I. I. Shishkin is an outstanding Russian painter and landscape painter. He was born into a merchant family, and it was his father who became the locomotives of I. Shishkin’s artistic aspirations. In 1952 he entered the Moscow School of Painting, and then continued his studies at the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg. Received the Big Gold Medal for the work “View of the island of Valaam”.
Spent 3 years traveling in Germany, Switzerland, Czech Republic, France, Belgium and Holland. Shishkin became disillusioned with foreign teachers and authorities, which is why he hastily returned to his homeland.
Abroad, Shishkin got acquainted with the methods of lithography and etching. His numerous drawings fell in love with the then public. And even received the title of academician for the work “View near Düsseldorf”.
After returning to his homeland, he settled in St. Petersburg, where he became a member of the Traveling Society for the movement of exhibitions, which were also called “Wanderers”. The painting “Noon in the vicinity of Moscow” was called by critics “a song of joy.” He preferred to paint daytime scenes with lots of sunlight.
Shishkin stood out from other academicians with his meticulous reproduction of natural landscapes. For his special approach to detail, which preserves the integrity of the picture, his work is still actively bought for private collections.
Among Russian artists, he was the most expressive representative of materialistic aesthetics. He never painted nature dirty, using only bright and pure colors. At the same time, even against the background of Levitan, Serov and Korovin, his work does not fade. His authority among artists was unshakable, and even the new generation of artists recognized the merits of the artist.
He died in his studio right behind the easel when he was painting another picture. And today we have launched an online sale of the artist’s paintings in the Rios Art Gallery.