Elbrus
In 1890, Kuindzhi traveled to the Caucasus and literally fell ill with the mountains. His many views of Elbrus - such as "Elbrus in the daytime" (on the next page) and "Elbrus in the evening" - have developed into an impressionistic series that seeks to capture the slightest changes in lighting and the state of nature. In each of these works, Kuindzhi uses different techniques and shows different preferences - for example, in the first of the presented landscapes, he is more concerned with the behavior of the air environment, hiding a mountain peak in a mysterious haze, and in the second, he experiments with color, making Elbrus literally phosphorescent in the rays of the sunset. sun. However, it is not the impressionistic method that plays the first violin in these works - it plays a subordinate role and serves to solve the main task: creating an ideally majestic image of earthly nature, included in the harmony of the entire universe. The top of Elbrus near Kuindzhi is inseparable from the sky, it communicates directly with it, linking the earth and the heavenly heights. It seems that the "mountain" lessons of the master were well learned by N. Roerich at the time of his studies.

Memories of Kuindzhi:

The powerful, original character of Arkhip Ivanovich, illuminated by the halo of artistic genius, left indelible marks in the memory of everyone he met on life path. Among the many curious manifestations of his multifaceted life, two characteristic cases that depict Kuindzhi as an artist-teacher and Kuindzhi as the keeper of his artistic treasure are particularly deeply embedded in my memory. In January 1898, my friend and I were preparing our paintings for the Spring Exhibition at the Academy of Arts. Having met with Arkhip Ivanovich at the Academy, I asked him to come to our apartment to see our work. The next day, around noon, familiar measured steps were heard in the corridor leading to our room. I rushed to the door. Before us stood Arkhip Ivanovich in his black greatcoat with a beaver collar and a fur hat...

"Moonlit night on the Dnieper":

In the summer and autumn of 1880, during a break with the Wanderers, A.I. Kuindzhi worked on a new painting. Rumors about the enchanting beauty of the "Moonlight Night on the Dnieper" spread throughout the Russian capital. For two hours on Sundays, the artist opened the doors of his studio to those who wished, and the St. Petersburg public began to besiege her long before the completion of the work. This picture has gained a truly legendary fame. I.S. Turgenev and Y. Polonsky, I. Kramskoy and P. Chistyakov, D. I. Mendelev came to the workshop of A. I. Kuindzhi, the well-known publisher and collector K. T. Soldatenkov asked the price of the painting. Directly from the workshop, even before the exhibition, “Moonlight Night on the Dnieper” was bought for a huge amount of money by the Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich ...

Kuindzhi's mission in Russian art:

For Russian painting, the appearance of its own Monet was necessary - such an artist who would understand the relationships of colors so clearly, would so accurately delve into their shades, would so ardently and passionately wish to convey them that other Russian artists would believe him, would cease to relate to palette as to some hardly necessary appendage. Since the time of Kiprensky and Venetsianov, colors in Russian painting have ceased to play an independent, significant role. The artists themselves treated them as a kind of official costume, without which, only out of prejudice, it is indecent to appear before the public.

09.05.2015

Description of the painting by Arkhip Kuindzhi “Elbrus in the evening”

Kuindzhi's creations are difficult to confuse with other canvases. This is due to the fact that they have a peculiar style, smoothness of images. Landscapes have always worked out best for him. The artist has written many cycles united by one theme. There are a number of paintings dedicated to the majestic Elbrus. The expressionist Kuindzhi tends to portray nature in a special way, its state at any time of the day. He has something in common with famous artist Claude Monet. 1890 The author travels to the Caucasus. He was struck by the majesty of the mountains. To convey the primitive beauty, he had to surpass himself by developing new techniques, improve his own writing technique
The painter dreams of showing the greatness of nature, its power, but in no case does he leave the harmony that binds everything living and inanimate around him.

The top of Elbrus seems to prop up the sky, linking the mountain and the air space together. This approach was later noticed by Kuindzhi's students, the same Nicholas Roerich. If you look at the works of this artist, you can find many parallels. The sun is nearing sunset and its rays illuminate the top of the Caucasus Mountains. It seems as if a fire has started on Elbrus itself: everything is burning, blazing. And at the foot of the mountain it is cool, the artist emphasizes this with cold shades. The sky turns greenish-orange, clouds floating in the sky with shades of lilac, they are penetrated by pinkish sun rays. Such contrasts are also not uncommon in Kuindzhi. The setting sun at the last moment manages to throw its light, it appears on the tops of the mountains, it is also visible on the hills that have fled in the foreground. The beams are gradually fading. The earth becomes dark, but those places where the rays have not had time to “escape” yet, they shine, shine, making the sky burning.