Apiary in the woods 1876 80h64 Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin (1832-1898)

Description of Ivan Shishkin’s painting The Apiary in the Woods

Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin throughout his artistic life was deeply immersed not only in nature itself. His main task was to convey the human relationship with it.

One example of such a reconnection with nature is the artist’s painting "Apiary in the woods. After all, a peasant gathering honey in the forest apiary is a perfect subject to explore and convey this interconnection. You can see that the painter perfectly understands how ordinary people live, who are akin to the nature that feeds them.

The main focus in this painting is nature. The painting is completely surrounded by trees, and a quiet little stream flows into the foreground, with ungroomed grass growing along the edges. In the background you can see thatched cottages. This is probably where the farmer lives, next to the apiary.

The hero of the picture is an old gray-haired man with a beard, dressed in a canvas shirt, simple pants and noodles. It is evident that collecting honey here for him is usual and even routine. He walks at a steady, measured pace toward the hive.

The painting depicts seven beehives running deep into the forest in a chain of pearly chains. Despite the sense of calm and silence that this work evokes, the painting is quite dynamic. It seems as if the old man is about to move out of his seat and go to gather honey, moving from one hive to another. One can imagine birds singing, grasshoppers chirping and tree branches rustling in the light, warm wind.

It is also worth noting the tones that Shishkin used to work on his creation. To convey the hot weather, the artist chose subdued shades of yellow. They depict the land and shade the sunburned leaves and trees.

The sky deserves special attention. Although it is overcast with clouds and small glimpses of blue, it is clear that the weather is hot and sunny. The artist also managed to convey the light breeze with the help of the slight, barely noticeable slope of the grass and trees.

On the whole the painting fits perfectly into the work of the genius Russian landscape painter Ivan Shishkin. But from many of his works "The Apiary in the Woods" differs precisely in the depiction of man living in a pristine, almost untouched nature.

The human partly adjusts the nature to his own needs, but for the most part he submits to it and becomes an integral part of it. This is an especially valuable work by the great Russian master of landscape, who so lovingly conveys the beauty of his native nature in his paintings.