Sunspots on frost. Sunset in the forest. Arhip Kuindzhi (Kuindschi) (1842-1910)

Description of Arkhip Kuindzhi’s painting "Sunspots on the Frost".

Arkhip Kuindzhi was a painter of Greek descent who was born into the family of a poor cobbler. The boy’s parents died early, and he was raised by an aunt and uncle. Little Archip studied poorly, but from early childhood he drew wonderfully. But the future painter also had to work from an early age, and he changed many different professions - herded geese, helped at a construction site, sold bread.

It was one of his employers noticed the boy’s talent for drawing and advised him to go to study with Aivazovsky, but Aivazovsky instructed Arkhip only to grind paint. He also entered the Academy of Fine Arts only at the third attempt. However, later on, his talent was widely recognized, and his paintings invariably aroused the admiration of the audience. In maturity, he was a recognized master of the so-called "philosophical landscape" - trying to comprehend in their work "the final meaning of things," Kuindzhi experimented with colors and shapes and made their own, different from other artists, style.

The canvas "Sun Spots on the hoarfrost" vividly illustrates the work of the artist. Bright but mysterious sunlight, repeatedly refracted and reflected in the crystals of frost, creates a three-dimensional spatial composition. Wide, smooth, rounded strokes create a realistic image of a snow-covered forest, deep soft drifts that cover the ground, and fluffy tree branches.

Dark blue trees in the distance almost merge with the azure color of the sky. The sun’s rays fall obliquely, creating dazzling glare and deep contrasting shadows. The trees in the painting are generalized and resemble cumulus clouds - but anyone who has been in the woods at least once in winter has a sense of deja vu. The viewer feels as if he or she is in the middle of a snow-covered glade deep in the Russian forest.