Exhibition of etchings by I.I. Shishkin in the Belgorod State Art Museum

2012 Culturology and Art History № 2(6)

UDC 76:027.7 (571.16)

M.A. Petrova

etchings by I.I. SHISHKIN IN THE SCIENTIFIC LIBRARY OF TOMSK STATE UNIVERSITY*

The article is devoted to the collection “Etchings by Professor I.I. Shishkin”, which is stored in the fund of the Scientific Library of Tomsk State University. The author gives the background to the creation of this collection and a brief description of the etching technique. The features of the album and the history of its appearance in the library are analyzed. The collection is considered as part of the heritage of the great Russian artist, which characterizes him as a talented etcher.

Keywords: I.I. Shishkin, etchings in the Scientific Library of Tomsk State University, etchings by I.I. Shishkin.

Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin is one of the largest Russian landscape painters of the second half of the 19th century. To understand his paintings, to feel the originality of his outstanding personality, it is necessary to get acquainted with his creative positions, views, the process of spiritual formation, the development of the landscape painter's talent.

A man of exceptional industriousness, Shishkin painted with real rapture, with joy and sometimes even with bitterness. “The artist and scientist improves until the end of his days,” he wrote on one of the drawings made at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture.

Shishkin managed in his work to most fully express folk ideas about Russian nature, the Russian forest. That is why he is considered one of the largest representatives of Russian realistic landscape painting of the second half of the 19th century. "Shishkinsky forest" has become the same typical concept as "Turgenev's girl" or "Levitan's autumn".

Shishkin belonged to the circle of advanced academic youth, who were brought up on the ideas of progressive materialistic aesthetics and literature and rebelled against art, alien to modernity, against bureaucratic orders. For Shishkin, the duty of the artist was to enter the life of Russian society, to become interested in its fate, to be imbued with the "ideas of the century."

Based on an in-depth analytical study of nature, Shishkin's creative method was in tune with the era of enlightenment with its inherent interest in the exact sciences, and in particular in natural science. The approval of this new realistic method, which debunked the principles of the pseudo-romantic landscape consecrated by academic authority, was the most important merit of the artist.

* The article was prepared with the financial support of the joint competition of the Russian Humanitarian Foundation and the Administration of the Tomsk Region, project No. 11-11-70001a/T.

A clear understanding of the tasks facing Russian realistic art, a pronounced democratism of views, and a rejection of the academic system naturally led the artist to the ranks of the Wanderers. Here, in the Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions, one of the founders of which in 1870 was Shishkin, he found true like-minded friends, and his works - a sympathetic viewer. From the founding of the Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions, Shishkin remained among its members until the end of his life.

Along with the picturesque heritage of Shishkin, drawings and numerous etchings made by the artist also make a great and significant contribution to the treasury of national artistic culture.

Etching is a method of making an author's printed form, which combines the methods of manual engraving with chemical etching. A copper or zinc plate with a thickness of 0.5 to 2.5 mm is coated with acid-resistant varnish or acid-resistant primer, which includes wax, rosin, asphalt. The lines of the pattern are scratched over the lacquer film (primer), exposing the surface of the metal. Then the plate is etched in several steps: copper - with a solution of ferric chloride, zinc - with nitric acid, obtaining in-depth printing elements. After the first etching, sufficient for a slight deepening of the strokes in the lightest places of the image, these places are covered with a protective varnish, excluding them from the etching processes in the future. Then the plate is subjected to the second etching, the areas of the next tone gradation are covered with varnish, etc. Thanks to this, the strokes are obtained at different depths and, moreover, by simpler means than in engraving. At the end, the varnish is removed.

An etching is also called an impression obtained on paper from an author's printed form made using the technology given above. Etching is a printing technique, where each print is numbered and is an independent work. As a rule, this is an average of 5 to 20 prints.

Working a lot and seriously in the field of engraving, Shishkin achieved great success and took an honorable place in the history of Russian etching of the 19th century. A penchant for engraving was discovered in Shishkin when he was a pupil of the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. There is a single print of the etching "Mountain Road", signed "I.Sh." (1853). He reproduces, probably, some kind of someone else's original, but in the manner of execution, familiarity with the rules of engraving is already felt.

Devoting summer time to work on sketches, Shishkin continued to intensively engage in etching in winter, often reproducing the motifs of his summer sketches. It can be said that Shishkin's experience in working on pictorial studies infinitely enriched his etchings. So, by 1886, the artist had already released three albums of etchings, the last of which contained 25 sheets. Some of the sheets were printed by the artist himself.

In 1894, the St. Petersburg publisher A.F. Marx began working on the last album of Shishkin's etchings, which was published in 1895. Shishkin handed over to the publisher the etching boards, partly revised and corrected by him for this edition. As a result of this, a

M.A. Petrova

an album that included the best etching sheets of the artist and was released under the title “60 etchings by Professor I.I. Shishkin.

It was this edition that was found in the department of book monuments and manuscripts of the Scientific Library of Tomsk State University. This edition contains 54 etchings and 1 etching frontispiece with the author's title and surname. On the title page it was marked: “Makushin's account. January 9, 1916. 25 rubles. Sold to Professor Mikhailovsky (Philosophy of Law)".

Indeed, overcoming enormous difficulties and improving his skills, Shishkin as an etcher was an outstanding phenomenon. His etchings constitute, as it were, an encyclopedia of the Russian landscape and, no less than his paintings, show the breadth and versatility of his talent. Many sheets are given in various "states". This shows that Shishkin, in each plot chosen by him, sought not only the successful resolution of his print, but, above all, the internal completeness of the image he created. In this regard, his etching "In the Crimea", depicting a mountain landscape, is a striking example. It has a number of sequentially executed boards of the same motif, in which the artist was looking for ways to create a generalized sublime image. Among the etchings made by Shishkin there is also a self-portrait of the artist (1886).

