Arkhip Kuindzhi bore a Turkish surname and became famous for his images of the Ukrainian landscape, but he considered himself to be Russian. He loved the Russian winter and its landscapes filled with snow, like the one shown here. Using the effects of contrasting light and shadow and whimsical expressive forms, the artist produces a poetic image of a winter forest with patches of sunlight.

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).