Shishkin bears. The real story of the creation of the painting "Morning in a Pine Forest" (from the series "Vyatka - the Homeland of Elephants")

The picture is known to every person; it is passed through almost primary school, and it’s unlikely to forget such a masterpiece 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 I.I. Shishkina, famous landscape painter, whose hands created many beautiful paintings, including “Morning in 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 at one time amazingly depicted a she-bear on the canvas along with her playing cubs. “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 for the fact that you can still see the fog in it, which seems to be unafraid sun rays as if he had no intention of leaving.

Heroes of the picture

The canvas has 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 the real wildlife, the one 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 on foreground you can “meet” fairly clear drawings and colors, in contrast to the back coloring, which seems almost transparent.

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

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To start: As you know, many epochal events in world history are inextricably linked with the city of Vyatka (in some versions - Kirov (which is Sergei Mironych)). What is the reason for this - the stars may have risen this way, maybe the air or alumina there is particularly healing, maybe the collahedron influenced, but the fact remains: no matter what particularly significant happens in the world, “Vyatka’s hand” can be traced in almost everything. However, until now no one has taken upon themselves the responsibility and hard work of systematizing all significant phenomena that are directly related to the history of Vyatka. In this situation, a group of young promising historians (in my person) undertook to carry out this attempt. As a result, a series of highly artistic scientific and historical essays about documented historical facts under the heading "Vyatka - the birthplace of elephants." Which is what I plan to post on this resource from time to time. So, let's begin.

Vyatka - the birthplace of elephants

Vyatka bear - main character paintings "Morning in pine forest»

Art historians have long proven that Shishkin painted the painting “Morning in a Pine Forest” from life, and not from the wrapper of the “Teddy Bear” candy. The history of writing the masterpiece is quite interesting.

In 1885, Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin decided to paint a canvas that would reflect the deep strength and immense power of the Russian pine forest. The artist chose the Bryansk forests as the place to paint the canvas. For three months Shishkin lived in a hut, seeking unity with nature. The result of the action was the landscape “Sosnovy Bor. Morning". However, Ivan Ivanovich’s wife Sofya Karlovna, who served as the main expert and critic of the great painter’s paintings, felt that the canvas lacked dynamics. On family council It was decided to supplement the landscape with forest life. Initially, it was planned to “launch” hares along the canvas, however, their small dimensions would hardly have been able to convey power and strength Russian forest. We had to choose from three textured representatives of the fauna: bear, wild boar and elk. The selection was made using the cut-off method. The boar disappeared immediately - Sofya Karlovna did not like pork. Sokhaty also did not qualify for the competition, since a moose climbing a tree would have looked unnatural. In search of a suitable bear that won the tender, Shishkin was again resettled in the Bryansk forests. However, this time he was disappointed. All Bryansk bears seemed skinny and unattractive to the painter. Shishkin continued his search in other provinces. For 4 years the artist wandered through the forests of the Oryol, Ryazan and Pskov regions, but never found an exhibit worthy of a masterpiece. “The bear is not purebred today, maybe a wild boar will do after all?” Shishkin wrote to his wife from the hut. Sofya Karlovna helped her husband here too - in Brem’s encyclopedia “Animal Life” she read that the bears living in the Vyatka province have the best exterior. A biologist described the brown bear of the Vyatka line as “a well-built animal with a correct bite and well-standing ears.” Shishkin went to Vyatka, Omutninsky district, in search of the ideal animal. On the sixth day of living in the forest, not far from his cozy dugout, the artist discovered a den of magnificent representatives of the brown bear breed. The bears also discovered Shishkin and Ivan Ivanovich completed them from memory. In 1889, the great canvas was ready, certified by Sofia Karlovna and placed in Tretyakov Gallery.

Unfortunately, about the significant contribution Vyatka nature Few people now remember the painting “Morning in a Pine Forest”. But in vain. To this day, the bear in these parts is powerful and purebred. It is a well-known fact that the Gromyk bear from the Zonikha animal farm posed for the emblem of the 1980 Olympics.

Vyacheslav Sykchin,
independent historian,
chairman of the bearologists' cell
Vyatka Darwinist Society.

MOSCOW, January 25 - RIA Novosti, Victoria Salnikova. 185 years ago, on January 25, 1832, Ivan Shishkin was born, perhaps the most “folk” Russian artist.

