Description of the picture:
Autumn Thaw – Arkhip Ivanovich Kuindzhi. 1872. Oil on canvas. 70×110 cm
Arkhip Kuindzhi does not have a lot of joyless pictures, but “Autumn Thaw” can be called one of the most joyless and hopeless stories.
The choice of a social theme was determined by the aspiration of a novice painter to join the Association of Wanderers, who advocated not only acquaintance with the visual arts of the wider masses, but also for the sociality of art itself – the problem of inequality, the difficult life of the poor layers of the population was the main leitmotif in the paintings of many representatives Partnerships.
What does this gloomy canvas depict? The unsightly routine of the Russian countryside. A wagon rides along a soggy road. We see a thin harnessed horse. Four wheels leave deep slushy furrows, demonstrating that the road is more like just dirt. Traces are visible to the left of the road – some larger, others smaller. This woman with a child, bent from heavy dampness, goes to the side of the village, which is barely noticeable due to the gray-blue fog. A bare, completely lonely tree looks like the finishing touch to this sad landscape.
Some researchers see an allegorical meaning in the image of a long road – an endless road symbolizes endless human patience.
This is one of Kuindzhi’s most striking, realistic works. Moreover, the strong effect is due not only to the nature of the plot, compositional construction, but also to the color content. Brown-green earth, black furrows from the wheels, dark blue-gray sky, and all this is shrouded in a thick and heavy fog. Ruin and poverty – this is what Kuindzhi shows us through the gloomy autumn landscape.
The canvas amazingly transfers moisture and, it seems, you can feel the cold drops of dank morning, dampness and squishy dirt under your feet. An amazing tactile effect, speaking of the greatest talent of a young painter.
It seems that the light band near the horizon should affect the general mood, but this does not happen. The bright cloudless distance only emphasizes gloomy reality, playing in contrast with the grayness of the foreground.
Kuindzhi has few such realistic and painful works. Very soon Arkhip Ivanovich gained strength, gained confidence, and boldly left the society of the Wanderers. Having maintained friendly relations with many members of the Partnership, Kuindzhi went his own way – abandoning social topics, he became a master of the poetic landscape, creating real immortal masterpieces in this genre."