In the painting by the artist A. M. Gerasimov “After the Rain”, we see a terrace captured on a warm summer day. There has been heavy rain recently. Everything around is covered with a wet sheen. The floor flooded with water sparkles brightly, the railings and benches shine. A wet table on carved legs shines with a wet sheen. The puddles reflect the railings, the foliage of the trees surrounding the terrace.
From the blows of large drops of rain, a glass that stood on the table next to a jug of flowers fell, the petals fell from the flowers and stuck to the wet surface of the table. The branches of the trees in the garden sagged a little under the weight of the rain-washed foliage. Their greenery has changed, after the rain it looks more bright and juicy.
The still dim rays of the sun fall on the lush trees. The sky is gray, but it is already beginning to brighten, like windows washed after a long winter. A dim light also falls on the roof of the barn, which is visible through the foliage in the depths of the garden. She sparkles like silver, so adorned her with rain and the rays of the sun, which hardly break through the clouds.
Gerasimov's painting "After the Rain" made a very strong impression on me. Despite the fact that the weather, when the author painted the picture, has not yet completely improved, it is all filled with light, bright brilliance, amazing purity of nature washed by the summer rain. The artist himself was so delighted with the beauty of the refreshed nature that opened up to him that he wrote this wonderful work literally in one breath, without modifications or corrections.
Together with the article “Essay based on the painting by Gerasimov “After the Rain” (Wet Terrace), Grade 6” they read:
Share:"Wet" effect in Gerasimov's painting "After the Rain".
Let's take a look at Alexander Gerasimov's painting "After the Rain" together. What is this? Genre scene without people? Still life? Scenery? This picture includes elements of different genres and themes are interesting. We see a terrace on which, perhaps, only an hour ago people were sitting - drinking tea, reading newspapers, someone, probably, was embroidering on a now empty bench. It could be a genre scene. The artist could have depicted how people run away from the terrace because of the sudden rush of rain. We can only guess about it, but the setting is typical of a good genre scene. We see a table on which a vase of flowers and an upturned glass are located (apparently it was turned over by a gust of wind) - a typical still life. In the background we have a clean beautiful landscape - a summer garden washed by rain.
Looking at the picture, we feel the freshness after the rain, the humidity of the air. The artist was very good at conveying exactly the atmosphere that arises after a summer downpour. Everything we see is wet from the rain. And this, perhaps, is the most amazing thing, how successfully the painter managed to write rainwater on literally all surfaces. It can be seen that the downpour has just passed and not a drop has dried up yet, has not evaporated. The water is shining, thanks to the already peeking sun, we see its rays breaking through the garden. All surfaces - table, floor, bench, foliage, in the glare. Rainbow highlights are painted with great skill and we have no doubts - if we could put our palm on this bench or run our hand over the foliage of a tree - there would be drops of water on it.
Not every artist was able to accurately paint nature after the rain. Not everyone knows how to accurately convey the "wet" effect. But the Russian artist Gerasimov always loved and knew how to portray him. Once, when he was already a very famous master, he came to his parents in the city of Kozlov, where on a summer day the whole family was sitting on the terrace. Suddenly it began to rain, so hard that even the terrace, protected by railings and the roof, was instantly wet. The sun came out right there. Everything sparkled with such purity, looked so delightful that the artist did not wait even a minute, grabbed the canvas and palette and immediately began to paint a picture. We can imagine where he placed the easel - at the back of the terrace. Gerasimov used darker colors in the foreground of the painting, bright ones in the middle, and very light ones in the background. Our gaze tends to the brightest, sunniest. The painter managed not only to depict the beauty of the moment, but also to convey the mood - admiring, upbeat.
Gerasimov wrote many outstanding works during his life, for which he received prizes and awards. But the picture "After the rain. Wet terrace" was his favorite. He considered it his best painting.
