Polenov's real landscape is one of three paintings that represent a lyrical-philosophical trilogy created in 1878-79, which includes the following paintings: Grandmother's Garden, Moscow Courtyard and Overgrown Pond.
Polenov spent the summer of 1877 in the village of Petrushki near Kiev. A sketch was written here, which became the basis of the painting.
The sketch remained until the autumn of 1878. At this time, Polenov moved from Arbat to the then Moscow outskirts, to Khamovniki. A little later, Leo Tolstoy settled here, having bought an estate nearby. Many who know about Tolstoy’s ideas, which Polenov was so fond of, call this coincidence prophetic. But they met much later.
Khamovniki, with the beauty of the old garden, captured the artist’s imagination. These impressions were reflected in the painting.
Old bridges with a path trampled almost to whiteness give the image of the pond a nostalgic sound. The model for the woman’s figure was the artist’s sister, V. D. Khrushchev.
Academic tradition makes itself felt in compositional construction paintings. In accordance with this tradition, the artist builds two plans - a background, painted rather “approximately,” and a detailed foreground.
In the image of the old park, solemn in its monumental grandeur, a sublime and dreamy mood prevails. It is emphasized by the fragile, motionless, pensive figure of a woman, standing out alone against the background of dark trees, spread out like a mighty tent and as if serving her as a safe refuge. The lyricism of the landscape motif becomes more clear due to the unified mood of the mysterious world of nature and the world female soul, their peculiar dialogue.
One of the critics of Moskovskiye Vedomosti wrote about the painting: “Polenov has an excellent command of the art and technique of depicting nature; the ideal center for him is, after all, man, and his presence is felt everywhere. So in the painting “Overgrown Pond” this is not a pond at all... This pond has its own story... In this picture the romanticism again showed its influence. It would be very difficult to accurately determine the category under which Mr. Polenov’s painting should be placed... A Polenov painting is what the Germans call Stimmungsbild, such paintings are designed to give you, first of all, a mood and constitute a painting is approximately the same as elegy in poetry.”
In the landscape, Polenov’s desire for emotional and visual contrasts is noticeable. Bright green, with detailed daisies in the foreground, the sunny lawn is adjacent to the mysterious depth of dark masses of trees. Through the trees shrouded in airy haze, a blue sky with white clouds opens up, contrasting with the dark trees of the park. Close to landscape style early XIX century, the diversity of the landscape, its romantic mystery, the surprise of combinations of bright sunny and shaded parts were based on a system of plein air painting, built to the finest nuances, developed by the artist in the sketch “Pond in the Park.” (1876).
The water lilies, as well as the details of the shore, are painted very carefully; These everyday images contrast with the solemn image of the park, which is lost outside the picture. The painting is based on gradations of the same green color masterfully played by the artist. In his finest nuances, Polenov again acts as an unsurpassed master colorist.
The painting was shown in 1879 at the 17th traveling exhibition, the audience was delighted. Polenov's student Isaac Levitan painted a similar picture, calling it the same.
Vasily Polenov “Overgrown Pond” (1879). Canvas, oil. 77 x 121.8 cm. State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia. Polenov's real landscape is one of three paintings that represent a lyrical-philosophical trilogy created in 1878-79, which includes the following paintings: Grandmother's Garden, Moscow Courtyard and Overgrown Pond. Polenov spent the summer of 1877 in the village of Petrushki near Kiev. A sketch was written here, which became the basis of the painting. The sketch remained until the autumn of 1878. At this time, Polenov moved from Arbat to the then Moscow outskirts, to Khamovniki. A little later, Leo Tolstoy settled here, having bought an estate nearby. Many who know about Tolstoy’s ideas, which Polenov was so fond of, call this coincidence prophetic. But they met much later. Khamovniki, with the beauty of the old garden, captured the artist’s imagination. These impressions were reflected in the painting. Old bridges with a path trampled almost to whiteness give the image of the pond a nostalgic sound. The model for the woman’s figure was the artist’s sister, V. D. Khrushchev. The academic tradition makes itself felt in the compositional structure of the picture. In accordance with this tradition, the artist builds two plans - a background, painted rather “approximately,” and a detailed foreground. In the image of the old park, solemn in its monumental grandeur, a sublime and dreamy mood prevails. It is emphasized by the fragile, motionless, pensive figure of a woman, standing out alone against the background of dark trees, spread out like a mighty tent and as if serving her as a safe refuge. The lyricism of the landscape motif becomes more clear thanks to the common mood of the mysterious world of nature and the world of the female soul, their unique dialogue. One of the critics of Moskovskiye Vedomosti wrote about the painting: “Polenov has an excellent command of the art and technique of depicting nature; the ideal center for him is, after all, man, and his presence is felt everywhere. So in the painting “Overgrown Pond” this is not a pond at all... This pond has its own story... In this picture the romanticism again showed its influence. It would be very difficult to accurately determine the category under which Mr. Polenov’s painting should be placed... A Polenov painting is what the Germans call Stimmungsbild, such paintings are designed to give you, first of all, a mood and constitute a painting is approximately the same as elegy in poetry.” In the landscape, Polenov’s desire for emotional and visual contrasts is noticeable. Bright green, with detailed daisies in the foreground, the sunny lawn is adjacent to the mysterious depth of dark masses of trees. Through the trees shrouded in airy haze, a blue sky with white clouds opens up, contrasting with the dark trees of the park. The diversity of the landscape, close to the style of landscapes of the early 19th century, its romantic mystery, the unexpected combinations of its bright sunny and shaded parts, were based on a system of plein air painting, built to the finest nuances, developed by the artist back in the sketch “Pond in the Park.” (1876). The water lilies, as well as the details of the shore, are painted very carefully; These everyday images contrast with the solemn image of the park, which is lost outside the picture. The painting is based on gradations of the same green color masterfully played by the artist. In his finest nuances, Polenov again acts as an unsurpassed master colorist. The painting was shown in 1879 at the 17th traveling exhibition, the audience was delighted. Polenov's student Isaac Levitan painted a similar picture, calling it the same.
