Who painted the painting Ship Autumn. Essay: description of the painting I

Painting: 1898
Canvas, oil.
Size: 165 × 252 cm

Description of the picture " Ship Grove» I. Shishkina

Artist: Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin
Title of the painting: “Ship Grove”
Painting: 1898
Canvas, oil.
Size: 165 × 252 cm

Since the 18th century, Korabelnaya Roshcha near Nizhny Afanasovo was known for the fact that pine trees were harvested here for the masts of ships that were rafted down the Kama River. In fact, the pine forest provided the entire Russian fleet. Now, centuries later, there are holiday homes, hotels, tennis courts, saunas and even discos. And all thanks to the fact that I. Shishkin glorified this place by painting the painting “Ship Grove near Yelabuga.”

This artist was quite popular among his contemporaries. The word “Shishkin” at that time meant another landscape “hit”, hung in a provincial canteen or in luxury home tradesman.

He knew how to bypass the requirements of the academic landscape, where the nobility of painting or its identification with ideal art was necessary. If you look at the nature that Shishkin’s paintings depict, this absolute nature, where there is no “I” of the artist. His voice is one with the voice of a pine forest or a lonely pine tree or rye. By the way, about pine trees. They are present in every picture, as, indeed, are the spruce trees with roots crawling out of the ground. Shishkin’s world is also filled with boulders overgrown with moss, bushes and dead wood, grass and ferns with huge leaves.

Looking at the paintings of this artist, each of us sees the very nature that Russian fairy tales told about or which seems to be traditional Russian. If we consider the coloristic features of Shishkin’s paintings, it is impossible not to notice the riot of green shades, the brown trunks of pine and spruce trees organically combined with them, the play of sunsets, dawns and middays. Researchers put Shishkin’s talent on a par with Rembrandt, Da Vinci and Velazquez, and everyone has known about the painting “Ship Grove” since childhood.

This painting is the completion of the artist’s entire creative journey, his farewell song, where he once again turned to his favorite theme coniferous trees. The thin growth of young pines seems to show that new ones will come to replace it, but no less talented craftsmen brushes

He promotes the “Ship Grove” and the idea of the cycle and eternity of life, in which centuries-old pines will be illuminated by the sun and hidden in the shadow of the sunset, giving many generations the opportunity to enjoy their contemplation. This picture is also a kind of hymn to the native land, its eternal beauty and inexhaustible strength.

When we hear the phrase “Russian landscape,” we immediately imagine this particular coniferous forest, with its edge bathed in the summer sun. Its light illuminates the foliage and ignites a real fireworks display of glare, radiance and flashes from the rays heavenly body. Anyone who has ever seen the painting “Ship Grove” will certainly say that they smelled the smell of pine – so tart and familiar.

The sun in the picture warms everything. Its golden yellow, ocher and even rusty hues fill the stream with little masonry running through it. Moreover, the latter is the only evidence of the presence of a person in the picture. Take a closer look at the soil peeking out from the spring - a California gold miner's dream: golden light permeates every grain of sand.

At first glance, it seems that the picture shows only dull shades, because in fact, the ship’s groves are not famous for their riot of colors. The same can be said about the vegetation - only pine trees, but this is the main feature of a pine forest.

But take a closer look at the canvas: it is so majestic and at the same time everyday that it may well become the standard of Russian nature. There is absolutely no place for base and small details– the rich green pines simply absorb them with their mighty appearance.

If we look at the color scheme of the “Ship Grove”, we can see green strokes of grass against the background of reddish spots of sandy soil, the same as the dried vegetation. The trunks of the pine trees are bright and golden – they exude warmth, the harmony of which is brought about by the bluish-purple tints of the bark. The lush greenery of the pine trees seems to beckon with its ocher, umber and turquoise tones. A perfectly pure shade of blue sky! It seems to push the reddish-red shades of the earth to sound. Look at the stream: there is no reflection of the sky in it, which is not at all a lack of skill of the artist - this is what today is called a three-dimensional view.

“Ship Grove” pacifies and brings equanimity, calmness and positive emotions. This is not surprising: the artist is not looking for the shimmer of the dawn morning, playing rain, mysterious fog - he moved away from these familiar details.

