The end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century was a period in Russian landscape painting when its main theme was the depiction of real Russian nature and rural motives, often covered with sadness. The Peredvizhniki artists worked in the open air, trying to accurately convey the changing state of nature, reflecting the light-air environment and discreet color. In landscape painting arose the theme of consonance between the state of nature and the human soul.
One of the prominent landscape painters of that time was Sergey Svetoslavsky (1857-1931). Originally from Kiev, he studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, where his teachers were Alexey Savrasov, Vasily Perov, and Vasily Polenov. His work of 1878 ‘From the Window of the Moscow School of Painting’ not only brought him fame, but was later acquired by Pavel Tretyakov. Later, he created a whole cycle of paintings dedicated to views of city courtyards. The artist deliberately chose unassuming angles in order to reflect the unsettledness of human life. His works are distinguished by a lyrical interpretation of images of nature, the ability to transmit sunlight, a wealth of colors in the reproduction of different seasons.
‘The Winter Landscape’ by Sergey Svetoslavsky is a depiction of a scene from a peasant life. Three horse-drawn carts cross the river in the snow. The artist manages to masterfully convey the landscape, which is not rich in vegetation, and the atmosphere of the end of winter and the expectation of the upcoming spring. With an external sense of peace, the composition is filled with movement created by the figures of horses. The harmony of coexistence between man and nature is embodied in the figure of a man who is resting from work, sitting on a wooden platform. The artist chose a light color, mainly shades of white, bluish and brown. Its smooth pattern with soft contours creates a feeling of a light haze. Thanks to these techniques, the artist manages to recreate the lyrical atmosphere of nature in anticipation of the upcoming spring.
One of the prominent landscape painters of that time was Sergey Svetoslavsky (1857-1931). Originally from Kiev, he studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, where his teachers were Alexey Savrasov, Vasily Perov, and Vasily Polenov. His work of 1878 ‘From the Window of the Moscow School of Painting’ not only brought him fame, but was later acquired by Pavel Tretyakov. Later, he created a whole cycle of paintings dedicated to views of city courtyards. The artist deliberately chose unassuming angles in order to reflect the unsettledness of human life. His works are distinguished by a lyrical interpretation of images of nature, the ability to transmit sunlight, a wealth of colors in the reproduction of different seasons.
‘The Winter Landscape’ by Sergey Svetoslavsky is a depiction of a scene from a peasant life. Three horse-drawn carts cross the river in the snow. The artist manages to masterfully convey the landscape, which is not rich in vegetation, and the atmosphere of the end of winter and the expectation of the upcoming spring. With an external sense of peace, the composition is filled with movement created by the figures of horses. The harmony of coexistence between man and nature is embodied in the figure of a man who is resting from work, sitting on a wooden platform. The artist chose a light color, mainly shades of white, bluish and brown. Its smooth pattern with soft contours creates a feeling of a light haze. Thanks to these techniques, the artist manages to recreate the lyrical atmosphere of nature in anticipation of the upcoming spring.