In the collection, in addition to the etchings themselves, the title page, there is also a complete list of etchings and a preface written by the publisher A.F. Marx. He notes the features of this edition, tells the biography of the artist and describes the etchings and how Shishkin created them. “He not only printed sheets, but also varied them to infinity,” writes A.F. Marx about the truly creative participation of the artist himself in the publication of the album. - Shishkin painted on the board with paint, put new shadows ... made other spots, stars, moonlight. All in paint, excited by work, strong, confident, he was really a great master and repeated such an expensive type of great masters of the past.

A.F. Marx also talks about the artistic side of the album, noting that almost all of the etchings are imbued with poetry; that in each of them there is a great "mastery of work and drawing."

The sheets of his etchings left by the artist, together with the boards on which he worked so hard, should be the subject of serious and deep study. For the younger generation of artists, Shishkin's etchings can be a real school, not only introducing engraving techniques, but also equipping them with a very solid method, which was based on work on nature.

The etching works of I. I. Shishkin are distinguished by a subtle knowledge of nature, beautiful and faithful drawing, and perfect technique. In addition to the usual technique with a needle, the artist used soft varnish, aquatint, and dry needle. His numerous natural drawings served as materials for engraving works. With his autographic etching works I.I. Shishkin greatly expanded the circle of his audience, drawing their attention to their native Russian nature.

Shishkin's work is a remarkable heritage of Russian culture, of world value. Highly appreciated during his lifetime by representatives of the advanced artistic community, Shishkin has become the subject of true pride of Russia in our time. In the light of contemporary artistic interests, Shishkin's remaining vast pictorial material is a rich heritage that reflects the advanced artistic ideas of the 19th century.

Shishkin's etchings, kept in the Scientific Library of Tomsk State University, make it possible to study the existence of the works published by the famous Russian artist. They also pay attention to the role of Russian patrons and publishers, such as P.I. Makushin and A.F. Marx, in the fate of Russian painting, in particular etching art. All this is a huge material for studying the history of art, and an integral part of the cultural and spiritual heritage of the country.

Literature

1. History of Russian painting. M. : Eksmo, 2010. 604 p.

2. Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin. Correspondence. A diary. Contemporaries about the artist / comp. and intro. Art. I.N. Shuvalov. L.: Art, 1978. 463 p.

3. Maltseva F. Masters of the Russian landscape. Ivan Shishkin [Electronic resource] / Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions. Electron. Dan. M. : Association of Wanderers, 2011. JY: http://tphv.ru/shishkin_malceva.php (accessed:

4. Zvontsov V.M., Shistko V.I. Etching: technique, history. SPb., 2004. 269 p.

5. From the publisher (foreword by A.F. Marx) // 60 etchings by Professor I.I. Shishkin. St. Petersburg: Artistic institution A.F. Marx, 1894.

The exhibition, organized by the gallery "Kabinet", will present 90 works of lottery graphics of the famous Wanderer, including 60 best etchings from a valuable folder in 1894

Antique galleries "Kabinet"
July 26 - September 4, 2016
daily, except Monday, from 11:00 to 20:00 in halls 14b and 15, 2nd floor
Moscow, Central House of Artists, st. Krymsky Val, 10

Etchings by Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin are among the undisputed leaders in terms of liquidity on the Russian auction market. We once calculated that in 2014/2015, out of 100 exhibited works by Shishkin, 69 were sold. This is taking into account all categories, including painting and original graphics. And separately in the draw schedule, almost everything that is exhibited is sold at all.

And this is quite understandable.

The first reason: we are not talking about an exercise and not a passing direction for the artist's work, but about works in the technique in which Ivan Shishkin was especially strong. Shishkin was an impeccably precise draftsman. And if in painting, in working with color, he did not succeed in everything, then drawing and complex printmaking techniques became his true element, where he felt like a fish in water.

The second reason is even simpler: these spectacular, painstaking, genuine etchings by a Russian artist of the first row cost quite affordable money on the Russian market - from 25,000 to 80,000 rubles per sheet, more often around 65,000 rubles. Many collectors can afford these things.

A lot of etchings by the Wanderer sold at the auctions of the Kabinet house, which became the organizer of the current exhibition Unknown Shishkin. It will open in the central halls of the Central House of Artists on Krymsky Val on June 26 and will last until September 4, 2016.

The center of the exposition will probably be a rare folder of the publisher and bookseller Alfred Fedorovich Marx. The last folder, published in a not very large edition, included 60 selected etchings by Shishkin - the pinnacle of his work in printmaking. In preparing this album, Shishkin updated his old boards, went through the etching needle, and even finalized some compositionally. In particular, the etching “Winter Night” of 1876 (made 18 years before) was subjected to such refinement, which Shishkin even renamed “Winter Moonlit Night”. In addition to the old finished etchings, Shishkin included in the album 19 new works that had not been published before.

The fate of complete albums (as well as artist's books and any books with lithographs) is often difficult. Owners and sellers have a great temptation to dismantle them and sell them in parts - it's easier and more profitable that way. The same happened with the Marx folder. It seems that there were not so few of them, and only a few have survived in complete form to this day. And the exhibition gives a rare chance to see it in its entirety.

The Central House of Artists will have not only Shishkin's etchings. “Kabinet” will show a single color self-portrait of Shishkin from the collection of the publisher A.E. Palchikov, a unique etching on silk “Juniper. Crimea" in 1885 and Shishkin's last engraving "Oak" (1897).

"Kabinet" promises other surprises. There will be no Pokemon, but the organizers came up with "a new interpretation of Shishkin's etchings, transferring them to 3D images and combining the resulting stereo posters into thematic triptychs." In general, it is not yet clear. But it is clear that there will be plates with reproductions of Shishkin's works and posters produced using a special technology. A catalog has been prepared for the exhibition, which includes not only reproductions of things from the exposition, but all known etchings by Shishkin.

Vladimir Bogdanov,AI

Krasnoyarsk collection of engravings by I.I. Shishkin, to whom the published article is devoted, is presented to visitors of the Novosibirsk State Art Museum at the exhibition "Patriarch of the Forests", which opened in July 2017 as part of the long-term exhibition program "Museums of Russia - Novosibirsk".

