Rainbow. Arhip Kuindzhi (Kuindschi) (1842-1910)

Description of Arkhip Kuindzhi’s painting "The Rainbow"

The painting "Rainbow" is one of the most famous among Quindzhi’s paintings. It depicts one of nature’s most beautiful phenomena, a rainbow after a heavy rain.

The landscape in the foreground is meager and monotonous: the vast steppe stretches beneath a bright blue sky. There are no tall sprawling trees or dense bushes, just an endless field. The grass is a piercing green color - the recent rain has washed away the dust and dirt from it, and all the colors have become sharp and clear. On a hill a little further away, the grass has already turned yellow in the sunlight - it’s probably the end of summer already. In the middle of the steppe there is a narrow road. The road is a bit washed out after a heavy downpour. In the distance, just above the horizon, one can still see dark dark thunderstorm clouds hanging low and streaks of rain.

In the blue sky, still recovering from the downpour, an arc of color stretches from edge to edge over the horizon. The rainbow looks like a painter’s light stroke of paint created from sunlight. A light, gentle glow emanates from the rainbow. It is this glow that illuminates the rain-washed steppe. The sky above the rainbow is painted in such a way as to create the feeling of multi-layered light clouds and to convey all the depth and infinity of celestial space.

With the help of the correctly placed color shades, the viewer literally feels this landscape around him. The viewer breathes in the fresh smell of the earth after the rain, feels the light cool wind. The sight of the bright, glowing rainbow gives a sense of joy and admiration. The heavenly light descending on the rainbow gives hope for the best and faith in a brighter future. The light colors and bright strokes in the painting create a sense of celebration and splendor, of rapture.

The painting is done in the style of realism with touches of decorativeness. This is expressed in excessively bright hues that are not found in living nature.