Forest etude. Self-portrait by Ignatius Nivinsky

Forest etude. Self portrait by Ignatius Nivinsky

Among several dozens of graphic works performed by I. I. Nivinsky throughout his life, it is possible to single out the etching “Forest etude”, depicting the features of an outstanding engraver. Having a great experience in designing theater performances, the artist, compiling the sheet, uses stage and cinematic effects unusual for easel graphics.

The space of the leaf is filled with an image of a summer forest, filled by the artist with classical clarity and simplicity. The sun’s rays, penetrating the forest thicket, emit a brittle tree trunks, delicate needles of spruce trees in relief. The idyllic landscape is unexpectedly disturbed by the introduction of two characters into its fabric, seemingly unjustified from the point of view of logic.

On the left, the artist depicts a walking woman with heavy baskets. A blue geometric lining, playing the role of a color accent, is superimposed on her figure. And only then you can see the image of the author himself in the lower right. His head, modeled by thin lines and spaces, is markedly sculptural.

The viewer is gradually seized by the intellectual power of the artist’s image. He becomes the main attractive dominant works. The forest, the woman recede into the background, creating only a certain poetic mood.

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