First come first served basis. “Morning in a pine forest” without bears: how Shishkin “cheated” Which of the paintings depicts a pine forest

Plot

With rare exceptions, the subject of Shishkin's paintings (if you look at this issue broadly) is one - nature. Ivan Ivanovich is an enthusiastic, loving contemplator. And the viewer becomes an eyewitness to the painter’s meeting with his native expanses.

Shishkin was an extraordinary expert on the forest. He knew everything about trees of different species and noticed errors in the drawing. During plein airs, the artist’s students were ready to literally hide in the bushes, just so as not to hear criticism in the spirit of “Such a birch cannot exist” or “these pine trees are fake.”

The students were so afraid of Shishkin that they hid in the bushes

As for people and animals, they occasionally appeared in Ivan Ivanovich’s paintings, but they were more of a background than an object of attention. “Morning in a Pine Forest” is perhaps the only painting where bears compete with the forest. For this, thanks to one of Shishkin’s best friends - the artist Konstantin Savitsky. He suggested such a composition and depicted animals. True, Pavel Tretyakov, who bought the canvas, erased Savitsky’s name, so for a long time the bears were attributed to Shishkin.

Portrait of Shishkin by I. N. Kramskoy. 1880

Context

Before Shishkin, it was fashionable to paint Italian and Swiss landscapes. “Even in those rare cases when artists took on the task of depicting Russian localities, Russian nature became Italianized, adjusted to the ideal of Italian beauty,” recalled Alexandra Komarova, Shishkin’s niece. Ivan Ivanovich was the first who painted Russian nature realistically with such ecstasy. So that looking at his paintings, a person would say: “There is a Russian spirit there, it smells like Russia.”

Rye. 1878

And now the story of how Shishkin’s canvas became a wrapper. Around the same time that “Morning in a Pine Forest” was presented to the public, Julius Geis, head of the Einem Partnership, was brought a candy to try: a thick layer of almond praline between two wafer plates and enrobed chocolate. The confectioner liked the candy. Geis thought about the name. Then his gaze lingered on a reproduction of a painting by Shishkin and Savitsky. This is how the idea of “Teddy Bear” came about.

The wrapper, familiar to everyone, appeared in 1913, created by the artist Manuil Andreev. To the plot of Shishkin and Savitsky, he added a frame of fir branches and the stars of Bethlehem - in those years, candy was the most expensive and desired gift for the Christmas holidays. Over time, the wrapper has gone through various adjustments, but remains conceptually the same.

The fate of the artist

“Lord, will my son really be a painter!” — Ivan Shishkin’s mother lamented when she realized that she could not convince her son, who had decided to become an artist. The boy was terribly afraid of becoming an official. And, by the way, it’s good that he didn’t. The fact is that Shishkin had an uncontrollable urge to draw. Literally every sheet that was in Ivan’s hands was covered with drawings. Just imagine what the official Shishkin could do with the documents!

Shishkin knew all the botanical details about trees

Ivan Ivanovich studied painting first in Moscow, then in St. Petersburg. Life was hard. The artist Pyotr Neradovsky, whose father studied and lived with Ivan Ivanovich, wrote in his memoirs: “Shishkin was so poor that he often did not have his own boots. To go out somewhere from the house, it happened that he put on his father's boots. On Sundays they went to lunch together with my father’s sister.”

In the wild north. 1891

But everything was forgotten in the summer in the open air. Together with Savrasov and other classmates, they went somewhere out of town and painted sketches from life there. “It was there, in nature, that we really learned... In nature, we studied, and also took a break from the casts,” Shishkin recalled. Even then he chose the theme of his life: “I truly love the Russian forest and only write about it. The artist needs to choose the one thing that he loves most... There is no way to throw it away.” By the way, Shishkin learned to masterfully paint Russian nature abroad. He studied in the Czech Republic, Germany, and Switzerland. The paintings brought from Europe brought in the first decent money.

After the death of his wife, brother and son, Shishkin drank for a long time and could not work

Meanwhile, in Russia, the Peredvizhniki protested against the academicians. Shishkin was incredibly happy about this. In addition, many of the rebels were friends of Ivan Ivanovich. True, over time he quarreled with both of them and was very worried about this.

Shishkin died suddenly. I sat down at the canvas, just about to start working, and yawned once. and that's all. This is exactly what the painter wanted - “instantly, right away, so as not to suffer.” Ivan Ivanovich was 66 years old.

The picture is known to every person, it is taught almost in elementary school, and it is unlikely that such a masterpiece will be forgotten afterwards. In addition, this well-known and beloved reproduction constantly adorns the packaging of the chocolate of the same name and is an excellent illustration for stories.

