North Arhip Kuindzhi (Kuindschi) (1842-1910)

Description of Arkhip Kuindzhi’s painting "The North"

The idea for this painting dates back to 1872, when the Russian artist intended to create a cycle of paintings united by a common theme - the depiction of harsh northern nature.

The first two paintings of the cycle - "Lake Ladoga" and "On the island of Valaam" - created Kuindzhi, being under the impression of a trip to the harsh edges.

Against the background of these masterpieces written six years later "North" looks like some kind of final accent, without which the cycle was perceived as incomplete. Apparently, Quindzhi was aware of this and therefore, for his last painting chose a title that does not contain a geographical reference. The painting depicts an endless plain extending into the distance, which the artist suggests observing from a bird’s-eye view.

In the foreground we see several orphaned pines, a well-known motif which recalls Lermontov’s poems familiar from his school years. In the distance, however, endless forests flicker - exactly flicker, no other verb could be chosen - appearing now and then disappearing again in an erratic fog. They can create a sense of some mystery that is not easily revealed to the inquiring viewer. The lion’s share of the canvas is occupied by the image of grayish sky, thus Kuindzhi pays tribute to the eternal theme - the confrontation of the two elements.

The artist poetizes northern nature, showing his own attitude to it: the canvas is imbued with love for the harsh edges. At the same time, this feeling is mixed with a sense of greatness, nature beyond human control.

Like the previous canvases, "The North" is kept in the Tretyakov Gallery. It is not by chance that it is sometimes called the final canvas of the artist, because after its creation, as you know, Quindzhi moved away from the description of northern nature. For a long time it will take him to the south of Russia, but that’s another story.