Picturesque landscape by Russian artists of the 19th century. Landscape artists

Published: March 26, 2018

This list of famous landscape painters was compiled by our editor Neil Collins, MFA, LL.B. It represents his personal opinion of the ten best representatives of genre art. Like any such compilation, it reveals more about the personal tastes of the compiler than about the place of landscape painters. So, the top ten landscape painters and their landscapes.

No. 10 Thomas Cole (1801-1848) and Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900)

There are two American artists in tenth place.

Thomas Cole: The greatest American landscape painter of the early 19th century and founder of the Hudson River School, Thomas Cole was born in England, where he worked as an apprentice engraver before emigrating to the United States in 1818, where he quickly achieved recognition as a landscape painter, settling in the Catskill village of the Hudson Valley. An admirer of Claude Lorraine and Turner, he visited England and Italy from 1829 to 1832, after which (thanks in part to the encouragement he received from John Martyn and Turner) he began to focus less on natural landscapes and more on grand allegorical and historical themes. . Largely impressed by the natural beauty of the American landscape, Cole imbued much of his landscape art with great feeling and an obvious romantic splendor.

Famous landscapes of Thomas Cole:

- “View of the Catskills - Early Autumn” (1837), oil on canvas, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

- “American Lake” (1844), oil on canvas, Detroit Institute of Arts

Frederic Edwin Church

Frederic Edwin Church: Cole's student, Church perhaps surpassed his teacher in monumental romantic panoramas, each of which conveyed some kind of spirituality of nature. Church painted impressive views of natural landscapes throughout the American continent from Labrador to the Andes.

Famous landscapes of Frederic Church:

- “Niagara Falls” (1857), Corcoran, Washington

- “The Heart of the Andes” (1859), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

- "Cotopaxi" (1862), Detroit Institute of Arts

No. 9 Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840)

Thoughtful, melancholy and a bit of a recluse, Caspar David Friedrich is the greatest landscape painter of the Romantic tradition. Born near the Baltic Sea, he settled in Dresden, where he focused exclusively on spiritual connections and the meaning of landscape, inspired by the silent silence of the forest, as well as light (sunrise, sunset, moonlight) and the seasons. His genius lay in his ability to capture a hitherto unknown spiritual dimension in nature, which gives the landscape an emotional, never-before-matched mysticism.

Famous landscapes of Caspar David Friedrich:

- “Winter Landscape” (1811), oil on canvas, National Gallery, London

- “Landscape in Riesengebirge” (1830), oil on canvas, Pushkin Museum, Moscow

- “Man and Woman Looking at the Moon” (1830-1835), oil, National Gallery, Berlin

No. 8 Alfred Sisley (1839-1899)

Often called the “forgotten impressionist,” the Anglo-French Alfred Sisley was second only to Monet in his devotion to spontaneous plein airism: he was the only Impressionist to devote himself exclusively to landscape painting. His seriously underrated reputation rests on his ability to capture the unique effects of light and the seasons in sweeping landscapes and sea and river scenes. His image of dawn and an unclear day is especially memorable. Nowadays he is not very popular, but is still considered one of the greatest representatives of impressionist landscape painting. Might well be overrated since, unlike Monet, his work never suffered from a lack of form.

Famous landscapes of Alfred Sisley:

- “Foggy Morning” (1874), oil on canvas, Orsay Museum

- “Snow at Louveciennes” (1878), oil on canvas, Orsay Museum, Paris

- “Morette Bridge in the Sun” (1892), oil on canvas, private collection

No. 7 Albert Cuyp (1620-1691)

Dutch realist painter, Aelbert Kuip is one of the most famous Dutch landscape painters. His magnificent scenic views, river scenes and landscapes of calm cattle, show a majestic serenity and a masterful handling of bright light (early morning or evening sun) in the Italian style is a sign of Klodeev's great influence. This golden light often catches only the sides and edges of plants, clouds or animals through impasto lighting effects. Thus, Cuyp turned his native Dordrecht into an imaginary world, reflecting it at the beginning or end of an ideal day, with an all-encompassing sense of stillness and security, and the harmony of everything with nature. Popular in Holland, it was highly prized and collected in England.

