About which of the domestic painters we can say: "The most Russian artist"? Of course, this is Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin. The biography of the master is the life path of a talented person who is not burdened with psychological or psychological pathologies, that is, what drives many representatives of the art world. Indeed, talent, according to many, is a kind of deviation from the norm, a kind of anomaly. However, even the most profound psychoanalyst will not say so about Ivan Shishkin.
The attitude of the artist
The artist Shishkin, whose biography and work is well known and studied, is a vivid example of a good soul, God's spark, industriousness and love for his native nature. His talent developed on the fertile and pure soil of the Vyatka province.
What does Shishkinâs biography look like? From birth - a good family, Orthodox traditions, kindness, care and respect for every creature encountered on the way. Such a perception of the world was reflected in every painting that Shishkin created.
The biography and paintings of the artist will be considered in this article from a somewhat unusual angle. We are driven by great love and respect for the master. His life and work are devoid of scandals and riddles.
Early recognition and popularity
The fame itself found Ivan Ivanovich, and she came to him quite early, without infecting with a dangerous star disease. Probably, a deep inner world, patriarchal education, high morality and spirituality created him strong immunity. But this disease - glory - killed many lives and ruined entire destinies.
"Morning in a pine forest"
Beautiful and honest was Ivan Shishkin. His biography is a description of a personality rare in its spiritual qualities. In this connection, the story with the famous painting âMorning in a Pine Forestâ is interesting. The canvas was written in collaboration with Konstantin Apollonovich Savitsky. Savitsky proposed an idea. He wanted to paint a landscape with a bear family.
Ivan Ivanovich painted a virgin dense forest, on which a manâs foot did not step. For Shishkin, gloomy nature is nonsense. In all his paintings there are either the rays of the midday sun, or a lot of open sky, or a reservoir, or a road. "Morning ..." is completely devoid of all this. An accident? Gloomy mood? Not at all! The picture turned out to be full of life and joyful fresh energy. Three sucker cubs can frolic in this way, only being in complete safety. A strict mother-bear would not allow noisy fuss near a human home. Moreover, she does not have two babies, as it usually happens, but already three. The dipper and two cubs were drawn by Savitsky, and the third, the one on the right, was drawn by Shishkin for greater harmony and plausibility.
The work was very popular with the famous collector Pyotr Tretyakov, but he demanded to die out the signature of Savitsky, leaving the authorship to Shishkin. Savitsky agreed, although he considered the decision unfair. Shishkin Ivan Ivanovich was very upset because of this. A brief biography of a noble person who is able to compromise is shown by the example of the story with this picture. After all, Ivan Ivanovich wrote it for Savitsky and picked up a landscape for the background, corresponding to the plan of a friend, because he himself did not like such deaf places. Tretyakov decided the fate of the picture in his own way. He had some friction with Savitsky.
Childhood
How few artists Ivan Ivanovich understood the intricacies of the image of nature. Where did Shishkin draw his knowledge from? The artistâs biography is closely and inextricably linked with the Central part of Russia, with its forests, fields and rivers. He was born in Yelabug in a merchant family. And the merchants in those days was a respected estate - educated and cultural.
Ivan Ivanovich's father loved books, was fond of history, even wrote a book about his native land. Being a wealthy and successful entrepreneur, he spent considerable money on charity, whether it was building a church or laying a water pipe.
His son's interest in painting aroused his approval. They bought paints and paper for the boy, and hired good teachers. As a child, Ivan even painted a fence of his house, about which information was preserved in the archives of his hometown. After all, Shishkinâs biography is not a secret and does not have white spots. Everything is clean and transparent, like rays of sunlight on its landscapes. Not being complicated and not experiencing sharp ups and downs, the biography of Shishkin, an artist and a person, was not at all serene and happy.
Professional education
Ivan Ivanovich received a good education. He studied in Moscow at the School of Painting and Sculpture, then - at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. These educational institutions provided excellent fundamental knowledge in the field of art and architecture. They have become a successful start for many talented people. Ivan Shishkin was no exception.
The artistâs biography shows that he took the study of craft seriously and conscientiously. Professional education gave the artist an understanding that a painting is a complex composition, it is the ability to handle light and shadow, to see everything, but to capture on the canvas only the characteristic and basic.
Attitude to the craft
Some amateurs say that Shishkinâs paintings are some kind of photographs of that time.
