Robert Rafailovich Falk was a painter, graphic artist, and scene painter. He attended a Moscow private art school of Konstantin Fyodorovich Yuon and Ivan Osipovich Dudin. He also studied at a private studio of Ilya Ivanovich Mashkov and went to the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, where he was mentored by Konstantin Alekseyevich Korovin and Valentin Alexandrovich Serov. He was one of the founders of the group of artists called Jack of Diamonds.
In the early years of his studies at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (1905–1907), Robert Falk was inspired by Igor Grabar and created plein-air landscapes. The combination of the traditions of Russian landscape painting and developing Impressionism in Falk’s early landscapes reveals his lyrical and poetic perception of nature. Following the tradition of Russian lyrical landscape, the artist chose the motif of a summertime village for this painting.
The landscape “Serkovo. Dmitrovsky Uyezd” was painted in the Moscow region in a place cherished by many Russian artists. This place meant a lot to Robert Falk throughout his whole life.
In this landscape, Falk made a transition from a traditional composition to an Impressionist one, which “frames” the chosen landscape view: the tall trees in the foreground reveal a deep distant background, making the landscape seem spacious.
The Impressionist techniques also apply to the pictorial and color structure of the work, which conveys the movements of light and air on a slightly clouded summer day. The immediacy of the depicted moment is enhanced by the broad, “enlivening” strokes of paint.
The study-like composition, sweeping and broad manner of painting and contemplative perception of Falk’s early impressionist landscapes put them on par with the landscapes of Moscow members of the Union of Russian Artists, represented by Grabar and Yuon — Falk’s teachers. However, Falk’s art vision would later diverge from theirs.
Impressionism became a starting point for Falk, the beginning of his further development on the way to discovering his own style. He actively participated in the Jack of Diamonds art association, whose members drew their inspiration from Paul Cézanne and his “new” French painting. This also contributed greatly to Falk’s unique pictorial manner.