Composition
Alexander Mikhailovich Gerasimov is a famous Soviet artist whose works belong to the realism and socialist realism trends. Many of his paintings - landscapes, still lifes, portraits related to these areas - amaze with their liveliness and brilliance. Gerasimov's landscapes are seemingly simple, but in each work you can find something that will touch the soul, cause a surge of emotions, and be remembered for a long time. However, his work “After the Rain” (“Wet Terrace”) stands out among the other canvases of the artist. The creator himself paid special attention to this particular work in his memoirs about life and work.
This picture, painted in one breath in the painter's hometown of Kozlov, is not a momentary creation. Having left for a quiet town for the sake of a quiet and relaxing pastime, the artist, however, continues to create. Still lifes and portraits, sketches of landscapes, captivating with calm beauty, are born here.
The moral and creative preparation of the artist for writing this work went on for a long time. Gerasimov often sketched grass, objects, roads and roofs wet from rain. Many recognized that the artist succeeds in this experience especially well.
In her memoirs, the creator's sister colorfully described the creation of the picture: on the day the canvas was painted, there was a particularly strong and stormy summer downpour. After him, nature looked unusually fresh and picturesque: the water, sparkling in the sun, lay on the foliage, the floor of the veranda, the paths of the garden. And above the trees of the garden the freshly washed cloudless sky receded into the distance.
Admiring the view opening before him, the artist stood at the easel. Literally in three hours one of the most picturesque canvases of the artist was painted.
What attracts this light, even poetic work? The painting depicts a rather ordinary landscape - a corner of a gazebo or veranda with carved railings and a bench along them. The composition of the work is extremely simple: on the right, somewhat disturbing the balance, there is an old table with a vase in which there are flowers - most likely, simple garden flowers. On the left plan - the floor and the railing and bench going to the right. Everywhere: on the floor, bench, table - water shimmers and glistens, and immediately behind the gazebo the garden begins, also wet from the recent rain.
The colors are clean, bright, joyful - the green of wet foliage, the gold and dark bronze of a rain-washed tree, the clear azure of the sky that begins behind the veranda and is reflected in puddles on the floor. A bouquet in a vase stands out as a special color spot - a cheerful and pleasant pink color combined with white and green.
The picture does not leave behind a feeling of straining, artificiality. The images captured by the artist are fresh and light, direct and pure - they feel the swiftness and lightness of the brush of the painter himself.
How is such an effect of reliability and at the same time lightness of the image achieved? When working on the canvas, the artist used the technique of reflexes - this is the name of the artistic and visual technique, in which small details play a huge role. In this case, the key points that create a special mood of purity and freshness are reflections and reflections: juicy green strokes on the veranda are reflections of overhanging garden greenery, bluish and pink spots on the table are reflections and reflections left on a wet surface by a bright spot of the bouquet. The entire canvas is permeated with an interweaving of shadows and light, but the shadows do not leave an oppressive and oppressive feeling, on the contrary, they are colorful and multi-colored. A lot of silver and mother-of-pearl are sun glare on wet surfaces and leaves. When creating images of wet surfaces, the painter used the glazing technique to achieve the effect of special authenticity. When using such a tool, the paint is applied in several layers - first, the main stroke of paint, then several translucent and completely transparent strokes. At the same time, surfaces and objects painted in this technique look brilliant, as if varnished. This becomes especially noticeable in the fragments of the picture depicting a section of the plank floor of the veranda, the surface of a long bench, and a table top.
The contrasting spot is the bouquet, painted in deliberately rough, broad strokes. Thanks to this, the flowers look especially impressive - voluminous and lively.
You should also pay attention to lighting accents. It is thanks to them that the picture looks lively and somewhat solemn. The main sources of light are outside the perspective of the canvas - somewhere behind the trees of the garden. At the same time, the light is dim, it does not hit the eyes - it creates the effect of a summer sun peeking out from behind the clouds, passing after noon and heading for sunset. The trees in the background of the canvas, as if woven from thousands of shimmering green glass and reminiscent of stained glass work, are illuminated along the contour and thus isolated from the overall composition of the picture. This artistic technique is called counter-jour.
