Amanita. Etude 1878-1879 12, 8h19, 6 Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin (1832-1898)

Description of Ivan Shishkin’s painting "Mukhomory".

The painting "Fly Fungus" belongs to the genre of sketch - sketches, which has some sense of incompleteness. Indeed, it comes to mind, as if the artist painted it with quick strokes under a fleeting impression of untouched nature: its diversity, spontaneity, richness of colors.

The main "heroes" of the picture - a family of fly agaric mushrooms, nestled in the forest. Each mushroom differs in size, shape of cap, color saturation. These features give them character. Young mushrooms are strong and perky, with firm fleshy cap and snow-white speckles. Older ones may show signs of wilting, bruising.

The woods around are drawn indistinctly and blurred, with deliberate omission of small details and realism. This creates a beautiful background and sets off the group of fly agarics favorably. Compared to the grass and trees, it is depicted carefully and brightly. This contrast captures the attention and delights.

Oil paints wonderfully convey the density, complex structure and natural coloring of the forest. It seems that you are about to inhale the fragrant smell of leaves and feel the damp coolness of the dense thicket.

The forest has always been a rich "canvas" for Russian folk tales. It was inhabited by evil spirits, and valiant heroes who fought their fears and defeated evil. In turn, the fly agaric is a frequent attribute of witchcraft power, conspiracies and transformations.

This is the feeling created by the picture. The viewer suddenly finds himself in a fabulous, unreal space, where there is a mystery. The picture resembles a vision or a dream, an enchantment imposed by mysterious forest inhabitants, poisonous mushrooms and berries.

The painting is a gem among the works by Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin and occupies a place of honor in the Tretyakov Gallery. The painting conveys the artist’s love for his homeland, his ability to see and understand the meek beauty of Russian nature.