Ivan Shishkin was called a forest hero-artist and a forest king by his contemporaries. The master travelled around Russia depicting the beauty of the country nature in his art works. Shishkin was a member of the Itinerants movement and participated regularly in their exhibitions. Unlike academic painters, who preferred conventional landscapes, the Itinerants members painted everyday landscapes of the Russian nature.
Shishkin performed studies and pencil sketches from nature using them as a basis for his pictures made with naturalistic accuracy. He depicted his own countryside, e.g., monumental forests, fields, and meadows truly and convincingly. The master studied the nature and tried not only to capture it, but also to discover its riches. The artist was familiar with the Russian flora and painted plants with a subtle knowledge of different species characteristics. Meadows and forests, bushes and trees, stumps and stones…the master used to observe nature very carefully. Shishkin had a keen eye for every branch of a tree that the artist reproduced gently in his pictures.
The Forest from the Mountain depicts a familiar and native Russian landscape. It seems that a hospitable forest invites the audience to enter the wood following a beaten path. The artist captures the sunlit copper-red pine trunks; the bottom of the trunks is covered with green moss. He conveys dense purple shadows that the trees throw on the grass, and transparent penumbras that go away into the depth of space. The landscape is permeated with light and air that seems to smell of pine needles.
The mighty pines and oaks in the artist’s pictures embody the original earth power and its monumental strength. Shishkin was fascinated by the nature variability. While working en plein air, he tried to capture the light features at different times of day. He made experiments using different brushes and strokes to convey the finest colour shades. He painted the famous Morning in a Pine Forest together with the artist Konstantin Savitsky. In the picture, we can see some cubs playing among strong centuries-old trees.
Ivan Shishkin was a professor of the Highest Art School at the Academy of Arts. The students treated the master with great respect.
Shishkin performed studies and pencil sketches from nature using them as a basis for his pictures made with naturalistic accuracy. He depicted his own countryside, e.g., monumental forests, fields, and meadows truly and convincingly. The master studied the nature and tried not only to capture it, but also to discover its riches. The artist was familiar with the Russian flora and painted plants with a subtle knowledge of different species characteristics. Meadows and forests, bushes and trees, stumps and stones…the master used to observe nature very carefully. Shishkin had a keen eye for every branch of a tree that the artist reproduced gently in his pictures.
The Forest from the Mountain depicts a familiar and native Russian landscape. It seems that a hospitable forest invites the audience to enter the wood following a beaten path. The artist captures the sunlit copper-red pine trunks; the bottom of the trunks is covered with green moss. He conveys dense purple shadows that the trees throw on the grass, and transparent penumbras that go away into the depth of space. The landscape is permeated with light and air that seems to smell of pine needles.
The mighty pines and oaks in the artist’s pictures embody the original earth power and its monumental strength. Shishkin was fascinated by the nature variability. While working en plein air, he tried to capture the light features at different times of day. He made experiments using different brushes and strokes to convey the finest colour shades. He painted the famous Morning in a Pine Forest together with the artist Konstantin Savitsky. In the picture, we can see some cubs playing among strong centuries-old trees.
Ivan Shishkin was a professor of the Highest Art School at the Academy of Arts. The students treated the master with great respect.