The general mood of the picture is fresh, sparkling, joyful. The artist managed to reveal the poetry and beauty of ordinary, rather mundane things. The beauty of the objects depicted is simple and unsophisticated, but with the help of these very simple things, flooded with water, the creator also conveyed the freshness of a cool garden still covered with rainwater.
The sincerity and purity of feelings that Gerasimov was able to convey to his work fascinate and charge with a special energy of freshness. It seems that you will reach out your hand, touch the clean, still wet leaves of a hanging branch - and cool drops will pleasantly refresh your skin after a stuffy and hot summer day. A fresh breeze will bring with it the smell of wet earth and grass, the sun, gently looking into the gaps between the trees, will touch your cheek - and here it is, simple and sincere, like the picture itself, the happiness of being close to nature will overwhelm you, like a stormy downpour that has just passed.
Many Russian and Soviet artists created beautiful paintings. One of these artists is A. Gerasimov. I especially liked his painting "After the Rain", its second name is "Wet Terrace".
In the foreground of this canvas, the artist depicted the terrace of a private house, possibly a dacha. The terrace has a bench and a table. On the table is a vase with a bouquet of roses. The railing of the terrace, its floor, bench, table are all wet. This suggests that the rain has passed quite recently. The terrace hasn't dried yet. I sincerely admire how Gerasimov was able to convey the shine of wet wood. It seems that we really went out onto the porch after the rain and see small puddles on the wooden floor, which reflect the veranda itself and the trees growing around the house. The table is also wet. But the objects on the table tell us that it was not just rain, but a downpour with a strong wind. This is evidenced by rose petals on the table and an overturned glass. The heads of the flowers drooped under the weight of the raindrops, so it was not just a little rain.
The walls of the barn were gray from the rain.
The sky is not visible in the picture, but it is noticeable that the sun's rays penetrate through the leaves of the trees onto the veranda. From their light, all colors become even brighter.
I really liked this picture. Gerasimov drew everything very believable. When I look at this picture, it seems to me that I smell the wet grass after the rain and the cool freshness of the air.
The artist Alexander Mikhailovich Gerasimov stood at the origins of the new, Soviet pictorial art. His brush belongs to many official, "ceremonial" and informal, "everyday" portraits of the leaders of the first persons of the state, including Lenin and Stalin, representatives of the Bolshevik, communist intelligentsia. He also captured the most important events in the life of the country - the launch of the metro station, the round date of the celebration of the October Revolution. A multiple laureate awarded with medals and orders, including the Honored Art Worker, the First President of the Academy of Arts, Alexander Mikhailovich, at the same time, did not consider these works to be the main ones in his work. His most expensive brainchild was a small canvas, very simple in plot, which, however, reflected the true soul of a great Artist, Master.
"Wet Terrace"
This is Gerasimov's painting "After the Rain", the second name of which is "Wet Terrace". It is known to every schoolchild for which generation it has been included in the school curriculum as a manual for teaching writing essays. Reproductions from the canvas are placed in Russian language textbooks for grades 6-7 (various editions). The very same painting by Gerasimov “After the Rain” is in one of the exhibitions. It was painted in oil on canvas, the size of the work is small - 78 by 85 cm. Spectators invariably crowd in front of the canvas, carefully peer into the details, study, admire, absorb into themselves.
Best Creation
In Soviet painting, especially the first half of the 20th century, there are very few works of this type, like Gerasimov's painting "After the Rain". Subtle lyricism, surprisingly accurate rendering of the poetically pure, fresh atmosphere of summer nature washed by rain, juicy color, special energy - all this makes the artist's work very special. No wonder the master of her and only her considered his best creation. Time has confirmed the prioritization. Of course, the bright talent of the author is clearly demonstrated in his other works. But it was Gerasimov's painting "After the Rain" that survived ideological storms and disputes and turned out to be out of time, out of the politicization of art, proving its real aesthetic value.
