№ 2051 . 175th Birth Anniversary of A. Kuindzhi (1841–1910), artist

Arkhip Ivanovich Kuindzhi (1841-1910) was a Russian painter, landscape artist.

In 1870, Kuindzhi got the title of unclassed artist and became a volunteer at the Imperial Academy of Arts with the third attempt. At this time he became acquainted with the Peredvizhniki, a group of Russian realist artists who in protest to academic restrictions formed an artists' cooperative which evolved into the Society for Traveling Art Exhibitions. His friends from this society were Ivan Kramskoy and Iliya Repin. This acquaintance had a great influence on Kuindzhi's works, ushering in a realistic perception of reality.

In the early period Kuindzhi was influenced by Ivan Aivazovsky, in the mid 1870s. under the influence of art of the Society for Traveling Art Exhibitions he saturated the landscape motifs with social associations ("Chiumatskiy Tract" 1875). In the works of his mature period, aiming to show the most expressive illumination conditions of nature, Kuindzhi resorted to composite receptions as a high horizon, etc., using light effects and intense, shown to several main tones, colors ("Ukrainian Night", 1876, "Birch Grove", 1879 - both presented in the Tretyakov Gallery, "Night on the Dnieper River", 1880). In his later works Kuindzhi grow decorative features and external effects of color building.

The most famous works of the artist are "Autumn Slush" (1872); "Birch Grove" (1879); "Night on the Dnieper River" (1882).