landscape, but the four cubs were painted by another artist, an expert on animals, Konstantin Savitsky. They say that it was he who suggested the very idea for this painting. While painting a morning in a pine forest, Shishkin took Savitsky as a co-author, and the painting was initially signed by the two of them. However, after the painting was transferred to the gallery, Tretyakov considered Shishkin’s work more extensive and erased the name of the second artist.

Story

Shishkin and Savitsky went into nature. This is how the story began. The morning in the pine forest seemed so beautiful to them that it was impossible not to immortalize it on canvas. To search for a prototype, they went to Gordomlya Island, which stands on Lake Seliger. There they found this landscape and new inspiration for the painting.

The island, completely covered with forests, contained the remnants of virgin nature. For many centuries it stood untouched. This could not leave artists indifferent.

Claims

The painting was born in 1889. Although Savitsky initially complained to Tretyakov that he had erased his name, he soon changed his mind and abandoned this masterpiece in favor of Shishkin.

He justified his decision by the fact that the style of the painting fully corresponds to what Ivan Ivanovich did, and even the sketches of the bears originally belonged to him.

Facts and Misconceptions

Like any famous painting, the painting “Morning in a Pine Forest” arouses great interest. Consequently, it has a number of interpretations and is mentioned in literature and cinema. They say about this masterpiece as in high society, and on the streets.

Over time, some facts have been changed, and general misconceptions have become firmly entrenched in society:

• One of the common mistakes is the opinion that Vasnetsov created “Morning in a Pine Forest” together with Shishkin. Viktor Mikhailovich, of course, knew Ivan Ivanovich, since they were together in the Itinerants club. However, Vasnetsov could not possibly be the author of such a landscape. If you pay attention to his style, he is not at all similar to Shishkin, they belong to different art schools. These names are still mentioned together from time to time. Vasnetsov is not that artist. “Morning in a Pine Forest,” without any doubt, was painted by Shishkin.
• The title of the painting sounds like “Morning in a Pine Forest.” Boron is simply a second name that people apparently found more appropriate and mysterious.
• Unofficially, some Russians still call the painting “Three Bears,” which is a grave mistake. There are not three, but four animals in the picture. It is likely that the canvas began to be called that because of the popular Soviet time sweets called “Teddy bear”. The candy wrapper depicted a reproduction of Shishkin’s “Morning in a Pine Forest.” People gave the candy the name “Three Bears”.
• The picture has its “first version”. Shishkin painted another canvas of the same theme. He called it “Fog in the Pine Forest.” Few people know about this picture. She is rarely remembered. There is no canvas on site Russian Federation. To this day it is kept in private collection in Poland.
• Initially, there were only two bear cubs in the picture. Later Shishkin decided that the image should include four clubfooted people. Thanks to the addition of two more bears, the genre of the film changed. It began to be located on the “borderland”, as some elements of the game scene appeared on the landscape.