This picture is often compared and often confused with “Pine Forest”, without noticing the true difference. And it is present and lies in the fact that “Pine Forest” is an image of trees that merge with the sky, and “Ship Grove” somewhat shifts the compositional plan. The bushes and trees that the artist usually placed on the left side of the canvas disappear, replacing them with central trunks that seem to move towards the viewer. Pines now grow more evenly; there is no such usual contrast between near and distant objects. Shishkin replaces detail with another method of attracting attention - he contrasts several groups that carry different semantic loads.

For example, on the left side he focuses on several pine trees that are illuminated by the sun. The trees a little to the left seem to be trying to hide in the grove, now appearing in the light, now running into the shadows. On the right side of the canvas there is a green area that coexists quite peacefully with centuries-old trees. The young shoots seem to be trying to reach the ancient pines, whose branches stretch far beyond the top of the canvas - as if they do not have enough space. Another example of antithesis in “Ship Grove” is a fragile bridge made of thin poles spanning a stream.

“The Ship Grove” is called the largest in size among all the paintings by I. Shishkin and they say that it is a symbol of the heroic power of the Russian expanses. The concept of this painting is one of the most monumental in Russian painting and, at the same time, the most ambiguous. The canvas became the swan song of the artist, who is still known today. Many landscape painters of our day are unlikely to be able to reach his level and become one of our national symbols.

Marvelous beautiful landscape“Ship Grove” was written by Shishkin in 1898.
This painting can be considered a true masterpiece.
The artist loved to paint Russian nature and presented it as it is.
Only he could so accurately show all the beauty of our native nature.
His landscapes are alive and real; looking at them, you get the impression that you yourself are in the place depicted on the canvas.
You literally inhale the smell of a pine forest or the freshness of spring rain.

The painting shows a forest with tall pine trees.
It is impossible to grasp their trunks with your hands; they are long-livers of this forest and have seen a lot in their lives.
The tops of the pine trees reach up to the amazingly clean blue sky.
You can breathe more freely there and the air is cleaner and fresher.
There are many trees here and their fluffy crowns do not let in the sun's rays, although they still manage to break through the needles.
Therefore, sunspots can be seen on the ground deep in the forest.

On the right you can barely see a path leading into a wonderful forest.
Near this forest there are young trees that will eventually turn into the same mighty giants.
In the background there is a stream going deep into the forest.
Judging by the fact that there are stones sticking out of it and the bottom is visible, it is not deep at all.
Perhaps the water in it comes from an underwater spring, so it’s cool.
In an open area under the sun's rays, the water in the stream heats up and you can walk along it barefoot.
There is some kind of fence made of twigs across the stream.
It is clear that there is a person here.

Looking at the picture, there is a feeling of being in this forest.
You hear the murmur of a stream, the rustle of trees that the wind makes move, the singing of birds and the knock of a woodpecker.
You feel the smell of pine needles, the warmth of the sun and the coolness of the water in the stream.
Shishkin helps us plunge into the world of beautiful Russian nature thanks to his subtle sense of nature.
Only he alone can so accurately convey all the beauty and uniqueness of our forest.

Nizhnekamsk is located on the left bank of the Kama (not far from the confluence of the Zai River), between the Kuibyshev, Nizhnekamsk and Zainsk reservoirs, in the north of the Bugulma-Belebeevskaya Upland. The area around the city is characterized by many small islands and lakes, which are the remnants of rivers, as well as coniferous-broad-leaved forests (especially pine forests), taiga and steppe plant species.
The history of the Ship Grove surrounding Nizhnekamsk goes back almost three hundred years. Ever since Russian Emperor Peter the Great was prepared here valuable species wood for the construction of ships of the Russian naval flotilla.

Ship Grove is a pine forest adjacent to the city from the northwest. Here, in Bolshoi and Nizhny Afanasovo, mast pines have been harvested since the 18th century. It is known that it was here that the great Russian artist Ivan Shishkin, who lived in Yelabuga, located 10 km upstream of the Kama, painted some of his landscapes. His largest and last completed painting, “Ship Grove,” was written in 1898 based on sketches signed as “Ship Grove Afonasovskaya near Yelabuga.”