Famous landscapes of Albert Cuyp:

- “View of Dordrecht from the north” (1650), oil on canvas, collection of Anthony de Rothschild

- “River Landscape with Horseman and Peasants” (1658), oil, National Gallery, London

No. 6 Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot (1796-1875)

Jean-Baptiste Corot, one of the greatest landscape painters of the Romantic style, is famous for his unforgettable picturesque depictions of nature. His particularly subtle approach to distance, light and form depended on tone rather than drawing and color, giving the finished composition the atmosphere of an endless romance. Less constrained by pictorial theory, Korot's work nevertheless ranks among the world's most popular landscapes. A regular participant in the Paris Salon since 1827 and a member of the Barbizon School led by Théodore Rousseau (1812-1867), he had a huge influence on other plein air artists such as Charles-François Daubigny (1817-1878), Camille Pissarro (1830-1903). ) and Alfred Sisley (1839-1899). He was also an extraordinarily generous man who spent much of his money on artists in need.

Famous landscapes of Jean-Baptiste Corot:

- “Bridge at Narni” (1826), oil on canvas, Louvre

- “Ville d'Avrey” (ca. 1867), oil on canvas, Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York

- “Rural Landscape” (1875), oil on canvas, Toulouse-Lautrec Museum, Albi, France

No. 5 Jacob van Ruisdael (1628-1682)

The work of Jacob Van Ruisdael, now considered the greatest of all Dutch realist landscape painters, had an enormous influence on later European landscape art, despite the fact that during his lifetime he was less popular than the Italian style painters. His subjects included windmills, rivers, forests, fields, beaches and seascapes, depicted with an unusually moving feeling, using bold shapes, dense colors and energetic thick brushstrokes, rather than the usual focus on tone. Jacob, a student of his uncle Salomon van Ruisdael, in turn taught the famous Meindert Hobbema (1638-1709), and greatly admired English masters such as Thomas Gainsborough and John Constable, as well as members of the Barbizon School.

Famous landscapes of Jacob van Ruisdael:

- “Landscape with Shepherds and Farmers” (1665), oil on canvas, Uffizi Gallery

- “Mill in Wijk near Duarsted” (1670), oil on canvas, Rijksmuseum

- “Jewish cemetery in Ouderkerk” (1670), Gallery of Old Masters, Dresden

No. 4 Claude Lorrain (1600-1682)

French painter, draughtsman and engraver, active in Rome, who is considered by many art historians to be the greatest painter of the idyllic landscape in the history of art. Since pure (that is, secular and non-classical) landscape, like ordinary still life or genre painting, lacked moral gravity (in 17th century Rome), Claude Lorrain introduced classical elements and mythological themes into his compositions, including gods, heroes and saints. Moreover, his chosen environment, the countryside around Rome, was rich in ancient ruins. These classic Italian pastoral landscapes were also imbued with a poetic light that represents his unique contribution to the art of landscape painting. Claude Lorraine particularly influenced English artists, both during his lifetime and for two centuries after it: John Constable called him "the finest landscape painter the world has ever seen."

Famous landscapes of Claude Lorrain:

- “Modern Rome - Campo Vaccino” (1636), oil on canvas, Louvre

- “Landscape with the Wedding of Isaac and Rebecca” (1648), oil, National Gallery

- “Landscape with Tobias and the Angel” (1663), oil, Hermitage, St. Petersburg

No. 3 John Constable (1776-1837)

He ranks alongside Turner as one of the finest English landscape painters, not least because of his exceptional ability to recreate the colors, climate and rural landscape of the romantic English countryside, and because of his pioneering role in the development of plein airism. In contrast to Turner's distinctly interpretive style, John Constable focused on nature, painting the landscapes of Suffolk and Hampstead that he knew so well. However, his spontaneous, fresh compositions were often careful reconstructions, which owed much to his close study of Dutch realism, as well as Italianized works in the spirit of Claude Lorrain. Renowned artist Henry Fusli once commented that Constable's lifelike, naturalistic depictions always made him call for their protection!

