Each Shishkin painting is an exact reproduction of the beauty of nature

The famous Russian landscape painter Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin left behind several hundred paintings glorifying the beauty of Russian nature. The choice of subjects was greatly influenced by the area where he grew up. This is the Vyatka province, the city of Elabuga and its environs - the floodplain of the Kama River, its steep banks, forest streams, cutting through dense thickets of ship forests, lakes, sunny lawns ... All this gave rise to inspiration and desire to capture the divine beauty on canvas.

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Birch, oak, pine are the artist's favorite trees. Even leaving Russia, he wandered around the outskirts of Dusseldorf, Munich, Zurich and looked for similar views. When traveling to Finland to visit the eldest daughter of Lydia, Ivan Ivanovich continued to paint landscapes, because the nature of these places is very similar to Russian.

If you carefully consider the paintings of Ivan Shishkin, you can find on them often repeating landscapes with pine trees. Majestic Prikamsky handsome men conquered the heart of Ivan Ivanovich in childhood.

"Pine trees lit by the sun"

Shishkin’s painting “Pine Trees Illuminated by the Sun”, written in 1886, introduces us to the charm of the Russian forest: two slender, strong trees, of those that go to ship masts; fluffy crowns create a nice cool shadow; elastic soil, strewn with a thick layer of needles, drowns out all the noise. Only the singing of birds and the rustling of branches from gusts of wind break the silence of a summer day. The tarry smell slightly excites, a light breeze invigorates. It is easy for the viewer to imagine themselves in this place. Pay attention to how the bark, branches, needles are written out. You might think that you have a photograph. Some of our contemporaries consider this a great drawback. Do not forget that in the time of Shishkin, deerrotypy was not yet invented. Reliability, scrupulousness in the image was valued higher than blurry strokes. The era of photography and impressionism was ahead.

Ivan Shishkin is a master of small details. He intentionally does not give his subjects a psychological focus. He writes how he breathes, how he lives. He does not teach anyone. A series of bereavements that befell the artist in the prime of life, taught him patience, the acceptance of his fate as the cross laid by the Lord. What associations does this picture of Shishkin cause? “Pine Trees Illuminated by the Sun” is a pair of beautiful, strong, healthy trees. Under their shadow, it is pleasant to hide from the scorching rays of the midday sun. Here little cubs could frolic, as in “Morning in a Pine Forest”, or rest tired mushroom pickers. Sadness blows from the landscape. Only two pine trees and empty space nearby. By the time of painting, the artist had already been widowed twice and no longer hoped for the opportunity to live in a happy family nest.

Two pine trees as two different people

Ivan Ivanovich rightly considered it unnecessary to burden pictures of nature with psychologism. Nevertheless, it turned out that each picture of Shishkin is an autobiography of the artist, a projection of his personal life, pain and joy of his soul. Compare - “Pine on a rock”, written in 1855, then the artist was 23 years old, and “In the wild north”, year of writing - 1891.

He is almost 70 years old. He is already a widower twice, buried his sons. What can you expect from life? How piercingly lonely and restless the Valaam pine looks (Shishkin’s painting “Wild in the North”). Compare it with the earlier work of 1884, "Pine in the Sand."

That year, Ivan Ivanovich turned 52 years old. In his works (canvases “Pine in the Sand” and “Before the Thunderstorm”), one can feel the hope for change, the opportunity to start a new life. Look, a pine tree in the sand as if climbing a dune. Sand hills look more like a shield from the cold winds of the Baltic than obstacles. And still the soil is unsteady. There is no previous self-confidence. Doubts arose, although hope was not yet lost.

"Before the storm"

Ivan Ivanovich works a lot. Labor keeps you from breaking down. The artist pays particular attention to small details, draws every blade of grass, every leaf. Shishkin’s painting “Before the Thunderstorm” was painted just in those years. Please note that the right side is noticeably more loaded. A narrow but clear path makes a decisive turn to the right, in the direction of the future. Still water is not a place to linger. Despondency is a grave sin. While we live, we must move forward! Fresh and vibrant shades of green on the right side and yellowish, slightly withered grass on the left. A large bush is not an obstacle. It’s like a screen behind which a new life. What is she like?

The last picture of Shishkin

Pine forests in the Vyatka province, with centennial trees half a meter in diameter and up to forty meters high, were also called ship or mast forests. Straight, strong and light trunks were transported to the shipyard and used in shipbuilding.

It is no coincidence that Shishkin’s last painting is “Ship Grove” (1898). The exhibition was held in February-March of the same year, and Ivan Ivanovich presented his new work at it. The last picture of Shishkin is also known as the "Athos Nasos ship grove near Yelabuga." She caused a lot of enthusiasm, and on March 8 a wonderful artist died. Death caught him at the easel, with a brush in his hand, behind the creation of a new landscape ...