Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin (Russian:Иван Иванович Шишкин; 25 January [O.S. 13 January] 1832 – 20 March [O.S. 8 March] 1898) was a Russianlandscape painter and graphic artist, one of the most famous landscape painters of thepost-reform era, and the creator of the iconic paintingMorning in a Pine Forest. He was an academician (since 1865), professor (since 1873), and full member (since 1893, under the new charter) of theImperial Academy of Arts, as well as a professor and head of the landscape workshop at theHigher Art School (1894–1895). He was also one of the founding members of thePeredvizhniki movement (since 1870).[2][3][4]
Portrait of Shishkin byIvan Kramskoi (1873)Russian stamps with the portrait of Shishkin
Shishkin was born inYelabuga, Vyatka Governorate (today Republic ofTatarstan). He came from a family of Yelabuga merchants and was the son of grain merchant Ivan Vasilyevich Shishkin (1792–1872).[5] The artist’s grandfather, Vasily Afanasyevich Shishkin-Serebryakov (1764–1827), was a palace peasant who registered as athird-guild merchant in Yelabuga in 1792.[6][7]
At the Academy, Shishkin formed a close friendship with his classmates and like-minded artistsAleksander Gine and Jogin Pavel. In 1857, they worked together in Dubki, a small settlement on the shore of theGulf of Finland nearSestroretsk. In the following years, they traveled together to Valaam Island onLake Ladoga, home to its famous monastery.[9] These trips helped Shishkin refine his skills in depicting nature, allowing him to accurately render landscapes with both brush and pencil.[7]
During his first year at the Academy, Shishkin was awarded two small silver medals: one for his paintingView in the Vicinity of St. Petersburg (1856) and another for drawings completed during the summer in Dubki. In 1858, he received a large silver medal for his studyPine on Valaam. In 1859, he was awarded a small gold medal for his landscapeGorge on Valaam, and finally, in 1860, he earned the large gold medal for two paintings of the same title,View on Valaam Island. Kukko Area.[10][7]
In 1860, Shishkin, Gine, and Jogin submitted a request to the Council of the Academy of Arts for financial assistance to publish their studies throughlithography. The Council decided "to issue a monetary reward in the amount of 150 silverrubles for all three of them for the work they have undertaken on lithography experiments and to declare the gratitude of the Council to them, and to thank Mr. Professor Vorobyov for the successes of his students."[11]
Along with this final award, Shishkin earned the right to travel abroad on a scholarship from the St Petersburg Imperial Academy of Arts. In 1861, he went toMunich,Germany, where he visited the studios of the famous artistsBenno Adam andFranz Adam, who were highly regarded asanimal painters.[7] In 1863, Shishkin moved toZurich, where, under the guidance of ProfessorRudolf Koller—then considered one of the best animal painters—he sketched and painted animals from life. While in Zurich, he also experimented for the first time with etching usingaqua regia.
From Zurich, Shishkin traveled toGeneva,Switzerland to study the works ofFrançois Diday andAlexandre Calame. In 1864–1865, he relocated to Düsseldorf, where he attended theDüsseldorf Art Academy.[12] While there, he paintedView in the Vicinity of Düsseldorf on commission for the collector N. Bykov. This painting earned him the title of academician from the Imperial Academy of Arts.
During his time abroad, in addition to painting, Shishkin extensively worked onpen drawings, which greatly impressed foreign audiences.[8] Some of his drawings were displayed in the Düsseldorf Museum alongside works by renowned European masters such asAndreas Achenbach andKarl Friedrich Lessing.[8]
Feeling homesick, Ivan Shishkin returned to St. Petersburg in 1866 before the end of his scholarship term.[8] That same year, his paintingAir and six drawings were exhibited in Moscow. From then on, he frequently traveled across Russia for artistic purposes and exhibited his works at the Academy almost annually.
In 1868, the Academy of Arts awarded Shishkin the title of professor for his paintingsPine Forest andInstead of Crossing the Bridge, Let’s Find a Ford, butGrand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna, the Academy’s president, instead awarded him theOrder of Saint Stanislaus, 3rd class. At theExposition Universelle (1867), Shishkin exhibited several drawings and his paintingView in the Vicinity of Düsseldorf.
With the establishment of thePeredvizhniki (The Society for Traveling Art Exhibitions), Shishkin began exhibiting his pen drawings at their exhibitions. Upon returning to Saint Petersburg in 1870, he became a member of the Circle of theItinerants and Society of RussianEtchers in St. Petersburg and resumed working withaqua regia etching, a technique he continued practicing for the rest of his life, dedicating almost as much time to it as to painting. These works further solidified his reputation as one of Russia’s finest landscape painters and an unmatched master of etching.[8][13]
Shishkin's painting method was based on analytical studies ofnature. He became famous for his detailed and poetic forest landscapes, which captured the beauty of Russia’s wilderness. His works often depicted the changing seasons, wild nature, animals, and birds. He was also an outstandingdraftsman andprintmaker.
Ivan Shishkin owned adacha in the village ofVyra [ru] (now part of the Gatchina District, Leningrad Oblast), south of St Petersburg. There he painted some of his finest landscapes. His works are notable for poetic depiction of seasons in the woods, wild nature, animals and birds.
In 1873, the Academy of Arts officially awarded Shishkin the title of professor after purchasing his paintingForest Wilderness. In 1892 he was invited to become professor-director of the landscape painting workshop class in the Academy of Arts, but for various reasons, he held the position only briefly.[8]
In 1898 he completed his paintingThe Pine Grove and on March 20, 1898, Shishkin died suddenly of aheart attack in St. Petersburg, while sitting at hiseasel in front of a new painting.[14] He was buried at theSmolensk Orthodox Cemetery.[15][16] In 1950, his remains and tombstone were transferred to theTikhvin Cemetery at the Necropolis of the Masters of Art.[17]
^Курылёва Н. И. Трёхсотлетнее древо Ивана Ивановича Шишкина: предки, потомки, ближайшие родственники. — Издание 3-е. — Елабуга, 2012. — 120 с. — ISBN 978-5-601607-006-4.
%2c_View_of_Valaam_Island._Kukko.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
_%25D0%259B%25D0%25B5%25D1%2581%25D0%25BD%25D0%25B0%25D1%258F_%25D0%25B3%25D0%25BB%25D1%2583%25D1%2588%25D1%258C_02.jpg)
_02.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
_%25D0%259D%25D0%25B0_%25D1%2581%25D0%25B5%25D0%25B2%25D0%25B5%25D1%2580%25D0%25B5_%25D0%25B4%25D0%25B8%25D0%25BA%25D0%25BE%25D0%25BC.jpg)
.jpg)
