Shishkin

Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin (1832-1898)

In the Forest Clearing

signed and dated 1869, oil on canvas

Outstanding Russian landscape painter, best known for his forest scenes. Studied in the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (1852-6) and then at the Imperial Academy (1856-60). Was sent by the Academy on a scholarship to Germany and Switzerland (1862-5) a journey that had great influence on his career. Became a professor of the Academy in 1873. Painter of monumental canvases that reflect Russia's massive distances, Shishkin is a household name to every Russian, and reproductions of his paintings are in every school classroom.