Afraid to go against the modesty of a respected professor,
we will not spread in praise of his talent as an engraver.
Let's just say that if he is one of the first in a row
modern Russian landscape painters, how
landscape engraver - the only and unprecedented in Russia.

A.I. Somov

Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin was not only an excellent painter and draftsman, but also the largest master of engraving and lithography in Russia in the second half of the 19th century. A well-known researcher of Shishkin's creativity G.P. Pavlova points out that in total he created one hundred and twelve etchings and forty-seven lithographs, improved and introduced in Russia an engraving method called convex etching or autozincography, which allows printing reproductions simultaneously with the text. Ivan Ivanovich created about three dozen works in this technique, intended as supplements to newspapers of the magazine type "Pchela", "Light" and "Niva". His name is associated with the revival of the author's prints in Russia in the second half of the 19th century. Until that time, Russian engravers, as a rule, copied Western European samples or their own paintings. Shishkin at first also saw in classical printing techniques, etching and lithography, the means to create better and cheaper reproductions of his works, but soon realized that these techniques open up new possibilities of expression, and turned to the author's print.

Another characteristic feature of Shishkin was that he not only created a composition, repeatedly processed boards and printed test prints, but, unlike many predecessors, he printed the main edition of his engravings and lithographs with his own hands.

In the collection of the Krasnoyarsk Art Museum named after V.I. Surikov keeps a small but very interesting collection of prints by I.I. Shishkin of different periods of his work, numbering forty-two works.

Most of the sheets were previously in the private collection of Alexei Porfiryevich Ilyinsky. I would like to say a few words about this man.

Aleksey Porfiryevich Ilyinsky is a world-famous botanist, Doctor of Biological Sciences. He was born on May 20, 1888 in the city of Sarapul, Vyatka province, in the family of a zemstvo doctor. In 1912 he graduated from St. Petersburg University. The main research work of Ilyinsky took place at the Botanical Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences, where he worked for more than twenty-five years. Here Aleksey Porfiryevich created all his main works, which made him a generally recognized authority in the field of plant geography and geobotany, the vegetation of the globe, methods of stationary geobotanical research, an expert on tropical plants, greenhouse culture and botanical gardens. In total, he published about one hundred and fifty works. At the same time, A.P. Ilyinsky was also engaged in teaching activities: he taught at the Leningrad University, pedagogical institutes in Tver and Leningrad, where he taught a course in taxonomy and geography of plants. Ilyinsky was one of the best experts in botanical gardens in the USSR. He developed the foundations for organizing a large botanical and geographical park near Leningrad, a Soviet botanical garden.

But the interests of A.P. Ilyinsky were not limited to science: he was very fond of art, he drew well, was well versed in music, was one of the founders of the museum in his native Sarapul, did a lot to form its collection of natural sciences, generously sharing his exhibits. In addition, Ilyinsky was the owner of one of the most interesting collections of etchings by I.I. Shishkin.

A significant part of the engravings from the collection of Ilyinsky (sheets from the album of 1885 - 1886), which are now in the Krasnoyarsk Art Museum, were previously part of the collection of Anatoly Evgrafovich Palchikov, a passionate admirer of Shishkin's work, who collected and studied etchings and drawings by Ivan Ivanovich, and in 1885 published the "List of Shishkin's printed sheets" - a collection that became the second attempt to systematize the printed graphics of the famous landscape engraver.

Shishkin has been engaged in printed graphics throughout his life. The first etching was created by him in 1853 while studying at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. During the years of a pensioner's trip abroad, in addition to painting, he studied the art of engraving with Rudolf Koller from Switzerland and in 1864 performed two etchings under his guidance.

Upon returning to his homeland, Shishkin continued to work in the field of circulation graphics.

During the 1860s, Ivan Ivanovich created a number of lithographs: in 1861, several sheets of the artist were printed in the Russian Art Album along with lithographs by V. Perov, A. Volkov, N. Petrov and others. In 1868, six lithographs by Shishkin were published under the general title "Etudes from nature with a pen on stone." After 1870, he turned to this technique only three times.

At the very end of the 1860s, Shishkin, without leaving painting, began to systematically work in the field of etching, and then joined the circle of aquafortists founded by Andrei Ivanovich Somov.

Over the next decades, the artist repeatedly published his etchings both as separate sheets and in albums.

The first independent album of etchings entitled “Engravings on copper with strong vodka by I.I. Shishkin ”Ivan Ivanovich prepared and printed himself in May 1873. The album consisted of a title page and ten etchings and was released as an award from the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts. Some engravings were compositional versions of his famous paintings (the most striking example is the etching "At the felling" (1873), the composition of which is very close to the painting "Cutting down a forest"). But most of them are original works. The album quickly sold out.

The collection of printed graphics of the Krasnoyarsk Art Museum contains two sheets from this album, executed with an etched stroke, aquatint, tape measure.

The first print is a draft of the album's title page, a rather rare etching made before the main print run, the composition of which is generally the same as the final version, with the exception of the engraving inscription and the signatures on the sheet.

The next sheet, "Forest Outskirts", was made by Shishkin for the album of 1873 and was also included in the albums of 1878 and 1894 (No. 42). In the art museum collection, it is represented by the 3rd state (with a small white cloud in the upper left corner).

In 1878, Shishkin published the second album “25 copper engravings by I.I. Shishkin”, which consisted of a title page and twenty-five etchings. This album helped the author to prepare his friend, landscape painter Ivan Vasilievich Volkovsky, with whom they once studied together at the Academy of Arts. The two etchings in this edition were printed from boards made as early as 1870. A third were those that Shishkin engraved for the 1873 album, the rest were new. The circulation of the publication was about seventy copies. To create the sheets of this album, the master often used printing (one of the ways to add tone to the etching image) and a dry needle.

The Krasnoyarsk Museum has copies of the title page and eight etchings from this album. Let's consider each of them.

