In their best paintings — “Brigade of L. P. Balakhonova”, “After Study”, “Evening”, “Moksha Woman”, “Haymaking” — the artists Alexander and Vladimir Shadryn assert that every moment of life has its historical significance. Their artworks convey the truth of reality, perceived as a document of being. In the thematic paintings of the Shadrin brothers, that follow the traditions of Russian Realism, the landscape is the primary expression of the emotional state of the characters. It lives and acts on an equal footing with the main character.

The summery light landscape in the painting “After Study” breathes with freshness of the first silver streams of rain. Plein-air painting (from the French en plein air — “outdoors”) involves painting not in the workshop, but in the open, in nature. This allows to more accurately convey and capture all the changes in color, light and air.

In the canvas, the artists build up a peculiar pyramid of human relationships. The father seems to be passing on to his son the experience of previous generations, and his attitude to creativity and nature. At the top of the pyramid is a sketchbox easel: it protects the boy and the man from the rain and symbolizes the art that unites them.

The biblical notion about “father and son” is represented in the painting as a vertical line and inscribed by artists into the vast world of nature, and the heavenly space reigning above the earth is likened to creativity. The elements of light and earth are the two sources of the Shadrin brothers’ perception of reality. These elements are connected with another image — the image of the tree, which is often seen in the artists’ other works.

The figure of the father with the boy on his shoulders rises like the World tree and closes the cycle of creation, connecting the earth and the sky. It is no coincidence that on the far bank of the river on the right there is a tree with a mighty lush crown, which seems to mirror the figure of the father. The image of the tree can be viewed as a symbol of a person’s life and destiny, as their talisman.

The artists chose a low horizon line for the composition. Hence, the majority of the canvas is occupied by the image of the sky with streams of light pouring on the ground. This light seems to bless human relations and the world, represented as a hemisphere with a blue ribbon of the river on the horizon.