IN Soviet time reproductions of his paintings hung in many apartments, and the famous bear cubs from the painting “Morning in a Pine Forest” migrated to candy wrappers.

The paintings of Ivan Shishkin still live their own, far from museum space, life. What role did Vladimir Mayakovsky play in their history and how Shishkin’s bears ended up on the wrappers of pre-revolutionary sweets - in the RIA Novosti material.

"Get a savings book!"

In Soviet times, the design of the candy wrapper did not change, but “Mishka” became the most expensive delicacy: in the 1920s, a kilogram of candy was sold for four rubles. The candy even had a slogan: “If you want to eat Mishka, get yourself a Savings Book!” This phrase from the poet Vladimir Mayakovsky even began to be printed on wrappers.

Despite the high price, the delicacy was in demand among buyers: the artist and graphic artist Alexander Rodchenko even captured it on the Mosselprom building in Moscow in 1925.

In the 1950s, the “Bear Bear” candy went to Brussels: the “Red October” factory participated in the World Exhibition and received the highest award.

Art in every home

But the story of “Mornings in a Pine Forest” was not limited to sweets. To others popular destination in Soviet times there were reproductions classical works art.

Unlike oil paintings, they were cheap and sold in any bookstore, so they were available to almost every family. “Morning in a Pine Forest” and “Rye,” another popular painting by Ivan Shishkin, adorned the walls of many Soviet apartments and dachas.

“Bears” also found their way onto tapestries—a favorite interior detail of Soviet people. Over the course of a century, “Morning in a Pine Forest” has become one of the most recognizable paintings in Russia. True, a casual viewer is unlikely to immediately remember its real name.

In exchange for drugs

The works of Ivan Shishkin are popular with robbers and scammers. On January 25, employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus discovered a work of art stolen in Russia in the car of drug couriers. The painting "Forest. Spruces" from 1897 was stolen in 2013 from the Vyaznikovsky Historical and Art Museum in Vladimir region. According to preliminary information, drug couriers brought the canvas to Belarus at the request of a potential buyer from Europe. The cost of the painting could reach two million dollars, but the attackers planned to sell it for 100 thousand euros and three kilograms of cocaine.

Last year, criminal investigation officers suspected a 57-year-old woman of stealing the painting “Preobrazhenskoe” from 1896. The woman received this work from a famous collector for sale, however, according to investigators, she appropriated it.

In my distant childhood, the painting “Morning in a Pine Forest” was not only known, but passionately loved by October children of both sexes. For the simple reason that it appeared on the wrappers of wonderful wafer sweets with chocolate filling...

At the opening day one day...

And here I am standing in the State Tretyakov Gallery face to face with the masterpiece of the highly respected Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin. There is not even a trace of a revelation akin to the one that rolls over, they say, when meeting the original “Mona Lisa.” But this is not important, but bears are a pleasure to look at. Like relatives, mmm, dear, dear, I would eat them! The guide’s words are soothing: “Shishkin was a classical landscape painter. The painting “Morning in a Pine Forest” appeared from under his brush in 1889. It is believed that the artist wrote it under the impression of a trip through the Vologda forests. It depicts a morning pine forest...”

" Seriously? - irony awakens in me. – I would never have guessed! I always thought it was the South American pampas!” And then it turns out that I was too quick to mock the literalness of the gallery employee’s speech.

Initially, in the painting “Morning in a Pine Forest,” Shishkin painted precisely a dense forest awakening from a night’s sleep (this is how the picture is often mistakenly called “Morning in a Pine Forest”), and that’s it – no club-footed animals. And to be precise, our famous landscape painter never painted a family of bears at all! Precisely because he is a landscape painter. Leaves, twigs, centuries-old oaks - please, with photographic authenticity, this is what became famous for centuries. Chanterelles, bunnies and other living creatures - thank you! I can’t, I can’t, I won’t. The maximum is a cow, but it is completely out of place here. To each his own, Ivan Ivanovich rightly reasoned and, having calmed himself down, went on another walk through the forests, which he adored with all his heart...

