Russian Artists. Ivan Shishkin

Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin 

(1832–1898)

Biography

Ivan, the youngest son of the merchant from Yelabuga, was born in 1832. The father of the future painter did much for his motherland. In his father’s opinion, little Ivan was to follow his trade and become a merchant. His strict mother, Daria Shishkina, considered her son’s hobby paper scribbling. However, as if following his last name, young Shishkin preferred walking around the forest and Kama open spaces, exploring the world around him.
Parents sent Ivan to Kazan, which he left after four years of study. When he was 20, Ivan Shishkin went to Moscow and entered the school of painting and sculpture. Then he continued his education at Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts. Later, Ivan Shishkin continued his artistic journey in Europe. Throughout this period of his life, he produced numerous exceptional paintings. When Ivan Shishkin came home, he became one of the founders of the Association of Itinerants, who stood against the principles of academism and strived for more realistic art.

The artist was rescued by painting after the loss of his beloved wife and two sons. The painter was very productive during this period of time. Shishkin lost his second love as well. She died after childbirth. Despite these tragic events, Ivan Shishkin did not paint dramatic subjects. His paintings were about freedom, love of his native land, and the might and beauty of the Russian spirit.

The master felt it his duty to teach the rising generation to understand and love nature and see the uniqueness in simple things. Ivan Shishkin was an outstanding educator at the Academy of Arts. The great landscape painter died from a heart attack while working on his new painting with a brush in his hand.

Places of inspiration

The master searched for the ideal location for his work by walking dozens of kilometers. The differentiating feature of his works is their photographic precision. It helps you easily recognize and imagine the places from his paintings.

• Yelabuga. Chertovo fortified settlement. Lekarevskoye field
• Valaam Island
• Siversk forest outside Saint Petersburg
• Nizhny Novgorod Region. Vorotynsky District, Vasilsursk settlement, Shishkin’s Cape.

Where you can see the paintings by Ivan Shishkin

The Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow keeps around 50 works created by the master. Here you can see such paintings as "Rye," "Rain in an Oak Forest," "Lumbering," "In the Wild North," and "Forest Distance."

The Russian Museum in Saint Petersburg boasts a collection of more than 80 paintings by Ivan Shishkin, including "View on the Outskirts of St. Petersburg," "Path in a Forest," and "Oaks."

The Shishkin House Museum in Yelabuga keeps many paintings, including "Harvesting."

You can see paintings by Ivan Shishkin without leaving home, in online museums:

Virtual Russian Museum

clck.ru/3SELqK

Gallerix online museum

https://gallerix.ru/album/Shishkin

Facts about Ivan Shishkin

Appearance. The master was often called “bogatyr” (Russian epic hero) and the tsar of the forest not only for his love of landscapes but also for his looks. Shishkin was spoken of as a stout and seemingly severe man, but with a delicate psyche. The artist was strong both mentally and physically.

Criticism. The artist had a very strict attitude towards his art. His love of precision verged on perfectionism. The master wondered very much why people were ready to pay big amounts of money for his works.

Stability. The master did not like lyrical sketches. He rarely painted transitional seasons such as spring and fall. The painter depicted the monumental nature. He most often painted summer and winter.

Graphic art. Shishkin proved that works of graphic art can be exhibited on a par with painting. German antique dealers collected graphic drawings by the artist and were ready to pay good money for them. For support, the main painting was displayed together with the works of graphic art at the exhibitions of Ivan Shishkin. 

Attitude to the Academy. The master had a negative attitude towards the principles of the Academy of Arts. He dreamed of escaping from a painting lesson into the open air. He criticized painting from plaster and called for painting from life.

Shishkin and Kuindzhi. Different views on teaching methods set the friends at variance. Ivan Shishkin suggested uniting their adjacent classrooms. However, Kuindzhi refused point-blank, saying that the master’s methods were harmful to students

Students. As a teacher, Shishkin was strict with young artists. He checked his works with the nature and criticized them for their disagreement with the reality. Shishkin’s students disliked his lessons.

The mystery of the best work. Shishkin painted his most popular work, “Morning in a Pine Forest,” co-authored with Konstantin Savitsky. Savitsky painted the bear cubs and the she-bear, but the sketch for them was made by Shishkin. The painting was bought out by Tretyakov, and he erased the last name of the second  author and explained that he had bought it from Ivan Shishkin.
The mystery of the painting “Rye.” There is a dead pine tree among lofty pine trees. It is interesting that it does not catch the eye at once and is even felt like one of the live trees. Now, for the author, death, which he faced many times, is a part of life, the way, the crooked road in the field.

The article has been prepared using the information from open sources.