The famous artist Shishkin Ivan Ivanovich, whose paintings are widely known not only in Russia but throughout the world, praised the charm of nature untouched by civilization. He left a rich legacy preserving the beauty of his native land. Over his life, several hundred landscapes were painted by Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin. The paintings of this artist are in many museums in the world and in private collections.
short biography
Ivan Shishkin was born in the Vyatka province, in the city of Elabuga, on January 13, 1832, and died in St. Petersburg in 1898. He came from a wealthy merchant family, received an art education at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. Then he moved to St. Petersburg, where he continued his professional education at the Imperial Academy of Arts. As one of the most talented students, he got the opportunity to continue his studies in Germany, and then in Switzerland.
Recognition of talent and hard work
Glory came to him early, but he took it for granted. She did not turn the young man's head. Shishkin Ivan Ivanovich painted pictures there too. He was given orders in such large quantities that there was no time left for entertainment and an idle life. The patriarchal upbringing affected his commitment to the Orthodox traditions that he received in the family. The glory that came to him in his youth and remained with him until the end of his life did not leave him after death. This artist has never been forgotten.
The most famous works
More recently, in many houses on the walls one could see rugs with the landscapes “Ship Grove”, “Morning in a Pine Forest”, “Rye”, which were written by Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin, woven on them. Paintings, or rather, reproductions of paintings, were used to design calendars, inserted into frames, printed on kitchen utensils and fabrics.
It is no coincidence that it was his landscape with bears that was chosen to decorate the wrapper of the most delicious and famous domestic sweets “Bear the toed”. The history of the painting is quite remarkable.
"Morning in a pine forest"
At that time, co-authorship in pictorial craft was commonplace. For example, in Vasily Perov’s painting “Hunters on a Halt”, Alexei Savrasov painted the sky , and the lady on Isaac Levitan’s painting “Autumn Day. Sokolniki "belongs to the brush of Nikolai Chekhov. Joint work as a joke and seriously was very common. So, the serene bear family, which has chosen a pine windbreak, is the work of the wonderful artist Savitsky.
If you imagine a picture without cubs, it seems that it was written by another artist, and not Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin. Ivan Ivanovich’s paintings are always living and filled with internal energy nature: powerful and beautiful trees, a lot of sky, sunlight, ponds. For "Morning ..." he chose a completely unusual landscape for himself. Remove the cubs and you will marvel at the gloom, abandonment and danger of the place. This is such a gloomy, as they say, bear corner, which is very scary to be in. Paths do not lead there, mushroom pickers and hunters do not wander. However, only in such a place can one expect to admire the game of little bears. A bear is a sensitive beast, people shy away, while a bear with a brood is always on its guard. How can you show the mood? Contrasts In Shishkin, and it turned out absolutely nontrivial. It turns out that you can depict the most dangerous beast of the Russian forest in such a way that it is suitable for a children's room and for wrapping chocolates. This is the uniqueness of “Morning in a Pine Forest”.
Tension, even conflict, expressed in the combination on one canvas of an inhospitable and dangerous place and the most dangerous predator - an adult bear with carefree naughty babies, in the eyes of the audience transform into a feeling of happiness and rest. The negative energy of the two main components - a quiet gloomy forest and a dangerous predator - is neutralized by the presence of small, fluffy, unaware of danger, very energetic, noisy and playful bear cubs. As a result, light and joy triumph from the feeling of happiness and fullness of life.
This phenomenon of painting at one time struck Peter Tretyakov - a collector of painting. And he bought tight for his collection. In general, the famous collector was very impressed with Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin. The artist’s paintings occupied the whole hall of his gallery. Initially, under the “Morning in a Pine Forest” there were two signatures - Shishkin and Savitsky, but Tretyakov considered that the full authorship of Ivan Ivanovich should be assigned to this work. There were some friction between the famous collector of painting and the traveling artist Savitsky. To complete the information about “Morning in a Pine Forest”, it must be added that Konstantin Apollonovich painted a bear and two cubs on canvas, and Shishkin himself finished the third on the right for harmony. Interestingly, in nature, a bear is born one or two babies. Three is a fairly rare case.
Sunlight artist
Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin filled the paintings with such lively light and tranquility that he was often called the artist of noon. Few people like him could depict nature when the sun is at its zenith and the trees do not cast a shadow. Expressiveness can only be achieved with full certainty.
Look at the paintings that Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin most often painted. Their description is not too intricate. He rejected the need for additional psychologism in portraying nature. Its characteristic feature was photographic accuracy. He perfected his art all his life. His last picture - “Ship Grove” - the apogee of creativity and a kind of testament to descendants.