The classic version of the title page of 1878 (3rd state) is made in etched stroke, aquatint and tape measure. The board for it was remade from the title page board for the 1873 album, hence the great similarity in composition.

The sheet "Peasant Woman Descending the Stairs" is presented in the collection of the Krasnoyarsk Art Museum in the 2nd state. The work was published in an 1878 album and also printed separately. Made with etched stroke, printing, tape measure.

The engraving "Winter Night" is presented by a trial print, quite rare for the 1878 album (2nd condition). Many years later, this board was remade compositionally by Shishkin for the 1894 album. Made with etched strokes, aquatint. To enhance light and shade contrasts, Shishkin uses "stepped", that is, multiple etching.

"White flowers" - according to the famous St. Petersburg art critic N.K. Markova, "Shishkin's little masterpiece". The sheet was created by tinting the surface of the board by printing the fabric, and then by repeatedly etching it with the gradual application of a protective varnish on separate sections of the engraving to convey shades of light tone of different brightness. Technique: imprinting, etched stroke, drypoint. Published separately, included in the albums of 1878 and 1894. In the collection of the Krasnoyarsk Museum there is a leaf of a very rare (1st) condition, in which the middle part of the leaves of the coltsfoot is completely white, without veins.

The sheet "Clouds over the Grove" (6th state), included in the album of 1878, was also printed separately.

The engraving "On the Forest Boundary" is known in two states, the Krasnoyarsk Museum has a classic version from the 1878 album (2nd state). The sheet is executed finely, with great care; in the image of the sky, a light, almost imperceptible aquatint is used. Included in the albums of 1878 and 1894.

The bridge engraving is known in six states. Made with aquatint, roulette, printing. In the collection of the Krasnoyarsk Museum there are two options for work (both with a peasant woman):

A rare trial copy, which is distinguished by the fact that the grass in the clearing, above the reed bush, is wiped out;

A variant from the album of 1878, for which the board was passed over again, in addition, the master added printing.

The etching “Outskirts of a Pine Grove” is represented by the 3rd state (the sky on the left is traversed by horizontal lines). The sheet is executed with an etched stroke and aquatint. Also published separately.

The next sheet from this album, which is in the Krasnoyarsk collection, is "Peasant Woman with Cows", one of Shishkin's popular etchings; the author himself published it in the albums of 1873, 1878, 1894, as well as separately. The sheet is presented in the 3rd condition out of three.

In 1886, the third album was released - “Etchings by I.I. Shishkin. 1885 - 1886". It consisted of twenty-six brand new works (title page and twenty-five etchings). The patron of the publication was Anatoly Evgrafovich Palchikov, head of the St. Petersburg Forest Department, a native of Kazan, a lover of the forest and Shishkin's paintings, in whom he saw a countryman. The third album was published in the printing house of A.V. Suvorin and was intended for display at the exhibition. After a break in 1885, Shishkin again took up the engraving needle and in a short time, by the winter of 1886, all twenty-five boards were ready. It was supposed to print this album in the engraving workshop of the Academy of Arts, where the experienced master Kelenbenz worked on it. But the seventy-year-old printer could not stand the hard work and fell ill. “Immediately, Shishkin made himself an apron, put on armlets, rubbed paint and began to print himself, in his office, on his small machine. In 2-3 days everything was over. The artist not only printed sheets, but also varied them to infinity - he painted on the board with paint, put new shadows, made other spots, stars, moonlight, and so on. And thus gave a whole series of brilliant artistic prints.

The collection of the Krasnoyarsk Art Museum contains twelve etchings from this album. The sheets belong to the main edition printed in the studio of the Academy of Arts by Kelenbenz, and the engravings "First Snow", "Birch Tree" (two versions), "Firs" were printed by Shishkin himself. Consider some etchings.

The album opens with a title page, executed with an etched stroke, printing, tape measure. A few years later (in 1892) the board was re-engraved by Shishkin for the 1894 album. Instead of the date "1886" appeared "1870 - 1892".

The "Field" engraving is known in seventeen states. In the Krasnoyarsk Museum - three test prints for the 1886 album. All of them are executed with an etched stroke, soft varnish, printing, aquatint.

The sheets of this album are characterized by the use of soft varnish by Shishkin - a type of etching, so named because the surface of the board is primed with varnish with the addition of lard before starting work. Then the board is covered with thin paper, on which a drawing is applied with an ordinary pencil. When the paper is subsequently removed, the particles of varnish that have adhered to the points of pressure of the pencil come off along with it. After that, the board is etched. The resulting image resembles a pencil drawing on paper on a rough texture.

The artist often depicted wide panoramic views. One of the brilliant examples of such a landscape is the etching “View from the banks of the Kama near Yelabuga”. Made with etched stroke, aquatint, drypoint; has the inscription: “Printed by A.Kh. Kelenbentsom".

The etchings "First Snow", "Night" contain elements of genre-narrative landscape; both were included in the 1886 and 1894 albums.

The latest album "60 etchings by Professor Iv. Iv. Shishkin" was published in December 1894 in the publication of the partnership A.F. Marx. The edition included most of the already known small format sheets and a number of new ones. Assistance in its release was again provided by Palchikov. This edition has become a kind of summing up the work of Shishkin-etcher. Sheets from this album were not found in the collection of the Krasnoyarsk Art Museum.

Over the years, Shishkin printed separate etchings. There are several such sheets in the museum's collection. The engraving "Fishermen" (1874) is executed only with an etched stroke - the main etching technique; masterly possession of the line is manifested here in its entirety. "Spring" ("Dawn") of 1876 - 2nd state (with the inscription: "From the painting that is the property ..."), which served as an appendix to the fourth issue of the magazine "Light" for 1877. The sheet "In the Crimea (Gurzuf)" depicting a mountain slope dotted with rocky rocks was printed by Shishkin himself. This etching is a compositional version of the painting "Near Gurzuf" (1879) and was also included in the album of 1894 called "Crimea" (1892). The Crimean View (1882, etched stroke, tape measure) is known in eight states, in the Krasnoyarsk museum - the 8th state, released as an appendix to the Bulletin of Fine Arts.

