“Lake Ladoga”
This oil on canvas painting from 1873 is by the 19th century Peredvizhniki (Russian realism) Greek-Russian artist, Arkhip Kuindzhi, and is titled “Lake Ladoga”. Lake Ladoga is a freshwater lake just northeast of Saint Petersburg in northwest Russia and is the largest freshwater lake in all of Europe.
Kuindzhi had just recently left his schooling at the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts and was working as a freelance artist. His subject at this time was the Russian landscape, in all its realism, which at times can be quite austere. Though his paintings are of scenes that are true to life, Kuindzhi added a touch of the sublime through intense skies. His art techniques were maturing, and he sought to perfect his depictions of illumination, such as seen in the diffused light in “Lake Ladoga”.
“Lake Ladoga” is currently on display the State Russian Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
For more on Arkhip Kuindzhi, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
