And Kuindzhi birch grove is the history of creation. Composition based on the painting by Kuindzhi Birch Grove (description)

Arkhip Ivanovich Kuindzhi is one of the recognized Russian landscape masters. Each of his paintings amazes the viewer with the depth of color reproduction and the play of color. Talented placement of accents, the artist has ensured that his paintings literally exude light. Kuindzhi's canvases combine naive romanticism and realism, deep philosophical meaning and rustic natural motifs. But each of his paintings is a breakthrough, a new word in the art of landscape.

Among the paintings of the master, one of his early works stands out: “Birch Grove”. Now the picture is being exhibited at the Tretyakov Gallery, and viewers and critics still note its unusual liveliness and alluring appeal.

The picture was painted in the spirit of romanticism, so beloved by Arkhip Ivanovich. On the canvas you can see a rather ordinary Russian landscape: a clearing illuminated by the bright sun, in the center of a birch grove. A pastoral, bright picture filled with love for life, nature and the Motherland. With the help of oil and canvas, Arkhip Ivanovich masterfully conveys the atmosphere of a hot summer day, when sunlight floods the forest glade, giving life-giving warmth.

But thanks to the sharp contrast of rich greens of all colors and shades, rich light tones and light strokes, the picture creates the impression of a huge space inside it. It is as if a whole world is hidden in the frame, with a real forest and living trees. Kuindzhi's special manner creates the illusion of soft, flowing light emitted by the painting.

In the background, the dark crowns of trees turn green, standing out brightly against the light blue sky. As he approached the viewer, the artist highlighted individual trees. Crowns are not visible in the picture, only light birch trunks and small branches. The author depicted both very young, thin birch trees, and mature trees, bent from the winds. The soft green grass at the bottom contrasts with the dark green of the grove.

The canvas is divided into two parts by a muddy stream. To the left of it there are more shadows, this part of the grove is not so brightly lit, therefore it contrasts with the right half, sunny and bright. A brook covered with duckweed, which seems to be a continuation of the sky, resting against its blueness on the horizon, divides the forest into two halves.

The painting did not acquire its true form immediately, before that the artist made several sketches, where the birches are either half-hidden by a thick shadow, or, on the contrary, illuminated by the sun without any hint of shadows. Only bright sparkling light.

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Russian artist A.I. Kuindzhi became known to the public for his landscapes in the style of romanticism. But none of his works gave him as much fame as brought her painting "Birch Grove", created in 1879. This work fell in love with the audience so much that for a long time after its first appearance at the exhibition, all critics spoke only about this canvas, and the stream of those who wanted to look at the “pure beauty”, as this work was called, did not dry up. The artist was touched by such an attitude of strangers towards his work, at first he was embarrassed by the national fame that suddenly came to him, but after that he was especially proud of this picture. So much so that I decided to write several of its options so that everyone could see the canvas. He also wrote many similar paintings on this subject. Birch has become an integral part of most of his paintings.

The author does not go into detail, he does not try to highlight every leaf on a tree or a flower on the ground. The main thing for the artist is the transfer of the contrast of light and shadow, a certain struggle between light and dark. It is the contrast that creates the mood.

Most researchers just note the mood conveyed by the canvas. In art, this task is much more important than just the transfer of features - a clear image of tree branches, branches, grass and every flower. The main thing is to be able to express the feeling that arises when examining the canvas.

In fact, Kuindzhi depicted only a small fragment of a birch grove, which he could see with one glance, without looking around, without raising his head. These are some birch trunks. Even their crowns did not fit into the picture. For Kuindzhi, they are not needed at all - he believes that the audience's imagination will present them. Here it is important for the artist to be able to convey the victory of light, to depict how the rays of the bright sun change everything around.

In the foreground, dense vegetation is depicted, on which a shadow falls. The grass literally becomes one with water of the same shade from a swampy stream. The reservoir divides the canvas into two equal parts.

The middle plan of the picture is created by thin and light birch trunks. Behind them is a meadow heated by the rays of the heavenly body.

In the background - directly a grove of birches, which gave the name to the work. A piece of clear sky is visible above the trees.

Birches are not one by one, as is usually the case, but in small groups. It seems as if these girlfriends have wandered off in pairs to gossip about the innermost: they leaned towards each other to hear better, and whisper secrets.
Thanks to the lines clearly expressed in the picture, a certain geometric pattern is obtained. Indeed, decorativeness is one of the features of Kuindzhi's creativity.

In addition, sometimes it seems that the author went too far with the number of colors - this picture is so juicy and colorful. In fact, the author used only shades of green and blue, as well as contrasting white and black colors. But the play of light and shadow allows our gaze to finish in our minds other shades that may arise before the gaze of a person who finds himself on a sunny summer day in a birch grove.