The plot of the picture

This is probably the most popular painting by I.I. Shishkin, a famous landscape painter, whose hands created many beautiful paintings, including “Morning in a Pine Forest.” The canvas was painted in 1889, and according to historians, the idea for the plot itself did not appear spontaneously, it was suggested to Shishkin by Savitsky K.A. It was this artist who in his time amazingly depicted a bear along with her playing cubs on the canvas. “Morning in a Pine Forest” was acquired by the famous art connoisseur of that time, Tretyakov, who considered that the painting was made by Shishkin and assigned final authorship directly to him.

Some believe that the film owes its incredible popularity to its entertaining plot. But, despite this, the canvas is valuable due to the fact that the state of nature on the canvas is conveyed surprisingly clearly and truly.

Nature in the picture

First of all, it can be noted that the painting depicts a morning forest, but this is only a superficial description. In fact, the author depicted not an ordinary pine forest, but its very thicket, the place that is called “dead,” and it is she who begins her early awakening in the morning. The picture depicts natural phenomena very subtly:

the sun begins to rise;

the sun's rays first of all touch the very tops of the trees, but some mischievous rays have already made their way into the very depths of the ravine;

The ravine is also notable in the picture because you can still see the fog in it, which seems not to be afraid of the sun’s rays, as if it’s not going to go away.

Heroes of the picture

The canvas also has its own characters. These are three little bear cubs and their mother bear. She takes care of her cubs, because on the canvas they look well-fed, happy and carefree. The forest is awakening, so the mother bear very carefully watches how her cubs frolic, controls their play and worries whether something has happened. The bear cubs are not concerned about the awakening nature, they are interested in frolicking on the site of a fallen pine

The picture creates the feeling that we are in the most remote part of the entire pine forest also because the mighty pine tree lies completely abandoned at the end of the forest, it was once uprooted, and is still in that state. This is practically a corner of real wild nature, where bears live, and people do not risk touching it.

Writing style

In addition to the fact that the picture can pleasantly surprise you with its plot, it is also impossible to take your eyes off it because the author tried to skillfully use all his drawing skills, put his soul into it and brought the canvas to life. Shishkin solved the problem of the relationship between color and light on the canvas in an absolutely brilliant way. It is interesting to note that in the foreground one can “meet” fairly clear drawings and colors, in contrast to the background coloring, which seems almost transparent.

It is clear from the picture that the artist was actually delighted with the grace and amazing beauty of pristine nature, which is beyond the control of man.

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Ivan Shishkin glorified not only his hometown (Elabuga) throughout the country, but also the entire vast territory of Russia throughout the world. His most famous painting is “Morning in a Pine Forest.” Why is it so famous and why is it considered practically the standard of painting? Let's try to understand this issue.

Shishkin and landscapes

Ivan Shishkin is a famous landscape artist. His unique style of work originates from the Düsseldorf School of Drawing. But, unlike most of his colleagues, the artist passed the basic techniques through himself, which made it possible to create a unique style, not inherent in anyone else. Shishkin admired nature all his life; she inspired him to create numerous masterpieces of a million colors and shades. The artist always tried to depict the flora as he sees it, without various exaggerations and decorations.

He tried to choose landscapes untouched by human hands. Virgin like the forests of the taiga. Shishkin's paintings combine realism with a poetic view of nature. Ivan Ivanovich saw poetry in the play of light and shadow, in the power of Mother Earth, in the fragility of one Christmas tree standing in the wind.

The versatility of the artist

It is difficult to imagine such a brilliant artist as the head of the city or a school teacher. But Shishkin combined many talents. Coming from a merchant family, he had to follow in the footsteps of his parent. In addition, Shishkin’s good disposition quickly endeared him to people throughout the city. He was elected to the post of manager and helped develop his native Elabuga as best he could. Naturally, this was also manifested in painting. Shishkin’s pen is “History of the City of Elabuga”.

Ivan Ivanovich managed to draw pictures and participate in fascinating archaeological excavations. He lived abroad for some time, and even became an academician in Düsseldorf.

Shishkin was an active member of the Itinerants Society, where he met other famous Russian artists. He was considered a real authority among other painters. They tried to inherit the master’s style, and the paintings inspired both writers and painters.

He left behind a legacy of numerous landscapes that have become decorations in museums and private collections around the globe.

After Shishkin, few people managed to depict all the diversity of Russian nature so realistically and so beautifully. No matter what happened in the artist’s personal life, he did not allow his troubles to be reflected on the canvases.

Background

The artist treated forest nature with great trepidation; it literally captivated him with its countless colors, variety of shades, and the rays of the sun breaking through the thick pine branches.

