Alexander Kiselev — a representative of the realistic school of painting — did not immediately decide to become an artist. At first he was brought up in cadet classes, and at the age of 20 he decided to enroll in the History and Philology Department of the Imperial St. Petersburg University. From where in 1861, during the temporary closure of the school due to student unrest, he decided to go to the Imperial Academy of Arts as an external student.

Kiselev became an official student of the main art school of the capital at the age of 24. His teacher was a painter Socrat Vorobiev — the son of another famous artist, who brought up more than one generation of landscape artists.

In Kiselev’s painting you can feel the influence of Romanticism. His landscapes leave a joyful and light impression, in contrast with the lyrical mood of the works of artists representing the so-called Critical realism.

Kiselev, as a landscape painter, traveled a lot across Russia in search of nature for his works.
The artist depicted in his works the landscapes of the Central part of Russia, the types of mountain ranges of the Caucasus and nature of Malorossiya, where he lived for a long time immediately after graduating from the Academy. In general, he preferred quiet, forgotten places with untouched nature. Over the summer, the artist could have created more than ten sketches.

The picture Kohanovo depicts a typical rural landscape — gray from the overhanging clouds, winding, slowly flowing river, a high shore with thickets of herbs, a boat and a fisherman in it. There’s a cabin right by the river on the far bank. The painting gives an impression of the cool, damp air of a cloudy day. The artist in a realistic manner writes out the steep banks of the river, overgrown with trees. However, there are also lyrical notes: the sky is already lightened and the sun is about to come out. In his work, Kiselev used restrained laconic paints typical of the local nature. Life at this work is flowing slowly, like the river.

The works of the artist were purchased by the famous collector Pavel Tretyakov for the gallery, as well as by members of the imperial family for their private collections.