Arkhip Kuindzhi’s last major work combines epic monumentality with a lyrical and contemplative image of nature by night. The decorative tones combine harmoniously with the expressive outlines. A sense of calm and tranquillity is evoked by the elongated forms of the landscape, the static silhouettes of the horses, the smooth outlines of the wide river-bed and distant shoreline and the long, winding road.

Kuindzhi Arkhip

Kuindzhi, Arkhip Ivanovich (1842, Mariupole - 1910, St Petersburg)
Painter, landscapist. Studied at Hovhannes Aivazovsky's studio in Theodosia (1855). Worked as a retoucher in Mariupole, Odessa and St Petersburg (late 1850s-1860s). First-class artist (1878). Travelled across Russia and the Ukraine, Caucasus and Crimea. Visited France, Germany, Great Britain, Switzerland and Austria (1874-1875). Member of the Society of Travelling Art Exhibitions (1875-1880). Professor (1892). Full member of the Imperial Academy of Arts (1893). Headed the landscape painting studio at the Imperial Academy of Arts (1894-1897).