The official recognition of Shishkin's merits in the field of circulation graphics was a large gold medal, which the artist was awarded in 1895 at the first All-Russian Exhibition of Printing, held in St. Petersburg. But the master continued to work in etching until the end of his life. In the 1870s, in order to "find a way to reproduce his compositions, which would combine the advantages of copper etching with the convenience of printing in an ordinary printing press, and, therefore, would surpass etching in terms of cheapness and the abundance of equivalent prints obtained, Shishkin undertook a series of experiments in zincography, or, as he called it, convex etching. Many zincographies were published in the newspaper type magazine The Bee “and were, without a doubt, the best among her illustrations. Yielding in many respects to real etching engravings, they are interesting in their own way.

In the Krasnoyarsk Art Museum there are zinc paintings "Bee", "Cat-and-stepmother", "Mountains", "Pine Forest", "Three Oaks".

Concerning the Mother and Stepmother sheet, we can say that the collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery has a drawing of the same name from 1874, which was reproduced in the technique of convex etching as an appendix to the Bee magazine (1876, No. 24).

In 1887 I.I. Shishkin created the painting "Oaks" (State Russian Museum). In the same year, a compositional version of this work was executed in an etching called "Three Oaks". Probably, the zincography “Three Oaks” of 1888, which is in the collection of the Krasnoyarsk Museum, was made from the etching.

Zincography "Pine Forest", reproducing the famous painting by Shishkin "Pine Forest. Mast forest in the Vyatka province "(1872, State Tretyakov Gallery), was issued as a prize of the journal "Bee" for 1877.

Classes in printed graphics have become an independent and important area of ​​\u200b\u200bI.I. Shishkin. A small collection of first-class samples, stored in the Krasnoyarsk Art Museum named after V.I. Surikov, introduces the artist's stunning etchings and gives an idea of ​​his work in the field of zincography.

Notes

I.I. Shishkin (1832-1898) -fine draftsman with pencil and pen, was a professional engraver. He created over a hundred sheets in his life, devoting them entirely to the image of his native Russian nature. His etchings are distinguished by a subtle knowledge of nature, beautiful and faithful drawing and perfect technique. I.I. Shishkin, a remarkable artist of the Russian landscape, briefly got acquainted with etching in 1863 in Switzerland at Koller. He thoroughly began to study it in St. Petersburg in the circle of Wanderers in the "Society of Russian Aquafortists" founded by them (1871 - 1874). Along with painting, he devoted a lot of time and effort to the manufacture of etching boards. He worked in depth and concentration. We know of many proof prints made from boards during the manufacturing process. In addition to the usual needle intake, I.I. Shishkin used soft varnish, aquatint, drypoint. Numerous drawings from nature served as materials for his engravings. With his autographic etching works I.I. Shishkin greatly expanded the circle of his audience, drawing their attention to their native Russian nature. This was the great merit of I.I. Shishkin, who created over a hundred etchings, which were published as separate works or entire series. In 1868, the first album of his engravings (six lithographs) - "Etudes from Life with a Pen on Stone" - was published, and in May 1873 he prepared and printed the first album of etchings (11 sheets), released as a prize from the Society for the Encouragement of Artists. The next two folders are published in 1878 and in 1886, and, as a culmination, in 1894 the album “60 etchings by I. I. Shishkin. 1870 - 1892 ”(published by A. F. Marx, St. Petersburg). In addition, I. I. Shishkin created more than two dozen autozincographies (the so-called convex etching), specially designed as supplements to the magazines "Pchela", "Svet" and "Niva". The talent of our incomparable landscape painter, we believe, is well known everywhere in Russia, where there is even the slightest interest in art. His many years of assiduous activity produced many many paintings, drawings and engravings, which were sold to the masses of the artistic public, and who among those who saw these works of the well-deserved professor was not surprised at his deep knowledge of the forms and effects of Russian nature and his skill to convey her impressions subtly, distinctly, characteristically. Who has not admired his views of impenetrable forest slums, which can only be found in our north, his portraits of firs and pines growing on sandy cliffs or among dense ferns, his cheerful paths and clearings in birch and oak groves, his wide spreading meadows along the banks of rivers and rivers, its fertile fields covering smooth and hilly areas, and, finally, its gloomy Finnish and Crimean rocks hanging over the sea or over a cluttered gorge. And all these diverse motifs of the Russian landscape are conveyed by the artist in a highly original way, with his own understanding and feeling of nature, which testifies to his boundless love for the motherland. This originality, in connection with the skill of the draftsman and technique in general, puts Shishkin high among landscape painters not only in Russia, but also in Western Europe. Whenever a famous artist lays aside his brush and equips himself with a pencil, a drawing pen, or an engraving needle, landscapes are created under his hand that are remarkable as much in strength and harmony of tones as in the mainness of the drawing. We must point out in connection with the series of his etchings lying before us, with which he has just enlarged his already venerable engraving oeuvre. In this album of his, every leaf is a magnificent picture, entirely captured from nature, but poeticized by the feeling of the artist, and, moreover, executed with such perfection that any of the most famous European masters could envy. About one of our contemporary artists I would like to say as much and to my heart as about Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin, and hardly any of his comrades represents such an integral and complete image, such a characteristic figure as this true “poet of nature” is. ".

