Early spring. Arhip Kuindzhi (Kuindschi) (1842-1910)

Description of the painting "Early Spring" by Arkhip Kuindzhi

The painting "Early Spring" belongs to the brush of the famous Russian painter Arkhip Ivanovich Kuindzhi. It was painted in 1895 and belongs to the best landscapes of the artist.

The central place in the picture is given to the ice-bound river, frozen on the eve of the spring high water, waiting for the first warm rays, which would allow it to release all its power and show itself in all its glory.

The ice on the river has cracked, the first water is already beginning to show through, and spring is approaching. The verdant grasses, the bare branches of trees, and the blue skies are looking forward to it. The anticipation of spring is what makes this picture so appealing and beautiful.

Every day brings spring nearer, the first buds have already appeared on the trees depicted by the artist on the left side of the picture. Very soon they will become leaves, and then no frost will not be afraid of them.

Winter won’t be able to stop the coming of spring, which is proved by the whole composition, which the painter arranges in such a way so that it seems as if the river goes to infinity and ends somewhere in the mist, which wraps up the forest in the background.

The canvas is remarkable for its saturation of color and light, and anyone looking at it understands that this is not just a painting, but a hymn to the impending warmth, sunshine, and green riot of forests and fields.

Such a landscape can be seen by anyone who at least once in his life got out in early spring in the countryside. And yet there is something special in it - light and unique, something that an ordinary person’s eye can’t grasp and notice, but that an experienced painter’s hand can easily capture and display on the painting.

The picture was painted in the spirit of realism, for which the canvas and oil paints were used. At the moment the canvas belongs to the cultural heritage of the Ukrainian people and is kept in the Kharkov Museum of Art.