Morning in a Pine Forest
Konstantin Savitsky & Ivan Shishkin · 1889
Why it's great
Four bear cubs play on a fallen tree in a misty pine forest at dawn. Shishkin painted the trees and Savitsky added the bears, though the museum collector later erased Savitsky's name from the signature! The golden light filtering through the fog makes you feel the cool morning air. It is one of the best-loved paintings in Russia, famous even from candy wrappers.
👀 Look closer!
Count the bear cubs. Which one is climbing and which one is peeking?
Where to see it
📍 State Tretyakov GalleryMoscow, Russia
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Three places to look for a print of this painting, from budget to museum-grade:
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Konstantin Savitsky was born in Taganrog, Russia, and studied at the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg. He was a member of the Peredvizhniki, or 'Wanderers,' a group who took realistic art to ordinary people around Russia. He was known for paintings of people and animals. He died in 1905 in Penza.
Ivan Shishkin was born in the town of Yelabuga, in Russia, and became the great poet of the Russian forest. He lived in Saint Petersburg and traveled into the countryside to sketch trees in incredible detail. His pine and birch forests are among the most loved Russian paintings. He worked up until the day he died at his easel in 1898.
