Born into a merchant family
His father, Ivan Vasilyevich, was the head of the town of Yelabuga in the Vyatka Governorate. His parents hoped to give their son a good education and sent the future painter to the First Kazan Gymnasium. However, Shishkin soon realized he would not become a civil servant and would pursue art. The young man secured his father's support and enrolled in the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture.
Was a gold medalist of the Imperial Academy of Arts
After graduating from the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, Shishkin entered the Imperial Academy of Arts, where he quickly established himself as a brilliant and outstanding student. A turning point in Shishkin's work was a summer study trip to Valaam — it was there that he found his own style and a special relationship to nature.
Spent six years traveling
The artist lived and worked in Munich, Zurich and Geneva, mastering the art of engraving and pen drawing. For the 1864 landscape "View in the Surroundings of Düsseldorf" Shishkin was awarded the title of academician.
His contemporaries called him 'the king of the forest'
Shishkin's works astonished viewers with photographic precision, realism, and an indescribable "sense of presence." The artist masterfully depicted the seasons, could convey the feeling of air and light, and excellently captured the very essence of living nature—its beauty and mutability.
Criticized Ilya Repin's painting for being inaccurate
Once the master pointed out a mistake to the equally famous painter Repin: in a painting depicting the rafting of logs down a river, Repin had painted trees of a species that should not be rafted on water under any circumstances.
The famous painting "Morning in a Pine Forest" was painted in collaboration with the artist Konstantin Savitsky
According to one version, the idea for the painting was suggested to Shishkin by Savitsky, who later acted as a co-author and, following Shishkin's sketches, painted the figures of the bear cubs. Both artists credited themselves on the canvas. After the painting was sold to Pavel Tretyakov, Savitsky received a quarter of the sale price. But the patron considered that in the painting "from the conception to the execution, everything speaks of the painting manner and creative method characteristic specifically of Shishkin" and erased Savitsky's signature.
Was a founder of the Society for Traveling Art Exhibitions
The artist was close friends with Konstantin Savitsky, Arkhip Kuindzhi, and Ivan Kramskoi. He had especially close relations with Kramskoi: the artists traveled extensively across Russia in search of natural scenes.
He became a widower twice and buried two children
In his marriage to his first wife, Evgenia Vasilieva, the artist had three children: a daughter and two sons. Both sons died in early childhood. The birth of the children negatively affected Evgenia's health and she soon died of consumption. Grief-stricken, Shishkin was saved by the bottle and his dedication to work. A few years later the artist married his pupil Olga Lagoda, but their happiness was short-lived. A month and a half after the birth of their daughter, Olga died of peritonitis.
Taught at the Higher Art School of the Academy of Arts
Although the artist adhered to a different artistic system, his students had immense respect for him and were inspired by his art.
Died at his easel
The artist died while working — he died of a heart rupture at the age of 67. Shishkin was buried at the Smolensk Orthodox Cemetery. In 1950, the artist's remains, along with his monument, were moved to the Tikhvin Cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
