A subtle, soulful artist, a wonderful teacher, Arkady Aleksandrovich Rylov made a significant contribution to the development of Russian Soviet painting. A master of the landscape genre, he left many captivating sketches of wonderful Russian nature, capturing its unpretentious beauty and tenderness. Rylov’s nature is not just a background, but a self-sufficient “heroine” with her mood, feelings, and states inherent at one time or another. Let us also touch on the poet’s creativity with brushes and paints!
The history of the masterpiece
The topic of our conversation with you is a description of Rylov's painting “Field Rowan”. It is interesting not only in itself, but also in the history of creation, in the environment in which the master worked. In 1922, which was extremely tense for young Soviet Russia, when the
Civil War was still in full swing
, the country was plunged into chaos of devastation, famine and fierce terror, the artist paints a canvas that is surprising in its harmony, kindness and pacification. It was received by fellow artists and spectators with warm approval and sympathy. From people who were tired of social disasters, from a small-scale painting, it smelled completely different, so dear and close. The description of Rylov’s painting “Field Rowan” will help you to feel the very special energy that the canvas emitted, which captivated the work of the audience’s artist. Carelessness, peace of mind, the relaxed drowsiness of a hot summer day, the heady smell of
meadow flowers and herbs and the measured splash of the river - these are the conditions in which this landscape takes us. Of course, the verbal description of Rylov’s painting “Field Rowan” does not replace her lively contemplation. But it will help to introduce the general character and individual details. And the main thing is to understand what was directed by the artist and why he wanted to capture this particular corner of nature. Nowadays, the landscape is in one of the exhibition halls of the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.
Foreground
We begin the
description of Rylov’s
painting “Field Rowan” by examining the foreground. It depicts the "main character" of the canvas - flowering tansy. Interestingly, the artist chose not a traditional
mountain ash tree, but a shrub that grows in meadows, along the banks of rivers and lakes. Why? Probably because the viewer is already accustomed to the elegant, catchy beauty of trees with blazing beads of berries. And the artist was captivated precisely by the modest, but charming field mountain ash. Rylov, sincerely in love with the discreet
Russian nature, wanted to emphasize that even such ordinary landscapes are in their own way good and full of charms. And rightly so! Look how loose and spreading the branches of tansy bushes are, what juicy dark greens of leaves and how yellow blossoms shine with bright gold against their background! It seems that they were kissed by the sun, showered with gold dust. And how vividly the meadow bushes sway next to the mountain ash with their white-headed corollas! In general, the riot of the plant kingdom in the picture is amazing. Thick, high, untouched oblique grass of all
shades of green, soft and fragrant, beckons to lie down in it and doze off, enjoying peace.
Side plans
In the picture, not only tansy appears as a kind of identification mark of the original Russian rural landscape. The corner, chosen by the author, is framed by young birches. Thin, fragile trees sway sleepily under the breath of the midday breeze. It seems that they, too, were ravaged by the hot sun, plunging into a sweet slumber. White trunks look defenseless, and we have a fear: as if the naughty wind, having walked about in the free trade, would not break them! Such a seemingly insignificant detail shows us how attentive and accurate Rylov the artist is, how subtly he captures the dynamics of the state of nature.
Background
A small river slowly flows along a bank overgrown with herbs and birches. Its water is bright blue, as if absorbed all the blueness of the summer sky. The opposite shore is clearly visible, on which groups of trees stand apart and grasses also spike. Meadow and field distances extend further. And above them the magnificent sails of the clouds sail. From the wonderful landscape it blows with freedom, free air and the happiness of life.