Fyodor Aleksandrovich Vasiliev
Poplars
1870
oil on canvas
43.7 х 65.2 cm
Smolensk State Museum-Reserve

This painting by Fyodor Vasiliev was painted shortly before his death in Ukraine, at “Khoten,” the estate of Count S.G. Stroganov. The composition is typical of the artist’s style; as is almost always the case with Vasiliev, there is a lane crossing the painting diagonally. The line of the lane is interrupted towards the centre of the canvas by a small white building. Vasiliev’s tragic premonition that he would die soon comes forcefully to the surface in this landscape. The contrasts between light and shadow, the alternation of horizontal planes, and the heavy clouds in a stormy sky all combine to powerfully reflect not only the individuality of the landscape itself, but also the torment in the artist’s soul.