Looking at this picture, a person will certainly want to smile and begin to enjoy a bright sunny day, even if in reality there is a snowstorm outside the window and a blizzard howls.

"Birch Grove"- a painting by the Russian artist Arkhip Kuindzhi (1841/1842-1910), written in 1879. The painting is part of the collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery. The size of the painting is 97×181 cm.

• 1. History
• 2 Description
• 3 Reviews
• 4 Other paintings
• 5 See also
• 6 Notes
• 7 Links

Story

The painting "Birch Grove" was first shown in 1879 at the 7th exhibition of the Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions ("Wanderers"). Both the artists and the audience who visited the exhibition noted the unusual nature of the painting, which was later destined to become one of Kuindzhi's most famous paintings.

Description

The painting was painted by the artist in the style of a romantic landscape. As in other paintings by Kuindzhi, a significant effect is achieved by unusual combinations of light and color, a sharp contrast of sun and shadow, which gives the impression of very bright sunlight. The upper part of the birches is not shown, only the trunks and small green branches are visible, which stand out in light green against the dark green forest. The picture is divided into two parts by a stream flowing through the center.

Reviews

Art critic Vladimir Petrov wrote in his article dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the birth of Arkhip Kuindzhi:

Other paintings

Kuindzhi also painted several more paintings and sketches under the title "Birch Grove". One of the paintings, painted in 1901, is in the National Art Museum of Belarus.

see also

• List of paintings by Arkhip Ivanovich Kuindzhi
• Birch grove (painting by Levitan)

Notes

1. 1 2 Kuindzhi Arkhip Ivanovich - Birch Grove (HTML). State Tretyakov Gallery, www.tretyakovgallery.ru. Retrieved July 2, 2012. Archived from the original on October 8, 2012.
2. 1 2 Collection: World Artistic Culture - Kuindzhi Arkhip Ivanovich - Birch Grove (1879) (HTML). Russian educational portal, artclassic.edu.ru. Retrieved July 2, 2012. Archived from the original on October 8, 2012.
3. 1 2 Vladimir Petrov. Article for the 150th anniversary of Kuindzhi (HTML). www.kuinje.ru Retrieved July 2, 2012. Archived from the original on September 28, 2012.
4. Arkhip Ivanovich Kuindzhi. Gallery of paintings of the artist - Images of birches (HTML). www.kuinje.ru Retrieved 12 July 2012. Archived from the original on 8 October 2012.
5. Kuindzhi - Gallery in alphabetical order - "B" (HTML). Arkhip Ivanovich Kuindzhi, kuinji.ru. Retrieved July 2, 2012. Archived from the original on October 8, 2012.
6. Collection: World Artistic Culture - Kuindzhi Arkhip Ivanovich - Birch Grove (1901) (HTML). Russian educational portal, artclassic.edu.ru. Retrieved 12 July 2012. Archived from the original on 8 October 2012.

Links

• "Birch Grove" in the database of the Tretyakov Gallery
• Arkhip Ivanovich Kuindzhi. Gallery of the artist's paintings - Birch Grove. 1879 (HTML). www.kuinje.ru Retrieved July 2, 2012. Archived from the original on October 8, 2012.

Birch grove (painting by Kuindzhi)

Kuindzhi Arkhip Ivanovich "Birch Grove" 1879

"Birch Grove"
1879
Canvas, oil. 97 x 181 cm
State Tretyakov Gallery

The picture attracts and delights with its simplicity, national identity. The plot of the composition from the first moments becomes native, cozy at home. The artist depicted a small green meadow flooded with sunlight. The meadow is cut by a stream, sometimes covered with duckweed. On one of its banks are sleepy birch trees, illuminated by the sun and contrasting with the dark outlines of the forest in the background.
The picture fascinates with its lightness, a certain decorative effect: there are almost no details or accents. Everything is very airy. Only a few birch branches attract attention, which the author of the picture draws with great love and realism.
Critics quite rightly find a certain Levitan style in the composition: Kuindzhi, creating "Birch Grove", relies on the imagination of his viewer, gives him only a general composition, the viewer thinks out the details himself.
The contrast of the combinations should also be noted: snow-white, light-washed birch trunks are shaded by a dark, in some places almost black forest, which is depicted in the background.
Kuiji is rightfully considered an "artist of light": the canvas "Birch Grove" is the best proof of this. A subtle combination of light and shadow, sunbeams jumping on tree trunks and darkened water admiring the depth - all this conveys the freedom of a corner of the grove, the radiance of a summer day.
Numerous sketches were made beforehand. All of them are united by the presence of birch trees on a dark background.