It is difficult to find a better definition for him. He really lives the same life with her, he devotes himself entirely to her, and she has no secrets from her interpreter. Look at the portrait of our "forest man" (may the reader forgive me this expression), not only look, but think about this strong and strong man, from whom the resinous and healthy smell of dark forest, the power of old Russian reserved wilds, blows on you. In the group of artists to whom Russian painting is indebted for the remarkable development of the landscape in it, one of the first places belongs to Professor Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin. He acquired it with his ardent love for nature, his rare understanding of the peculiarities of nature in our country, the strict study of his specialty, not so much under the guidance of any mentors, but with the help of innate observation and diligent work - in short, a strong, original talent, not buried under a bushel. These qualities, with the first appearance of Shishkin's works before the public, drew general attention to him, gradually spread his fame, and, finally, secured for him the glory of a first-class landscape painter in our school, a glory that will remain with him in the history of Russian art. Shishkin, in all fairness, is reputed to be the most powerful draftsman among our landscape painters, an amazing connoisseur of plant forms reproduced by him in paintings with a subtle understanding of both the general character and the smallest distinguishing features of any kind of trees, bushes and grasses. Whether he takes on the image of a pine or spruce forest - individual pines and firs, just like their totality, appear with him with their true physiognomy, without any embellishment or reductions, in that form and with those particulars that are fully explained and are conditioned by the place, soil and climate where the artist makes them grow. Whether he paints an oak or a birch, these trees assume in him utterly true forms in foliage, branches, trunks and roots, saying that he not only grabbed them at one particular moment, but also tried to comprehend their former existence. This fidelity to the forms of nature, this meaningful, loving attitude to selected subjects, put a bright and attractive stamp on every work that comes out from under the brush of our venerable landscape painter. Shishkin is attractive in all his works, especially good when he works with a pencil or pen, or plays with an engraving needle. Whoever agrees with this view of ours, like us, will find an explanation for this view in the very properties of our artist's talent. In addition to oil paintings, Shishkin produced in his lifetime several dozen pen drawings, highly valued by lovers of this kind of work. But both paintings and drawings by a skilled craftsman are available for purchase only to a select few of fortune; the majority of mortals must be content with photographs from both. Such photographs from the works of Mr. Shishkin are widely distributed and highly respected by landscape lovers. But what does a photograph, always dull and vague, mean in comparison with a brilliant and rich print imprinted from an engraved metal plate? Therefore, the idea that came to Shishkin to engrave on copper with strong vodka (etching) was a happy thought. This kind of engraving, simple in its techniques and fertile in its results, first of all and most of all requires the ability of the artist to draw well and some skills in working with pen and wet ink. Shishkin was already a great expert in both areas when he first armed himself with an engraving needle and etched the first board drawn with it. This was in 1853. His first etching was called "Mountain Road". Later, in Zurich, where our landscape painter was as a pensioner of the Academy of Arts, sent abroad to complete his artistic education, he executed two engravings, as if out of a prank, but they came out so successfully that they could not help but inspire him to indulge in etching more seriously. . But the return to his homeland that followed soon after, and the need to work hard with a brush in order to establish his reputation here as a painter, distracted our artist from his beloved work. Only in 1870, when a circle called the Society of Russian Aquafortists was formed in St. Petersburg, did he again take up engraving, and, being more experienced among the members of this circle, he helped many with his advice and example. Since that time, Shishkin did not stop doing etching in moments of leisure from more busy and large-scale artworks and produced his prints either in separate sheets or in whole series, each time arousing the enthusiasm of our collectors of engravings and forcing them to chase each other for the first and best prints of these works.

At one time, in order to find a way to reproduce his compositions, which would combine the advantages of copper etching with the convenience of printing in an ordinary printing press, and therefore would surpass etching in terms of cheapness and the abundance of equivalent prints obtained, Shishkin undertook a number of zincography experiments, or, as it was called, raised etching. The most successful of these experiments appeared in the Bee magazine, and were, without a doubt, the best among her illustrations. Yielding in many respects to real etching engravings, they are nevertheless very interesting, because the artist himself appears in them, and not in the interpretation of the xylograph, which always more or less distorts the drawing reproduced by him. With his inquisitiveness and perseverance, Shishkin, of course, would have continued to work on the development of his convex etching, if the invention and the latest successes of photozincotyping had not made such a thing redundant. Afraid to go against the modesty of the respected professor, we will not spread in praise of his talent as an engraver. Let's just say that if he is one of the first among Russian landscape painters, then as an engraver-landscape painter he is the only and unprecedented one in Russia. Moreover, among the aquafortists of Western Europe, so rich in masters of this kind, there are only a few rivals to him in the art of transferring plants in engraving, especially dense forests, pines and spruces. If he lived and worked in one of such centers of artistic activity as Paris, London or Vienna, or if he took care of distributing his prints in general in foreign lands, his fame would become widespread.

But, unfortunately, he did not know how or did not want to seek a reputation outside the borders of his homeland. He was an ardent patriot and contented himself with being known and respected by his compatriots. Among the latter, at present, only a few pay tribute to him for his engravings - ardent art lovers and passionate collectors of Russian prints, but the time will come - we are sure of this - when Shishkin's etchings will be highly valued by a wide circle of people with a delicate taste, equally sensitive to artistry and large, painted pictures, and relatively small, one-color prints from engraving boards. In any case, the name of Shishkin will eventually occupy one of the prominent pages in the dictionary of the still few Russian peintres-graveurs. Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin is complex in the same way as the "kondo" pines are harmonious, which marvelously rose from apparently barren sands. A.F. Marx did very well that, to the collection of the above 60 etchings, published in 1894, he also attached a portrait executed in the same way by the artist himself. He perfectly conveys not only the appearance of Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin - he speaks to your soul, you understand the person - by calm, intent and thoughtful eyes you will recognize his manner of observing and peering into the secret beauties of the modest nature of our North. This is a living face - at once making you, an outside observer, an acquaintance of the artist. And here we see a black forest immersed in twilight and coolness, with a quiet babble of a key in a ravine, with a fiery and blurry sunset of the sun's rays penetrating here through the bindings of peaks, and in the midst of this freshness and silence - the Master Artist, such as he is now in front of us in his penetrating etching.

