Description of the painting by Ivan Shishkin “In the north is wild”

Description of the painting by Ivan Shishkin In the north is wild

The famous work “In the North by the Wild” Shishkin was created in 1890 and is the artistic embodiment of the motive of solitude, sung by Lermontov in the poetic work “Pine”. She has some similarities with Kuindzhi’s romantic painting, with which the author at that time maintained friendly relations.

In the middle of cold darkness, surrounded by snow and ice, a proud and lonely tree rises on a bare and inaccessible peak of the rocks. All his surroundings are black deep gorge, illuminated by cold moonlight, and endless snow-covered expanses.

We see how the harsh northern nature captivated the artist with a completely unearthly, fairytale-like, beauty and incredible fortitude. With the help of a rich color range of shades and transitions, the master managed to convey both the feeling of cold silence and the oppression of loneliness.

And in this frosty kingdom, at first glance, there is already nothing alive. A lonely tree continues to live, despite the frost, winds and snow.

The mighty pine froze in silent oblivion and anticipation of better times. How much pride and dignity in this silhouette. On its strong branches, like a veil embroidered in gold on the shoulders of a priest, heavy snow mounds lurked. And a snow-white cap perched on top. It almost reaches the snow clouds and merges with them in flight across the overcast sky. A feeling of cold numbness and melancholy silence reigns around.

Involuntarily think about what is dreaming about in this harsh time, a proud tree on a rock? Perhaps about a close and kindred soul, just as sublime in its solitude? Unfortunately, we will never know about this, but there is a feeling of admiration for the pine, which does not submit to any adversity. This is probably a symbol of human pride and dignity, without which a person cannot climb to the top, much less stand on it.


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Description of the painting by Ivan Shishkin “In the north is wild”