The vista of the winding river, green banks and strip of forest on the horizon is quiet and tranquil. Moved to the left, the massive and monumental figure of the artist sharply contrasts this peaceful landscape. Mikhail Nesterov creates the image of a man of great strength of spirit, immersed in profound and tense meditation. The touching yellow flower alongside the figure, painted by a few light brushstrokes, underlines the artist’s aloof loneliness.

Nesterov Mikhail

Nesterov, Mikhail Vasilyevich
1862, Ufa - 1942, Moscow
Painter, portraitist, landscape artist, genre painter, author of memoirs and essays on artists. Studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (1877-81, 1884-86) and the Imperial Academy of Arts (1881-84). Full member of the Imperial Academy of Arts (1910). Member of the Society of Travelling Art Exhibitions (1896) and founding member of the Union of Russian Artists (1903). Contributed to the exhibitions of the Society of Travelling Art Exhibitions (1889-1901), World of Art (1899-1901), 36 Artists (1901-03), Union of Russian Artists (1922, 1923), All-Russian Exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod (1896), Exposition Universelle in Paris (1900), International Exhibitions in Munich (1898,1909) and Rome (1911), Die erste russische Kunstausstellung in Berlin (1922) and the Exhibition of Russian Art in New York (1924). Honoured Artist of the RUSSIAN SOVIET FEDERATED SOCIALIST REPUBLIC (1942).