"The poet of nature" - exactly. A poet who thinks in her images, deciphering her beauty where a mere mortal will pass indifferently, indifferently. For Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin, as for a real poet, there is no great or small in his native element. Blades of grass fluttering in the wind, flowers rising above the grass, broad and dusty burdock leaves are enough to create pictures full of true charm and power in his creative imagination. The smoke that creeps in the distance between the trunks of pines, the gaps of the sky through the dormant branches - all this speaks to his heart, and in the interpretation of the artist to ours. You see that it all lives, feels, glows, breathes under his brush and pencil. You yourself are drawn away from the stuffy, noisy and bustling city to the majestic and solemn green kingdom with its calm speech. His "Forest Flowers" - after all, this is the idyll itself, conveyed in a living way. A tiny drawing - but you feel its vital truth, you, together with this poet of nature, understand that there is not and should not be small and insignificant in it. A forest stream (etching No. 2) flows a little in the stones. Trees are silent all around, keeping freshness in their leaves. Grass, filled with its life-giving water, spreads magnificently around. It is done so quietly and sweetly in the soul - as if the artist transferred the mystical peace and reverent silence of his beloved forest into it. To give a complete understanding of the collection of etchings, one would have to enumerate all of its numbers. Some compulsion is needed over oneself in order to speak not about everyone. Well, how to get past, for example, this incomparable corner of the forest (“On the felling”, No. 5) at night. The dark sky is starry. Full of some unsolved mystery, it seems to you behind the black trunks of trees, some of them have already fallen under the axe. Far from the depths of the forest, a fire glows. And the night is silent all around, and behind the peaks of the motionless forest giants, its mysterious constellations slowly and solemnly make their usual revolution over the earth shrouded in darkness. It's a clear day - the stream meanders capriciously and disappears in the distance in a slightly distinguishable twist. White clouds full of sunlight have risen high above the corner of the parted forest, and on their haze the freely spread wings of birds blacken. And again the night is winter, moonlight. The stars are a little warm. There is so much air between these snow-covered pines and firs. In the distance, against the dark background of the sky, they only seem to be. It’s as if hard-to-distinguish phantoms stand there, and in front of you is a clearing, bathed in the dreamy light of the moon, through the puffs of the snow that has showered them, the stems of plants left over from summer stick out, and in the white thin crust they turn black, motionless and lifeless. Far, far away between the trees, other clearings, slightly touched by the moon, glow dimly. How good are all these little "poems in pictures" of our poet of nature. Look at this sea. The cliff is slightly covered with the earth of a stone shore, a mighty tree clung to it, put its strong roots into its crevices and luxuriantly leafed under the sun over the half-air distance. Seagulls hover below. The movement of bottomless waters seems to be - you do not see it with your eyes, but you feel it. Further - further the sail turns white. Where is he rushing through the azure desert? And here is a pensive, full of light and beauty southern night. The black and gloomy rocks of Gurzuf break off in masses that frighten the imagination - again into the same slightly undulating boundless sea. The moon, slightly touched by a narrow cloud, was reflected in its depths. Silence, solitude, space - only this stone and shimmering waters say something to your soul without words. And here is another (No. 37) - the ledge of Ayu-Dag behind the magnificent southern pine - a wonderful example of the creativity of this nature. The sea lies calmly in the powerful embrace of the rocks. It does not worry and does not seem to fall asleep. Hot. The sun is reflected by the clouds, some black birds are flying above them. Are they harbingers of a storm? But how little we still know our best artists. Indeed, one begins to believe that the artist of the provincial theater, after The Inspector General, who wished to immediately go to St. Petersburg to shake hands with Gogol, is not an anecdote. After all, many literate people consider Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin exclusively the author of "pines" and northern forest deserts. Meanwhile, under his pencil and brush, the distant warm sea also lives and resurrects before us, the powerful Crimean rocks rise (No. 36, 58). The very stone in his hands is full of a strange, somewhat gloomy beauty. The sun beats through the cliff into another. It burns in front of us, all painted with mysterious cracks. The rock ahead casts a sharp shadow over him, and in the gap between them you feel dusk and coolness in the scorching afternoon. The stone splendor of the mountain valleys is masterfully conveyed. I.I. Shishkin's nights breathe. With our poet of nature, next to skill and technique, there is something that is not often found even among real poets. With a certain image, one way or another speaking to your soul, next to it are sketched, as if in passing, lines that you cannot distinguish at first glance. Admiring these graceful corners of God's wonderful world for the second and third time, you will feel in them a new beauty, a charm you have missed. All these "On the Forest Boundary" (No. 16), "Polyanka" (No. 20), "Edge" (No. 21), "Pines" (No. 27) and many others, in addition to their amazing fidelity to nature, immerse you in the world of elusive sensations. Have you ever stopped by the forest in the shade on a sunny day and thought? Vague but wondrous impressions run in your soul like shadows from clouds. You go into dreamy contemplation of beauty that somehow does not fall into your hands. That's exactly what I experienced when looking at these inspirational drawings. Especially two of them: "Dense Forest" (No. 26) and "Pines" (No. 27) - how much power, strength, depth they have ... A look in this kingdom of tree trunks goes God knows where, and where darkness thickens , he still guesses new and new silhouettes and images. And the night over the sea! Somewhere, far, far away, the moon was reflected in the water at the very horizon... Here, on the shore, near the black trees sharply outlined in the darkness, there is a fire and people around it... One longs to breathe in freedom, freshness, admire this beauty .. Whenever it becomes especially boring, and a dreary and stingy winter day frowns outside the windows, open these etchings and, together with the "poet of nature" Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin, go to his enchanted kingdom, get lost in its forests, breathe plenty of sunlight and warmly, listen to the voice of the forest peaks and the surf of the royal sea, dreaming of it on moonlit nights - and, returning to the boring city reality, feel refreshed and cheerful. You need to know the painstaking production of etching to understand how much work and effort went into this edition. A little inattention, absent-mindedness - and start all over again. In order to achieve the results that this publication gives, it was necessary to persevere and pursue one's goal for a long time, to overcome thousands of obstacles. How many magnificent successful planks had to be redone again, because, in the opinion of a demanding artist, they did not quite convey a certain mood. Telling in the preface how Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin worked on this, the publisher says: “He not only printed sheets, but also varied them to infinity, painted on the board with paint, put new shadows, made other spots, stars, moonlight ... All in the excitement of work, strong, confident, he was really a great master, reminiscent of the artists of the past. The appearance of etchings in the world is not only a successful publishing enterprise, but also a major merit of their author. One can study Russia itself in these artistic sketches with all the endless variety of its characteristic features, contrasts, subtle and elusive for others details, which are convex and clear in the work of our “poet of nature”. All etchings performed by Shishkin D. Rovinsky has up to a hundred; he points, moreover, to 68 original lithographs and 15 zincographic experiments of this master. A. Beggrov, in 1884 - 1885, published in two series a collection of 24 phototype photographs from charcoal drawings made for him by Shishkin, and F. Bulgakov “Album of Russian Painting. Paintings and drawings by I.I. Shishkin" (St. Petersburg, 1892); A. Palchikov “List of printed sheets of I.I. Shishkin" (St. Petersburg, 1885) and D. Rovinsky "Detailed Dictionary of Russian Engravers of the 16th - 19th Centuries" (vol. II, St. Petersburg, 1885).