"Master of Light" - such a nickname was given to Kuindzhi by other artists. Since for them it was always a secret of his unusual talent to depict light so realistically that it seemed as if it was not a picture, but a photograph. Until now, many artists look at the paintings in confusion and do not understand how and with what it is possible to convey the light of the moon or the sun's rays in order to squint when looking at them.
The work "Birch Grove" was written in 1879. The canvas depicts a bright, radiant and sparkling day with sunlight. Everything is calm and quiet around, a certain indescribable joy and delight settles in the soul.
The corner of the birch forest, absorbed in the game of "bunnies", is so skillfully depicted that you involuntarily become a witness to an unusual performance - the sun's rays are woven into the hanging branches of birches and "ride" on them, blown by a light summer breeze. And it seems that if you listen closely, you can hear the rustle of leaves and the singing of birds, the chirping of grasshoppers in the tall and soft grass. The fullness of the contrast of green and its shades, allows you to take a closer look at the depth and splendor of the birch forest.
Next, we are transferred to the stream, which, with its fresh and cool stream, takes us into the depths of the canvas, to where it can no longer be seen. However, the feeling of freshness and purity sharply creates a contrast between the summer heat and the saving coolness of the clear waters of the stream.
In order to give the forest density and depth, the artist draws dark silhouettes against the far background of the picture, but does not give them a concrete form, which indicates that the most important thing here, in front of the eyes, is spread out in full view.
Kuindzhi achieves such subtlety of lighting effects with the help of a properly selected composition of color and contrast. After all, you can feel the light so subtly, being in darkness. Therefore, the author prefers to combine dark tones with light ones, so that one stands out against the background of others with its depth and purity. The dark forest gives us the opportunity to perceive the blue sky and the almost luminous birch trunks more vividly.
The artist is in awe of Russian landscapes, because the Russian forest is full of thoughts and hopes, desires and prayers, which are very clearly felt when you get into this wondrous nature.

Birch Grove - Arkhip Ivanovich Kuindzhi. 1879. Oil on canvas. 97x181 cm

The painting was created specifically for the 7th exhibition of the Artistic Traveling Society, and immediately aroused the surprise of the public and viewers - the color scheme of the canvas was so unusual for everyone.

Although many people liked the joyful, bright mood of the work, it was this picture that was the impulse that divorced the artist from. Shortly after the exhibition, an anonymous article under the pseudonym "Amateur" appeared in the newspaper "Molva", which accused Kuindzhi of bad taste - the author de "re-greens" his paintings too much. Also in the article there were doubts about Kuindzhi's talent in principle, and it was also said that lighting effects are not the result of a filigree possession of technology, but the use of lighting devices that are hidden behind the canvases of paintings. The name of the mysterious "Amateur" was very soon revealed, it turned out to be a colleague "in the shop" Kuindzhi, a member of the traveling society M. Klodt.

Kuindzhi demanded the exclusion of the offender from the Wanderers, however, no one responded to this request, and Arkhip Ivanovich left himself. However, biographers agree that the conflict between Kuindzhi and Klodt was just a pretext - the painter has long stepped over the socially accusatory framework of art promoted by society, and "Birch Grove" is a vivid confirmation of this.

Having conceived a plot that was used in his work by a great many Russian artists (,), the master searched for the ideal composition for a long time - this is evidenced by the preserved sketches and sketches. From these artifacts, one can trace how the author chose the height of the trees, the area of ​​​​the clearing, thought how much space to give under the forest. That is, there is nothing spontaneous in this picture, it is the fruit of a well-thought-out artistic thought and by no means an open-air work.

What is the decorativeness of the picture? If you pay attention to the groups of birch trees, which are placed on the canvas with verified accuracy, or rather on the bases of the trunks, you can see how they are deliberately flattened, which creates some convention. Also, decorativeness is manifested in static nature - the foliage on the trees seems to be frozen, and the air is so transparent that it is obvious: there is not a single breath of breeze in the clearing. The thicket in the depths of the picture is devoid of detail - it is a dark green wall, designed to set off color contrasts.

But all the beauty lies in the piercing greenery and sunlight. The artist deliberately "lowered" the shadow to the foreground, further emphasizing the contrast in relation to the sunlit meadow.

You do not immediately notice a stream with greenish water, although it flows in the very center - it seems that the sun breaking through the crown of trees has thus transformed the path. However, the gleaming mirror surface confirms that it is the stream that conditionally divides the canvas into two halves.

The author used pure bright colors, and if you look fragmentarily, it seems that they are simply sometimes simply unrealistic, but as soon as you take a wide look at the canvas, you feel this sunny bright day almost physically.

Kuindzhi, with his decorativeness, simplification, and innovative use of the power of color, was in many ways ahead of his time, and therefore not everyone immediately accepted the work, although it was the Birch Grove that was destined to become the artist's "calling card".

And rightly so - the "birch" theme did not let the painter go all his life. In addition to the most famous work, there are five more with the same name, of which only two are considered complete. The third picture has caused the most controversy - in addition to the vertical format, there is a search in the field of symbolism in it ... but that's a completely different story.