Bouquet of flowers. Phlox Ivan Kramskoy (1837-1887)

Description of Ivan Kramskoi’s painting A Bouquet of Flowers

Kramskoi was a Russian artist who preferred genre and historical painting of all genres. He sometimes painted portraits, criticized other people’s paintings, and tried to find standards by which to accurately determine the value of works of art. He vehemently defended the idea that the artist should be not just an observer but a teacher, and that paintings should serve a greater purpose than merely reflecting reality.

In his view, they should develop morality and invite one to make moral choices, they should instill taste and reflect deeply popular, national subjects, reminding people of who they were and where they came from.

The paintings in his world were to be a reference point, a light in the darkness, and this very desire for light, for freedom, for goodness, is evident not only in the artist’s works but also in his life.

For example, when the Academy of Arts held a major competition to celebrate the fact that the term of its existence had reached the hundred-year mark and invited students who preferred historical painting to paint on the same subject - The Feast at Valhalla - Kramskoy, along with fourteen others, left its walls and went to defend his freedom.

Like any artist, however, Kramsky has not only ideologically aligned paintings designed to inspire and instruct, but also simple ones devoid of so supreme a goal. "Bouquet of Flowers" is one such painting. It depicts a bouquet of flowers in a vase, devoid of any background. Only the light that falls, vaguely outlining the outlines of the round table, serves as their support. There is no background at all - no curtains or draperies, only shimmering lights and shadows.

But the flowers themselves are very bright and saturated. It’s as if they praise life, even when cut and placed in a vase. The painting is full of bright hues - even in a simple work, Kramskoi glorifies existence, and all he needs for this is the right colors.