The Kama in these parts is rich in water, wide, majestic, and in no way inferior to Mother Volga. In honor of the beautiful forest in Nizhnekamsk there is a street - Korabelnaya.
Korabelnaya Street ends in a grove. From here, a long time ago, lashman peasants prepared, exported, floated timber along the Kama, or transported it on horseback to the Kazan shipyard, where ships were built by order of Peter I.
It was here that young Ivan Shishkin sailed on a boat and wrote sketches for his future famous paintings!
It is not for nothing that the coat of arms of the city of Nizhnekamsk (and the region) depicts a tall mast pine tree standing on bank of the Kama River!

Ship Grove
1898, oil on canvas, 165x252 cm
State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg

Shishkin, Ship Grove

“Ship Grove” is a painting-testament.
It was written in the year of the artist’s death. The canvas seems to summarize the entire experience of a long and difficult life masters The Russian forest rises like a golden colonnade to the azure sky. A mighty, indestructible wall of giant pines, illuminated by the blessed summer sun.
The glare of the sun plays in warm waters a ferruginous stream originating from the powerful, indestructible roots of the boron. The entire canvas is permeated with the light of life, it plays in a transparent source, where every grain of sand is visible, sparkles on the wings of yellow butterflies fluttering in streams of all-pervading radiance.
The abandoned chips of wild stone that have been lying here for thousands of centuries are illuminated and as if sculpted by a sculptor, the sandbanks sparkle, the young spruce trees turn green, as if running to the edge, flooded with the hot breath of summer. But the play of light and shadow gives the painting a special life, that magic of glare that makes us literally visibly feel, almost be present in Yelabuga and admire this place that has almost become history.
It smells of pine needles, resin and the inexpressible aroma of the eternal youth of old pines. After all, many of them are a hundred years old. The gaze rushes into the distance of the forest, and we look into a mysterious thicket, cut through by paths of light.

MORNING IN SOSNOVY BOR, Shishkin

Shishkin is a sorcerer.
He arranged his pines so skillfully that one gets the impression of their infinity and the vastness of the forest. The painter knows the structure of the forest landscape, and he imperiously forces us to follow his magical brush. The coloring of the picture is unusually rich.
All the discoveries of the impressionists were taken into account by the artist. But over all those extra purples and oranges and blues, yellow flowers the powerful sense of proportion of the great artist reigns. He does not forget the law of value, and nowhere does he violate the naturalness and restraint of tone.
Shishkin's painting does not scream, despite the scale of the canvas, it sings. And this cherished farewell song reaches the very depths of the viewer’s heart. We are fascinated by the fullness of vitality invested in this canvas, and shocked by the magnificent pictorial impact that makes us classify this masterpiece as a creation of the highest world class. There are few canvases in world art where portraits are depicted with such brilliance, yes, precisely portraits of dozens of trees, and if you set your mind to it, then a whole story can be told about each of the pines and firs. After all, this forest is the pride of the entire region of Russia and its preservation and preservation is a sacred matter. (I. Dolgopolov)

Sosnovy Bor, Shishkin

Ivan Shishkin
The rare popularity of Ivan Shishkin among his contemporaries and especially among subsequent generations also had its own reverse side. Numerous copies of his paintings were usually hung in provincial station waiting rooms and canteens, reproduced on candy wrappers, and all this, of course, contributed to the artist’s wide popularity. But true meaning Because of this, his presence in Russian art sometimes became dull and narrowed.
I. Shishkin did not ennoble nature in accordance with the aesthetic requirements of academicism, and she does not need it. For an artist, nature is nobility itself; it is nature that can ennoble a person both directly and in its reproduction by art. All contemporaries and subsequent generations of art critics noted that the personality of the artist himself was dissolved in nature, delighted with it. I. Shishkin did not look into himself, did not listen to his “I”, he surveyed the world enthusiastically, in complete distraction from himself, humiliating himself before the creations of beautiful nature. Many artists, depicting nature, also showed their inner world, the voice of I. Shishkin completely coincided with the voice of nature. Main creative achievements Shishkin the artist is precisely associated with the epic image national traits Russian landscape.

Russian forest

The name of Ivan Shishkin is associated with the viewer’s idea of a leisurely and majestic narrative about the life of a Russian forest, about the wilds of the forest, filled with the smell of resin and rotting windbreaks. His huge canvases were as if a detailed story about the life of mighty ship groves, shady oak forests and expansive fields with ripe rye bending in the wind. In these stories, the artist did not miss a single detail and flawlessly depicted everything: the age of the trees, their character, the soil on which they grow, and how the roots are exposed on the edges of sandy cliffs, and how stones and boulders lie in clean waters forest stream, and how the spots of sunlight are located on the green grass-ant...

