Morning in a Pine Forest

A closer look

The forest is painted with great precision: the shattered trunk, the moss, the tall pines fading into the morning haze and the soft golden light filtering through. The playful cubs, one climbing, one standing on its hind legs, one looking out into the forest, bring warmth and life into the solemn scene. Shishkin was a master of trees but rarely painted animals, so his friend Konstantin Savitsky painted the bears. The collector Pavel Tretyakov, who bought the picture, had Savitsky’s signature removed, considering the work essentially Shishkin’s.