The painting “Morning in a Pine Forest” became the embodiment of Shishkin’s love for the forest. It quickly gained popularity, and was soon used in pop culture, on stamps, and even on candy wrappers. To this day it is carefully kept in the Tretyakov Gallery.

Description: “Morning in a pine forest”

Ivan Shishkin managed to capture one moment from an entire forest life. He conveyed with the help of a drawing the moment of the beginning of the day, when the sun was just beginning to rise. An amazing moment of the birth of a new life. The painting “Morning in a Pine Forest” depicts an awakening forest and still sleepy bear cubs that are getting out of a secluded dwelling.

In this painting, as in many others, the artist wanted to emphasize the immensity of nature. To do this, he cut off the tops of the pine trees at the top of the canvas.

If you look closely, you will notice that the roots of the tree on which the cubs are frolicking have been torn out. Shishkin seemed to emphasize that this forest is so uninhabited and deaf that only animals can live in it, and the trees fall on their own, from old age.

Shishkin indicated the morning in a pine forest with the help of the fog that we see between the trees. Thanks to this artistic move, the time of day becomes obvious.

Co-authorship

Shishkin was an excellent landscape painter, but rarely took on images of animals in his works. The painting “Morning in a Pine Forest” was no exception. He created the landscape, but the four cubs were painted by another artist, an expert on animals, Konstantin Savitsky. They say that it was he who suggested the very idea for this painting. While painting a morning in a pine forest, Shishkin took Savitsky as a co-author, and the painting was initially signed by the two of them. However, after the painting was transferred to the gallery, Tretyakov considered Shishkin’s work more extensive and erased the name of the second artist.

Story

Shishkin and Savitsky went into nature. This is how the story began. The morning in the pine forest seemed so beautiful to them that it was impossible not to immortalize it on canvas. To search for a prototype, they went to Gordomlya Island, which stands on Lake Seliger. There they found this landscape and new inspiration for the painting.

The island, completely covered with forests, contained the remnants of virgin nature. For many centuries it stood untouched. This could not leave artists indifferent.

Claims

The painting was born in 1889. Although Savitsky initially complained to Tretyakov that he had erased his name, he soon changed his mind and abandoned this masterpiece in favor of Shishkin.

Pavel Tretyakov justified his decision by the fact that the style of the painting fully corresponds to what Ivan Ivanovich did, and even the sketches of the bears originally belonged to him.

Facts and Misconceptions

Like any famous painting, the painting “Morning in a Pine Forest” arouses great interest. Consequently, it has a number of interpretations and is mentioned in literature and cinema. This masterpiece is talked about both in high society and on the streets.

Over time, some facts have been changed, and general misconceptions have become firmly entrenched in society:

*One of the common mistakes is the opinion that Vasnetsov created “Morning in a Pine Forest” together with Shishkin. Viktor Mikhailovich, of course, knew Ivan Ivanovich, since they were together in the Itinerants club. However, Vasnetsov could not possibly be the author of such a landscape. If you pay attention to his style, he is not at all similar to Shishkin; they belong to different art schools. These names are still mentioned together from time to time. Vasnetsov is not that artist. “Morning in a Pine Forest,” without any doubt, was painted by Shishkin.

*The title of the painting sounds like “Morning in a Pine Forest.” Boron is simply a second name that people apparently found more appropriate and mysterious.

*Unofficially, some Russians still call the painting “Three Bears,” which is a gross mistake. There are not three, but four animals in the picture. It is likely that the canvas began to be called that because of the popular Soviet-era candies called “Bear-toed Bear.” The candy wrapper depicted a reproduction of Shishkin’s “Morning in a Pine Forest.” People gave the candy the name “Three Bears”.

*The painting has its “first version”. Shishkin painted another canvas of the same theme. He called it “Fog in the Pine Forest.” Few people know about this picture. She is rarely remembered. The canvas is not on the territory of the Russian Federation. To this day it is kept in a private collection in Poland.

*Initially there were only two bear cubs in the picture. Later Shishkin decided that the image should include four clubfooted people. Thanks to the addition of two more bears, the genre of the film changed. It began to be located on the “borderland”, as some elements of the game scene appeared on the landscape.

The author of the painting “Morning in a Pine Forest” is the great Russian artist Ivan Ivanovich (1832-1898). However, only the landscape itself belongs to his hand. The main characters of the picture - three cubs and a she-bear - were painted by another famous artist Konstantin Apollonovich. The erroneous idea that “Morning in a Pine Forest” was painted only by Shishkin is due to the fact that Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov, who bought the painting for his collection, erased Savitsky’s signature.

History of the painting

The painting was painted in 1889. Canvas, oil. Dimensions: 139 × 213 cm. Currently located in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. Interestingly, the painting was originally titled “Bear Family in the Forest.”