We are surrounded on all sides by heroic pines and gigantic mossy spruce trees with fancifully curving branches. Everything on the artist’s canvases was filled with numerous, lovingly painted signs of forest life: roots crawling out of the ground, huge stones-boulders, stumps overgrown with moss and honey mushrooms, bushes and broken branches, grass and ferns. All this was studied to the smallest detail, chosen and written by I. Shishkin, who spent half his life in the forest and even resembled an old forest man in appearance.

Pine Grove, Shishkin

The artist’s work is an enthusiastic ode glorifying the epic beauty and power of the Russian forest. No wonder I. Kramskoy said: “Before Shishkin in Russia there were far-fetched landscapes, such as had never existed anywhere.” Even taking into account the categorical nature of such a statement, I. Kramskoy did not sin too much against historical truth. Majestic Russian nature, which served as a source poetic images in folklore and literature, indeed, for a long time was not depicted so vividly in landscape painting. And only the coloring of I. Shishkin’s landscapes was distinguished by the sophistication of the richest shades of green, the soft palette of which organically included brown spots on tree trunks. If he depicts the water surface of a pond, then it shimmers with the mother-of-pearl of the shaky reflections of trees, bushes and grasses. And nowhere does the artist fall into salonism; a sentimental perception of nature was alien to I. Shishkin. This is what allowed him to paint a truly epic masterpiece in 1898 - the painting "Ship Grove", which is considered one of the pinnacles of the artist's work.

Woodpecker

The canvas shows a typically Russian forest landscape with a rising, mighty wall of a dense coniferous forest. Its edge is literally bathed in the rays of the blessed summer sun. Its dazzling light not only gilded the crowns of the trees, but also, igniting the quivering radiance of the glare, penetrated into the depths of the forest. The impression the viewer gets from the painting is as if in reality he is inhaling the tart smell of a sun-warmed pine forest.

The water of the ferruginous stream flowing out from behind the trees also seems to be heated to the very bottom. Every grain of sand in the exposed soil of its riverbed is permeated with light.

It seemed that there was nothing special in this picture bright colors as if they are not in pine forest in reality - with its monotonous coloring of green trees and their trunks. There is no variety of plant forms in the picture, just as this is not found in the pine forest, where only one species of trees reigns. There is still a lot missing, it would seem...
Meanwhile, the picture immediately captivates the viewer national characteristics Russian landscape - majestic in its beauty, strength and strength. The specific earthly forces of nature in I. Shishkin seem unearthly powerful, absorbing everything random, base and petty.

The first impression of the picture is majestic calm and equanimity. I. Shishkin wrote it without looking for those changeable effects - morning, rain, fog, which he had before. This canvas seems to resemble “Pine Forest”, but the difference between them is very significant. If the trees are in " Sosnovy Bor"were depicted entirely - completely with the sky above them, then in the "Ship Grove" the bushes and trees on the left of the canvas disappeared, while others moved towards the viewer and occupied the entire canvas. The structure of the pines was leveled out, and there was no contrast between close and distant. Instead of the previous detailing, I. Shishkin finds another way to attract the viewer's attention, contrasting either similar or dissimilar motives.

In the center of the picture he highlights several pine trees illuminated by the sun. To the left, the pines go deeper into the grove, now appearing in the light, now hiding in the shadows. On the other side of the canvas a continuous array of greenery is shown. Next to the mighty trees that have lived for hundreds of years, I. Shishkin depicts young shoots replacing the old giants - thin pines stretch upward, speaking of young life. The tops of the huge trees are hidden behind the frame of the picture, as if they do not have enough space on the canvas, and our gaze cannot take in them entirely. Right there in the foreground, thin perches are thrown across a small stream, spreading across the sand like a layer of clear water.

“Ship Grove” was written by the artist under the impression of the nature of his native places, memorable to I. Shishkin since childhood. In the drawing for the painting he made the inscription: “Athanosophical Ship Grove near Yelabuga,” and with this canvas Ivan Shishkin completed his creative path.

