Ivan Shishkin, "In the North Dick" - a picture depicting loneliness

Artist Ivan Shishkin - one of the greatest landscape painters. His nature does not lose realism, life and splendor when transferred from nature to canvas.

Subtle, practically beyond the bounds of possible knowledge, understanding and ability to depict various plant forms gives Shishkin's landscapes realistic beauty and honesty, which is what makes his paintings so popular, loved and most recognizable.

"In the North, Dick"

A wonderful artist - Ivan Shishkin. "In the North Dick" - a picture written to illustrate the same poem by Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov, which, in turn, is a free translation of the poem "Pine" by the German poet Heinrich Heine.

Combining the motives of Heine's personal loneliness and the more generalized theme of the disconnection of human souls in Lermontov's version, the picture "In the North of Dikom" creates a feeling of eternity in solitude, an untimely but not desperate state of sadness, which is ideal for illustrating the original poem as well as for it Translation.

Almost any description of Shishkin's paintings mentions the incredible realism and sensuality of his landscapes, the absolute certainty that this place exists somewhere, and if you get there, it will look exactly as it was transferred to canvas Shishkin. "In the North Dick" - a picture that is not an exception to this rule.

History of creation

In 1891, to the 50th anniversary of the death of the great poet, the collection of M. Lermontov's works was published. His uniqueness consisted in a large number of illustrations by famous artists of the time, among which was Shishkin along with Vrubel, Vasnetsov, Serov and many others.

Shishkin, who during this period was not alone loneliness and winter landscapes, chose this illustration for illustration. The artist was acutely aware of the loss of his wife and sons, and later the transfer of his daughter to Finland. It was there, on the northernmost coast of the Gulf of Bothnia, in Kemi, the painting "In the North of Dikom" was painted, along with other winter landscapes of the artist.

Shishkin, "In the North Dikom": painting, composition and coloring

The cold of the severe edge perfectly emphasizes the palette of colors chosen by the author for writing the landscape. In the picture there is absolutely no green - everything is absorbed in the deep night and bright moonlight, underlined by many shades of blue - from white-blue to blue-black.

The composition focus of the picture is a tall pine, which is shifted slightly to the left, which creates the effect of a black abyss at the foot of the cliff. The low line of the phantom horizon unequally divides the landscape in two, allowing the night sky to "absorb" space, thereby emphasizing the loneliness of the pine.

Despite the fact that the moon is not visible on the canvas, it is nevertheless a full part of the composition, since its light plays an important role in the color and emotional load of the picture.

Ivan Shishkin, "In the North Dick": description of the painting

The pine is unusually high for the subpolar latitudes, growing lonely at the very edge of the cliff. Such a plot can symbolize the strength and firmness of the spirit, the movement upwards against obstacles, optimism and faith in changes for the better. However, looking at this picture, nothing comes from the above.

The sensation of loneliness, sadness and humility fills the image. A tall pine, proud in its nature tree, stands, as if submissively bowing its head, resigned to fate and turned towards its only comrade - the moonlight.

At the same time, the picture is not full of despair or despair, there is no pessimism and cowardice in it, just as in Lermontov's poem. A sense of quiet sadness, enveloped in snow and moonlight, is absolutely alien to peace and tranquility, Shishkin perfectly illustrated this. "In the North, Dick" - a picture that makes loneliness beautiful.