Our country is rich in pristine corners of nature, places where people rarely set foot, such deserted corners of old parks, where you can always retire and dream, reflect, and maybe make a romantic date. Polenov depicted just such a deserted place in his work, calling the painting Overgrown Pond.
Probably every person knows a quiet place that has become his favorite. A place that was once popular, but over time falls into disrepair. It begins to be overgrown with grass and shoots, creating a feeling of pristine nature. This is exactly what Vasily Polenov captured in the painting Overgrown Pond. The author painted the canvas in 1879, conveying to the viewer a feeling of peace and his love for Russian nature. In general, Polenov wrote different paintings. These include paintings on historical themes, portraits and panoramas, but special place Painting occupies his creative work. Polenov’s painting Overgrown Pond, on which we write ours, belongs to it.
Description of the picture
The first thing that attracts you in the picture is the riot of greenery. It immediately seems that this canvas was painted using only one green color, and only when we look closely do we see other colors. The plot of the picture is simple and everyone knows it. After all, we could see similar pictures in parks on the banks of abandoned reservoirs. However, the author manages to depict nature in a special way, and you want to peer into every detail drawn. For example, you want to see in the foreground every single blade of grass, every flower that has sprouted on the shore. Next we see the water surface. This is an abandoned pond in which no one has swam for a long time. Water lilies calmly float along it, and perhaps frogs sing their song.
On the right we see a wooden bridge. And then the imagination pictures some fisherman sitting here and catching fish, or boys frolicking and jumping from the bridge into the water. An old poplar tree grows next to the bridge. It stands out most among other trees. Since the place is abandoned, we see how the poplar shoots have managed to grow. Next we see thickets of reeds and in the background an impenetrable park that has become like a dense forest.
Upon closer inspection, we notice that this deserted place is not so deserted anymore. Indeed, in the depths of the park with right side we notice a girl. She hid in the shade of the trees, sitting down on a bench. In her hands is a book, or maybe a personal diary. The girl is immersed in her thoughts, listening to the sounds of nature. This is the hubbub of birds, the rustling of leaves, and the chirping of frogs. The girl retired to hide from her problems, or maybe she just had a date with her lover here? Anything is possible. In any case, the abandoned pond in Polenov’s painting is an excellent place for this.
This picture perfectly characterizes Polenov as a colorist; a whole series of philosophical images of our fleeting time is presented here. For this reason, this painting echoes in nature the painting “Grandma’s Garden,” which was painted a year earlier. The genre of this work is more often defined as “narrative landscape”. The picture has a whimsical backstory. In general, the picture is one large canvas where the artist collected all his impressions. Polenov was working on canvas even before he went to Russian-Turkish war. Polenov spent the summer of 1877 in the village of Petrushki near Kiev, it was here that the sketch was created, which became the basis of this canvas. The sketch remained until the autumn of 1878, it was at this moment that Polenov moved from Arbat to the then Moscow outskirts, to Khamovniki. A little later, Leo Tolstoy settled here, having bought an estate nearby. Many who know about Tolstoy’s ideas, which Polenov was so fond of, call this coincidence prophetic. But they met much later.
It was here that the artist was struck by the beauty of the old garden, these impressions were also reflected in the painting. The painting was shown in 1879 at the 17th traveling exhibition, the audience was delighted. One of Polenov’s students, Levitan, painted his painting similar to this one, calling it the same.
Ballad of Time
Old bridges with a path trampled almost to whiteness give the image of the pond a nostalgic sound. The model for the woman’s figure was the artist’s sister, V. D. Khrushchev.