CITY MAIDAN - THE SHIP GROVE IS LOCATED BEHIND IT, Nizhnekamsk

Sanatorium-preventorium "Ship Grove"
Location: Sanatorium-preventorium “Ship Grove” is located 5 km from Nizhnekamsk in a pine-spruce forest. Since the time of Russian Emperor Peter the Great, valuable wood species have been harvested here for the construction of ships for the Russian naval flotilla. The famous Russian artist Ivan Shishkin painted some of his paintings from the Ship Grove. The sanatorium has been operating since 1984. The rooms have been renovated in European style, new furniture has been installed, modern Appliances, communications have been completely replaced. Treatment facilities: Treatment rooms located on the first floor of the dormitory building. The sanatorium has a dental unit with a radiovisiograph from the German company KAVO, a system-wide magnetic therapy apparatus, a bathroom department where pearl, iodine-bromine, sea, turpentine, aromatic baths, underwater and hydromassage, inhalations, massage, dry carbon dioxide baths, galvanic mud, paraffin-osekerite applications are used, as well as equipment for the treatment of urological, gynecological and proctological diseases, herbal medicine, physical therapy.
Medical profile: improving the health of patients with respiratory diseases, of cardio-vascular system, gastrointestinal tract, musculoskeletal system, diseases of the genitourinary system, prevention of health improvement for children who often suffer from colds. Accommodation conditions: 2-bed standard rooms with amenities (per block), 2-bed two-room rooms with all amenities. Meals: 3 times a day.

Canvas, oil. 165x252 cm.
State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg.
Inv. number: Ж-4125

“The exhibition smelled of pine, the sun and light had arrived,” wrote K. Savitsky after seeing the painting. This canvas, combining harmony and grandeur, became a worthy completion of the integral and original creativity of the “singer of the Russian forest”. The landscape was based on natural studies made by Shishkin in his native Kama forests. The work embodies the deep knowledge of nature that was accumulated by the master over almost half a century of creative work. The monumental painting (the largest in size in Shishkin’s work) is the last solemn image of the forest in the epic he created, symbolizing heroic strength Russian nature.

The picture began to play, the note was strong, wonderful - congratulations, I’m not the only one, everyone is delighted; Bravo!.. The exhibition smelled of pine - sun, light...
K.A.Savitsky to I.I.Shishkin
http://www.art-catalog.ru/picture.php?id_picture=170

The artist’s work is an enthusiastic ode glorifying the epic beauty and power of the Russian forest. No wonder I. Kramskoy said: “Before Shishkin in Russia there were far-fetched landscapes, such as had never existed anywhere.” Even taking into account the categorical nature of such a statement, I. Kramskoy did not sin too much against historical truth. The majestic Russian nature, which served as a source of poetic images in folklore and literature, has indeed not been depicted so vividly in landscape painting for a long time. And only the coloring of I. Shishkin’s landscapes was distinguished by the sophistication of the richest shades of green, the soft palette of which organically included brown spots on tree trunks. If he depicts the water surface of a pond, then it shimmers with the mother-of-pearl of the shaky reflections of trees, bushes and grasses. And nowhere does the artist fall into salonism; a sentimental perception of nature was alien to I. Shishkin. This is what allowed him to paint a truly epic masterpiece in 1898 - the painting “Ship Grove”, which is considered one of the pinnacles of the artist’s work.

The water of the ferruginous stream flowing out from behind the trees also seems to be heated to the very bottom. Every grain of sand in the exposed soil of its riverbed is permeated with light.

It seemed that there were no particularly bright colors in this picture, just as there are none in the pine forest in reality - with its monotonous coloring of the green trees and their trunks. There is no variety of plant forms in the picture, just as this is not found in the pine forest, where only one species of trees reigns. There is still a lot missing, it would seem...

Meanwhile, the picture immediately captivates the viewer with the national characteristics of the Russian landscape - its majestic beauty, strength and strength. The specific earthly forces of nature in I. Shishkin seem unearthly powerful, absorbing everything random, base and petty.

The first impression of the picture is majestic calm and equanimity. I. Shishkin wrote it without looking for those changeable effects - morning, rain, fog, which he had before. This canvas seems to resemble “Pine Forest”, but the difference between them is very significant. If the trees in “Pine Forest” were depicted entirely - completely with the sky above them, then in “Ship Grove” the bushes and trees on the left of the canvas disappeared, while others moved towards the viewer and occupied the entire canvas. The structure of the pines has leveled out, and there is no contrast between close and distant. Instead of the previous detailing, I. Shishkin finds another technique to attract the viewer’s attention, contrasting either similar or dissimilar motives.