Famous landscapes of John Constable:

- "Building a Boat at Flatward" (1815), oil, Victoria and Albert Museum, London

- “Hay Wagon” (1821), oil on canvas, National Gallery, London

No. 2 Claude Monet (1840-1926)

The greatest modern landscape painter and a giant of French painting, Monet was a leading figure in the incredibly influential Impressionist movement, whose principles of spontaneous plein air painting he remained faithful to for the rest of his life. A close friend of the Impressionist artists Renoir and Pissarro, his pursuit of optical truth, primarily in the depiction of light, is represented by a series of canvases depicting the same object in different lighting conditions, and at different times of day, such as Haystacks (1888). ), Poplars (1891), Rouen Cathedral (1892) and The River Thames (1899). This method culminated in the famous Water Lilies series (among all the most famous landscapes), created from 1883 in his garden at Giverny. His final series of monumental drawings of water lilies with shimmering flowers have been interpreted by several art historians and painters as an important precursor to abstract art, and by others as the supreme example of Monet's search for spontaneous naturalism.

Russian landscape as a genre was formed at the end of the 18th century. It took decades and the efforts of many masters for this genre of painting to become as significant as a historical painting or portrait. The pioneers of the landscape genre were artists who studied in Europe - Semyon Shchedrin, Fyodor Matveev, Fyodor Alekseev.

In the romantic art of the first half of the 19th century, the role of landscape became more prominent. The so-called “Russian Italians” - pensioners of the Russian Academy of Arts - Sylvester Shchedrin, Mikhail Lebedev, Alexander Ivanov, picked up the pan-European artistic principles of depicting nature.

In the second half of the 19th century, in the works of the Itinerant artists, the depiction of nature reached the highest skill. Diverse and rich landscape painting became a reflection of the deep love of painters for their native land. At the same time, some were captivated by lyrical motifs, others by epic ones, and still others by the search for a generalized image, the colorfulness and decorativeness of the landscape. Winter in Russian painting is so closely connected with the “holy sixties” that the 70s that began with Savrasov’s “Rooks” seem like a short spring, the Repin-impressionistic 80s seem like an unexpected summer, and the farewell 90s, the symbolist Vrubel-Levitan series, seem like a long autumn Russian landscape.

In the 60s of the nineteenth century, the period of formation of realistic landscape painting began in Russia. The question of the content of art acquired a dominant role for landscape artists. Prompted by high patriotic feelings, they sought to show the powerful and fertile Russian nature as a source of possible wealth and happiness. At this time, individual works of landscape painters could easily stand alongside the paintings of genre painting, which was the most advanced art at that time. Such famous artists as Alexey Savrasov, Ivan Shishkin, Fyodor Vasiliev, Arkhip Kuindzhi, Vasily Polenov, Isaac Levitan made a serious contribution to the development of Russian landscape.

An important step in the Russian landscape of the second half of the 19th century was the resurrection of the ideals of romantic painting in the general mainstream of realistic trends. Vasiliev and Kuindzhi each in their own way turned to nature as the ideal of romantic painting, as an opportunity to pour out their feelings.

Impressionism played a major role in the evolution of the Russian landscape, through which almost all serious painters of the late 19th and early 20th centuries went through.

In the artistic life of Russia at the beginning of the twentieth century, the artistic group “Union of Russian Artists” also played a significant role. It included artists Konstantin Korovin, Abram Arkhipov, Sergei Vinogradov, Konstantin Yuon and others. The main genre in the work of these artists was landscape. They were the successors of landscape painting of the second half of the 19th century.

Nikolai Krymov and Viktor Borisov-Musatov created their landscapes in the spirit of symbolist art.

In the 20-30s of the twentieth century, neo-academic trends began to develop in art. These views were shared by Nikolai Dormidontov and Semyon Pavlov.

