Konstantin Istomin may not be well-known to the general public, but he is highly regarded by painters of various generations and considered an “artist for artists.” He received his first professional painting lessons in Kharkov at the school of Schreider who influenced the artist’s early artistic motto, “The Barbizon School, not the Wanderers.” Istomin saw nature as a mystery that required a figurative solution rather than a narrative.

In 1906, Konstantin Istomin continued his artistic education at the private school of Simon Hollósy in Munich. It was Hollósy who became his main teacher and determined the direction of his work — searching for a new artistic language based on realistic traditions and pursuing the purity and luminescence of the color palette. According to Simon Hollósy, the shape of an object is revealed by a strong line and is modeled using contrasting colors. Another important influence on Konstantin Istomin was Vincent van Gogh. They were united by an analytical approach to nature, as well as an energetic, dynamic, and passionate painting manner.

The Russian painter was greatly inspired by the posthumous van Gogh exhibition that was held in Munich in 1908. Konstantin Istomin said,

This is how Istomin developed his unique painting style. He developed a method of painting that consisted of three stages, each named after an artist. The first stage was “Matisse” and involved finding the main color to construct the shapes in space. The second stage was “Claude Monet” and consisted of developing the tonality. The third stage was “Van Gogh” and focused on the precise definition of each brushstroke and its shape to fill objects with as much energy as possible.

He later taught this painting method to his students at Vkhutemas (the Higher Art and Technical Studios) and the Moscow Art Institute in the 1920s and 1930s. “Decorative Landscape” from the collection of the National Gallery of the Komi Republic is not dated. However, its color palette and stylistic features suggest that it may belong to the early period of the artist’s work, making it all the more valuable. The painting clearly shows how Konstantin Istomin worked with color, the main tool of his painting. Thanks to the energetic brushstrokes, one can almost feel the trees bend from the wind and the foliage rustle.

Konstantin Istomin believed that the artist’s task was to first understand the phenomenon, and then describe it using figurative means. He said,