“After the Rain”
Today, a verdant landscape from one of the Peredvizhniki artists…
“After the Rain” is an oil on canvas painting by the Greek-Russian realism artist, Arkhip Kuindzhi, from 1879. Some of the elements Kuindzhi focused on with his art include the contrast of colors and how light plays in the atmosphere, both which are nicely displayed in this piece.
Kuindzhi was associated with the Peredvizhniki art movement, the Russian counterpart to the realism movement happening in France at the same time. Early on, their art was displayed mostly in traveling shows, so they became known as “The Wanderers”. The most common subject of Peredvizhniki art was the Russian landscape. They sought to draw attention to the beauty of their own backyards.
In this painting, Kuindzhi depicts a small rural farm on the Russian steppes. The only living thing shown is a solitary farm animal seen grazing in the grass to the left. Storm clouds darken the entirety of the expansive sky. The farm and grass are illuminated by an unseen spot of sun obviously breaking through the storm clouds. The lush yellow green contrasting against the sky suggests that rain has just saturated the grounds, adding to the lush verdant feeling of the piece.
Though this was painted in the realism style, there is an added touch of the romantic and the dramatic, a quality not often seen in the work of ‘The Wanderers’ art cooperative.
“After the Rain” is currently on display at the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, Russia.
For more on Arkhip Kuindzhi, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