Some artists persistently continued to develop the traditions established in the 19th century. Among them are Alexander Dreven, Morozov. Others have offered new perspectives on the artistic heritage of the last century. Boris Kustodiev, Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin developed their own vision of their native nature.

The first decade of the twentieth century passed under the motto of the most daring search for new means of expression in painting. Kazimir Malevich and Natalya Goncharova found new forms, new colors, new expressive means for conveying the landscape.

Soviet realism continued the traditions of classical Russian landscape. Arkady Plastov, Vyacheslav Zagonek, and the Tkachev brothers looked attentively and with optimism at their native nature.

Russian landscape has undergone an evolution throughout its life from classicism to symbolism, including romantic and expressive landscape. The exhibition showed all the main stages in the development of this genre.

In the history of the development of Russian landscape painting one can find many parallels with European landscapes. And this is not surprising, but it is in Russian art, not only in painting, that landscape has always occupied a special place. For example, Russian artists tried to convey the image of their homeland through the landscape (A. Vasnetsov “Motherland”).

The first landscape motifs in Russian painting can be seen on ancient Russian icons. Almost always, the figures of saints, the Virgin Mary and Christ were depicted against the background of a landscape. But it’s difficult to call it a full-fledged landscape - low hills here signified rocky terrain, rare “mongrel” trees symbolized the forest, and flat buildings represented chambers and temples. The appearance of the first full-fledged landscapes in Russia dates back to the 18th century. These works were topographical views of St. Petersburg palaces and parks. During the reign of Elizaveta Petrovna, an atlas with views of St. Petersburg and the surrounding area was published; the engravings were made by M. I. Makhaev. But most historians agree that the founder of the Russian landscape is Semyon Fedorovich Shchedrin. It is with his name that landscape painting is identified as a separate independent genre. An important contribution to the development of the genre was made by S.F.’s contemporaries. Shchedrin - F. Ya. Alekseev and M. M. Ivanov. Alekseev’s work had a serious influence on a whole generation of young artists: M. N. Vorobyov, A. E. Martynov and S. F. Galaktionov. The works of these painters are dedicated primarily to St. Petersburg, its canals, embankments, palaces and parks.

The merits of M. N. Vorobiev include the creation of a national school of landscape painting. He trained a whole galaxy of talented landscape painters, including the Chernetsov brothers, K. I. Rabus, A. P. Bryullov, S. F. Shchedrin. In the mid-19th century, Russian landscape painting had already formed its own principles of perception of nature and methods of conveying it. From the school M.N. Vorobyov, the romantic traditions of the Russian landscape originate. These ideas were developed by his students M. I. Lebedev, who died at the age of 25, L. F. Lagorio and the master of seascape I. K. Aivazovsky. An important place in Russian landscape painting is occupied by the work of A. K. Savrasov, a man with a difficult fate. It was he who became the founder of the national lyrical landscape (the painting “The Rooks Have Arrived” and others). Savrasov influenced a number of landscape painters, primarily L.L. Kamenev and I.I. Levitan.

Simultaneously with the lyrical landscape, the epic landscape also developed in Russian painting. The most prominent representative of this subgenre is M.K. Klodt, who in each of his paintings sought to convey to the viewer a holistic image of Russia.
The second half of the 19th century is sometimes called the golden age of Russian landscape. At this time, such masters of landscape painting were working as: I. I. Shishkin (“Rye”, “In the Wild North”, “Among the Flat Valley”), F. A. Vasiliev (“Wet Meadow”, “Thaw”, “Village” ", "Swamp"), A. Kuindzhi ("Dnieper at Night", "Birch Grove", "Twilight"), A. P. Bogolyubov ("Le Havre", "Harbor on the Seine", "Vichy. Afternoon"), I I. Levitan (“March”, “Vladimirka”, “Birch Grove”, “Golden Autumn”, “Above Eternal Peace”). Levitan's traditions of lyrical landscape were developed at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries by artists I. S. Ostroukhov, S. I. Svetoslavsky and N. N. Dubovsky. Landscape painting of the early 20th century is associated, first of all, with the work of I. E. Grabar, K. F. Yuon and A. A. Rylov. Landscapes were created in the style of symbolism by P. V. Kuznetsov, M. S. Saryan, N. P. Krymov and V. E. Borisov-Musatov. After the October Revolution, the industrial landscape developed intensively, the most prominent representatives being M. S. Saryan and K. F. Bogaevsky. Among the domestic landscape painters of the 20th century, it is also worth noting G. G. Nissky, S. V. Gerasimov and N. M. Romadin.