In addition to 60 etchings published by A.F. Marx in 1894, here is a list of individual editions of the works of the famous artist:

1. Shishkin I.I. Engravings on copper Shishkin. Prize of the island for the promotion of arts in 1873. St. Petersburg, 1873 Cover, 11 sheets. engravings. In folder. 63 cm.

2. Shishkin I.I. 25 copper engravings a l'eau - fortes from 73 to 78. I. Shishkin. Spb., Marx. 1878 Grav. tit. l., 24 l.l. etchings. In folder. 45 cm. Printed with the participation of the artist I. Volkonsky.

3. Shishkin I.I. Etchings by I.I. Shishkin. 1885-1886 Published by A. Palchikov. Spb., Own. author. 1886 1 l. titled., 26 sh. engravings. In folder. 44 cm

4. Shishkin I.I. Sketches with pen on stone. 6 lithographs + lithograph. region St. Petersburg, May 6, 1868.

5. Souvenirs du Japon par M. Paul Mukhanoff. Litogr. Par Chichkine. Sankt-Petersbourg, 1862. 16 plts.

6. Vysheslavtsev A. Essays in pen and pencil from the circumnavigation of the world in 1857-60. From 27 lit. drawings. Edition M.O. Wolf. SPb.-Moscow, 1867. 14 drawings drawn by Shishkin on stone, from sketches by A. Vysheslavtsev.

July 26 - September 11
Central House of Artists, halls 14B and 15
Antique galleries "KABINET" presents an exhibition
“Unknown I.I. Shishkin. Etchings and drawings”, Moscow, Central House of Artists, 2016

For the third century now, the name of Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin has been in the forefront of national artists, equally appreciated by both contemporaries and their descendants. It is amazing to what extent the assessments of the master's work, derived during his lifetime - by famous writers, art historians, fellow artists - are consonant with the perception of his work today. Artistic critical articles of the late 19th century abound with the most daring epithets.
One of the critics wrote about the publication of Shishkin's etchings: “Russia can be studied in these artistic essays with all the endless variety of its characteristic features, contrasts, subtle and elusive details for others. His only muse has forever become Russian nature, which he sings of in paintings, fine lyrical drawings, and masterful etchings.

At this exhibition, for the first time in a single exhibition space, all 60 etchings will appear before the audience, which made up the last and most complete album of printed graphics by the famous master of the Russian landscape, published by A.F. Marx in 1894. “Artistic institution A.F. Marx", later the joint-stock company "Partnership of Publishing and Printing A.F. Marx" - one of the oldest and most famous Russian publishing houses - was founded in 1869 by a journalist and publisher Adolf Fedorovich Marx who came to Russia from Germany. Since 1870, Marx published the Niva, a mass illustrated weekly magazine "for family reading", founded by him and the first in Russia. The circulation of the magazine was huge, only the subscription to the magazine was over 250 thousand copies. The readers were especially interested in photo-correspondences about the most important world events and reproductions from paintings by prominent artists.


Album “60 etchings by I.I. Shishkin" publishing house A.F. Marx in 1894 gives a comprehensive picture of the evolution of the work of Shishkin-etcher. Preparing the album, Shishkin collected all the boards he had left, went through most of them with an etching needle and additional etching, some of them were altered compositionally, such as, for example, the etching of 1876 "Winter Night", which in the new album was called "Winter Moonlight Night". In addition to these works, the album also includes nineteen new, previously unreleased works, in particular, The Oak, created in 1886 and becoming the last work of the artist in etching technique.


So what is etching? Etching (from French eau-forte) or aquaforte (from Italian acquaforte) is a type of engraving on metal, known since the beginning of the 16th century. For the manufacture of a printing plate (board), a metal plate, most often copper, is covered with acid-resistant varnish, on which the engraving pattern is scratched. The plate is then placed in an acid that will etch away the metal in the areas exposed to varnish, after which the remaining varnish is removed from the plate. Before printing, ink is applied to the board, which penetrates into the recesses etched with acid. The paint is removed from the smooth surface of the board. When printing, the ink from the recessed elements is transferred to the paper.

Just as Pushkin's novel "Eugene Onegin" is called an encyclopedia of Russian life, Shishkin's unique album of etchings, which includes 60 of his best works, can be consonantly called an encyclopedia of Russian nature. These paintings depict all the smallest nuances of the seasons, day and night, the sun and the moon, the air of thunderstorms and heat, forests and fields, rivers and lakes in the context of the inextricable “natural life” of Russian people.




Unfortunately, the fate of the folders of Shishkin's etchings, which prospered in the cozy world of the 19th century cabinet culture, which had special cabinets for storage and tables for viewing engravings and etchings, was sad in the subsequent turbulent times. The vast majority of folders and albums have been dismantled and sold as separate sheets. Today there are a lot of collectors who own many, maybe even the best examples. But until now it has not been possible to reproduce the famous folder in its entirety. The catalog published for the exhibition allows the viewer to see this encyclopedia of Russian nature and man in full, without loss.