Description of the painting by Ivan Shishkin “Rain in an oak forest”

Description of the painting by Ivan Shishkin Rain in an oak forest

Written in 1891, during Shishkin’s creative heyday, the painting “Rain in the Oak Forest” is thought out to the smallest detail and is probably one of the most immaculate, stunning works of the author and resembles a high-quality photograph.

The canvas depicts an oak grove through which a footpath walked by many people passes. It is summer warm rain, and the air in the forest becomes fresh and cool. A man and a woman are walking slowly under an umbrella – a married couple, and a man is a little ahead, most likely this is the author of the picture, who, having felt raindrops on himself, opens an umbrella. The traditional for landscapes of the artist in detail in this picture reaches the highest level: the entire depth of the grove space is conveyed to the maximum by the difference between clear trees in front of us and blurred ones in the background, which lose color and merge with the silver-gray mist

when removed deep into the grove.

Rain summer mushroom. We draw this conclusion due to the saturation of flowers in the foliage of trees and grass. Looking closer, you can see how the sun’s ray penetrates through the rainy mist and illuminates every pebble and blade of grass, is reflected by the rays in the puddles and creates golden halos at the tree trunks in the distance, and near – small glare on each leaflet on which it falls.

Unlike several harsh pictures that were painted by Shishkin in the last years of his life, in “Rain in the Oak Forest” he enjoys all the diversity and beauty of the world around him and invites the viewer to dive into this summer landscape, forgetting about all the problems and hardships of life. All this lightness and beauty of the picture is achieved by the enormous skill of its author. In it, he revealed all his creative potential, masterfully transferring all the subtleties, the play of light and shadow, as well as the entire palette of shades of the summer grove during the rain.


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Description of the painting by Ivan Shishkin “Rain in an oak forest”