If we look chronologically at the pictures that Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin wrote, a brief biography, not even a short one, but a complete one can be traced in his works. They have no politics and social orientation. It is obvious. In his paintings - a sensitive attitude to detail. Hence the credibility and life in his paintings. Judge for yourself.
There is evidence of a conversation between Ivan Ivanovich and Ilya Efimovich Repin. Examining the outline of the rafting, Shishkin asked Repin which tree was rafted down the river. Repin was surprised: âI donât know, but whatâs the matter?â Ivan Ivanovich explained that each species of wood behaves differently from moisture. Some log houses swell, others drown, and still others repel water. Apparently, he believed that it was important to correctly portray the logs of which the rafts were made. Then only the picture will look authentic. If you use the colors corresponding to the larch, which drowns in water, then the picture will have a feeling of inaccuracy, disharmony.
Precision in details made the picture âMorning in a pine forestâ so famous. Everything is accurate and honest there. Therefore, his paintings are so beloved and popular. Their calm harmony never caused controversy and conflict.
Fans of "fried" facts and boudoir secrets do not need to delve into the personal life of the artist. Everything is honest and clean. The biography of Shishkin, his inner world, emotional experiences, ups and downs - all this is in his paintings. During his life, and Ivan Ivanovich lived for 66 years, he painted several hundred paintings.
Noon painter
Why Ivan Shishkin is called an afternoon painter is not difficult to guess. In general, landscape painters are very fond of depicting nature during sunrises or sunsets, in a thunderstorm, storm or fog. Ivan Ivanovich chose a time of day when the shadow is practically absent, and expressiveness and reliability are achieved in other ways. Having lived all his childhood in Yelabuga, having absorbed the beauty and peace of his beloved land, Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin will subsequently return to his beloved landscapes all his life. The biography of the artist closely intertwines the milestones of his fate and the paintings created by him. Rye is characteristic in this sense.
"Rye"
It was written in Yelabuga in 1878. The midday sun does not create a shadow, but we clearly feel gusts of wind through the stuffiness of a summer day. They just started to scuff heavy ears. After a few minutes, a thunderstorm will break out, which will wet the ground, and the grain will not crumble.
The landscape is full of life and healthy energy, but why is there a dried pine in the background? This does not happen in real life. This tree should have been cut down for firewood for a long time. What does Shishkin's biography say about this period of his life? He recently buried his wife and two little sons. This does not happen in real life, we repeat. The artist also does not agree with this fate, but he is trying to put up with it, looking for a way to learn how to live in a new reality. Hence the road lost in the field. What is ahead? âIs it worth going along it, trying to recover from grief by work?â, Thought Ivan Shishkin. The artistâs biography is encrypted in his creations. This is certain.
Trying to start a new life
After a series of tragedies with loved ones, Ivan Ivanovich tried to drown the grief in the old way. However, giving up was not his nature. Gradually, he managed and began life anew. Shishkin's biography contains information about his second marriage, but he ended in tragedy. The young wife is dead. More Ivan Ivanovich did not look for a life partner. To help raise and educate two girls from their first marriage, the sister of the second wife came.
Pictures as a reflection of the situation in the country
Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin was born on January 13, 1832, and died on March 8, 1898. Judging by his drawings, it was the most beautiful, quietest, most well-fed and serene time for our country, only occasionally overshadowed, but, by and large, the country developed, grew rich and flourished. This was in those years when ordinary students with good academic performance received state scholarships and studied partly in Russia, partly in Italy, France, Germany or other countries. It was the same with Shishkin.
Farewell Painting
How did Ivan Shishkin live his life? A short and piercing biography is read in his last testament, âShip Groveâ. A strong man who does not break under the blows of fate, and who, until the end of his life, has kept light and Christian humility in his heart without letting in darkness and shadow of resentment and disappointment.
Hundreds of years will pass, and people, looking at Shishkinâs paintings, will find out what our planet looked like when it still had forests and undeveloped territories. They will be embraced by a feeling of tenderness for their land, for their small homeland. The artist Shishkin, whose biography and work is inextricably linked with Russia, painted not only domestic landscapes. He has a whole layer of work done in Germany, Switzerland and Finland, where his eldest daughter and her husband lived. He often came to her, and, working in the open air, chose places for his subjects that reminded him of Elabuga, the Kama flood plain, and pine groves.