Birchwood Arhip Kuindzhi (Kuindschi) (1842-1910)

Description of Arkhip Kuindzhi’s painting The Birch Grove

"Master of Light" was the nickname given to Quindzhi by other artists. For they always remained a secret of his unusual talent for depicting light in such a realistic way that it seemed as if it were not a painting but a photograph. Until now, many artists look at paintings at a loss and do not understand how and what you can convey the light of the moon or sunlight, to look at them, to squint.

The work "Birch Grove" was painted in 1879. The canvas depicts a bright, radiant and, sparkling with sunlight, day. All around is calm and quiet, a certain indescribable joy and delight settles in the soul.

The portrayal of the birch forest corner absorbed in the game of "bunnies" is so masterly that one involuntarily becomes a witness to an unusual performance - the sunbeams are intertwined in the hanging birch branches and "ride" on them blown by the light summer wind. And it seems that if you listen attentively you can hear the rustling of leaves and the singing of birds, the chirping of grasshoppers in the high and soft grass. Filled with the contrast of green and its shades, one can perceive the depth and lushness of the birch forest closer.

Then we are transferred to the brook, which with its fresh and cool stream takes us into the depths of the canvas, to a place where we can no longer see it. However, the feeling of freshness and purity sharply creates a contrast between the summer heat and the salutary coolness of the clean waters of the creek.

To add density and depth to the forest, the artist draws dark silhouettes on the distant background of the painting, but does not give them a concrete form, which suggests that the most important here, before the eyes, is spread out like on the palm.

Quindzhi achieves such subtlety of light effects through a properly selected composition of color and contrast. One can feel the light being in the darkness so finely. Therefore, the author prefers to combine dark tones with light, so that one stands out against the other in its depth and purity. Dark forest gives us an opportunity to perceive the blue sky and almost glowing trunks of the birches.

The artist is in admiration for Russian landscapes, because it is the Russian forest full of thoughts and hopes, desires and prayers, which are very clearly felt when you get into this marvelous nature.