“Ship Grove” was written by the artist under the impression of the nature of his native places, memorable to I. Shishkin since childhood. In the drawing for the painting, he wrote the inscription: “Athanosophical Ship Grove near Yelabuga,” and with this canvas Ivan Shishkin completed his creative journey.
http://nearyou.ru/100kartin/100karrt_77.html

The painting “Ship Grove” (the largest in size in Shishkin’s work) is, as it were, the last, final image in the epic he created, symbolizing the heroic Russian strength. The realization of such a monumental plan as this work shows that the sixty-six-year-old artist was in full bloom creative forces, but this was where his path in art ended.
On March 8 (20), 1898, he died in his studio at the easel, on which stood a new, just begun painting, “The Forest Kingdom.”

Essay based on Shishkin's painting "Ship Grove"

At a small forest lake, like epic heroes, the gigantic pines, warmed by the hot sun, froze. It’s as if they are thirsty to drink the life-giving moisture on this sultry day, to absorb it with their mighty roots. The branches of the pine trees flew high above the ground. The crowns of these centuries-old giants are tightly closed. It feels like the sun's rays are having difficulty breaking through the dark green needles. Dean wonders how a person could transfer this forest miracle onto canvas with the help of a brush and paints.
Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin gave the painting an amazing title: “Ship Grove.” From the name it becomes clear that these pines will one day serve man - they will be used to build ships, majestic buildings... It seems that next to the painting we breathe more freely and deeply. The canvas seems to waft at us with the resinous aroma of pine, fresh forest dampness, and the delight of coniferous litter.
You pay attention to the fence made of twigs and branches, which seems to protect dense forest from uninvited guests. You can feel the presence of a person who cares about protecting the green giants. Who can threaten the forest? Only a man with an axe. Here is the forest lake - like an obstacle on the path of a random traveler. True, a log thrown across the surface of the water serves as a kind of signpost to the traveler. In the right corner of the picture one can discern a path that gets lost somewhere around the bend.
The sky in the picture occupies an insignificant place, but sunlight fills the entire foreground. It warms up the trunks of the pines, penetrates to the bottom of the lake and the hill behind it, caresses the young pines. I want to cross to the other side, fight in the thicket and wait for some miracle. And the miracle is the trees themselves. They are in front of us. They are open to our eyes. Shishkin wrote his masterpiece “Ship Grove” in 1898, the same year he died. The “Ship Grove” exudes majestic calm and imperturbable strength. The artist told us about eternal life native nature, about inexhaustible power native land and its ageless, ever-renewing beauty.

An essay based on the painting by I. I. Shishkin “Ship Grove”.
A master of landscape and singer of his native nature, Shishkin created another masterpiece in his time - the painting “Ship Grove”. This picture touches with its purity and naivety.
The canvas depicts ancient trees, between which a shallow but quite wide river rolls into the distance. There is a small wooden bridge across the river, which is made of thin boards and remnants of wood. Stones of the most varied kind are scattered along the banks of the river. different sizes, and to the side of the bridge you can see a ford, the edge of which is marked with a board. Most likely, people crossed the river in this place even before the bridge appeared, and perhaps it appeared quite recently. Along the banks of the river, under ancient trees, there is a carpet of slightly yellowed grass, which usually appears in mid-summer.

In order to convey the beauty of the forest, Shishkin chose very unusual colors- green, brown and yellow. Thanks to their skillful combination, it becomes clear that summer has already crossed the halfway mark - and is gradually, inexorably moving towards its logical conclusion.
The painting touched me to the depths of my soul with its truthfulness, which distinguishes other paintings by Shishkin. I would like to know better native nature, but, unfortunately, not every person is given this.

