“Lake Ladoga”
“Lake Ladoga” is a beautiful oil on canvas painting from 1873 by the nineteenth century Greek-Russian artist, Arkhip Kuindzhi. Kuindzhi is known for his association with the Peredvizhniki art movement, the Russian counterpart to the Realism movement in Europe. The Peredvizhniki movement included such greats as Ivan Shishkin, Ilya Repin, amongst others. Kuindzhi’s art is known for its contrast of colors and his talent at depicting how light plays in the atmosphere.
Lake Ladoga is a freshwater lake just northeast of Saint Petersburg in northwest Russia. It is the largest freshwater lake in all of Europe. Kuindzhi had just recently left his schooling at the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts and was working as a freelance artist. His art techniques were maturing, and he sought to perfect his depictions of illumination, such as seen in the diffused light in “Lake Ladoga”.
Kuindzhi’s favorite subject at the time was the Russian landscape, in all its realism, which at times can be quite austere. Though his paintings are of scenes that are true to life, Kuindzhi added a touch of the sublime through intense skies.
“Lake Ladoga” is currently on display the State Russian Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
For more on Arkhip Kuindzhi, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
