Horse sorrel. 1870 32, 4h22, 7 Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin (1832-1898)

The drawing presents a dense thicket of vegetation, rendered in charcoal with evident spontaneity and a focus on textural detail. Here we see a profusion of foliage, dominated by broad leaves that suggest a plant like sorrel or rhubarb. The artist employed varied pressure and directionality within the strokes to delineate differing levels of light and shadow, creating an impression of depth and volume.
The composition is vertically oriented, with the tallest elements rising towards the upper portion of the frame. These are counterbalanced by lower-lying grasses and smaller plants that extend toward the bottom edge. The artist’s use of hatching and cross-hatching creates a sense of complexity within the foliage, suggesting an abundance of growth and a certain wildness.
The overall effect is one of immediacy; it appears to be a rapid study undertaken directly from nature. Theres a deliberate lack of precise outlining, instead relying on tonal variations to define form. This contributes to a feeling of naturalism and avoids any sense of artificiality. The artist’s signature, located in the lower right corner, is executed with a similar fluidity and informality as the rest of the work.
Subtly, the drawing conveys an appreciation for the overlooked beauty of commonplace plants. Its not a grand landscape or heroic subject matter; instead, it focuses on the intimate details of a small patch of vegetation. This choice suggests a desire to find significance in the ordinary and to reveal the inherent visual interest within even the most unassuming elements of the natural world. The drawing’s simplicity also hints at an exploration of form and texture as primary concerns, potentially foreshadowing later developments in artistic representation that prioritized observation over idealized depictions.