We are glad to welcome you to the blog about contemporary art. Today I want to talk about painting, so this post is entirely dedicated to landscapes by Russian artists. In it you will find the most complete information about the work of Alexander Afonin, Alexey Savchenko and Viktor Bykov. All of them are not just talented, but divinely gifted individuals. Their creativity is multifaceted, original and skillful. They attract the attention of not only citizens of the Russian land, but also representatives and collectors from far abroad countries. Writing about them briefly is quite a difficult task, but we will try to summarize the information in order to present to your eyes only the most interesting and important things from the lives of artists and their work. Well, let's move on to the landscapes of Russian artists?

Landscapes of the true Russian artist Alexander Afonin

Alexander Afonin is called a true Russian artist, a modern Shishkin, which is quite justified. He is a member of the International Federation of Artists UNESCO (1996) and has been awarded the title of Honored Artist of the Russian Federation since 2004. The artist was born in 1966 in Kursk. Started drawing at the age of 12. Gradually growing up, the young man began to be attracted to reproductions of world masterpieces of painting. Father Pavel was a support for Alexander, he explained to him the basics of drawing and tonality. Learning art at home, Afonin entered the Kursk Art School, from which he graduated in 1982.

The period from 1982 to 1986 became a turning point for the artist for the rest of his life. In addition to the fact that during this time period Afonin received his education at the Zheleznogorsk Art School, it was then that he learned professionalism. Today Alexander considers this school one of the best in Russia.

Alexander Pavlovich Afonin prefers to paint landscapes not from photographs or in the office, but from nature. The artist claims that copying photographic landscapes is a good breeding ground for degradation, in particular, the loss of a sense of freshness and a sense of air. No wonder great masters like Levitan, Savrasov, Kuindzhi walked for kilometers in search of nature.

Thanks to his talent and hard work, in 1989 Afonin entered the Russian Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, which at that time was just beginning the history of its existence. Alexander graduated from graduate school, became an associate professor at the academic department of painting and drawing, and was also appointed head of a landscape workshop. Now Alexander Pavlovich is already a professor, head of the department and honored artist of his homeland. The artist believes that every remote corner of the Russian land can and should be captured in the field of high art.

The author’s paintings are so poetic and imbued with freshness that you don’t even want to take your eyes off one canvas to look at another. We wish you to receive a sea of positive emotions while viewing the landscapes of the Russian artist.

Nature landscapes of different seasons from Alexey Savchenko

Alexey Savchenko is a fairly young artist, but already recognizable and very promising. The main theme of his paintings, created thanks to the sketch style of painting, are small towns, half-forgotten villages, surviving churches, in a word, the outback of vast Russia. Savchenko specializes in natural landscapes of different seasons. As a rule, his paintings convey the nature of the central zone of the Russian Federation.

Landscapes by Russian artist Alexey Savchenko They take it not by color, but by some capricious northern mood. , maximum color realism - perhaps this is what is very clearly visible in the author’s paintings.

Alexey Alexandrovich born in 1975. He was lucky to be born in the wonderful historical city of Sergiev Posad, the pearl of the “Golden Ring”, primarily known as a place of mass Orthodox pilgrimage.

In 1997, Alexey received the specialty of graphic designer, graduating from the All-Russian College of Toys. In 2001 - Faculty of Fine Arts and Folk Crafts at Moscow Pedagogical University. Since 2005 - member of the Creative Union of Artists of Russia. Constantly takes part in exhibitions of professional artists. Many of his works are among art collectors in Russia and abroad.