It is believed that Ivan Shishkin came up with the plot of the film during a visit to Gorodomlya Island, which is located on Lake Seliger. Here the painter saw untouched nature, a dense forest that amazes the imagination with its beauty and pristine nature.

Initially, there were no bears in the picture, only the forest landscape itself. Ivan Shishkin was an unsurpassed landscape painter, but he was not strong in animalism, that is, depicting animals. Therefore, the bears were painted by another artist - Konstantin Savitsky.

Description of the artwork “Morning in a pine forest”

The painting “Morning in a Pine Forest” literally captivates the viewer with its extraordinary beauty. The centuries-old forest amazes with its power and untouched nature. Pines with thick trunks and gnarled branches seem to hint at their ancient nature. The forest is drowning in a whitish fog, which early in the morning covered everything around with a milky curtain.

The painting depicts early morning. The sun is just beginning to rise and the forest is beginning to take on the golden hues of dawn. Since the sun cast its first rays on the very tops of the trees, they contrast sharply with the twilight inside the forest. Such a beautiful transition of colors and shades is mesmerizing. The shades of the picture smoothly change from dark green below to bright gold above.

In the foreground is a fallen pine tree. A bear family has gathered here. Three restless bear cubs crawl along a broken trunk. Nearby is a mother bear who is watching over her cubs, who still want to play and explore everything unfamiliar. One of the cubs stands on its hind legs and peers deep into the fog-shrouded forest. In this way, he intrigues the viewer, so that you want to follow his gaze, peer deep into the picture to see what the frozen bear cub saw in the distance.

This painting is known to everyone, young and old, because the work itself of the great landscape painter Ivan Shishkin is the most notable painting masterpiece in the artist’s creative heritage.

We all know that this artist loved the forest and its nature very much, admired every bush and blade of grass, moldy tree trunks decorated with branches sagging from the weight of foliage and pine needles. Shishkin reflected all this love on an ordinary linen canvas, so that later the whole world could see the unsurpassed skill of the great Russian master.

When you first meet the painting Morning in a Pine Forest in the Tretyakov Hall, you feel the indelible impression of the viewer’s presence; the person’s mind is completely immersed in the atmosphere of the forest with marvelous and mighty giant pine trees, which reek of pine aroma. I want to breathe deeper in this air, its freshness mixed with the morning forest fog covering the surrounding forest.

The visible tops of centuries-old pines, their branches bent from the weight of their branches, are gently illuminated by the morning rays of the sun. As we understand, all this beauty was preceded by a terrible hurricane, the mighty wind of which uprooted and felled the pine tree, breaking it in two. All this contributed to what we see. Bear cubs frolic on the ruins of a tree and their mischievous play is guarded by the mother bear. This plot can be said to have very clearly enlivened the picture, adding to the entire composition the atmosphere of everyday life in forest nature.

Despite the fact that Shishkin rarely wrote animals in his works, he still gave preference to the beauties of earthly vegetation. Of course, he painted sheep and cows in some of his works, but apparently this bothered him somewhat. In this story, the bears were written by his colleague Savitsky K.A., who from time to time was engaged in creativity together with Shishkin. Perhaps he suggested working together.

Upon completion of the work, Savitsky also signed the painting, so there were two signatures. Everything would be fine, everyone really liked the painting, including the famous philanthropist Tretyakov, who decided to buy the canvas for his collection, however, he demanded that Savitsky’s signature be removed, citing the fact that the bulk of the work was executed by Shishkin, who was more familiar to him, who had to fulfill the demand collector. As a result, a quarrel arose in this co-authorship, because the entire fee was paid to the main performer of the film. Of course, there is practically no accurate information on this matter; historians shrug their shoulders. One can, of course, only guess how this fee was divided and what unpleasant feelings there were among the artists’ colleagues.

The subject of the painting Morning in a Pine Forest became widely known among contemporaries; there was a lot of talk and speculation regarding the state of nature depicted by the artist. The fog is shown very colorfully, decorating the airiness of the morning forest with a soft blue haze. As we remember, the artist had already painted the painting “Fog in a Pine Forest” and this airiness technique came in handy in this work as well.

Today the picture is very common, as written above, it is known even to children who love candy and souvenirs, often it is even called the Three Bears, perhaps because three bear cubs catch the eye and the bear is as if in the shadows and is not entirely noticeable, in the second case in The USSR was the name for candy, where this reproduction was printed on candy wrappers.

Also today, modern masters draw copies, decorating various offices and representative social halls, and, of course, our apartments with the beauties of our Russian nature. This masterpiece can be seen in the original by visiting the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, which is not often visited by many.