“Sunset in the Winter, A Coast of the Sea”
“Sunset in the Winter, A Coast of the Sea” is an oil on cardboard painting by the Russian artist of Greek descent, Arkhip Kuindzhi, from 1890. Though he usually painted in the realism art style, this is an impressionist piece. This painting is likely a preparatory sketch for a larger piece, as he often painted at least several preparatory sketches for one large painting.
In this piece, there are flashes of bright red light that break through a cloudy sky while the sun sets. It is atmospheric. The muted color of the landscape below allows the viewers eyes to draw to the glorious reds of the expansive sky. This is painted in an impressionistic, almost expressionist manner. This piece is very similar to “Sunset in Winter. Seashore.”, dated to the 1900s, and also in the collections of the State Russian Museum.
Kuindzhi experimented a lot with his art to find new ways of capturing landscapes. Some of the elements that Kuindzhi played with were the contrast of colors and how light plays in the atmosphere, both which are nicely displayed in this piece. His work would help pave the way for the Symbolism and Expressionism art movements.
From 1882 until his death in 1910, Kuindzhi stopped exhibiting his work. Although he created many artworks during this period, the public was blind to them. This is one the pieces he made during his self-imposed isolation. After his death in 1910, there was a posthumous exhibition of his work where many paintings were seen for the first time.
“Sunset in the Winter, A Coast of the Sea” is currently on display at 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.
