Mill in pole1861 Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin (1832-1898)

Description of Ivan Shishkin’s painting A Mill in the Field

A remarkably fine painting, a canvas by the same Shishkin who would much later write Bears in the Pine Forest, The Rye, The Oak Tree, and many other rather famous paintings. This canvas is among the first. And it is easy to understand if only by the way how softly the lower landscape is painted: cut hay and sheaves of it around the mill. We should say separately about the mills as well. Notice that we can see two mills, the one in the near background and the one in the background, but the impression is that they are standing parallel to one another at an equal distance.

Not only that, they are placed so that the wings would catch the "wind rose" and, if necessary, would begin to twirl without much difficulty. But peasants are also crafty: in the Baltic countries there are mills that can rotate around its axis, that is catching the wind where it blows strongest. Such mill designs are also found in the famous mills of Spain. And in this landscape, the mills stand as if propped up by large beams. Most likely, the mill is already old and probably could not withstand the pressure of the wind. So it was backed up. After all the mill is the breadwinner for the villagers. It threshes flour and all wheat harvest is taken to it as a bow.

But let’s go back to the canvas. Look around... The fields are cut, which means that it is most likely the end of summer, the beginning of autumn. And so, very soon the mills will work at full power, so that soon there will be ready flour, which will then go to the market or to the storehouse. But not an insignificant role in this landscape is played by the sky. By the way, it is also autumnal, with clouds that do not bode well. But still the sky is a little bit summery.

Still has that blue, which is so pleasant for us in the summer. And the forest around us is still green and you can see the forest hills in the distance.

And what is interesting, how many of these landscapes on the harvest theme, but never was such a painting, where the harvest would be bad. And it is understandable, the artists should inspire optimism in their work, but also make people think and reflect. Looking at this painting, you think how good it is to live in your homeland, where there are such magnificent expanses.