“Forest as if alive” by Russian artist Viktor Bykov

Viktor Aleksandrovich Bykov is a famous Russian landscape painter, the author of many works directly related to the beauty and lyricism of Russian nature. The artist was born in 1958. He started painting quite early. In 1980 he graduated from art school. In the period from 1988 to 1993, Viktor Bykov studied at the famous Stroganovka, which is now called the Moscow State Academy of Arts and Industry. S.G. Stroganov.

Today, the author’s style of painting in contemporary art circles is called naturalistic realism; in the old days of the last century they would have said “the forest is as if it were alive.” Rich tones in the hands of an experienced artist give the desired effect of living paintings. Barely connected lines, combined with textured thick layers of paint applied in a continuous array on the canvas, make the Russian artist’s original landscapes both bright and rich in detail. Through this technique, an enthusiastic feeling of the fantastic nature of the paintings, their fabulous infinity, is achieved.

The landscapes in the paintings of the Russian artist convey incredible realism; it seems as if they are telling about the nature of life of the sun's rays and, at the same time, moving transparent air in huge volumes. The artist’s paintings are full of harmonious colors, fresh images, and the mood of Mother Nature.

His winter ones are admirable, in which finely selected shades absolutely miraculously recreate various natural states - from the resistance of frost in the spring, the crystal freshness of a snowy morning to the mysterious silence of a late winter evening. The snow cover in the artist’s paintings makes one feel the structure of the snow, the graininess of its slender crystals.

Landscapes by Russian artist Viktor Bykov popular both in their native Fatherland and abroad (private collections in France and Germany). Reproductions of the artist are used in decorative designs, even when creating patterns for embroidery. And who knows, perhaps we come across Victor’s work much more often, unfocused, incognito, without attaching much importance to it, or mentally giving ourselves up to dreams of colorful landscapes of the Russian land and its talented artists.

To complete the post, watch a wonderful video about classical landscapes by Russian artists:

Lev Kamenev (1833 – 1886) “Landscape with a Hut”

Landscape, as an independent genre of painting, established itself in Russia around the middle of the 18th century. And before this period, the landscape was the background for depicting icon painting compositions or part of book illustrations.

A lot has been written about the Russian landscape of the 19th century, and it was written by such, without exaggeration, great experts in the field of painting that I essentially have nothing to add.

The pioneers of Russian landscape painting are Semyon Shchedrin, Fyodor Alekseev and Fyodor Matveev. All these artists studied painting in Europe, which left a certain imprint on their further work.

Shchedrin (1749 – 1804) gained fame as the author of works depicting imperial country parks. Alekseev (1753 - 1824) was nicknamed the Russian Canaletto for his landscapes depicting architectural monuments of St. Petersburg, Gatchina and Pavlovsk, Moscow. Matveev (1758 - 1826) worked in Italy most of his life and wrote in the spirit of his teacher Hackert. The works of this talented Italian artist were also imitated by M.M. Ivanov (1748 – 1828).

Experts note two stages in the development of Russian landscape painting of the 19th century, which are not organically connected with each other, but are clearly distinguishable. These two stages:

realistic;
romantic.

The border between these directions was clearly formed by the mid-20s of the 19th century. By the middle of the eighteenth century, Russian painting began to free itself from the rationalism of classical painting of the 18th century. And Russian romanticism, as a separate phenomenon in Russian painting, is of great importance in these changes.

The Russian romantic landscape developed in three directions:

an urban landscape based on works from nature;
study of Russian nature based on “Italian soil”;
Russian national landscape.

And now I invite you to the gallery of works by Russian artists of the 19th century who painted landscapes. I only took one piece from each artist - otherwise this gallery was simply endless.

If you have a desire, you can read about the work of each artist (and, accordingly, remember the artist’s works) on this site.

Russian landscapes of the 19th century

Vladimir Muravyov (1861 – 1940), “Blue Forest”