Shishkin Ivan Ivanovich
Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin is a Russian painter and engraver, one of the most famous landscape painters of the post—Reform era. He is called the "singer of the Russian forest" for his love of depicting forest landscapes. The author of the textbook painting "Morning in the pine forest".
Biography
Early years. He was born into a merchant family in Yelabuga, Vyatka province, in 1832. His father, Ivan Vasilyevich Shishkin, wanted to give his son a systematic education and in 1844 sent him to the First Kazan Men's Gymnasium. After studying for five grades, Shishkin returned to Yelabuga.
Training. In 1852, he entered the Moscow College of Painting and Sculpture (graduated in 1856), then continued his education at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg.‑St. Petersburg (1857-1860), where he was a student of landscape painter professor Socrates Vorobyov.
Journeys. Together with his Academy colleagues (Alexander Gine and Pavel Dzhogin), he worked on the shores of the Gulf of Finland (in Dubki near Sestroretsk) and on the island of Valaam. In 1862-1865, he lived and worked in Europe (including in Dusseldorf), where he improved his skills and studied engraving techniques.
Social activities. One of the founding members of the Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions (since 1870). In 1871, he joined the Society of Russian Aquafortists and was actively engaged in engraving until the end of his life.
Pedagogy. In 1892, he was invited to lead the educational landscape workshop of the Academy of Arts, and in 1894-1895 he taught at the Academy's Higher Art School.
Personal life. He was married twice. His first wife was Evgenia Alexandrovna Vasilyeva (married in 1868), and the family had three children. After the death of his wife and two children in the 1870s, he married Olga Antonovna Lagoda.
Death. He died suddenly of a heart attack in St. Petersburg.‑In St. Petersburg in 1898, sitting at an easel in front of a new (unfinished) painting "Forest Kingdom". He was originally buried at the Smolensk Orthodox Cemetery; in 1950, his remains were transferred to the Tikhvin Cemetery (Necropolis of the Masters of Arts of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra).
Creation
Shishkin worked in the style of realism, paying special attention to the accuracy and detail of the depiction of nature. Contemporaries noted his ability to convey the texture of every element of the landscape — from a blade of grass to a mighty tree.
Style Features:
realistic depiction of nature with careful elaboration of details;
love of forest motifs and Russian nature;
the combination of painting with the technique of engraving (aquafort, zincography);
the desire to convey the changing beauty of nature and its greatness.
Titles and awards
Academician of the Imperial Academy of Arts (1865);
Professor at the Imperial Academy of Arts (1873);
Full member of the Imperial Academy of Arts (1893);
Order of St. Stanislaus, 3rd degree (1868);
Grand Gold Medal of the Imperial Academy of Arts (1860);
gold medal of the First All-Russian Exhibition of Printing for services to the development of printmaking.
Where to see Shishkin's work
Shishkin's paintings and engravings are kept in the largest museums in Russia.:
The State Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow): "Logging", "Noon in the vicinity of Moscow", "Rye", "Rain in the oak forest", "Morning in the pine forest", etc.
The State Russian Museum (Saint Petersburg‑St. Petersburg): "Korabelnaya grove", "Forest wilderness", "View in the vicinity of St. Petersburg", "Teutoburg forest", etc.
The I.I. Shishkin House Museum (Yelabuga) is an exhibition dedicated to the artist's life and work, including early works and personal belongings.