Creating a masterpiece
Let's fast forward to 1935. What is happening at this time in the USSR? Firstly, the 7th Congress of Soviets, significant for important state decisions. The congress of collective farm shock workers, at which the working peasantry reports to the government about their loyalty to the chosen course. The movement of multi-machine weavers begins. The first line of the Moscow metro is being launched. Being in the thick of events, Gerasimov responds to them with bright, original creativity. By 1935, he was promoted to the forefront of the best masters of socialist painting. However, the artist more and more clearly feels a certain spiritual breakdown, fatigue and a desire to abandon everything and go home, to the distant provincial town of Kozlov, in the Tambov region, to rest.
It was there that Gerasimov's painting "After the Rain" was painted. The history of the creation of the masterpiece has come down to us in the memoirs of his sister. The artist was delighted with the garden completely transformed after a heavy downpour, a wet terrace sparkling like a mirror with the extraordinary freshness and fragrance of the air, the most unusual atmosphere reigning in nature. In feverish impatience, taking up the palette, Alexander Mikhailovich in one breath, in just 3 hours, painted a canvas that entered the golden fund of Russian and Soviet landscape painting.
Starting to analyze the work (element of the lesson)
As already mentioned, Gerasimov's painting "After the Rain" is analyzed in the school course. An essay on it helps to develop the skills of coherent written speech, the creative abilities of students, contributes to the formation of aesthetic taste, a subtle perception of nature. Let's join the wonderful canvas. In what year Gerasimov's painting "After the Rain" was painted, we already know - in 1935, in the summer. In the foreground we see terraces. It is dazzlingly shiny, as if carefully polished and varnished. The heaviest summer rain has just ended. Nature has not yet had time to come to its senses, all alarmed and disheveled, and the last drops are still no, no, yes, and break down with a resounding thud on the wooden floorboards. Dark brown, with standing puddles, they reflect every object like a mirror. The breaking sun leaves its warm golden reflections on the floor.
Foreground
Than Gerasimov's "After the Rain"? The description of the canvas is difficult to do in parts, fragments. It has an amazing effect on the viewer as a whole. Every detail of Gerasimov's work is significant and harmonious. Here is the railing and the bench. Closer to the inside of the veranda, they are darker, since this part of the terrace is less lit. But where the rare sun still falls, there are more and more golden highlights, and the color of the tree itself is warm, yellow-brown shades.
To the left of the viewer on the terrace is a table on elegant carved legs. The figured tabletop, dark in itself, seems completely black because the wood is wet. Like everything around, it sparkles like a mirror, reflecting both an overturned glass, and a jug with a bouquet, and the sky that is getting brighter after a thunderstorm. Why did the artist need this piece of furniture? It organically fits into the environment, without it the terrace would be empty, giving the impression of an uninhabited, uncomfortable. The table brings into the picture a hint of a friendly family, hospitable tea parties, a joyful, cordial atmosphere. A glass glass, turned upside down by a whirlwind and miraculously not falling, speaks of how strong the wind and downpour were. Disheveled flowers in a bouquet, scattered petals hint at the same. White, red and pink roses look especially touching and defenseless. But we can imagine how sweet and gentle they smell now, washed by the rain. This jug and roses in it look unusually poetic.
The background of the painting
And outside the terrace, the garden is noisy and rampant. Raindrops roll down from wet foliage in large beads. It is clean, dark green, bright, fresh, the kind that comes only after a refreshing downpour. Looking at the picture, you begin to very clearly feel the heady smell of wet greenery and sun-warmed earth, flowers from the garden and something else very dear, close, dear, for which we love nature. Behind the trees you can see the roof of the barn, in the gaps of the branches - the sky is whitening, brightening after a thunderstorm. Lightness, enlightenment, the joy of being, we feel, admiring the wonderful work of Gerasimov. And we learn to be attentive to nature, to love it, to notice its amazing beauty.