Shishkin "Ship Grove".
The rare popularity of Ivan Shishkin among his contemporaries and especially among subsequent generations also had its downside. Numerous copies of his paintings were usually hung in provincial station waiting rooms and canteens, reproduced on candy wrappers, and all this, of course, contributed to the artist’s wide popularity. But its true meaning in Russian art sometimes became dim and narrowed because of this.
I. Shishkin did not ennoble nature in accordance with the aesthetic requirements of academicism, and she does not need it. For an artist, nature is nobility itself; it is nature that can ennoble a person both directly and in its reproduction by art. All contemporaries and subsequent generations of art critics noted that the personality of the artist himself was dissolved in nature, delighted with it. I. Shishkin did not look into himself, did not listen to his “I”, he surveyed the world enthusiastically, in complete distraction from himself, humiliating himself before the creations of beautiful nature. Many artists, depicting nature, also showed their inner world, but I. Shishkin’s voice completely coincided with the voice of nature. The main creative achievements of Shishkin the artist are precisely related to the epic depiction of the national features of the Russian landscape.
The name of Ivan Shishkin is associated with the viewer’s idea of a leisurely and majestic narrative about the life of a Russian forest, about the wilds of the forest, filled with the smell of resin and rotting windbreaks. His huge canvases were like a detailed story about the life of mighty ship groves, shady oak forests and expansive fields with ripe rye bending in the wind. In these stories, the artist did not miss a single detail and flawlessly depicted everything: the age of the trees, their character, the soil on which they grow, and how the roots are exposed on the edges of sandy cliffs, and how boulders lie in the clear waters of a forest stream, and how there are spots of sunlight on the green ant grass...
We are surrounded on all sides by heroic pines and gigantic mossy spruce trees with fancifully curving branches. Everything on the artist’s canvases was filled with numerous, lovingly painted signs of forest life: roots crawling out of the ground, huge stones-boulders, stumps overgrown with moss and honey mushrooms, bushes and broken branches, grass and ferns. All this was studied to the smallest detail, chosen and written by I. Shishkin, who spent half his life in the forest and even resembled an old forest man in appearance.
The artist’s work is an enthusiastic ode glorifying the epic beauty and power of the Russian forest. No wonder I. Kramskoy said: “Before Shishkin in Russia there were far-fetched landscapes, such as had never existed anywhere.” Even taking into account the categorical nature of such a statement, I. Kramskoy did not sin too much against historical truth. The majestic Russian nature, which served as a source of poetic images in folklore and literature, has indeed not been depicted so vividly in landscape painting for a long time. And only the coloring of I. Shishkin’s landscapes was distinguished by the sophistication of the richest shades of green, the soft palette of which organically included brown spots on tree trunks. If he depicts the water surface of a pond, then it shimmers with the mother-of-pearl of the shaky reflections of trees, bushes and grasses. And nowhere does the artist fall into salonism; a sentimental perception of nature was alien to I. Shishkin. This is what allowed him to paint a truly epic masterpiece in 1898 - the painting "Ship Grove", which is considered one of the pinnacles of the artist's work.
The canvas shows a typically Russian forest landscape with a rising, mighty wall of a dense coniferous forest. Its edge is literally bathed in the rays of the blessed summer sun. Its dazzling light not only gilded the crowns of the trees, but also, igniting the quivering radiance of the glare, penetrated into the depths of the forest. The impression the viewer gets from the painting is as if in reality he is inhaling the tart smell of a sun-warmed pine forest.
The water of the ferruginous stream flowing out from behind the trees also seems to be heated to the very bottom. Every grain of sand in the exposed soil of its riverbed is permeated with light.
It seemed that there were no particularly bright colors in this picture, just as there are none in the pine forest in reality - with its monotonous coloring of the greenery of the trees and their trunks. There is no variety of plant forms in the picture, just as this is not found in the pine forest, where only one species of trees reigns. There is still a lot missing, it would seem...
Meanwhile, the picture immediately captivates the viewer with the national characteristics of the Russian landscape - its majestic beauty, strength and strength. The specific earthly forces of nature in I. Shishkin seem unearthly powerful, absorbing everything random, base and petty.
The first impression of the picture is majestic calm and equanimity. I. Shishkin wrote it without looking for those changeable effects - morning, rain, fog, which he had before. This canvas seems to resemble “Pine Forest”, but the difference between them is very significant. If the trees in “Pine Forest” were depicted entirely - completely with the sky above them, then in “Ship Grove” the bushes and trees on the left of the canvas disappeared, while others moved towards the viewer and occupied the entire canvas. The structure of the pines has leveled out, and there is no contrast between close and distant. Instead of the previous detailing, I. Shishkin finds another technique to attract the viewer’s attention, contrasting either similar or dissimilar motives.
In the center of the picture he highlights several pine trees illuminated by the sun. To the left, the pines go deeper into the grove, now appearing in the light, now hiding in the shadows. On the other side of the canvas a continuous array of greenery is shown. Next to the mighty trees that have lived for hundreds of years, I. Shishkin depicts young shoots replacing the old giants - thin pines stretch upward, speaking of young life. The tops of the huge trees are hidden behind the frame of the picture, as if they do not have enough space on the canvas, and our gaze cannot take in them entirely. Right there in the foreground, thin perches are thrown across a small stream, spreading across the sand like a layer of clear water. “The Ship Grove” was written by the artist under the impression of the nature of his native places, memorable to I. Shishkin since childhood. In the drawing for the painting he wrote the inscription: “Athanosophical “Ship Grove” near Yelabuga,” and with this canvas Ivan Shishkin completed his creative journey.