Gift from a friend

However, the next day the forest landscape no longer seemed as perfect to the artist as the day before. He stood in front of the painting for a long time, meticulously peering at the details. Let's see: the damp morning fog, the first gentle rays of the sun, the mighty trunks of centuries-old pines, the smell of pine needles - and we can almost distinguish it! But... Something is missing. The word is still modern... Ah, speakers! Life, that is. This is what Shishkin said to his comrade in the art association Savitsky, he even complained: it’s a masterpiece, they say, but it’s not that! Konstantin Apollonovich was glad to help his friend as an artist: there were paints, a brush, and then a mother bear with three cubs was born. Unexpected turn? Where is Gioconda with her indistinct smile? This is where the laughter comes in and that’s all: imagine if Dostoevsky came to visit Turgenev and said: “Come on, my dear Vanya, I’ll help you, I see that you’re in creative stagnation!” - and would have written a chapter or two in “Notes of a Hunter” with his own hand. And we, readers, would admire Turgenev’s style, not realizing that Fyodor Mikhailovich’s pen was creaking...

There must only be one left!

However, our heroes, like true friends, honestly put their signatures on the canvas “Morning in a Pine Forest”. Savitsky’s autograph was later erased by the philanthropist, collector and creator of the future famous gallery Pavel Tretyakov. The reason remained a mystery, it seems that the “father” of the bears himself asked to do this out of reverence for Shishkin, the original creator of the picture. And, logically speaking, why would a successful genre artist, “Nekrasov in painting,” who presented at exhibitions such paintings as “Repair work on railway"or "To War", the laurels of an animalist? Or maybe the second signature was removed simply because duets are not accepted in painting... One way or another, the fee for the work was paid only to Shishkin, and then everyone showed themselves by virtue of their natural essence. Speaking artistic language, the picture “How Ivan Ivanovich and Konstantin Apollonovich quarreled” unfolded...

Over the years, the story of creating a masterpiece from a candy wrapper was transformed into a much more decent version: they say, Savitsky simply suggested to Shishkin the idea of “throwing” bears on an already dried canvas, and he brilliantly implemented it, it was not for nothing that he studied at the famous animal painting workshop in Munich. So they write in official books on the history of painting. We, ordinary spectators, with childish persistence, confuse ourselves even more, exclaiming: “Why, we know such a picture!” It's called "Three Bears"! I don’t remember the author, but the sweets were just great!”

Probably almost the most famous painting Russian artist-painter is "Morning in a pine forest". This picture is known and loved by many since childhood because of its wrapping no less beloved chocolates"Teddy Bear." Only a few paintings by Russian artists can compete with the popularity of this work of art.

The idea for the painting was once suggested to the painter Shishkin by the artist Konstantin Savitsky, who acted as a co-author and depicted the figures of bears. As a result, Savitsky turned out the animals so well that he signed the painting together with Shishkin. But when Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov acquired the painting, he removed Savitsky’s signature, and the authorship remained only with Shishkin. Tretyakov believed that everything in the picture speaks about the style of painting and creative method, characteristic of Shishkin.

The canvas depicts a dense thicket of a pine forest with a fallen, broken tree on the edge of a ravine. The left side of the picture still retains the twilight of the cold night of the dense forest. Moss covers uprooted tree roots and fallen broken branches. Soft green grass creates a feeling of comfort and tranquility. But the rays of the rising sun have already gilded the tops of the centuries-old pines and made the morning haze glow. And although the sun is not yet able to completely dispel this night fog, hiding the entire depth of the pine forest from the viewer’s view, the cubs are already playing on the broken trunk of a fallen pine, and the mother bear is guarding them. One of the cubs, having climbed up the trunk closer to the ravine, stood on hind legs and looks curiously into the distance at the light of the haze from the rising sun.

We see not just a monumental canvas about the greatness and beauty of Russian nature. Before us is not only a deep, dense frozen forest with its deep power, but living picture nature. sunlight, breaking through the haze and columns of tall trees, makes you feel the depth of the ravine behind the fallen pine tree, the power of centuries-old trees. The light of the morning sun still looks timidly into this pine forest. But the animals—the frolicking bear cubs and their mother—are already feeling the approach of the sunny morning. The picture is filled with movement and life thanks not only to these four bears loving solitude in the forest, but also to the transitional moment of the awakening early sunny morning after a cold night accurately depicted by the painter. The peaceful smile of the forest spreads: the day will be sunny. It begins to seem to the viewer that the birds have already begun to sing their morning songs. The beginning of a new day promises light and tranquility!