As the winter persists and cabin fever begins to steadily set in, it can be stimulating to daydream of warm summer days. The summer is tinged with a sense of freedom—of wandering and exploration that permeates the season. Every excursion into the world is accompanied by an invitation to do and see more. The winter, with its rough and sever weather, is far less inviting. When the wintery symptoms of frigidity and dormancy really start to accumulate, we can look to art for a respite from the grim winter days.
Ivan Shishkin (1832-1896) was a Russian landscape painter who was truly a master at his craft. Among his landscape paintings, which showcase various seasons and scenes, are some of the most striking and hypnotizing paintings of the summer that I’ve happen to come across. His works stimulate a dreamier, warmer frame of mind during the cold winter months, and truly make you yearn for summer.
Ivan Shishkin Paintings
to make you yearn for summer
Like many prominent Russian painters from the mid 1800’s, Shiskin’s schooling began at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture before he went on to study at the Saint Petersburg Imperial Academy of Arts. He then traveled across Europe in order to study the works of master painters like Alexandre Calame and Franz Adams, who specialized in landscapes and animal paintings respectively.
Forest, 1895
Pine on Sand, 1884
Haystacks, Preobrazhenskoe, 1890
Shiskin’s works colorfully and elaborately capture the true essence of summertime. You can almost feel the heat, smell the grass, and feel that delivering sense of freedom that the summer provides. If you are looking for a way to capture the mood of summer, to escape the drab of winter, or to simply enjoy some wonderful landscape paintings, Shishkin’s works may be just what you’ve been looking for.
Oak Grove, 1887
Morning in a Pine Forest, 1889
Forest Distance, 1884
The Edge of the Forest, 1884
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