An essay based on Ivan Shishkin's painting "Ship Grove".
Now in front of me is wonderful picture Russian artist Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin "Ship Grove". This work is the pinnacle of the artist’s creativity, where he brought together all his love for Russian nature and his native land.
Shishkin depicted in the picture a sunny summer day in a pine grove. On foreground we see a small stream. Perhaps it used to be a shallow river, which became shallow over time. The artist masterfully paints water. It looks like the real thing, it reflects pine trees, shore and grass. You can even see that there is a slight current. There is probably only ankle-deep water in this stream. This can be judged by the sandy island, by the stones that almost completely rise above the surface of the water, along the banks. In summer, in hot weather, you can walk along this stream barefoot. Or you can follow a log that someone placed on a rock from the shore. People walk through this stream because there is a visible path to the water and to the log.
The fence also indicates that there are people here. It was probably made to prevent the herd of cows from scattering when they came here to drink water. This fence was made a long time ago, and it is clear that in some places the logs have fallen.
In the background we see a grove of majestic pine trees. They have been growing on this land for decades and drinking water from the stream. The artist very subtly conveys all the beauty of these trees. A mighty trunk, heavy branches with green needles stretch upward towards bright sun. Nearby we also see small pine trees growing on the edge. The grove is very dense, sometimes sunlight does not even penetrate into its depths, and therefore in summer it is cool there and you can hide from the scorching sun and heat.
The whole picture is made in one color scheme. These are green, yellow, brown, beige shades. Thanks to the skillful combination of these colors, the overall tone is set for the picture - sunny, warm and summery.
Painting by I.I. I really liked Shishkin's "Ship Grove". Looking at it, I remember summer, vacations, trips to the forest, and it seems to me that even now the aroma of pine resin emanates from the painting. Probably, the artist also felt it when he worked on this masterpiece of painting.

Description of the painting by I. I. Shishkin “Ship Grove”.
“Afonasovskaya “Ship Grove” near Yelabuga” is the last major work of I. I. Shishkin, his “swan song”. It was created by the artist in 1898 and is a summary of the creative and life experience the artist, all the knowledge that he has accumulated over a considerable creative life.
Majesty, peace and equanimity - these are the main feelings that permeate the picture. In it we will not find changeable effects. Before us is a typical Russian landscape, an image of a pine mast forest on a clear sunny day.
All nature is bathed in slightly pinkish sun rays: And coniferous forest, illuminated by the sun, and a forest hillock, and a transparent forest stream with a rocky bottom. The painter is soulful, with great love conveyed the tranquility of the grove, its peaceful silence.
Huge trees, several in girth, give the painting “Ship Grove” a genuine monumentality. The canvas tells in detail about the life of mighty pines. The epic character of the pine grove with huge giant pines, as if supporting the sky with mighty crowns, is combined in the picture with the lyricism of evening lighting. In the painting "Ship Grove" Shishkin again glorifies nature with its slender forests, resinous air, clear water and gentle, fertile sun. Nature is endowed by the artist with a powerful force that absorbs everything base, random, and petty. But at the same time, Shishkin never tires of admiring the most insignificant details from the life of the Russian forest: roots crawling out of the ground, stumps, overgrown honey mushrooms, broken branches and sun spots on the soft green grass.
The author’s feelings are conveyed to us - it’s as if we are inhaling the tart smell of heated pine bark and admiring the trembling of the sun’s glare on the edge. And looking at this monumental work, following Shishkin, we involuntarily feel proud of the majestic beauty and immensity of our homeland.