Shishkin Paintings
1832 - 1898 Painter, Etcher, Rusia, Naturalism
The Rye Field, 1878
Oil on canvas, 55.91 x 36.61 inches [142 x 93 cm]
The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow Landscapes
Shishkin remained first and foremost a painter. The oil painting was the form in which he was best able to convey his ideas. Above one of his pencil sketches completed in the 1890's, we find the words: "Free air, open spaces, field and forest, rye and plenty. The wealth of Russia." These are the underlying themes of one of his most important canvases: The Rye Field(1878). The abundance of detail does not detract from the unity of the painting, which is the result not only of the carefully thought out composition, but also of the harmonious use of light colours, expressing a mood of joyful elation, and a comparatively uninhibited style. There is indeed a sense of abundance, of the spaciousness of Russia, of the fruit-fulness of peasant labour.