The academic tradition makes itself felt in the compositional structure of this Polenov work.
In accordance with it, the artist builds two plans - a background, painted rather “approximately,” and a detailed foreground.
The water lilies, as well as the details of the shore, are painted very carefully; These everyday images contrast with the solemn image of the park, which is lost outside the picture.
Essay based on the painting by V. D. Polenov “Overgrown Pond”
Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov is known as a talented artist, an outstanding painter, and the author of paintings that have gained worldwide fame. According to one of the critics of that time, “Polenov has an excellent command of the art and technique of depicting nature...”. Multi-talented, received a good education could have become both a historian and a musician, but chose for himself the career of an artist. Painted pictures on historical topics, panoramic views, portraits and, of course, landscapes. The painting “Overgrown Pond” was painted in 1879 based on a sketch made in 1877 near Kiev in the village of Petrushki. A plot with a pond, a reservoir and nearby trees was often used by Polenov in painting.
At first glance, it seems that the picture was made only in green of various shades. The predominance of green in the landscape - this was the artist’s feeling when writing the sketch. It happened at that moment: the position of the sun, the falling shadow, the abundance of greenery, the vantage point. The lyrical mood evoked by the landscape was created by a poetically minded author. The romantic artist was able to convey his love for the beauty of nature, an elegiac mood, the charm of the sun summer day. All of Polenov’s landscapes are connected by the presence of a person, actual or possible. So in this picture, a small part of the pond is depicted, a forest on the shore, a bridge and, in the depths of the picture, a bench with a girl sitting on it. In the hands of a girl open book. This detail adds romanticism to the plot. Once upon a time, the pond was clean and well-groomed; adults and children came here to swim. A well-trodden sandy path running out of the forest, a bench for rest, wooden walkways for tying boats and for diving, the remains of some kind of structure in the form of a crossbar. But without proper care, the pond began to overgrow and now no one wants to swim in it.
The once favorite vacation spot is falling into disrepair. But it’s wonderfully convenient here for privacy, so the girl is alone on an old bench in an abandoned park, reading a book and daydreaming. Perhaps she came to stay for the summer, while walking, she wandered onto the shore of the pond. Perhaps this place has been familiar to her since childhood; she once swam and walked here. It is known that his sister posed for the artist.
In the foreground of the picture is part of the shore of a reservoir with carefully drawn details. Every blade of grass, every flower, every petal of a chamomile is painted in meticulous detail by the artist. Next is the water surface of the old pond. On the surface of the dark, opaque water there are green, yellow, reddish leaves of water lilies with blossoming flowers, islands of duckweed, mud, and a log washed up near the shore. Water lilies are perfectly drawn on all levels of the picture to emphasize the contrast of dark water and light colors. Far Shore overgrown with reeds (more precisely, it is not reeds, but calamus - a swamp root) so that there is no approach to it at all. The surface of the water is so calm and smooth that trees, reeds, grass, a piece of sky and even bridges are reflected in it, as if in a mirror. In the background of the picture is a dense forest with old trees, which the park has turned into over time. Next to the walkways grows a mighty hollow poplar, around which young poplar shoots grow. The trees have grown so large that they are becoming crowded; those growing on the shore are bent towards the water, as if the forest is pushing them out. Elements of this plan are blurry, the image of very distant trees is blurry. The image is real, because from afar it is impossible to see the details, the details merge, and this is how the artist reflected what he saw. Using different shades of green, the artist skillfully applied chiaroscuro that forms the outlines of the trees. Beyond the contour of the forest a piece can be seen blue sky, along which white clouds float. The sunny haze of a summer day hides between the treetops. Polenov used blue and purple colors as transitional from blue to green. An airy haze of bluish color spreads between the branches, the foliage plays blue from the sun's rays. The grass on the shore is saturated with sunlight, it shimmers with emerald. The canvas is saturated with air, Polenov managed to fill the picture with light and freedom of space. Looking at the canvas, you want to take a deep breath and feel the beauty fresh air and sunlight. The sounds hidden in the canvas echo the singing of birds, the knocking of a woodpecker on a tree, the rustling of leaves, the buzzing of insects, and the croaking of frogs. You can hear them while admiring Polenov’s wonderful painting.
The landscape breathes peace and tranquility. The day seems to be created for relaxation and enjoying the beauty of nature. A woman immersed in reading and a park with a pond become a single whole in which they intertwine mysterious world nature and the world of the female soul. At the same time, keeping their personal secret, they harmoniously complement each other, the forest under the green cover protects fragile woman, accepts it as part of himself.
Later, Polenov painted another painting, “Pond in the Park,” similar in theme to “Overgrown Pond.”
The painting is exhibited at the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.
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