The Rooks Have Returned

Alexei Savrasov · 1871

The Rooks Have Returned by Alexei Savrasov

The story

The Rooks Have Returned (Russian: Грачи прилетели, lit. 'The rooks have flown in') is a widely known landscape painting by Russian painter Alexei Savrasov (1830–1897). It was created in 1871 and is kept in the State Tretyakov Gallery (inv. 828). The size of the painting is 62 × 48.5 cm. The painting is considered Savrasov's most famous work, and its appearance is regarded as "an important stage in the development of Russian landscape painting."

Savrasov began working on The Rooks in March 1871. The studies for the future painting were done by the artist during his trip to the Kostroma Governorate, when he was in the village of Molvitino (now the village of Susanino, Kostroma Oblast). The prototype of the church depicted in the painting is the Church of the Resurrection, built in the late 17th century. The place where the artist worked is confirmed by his inscription made in the lower left corner of the canvas: "1871. S. Molvitino. A. Savrasov." Some researchers of Savrasov's work believe that the very first drawings and studies for the painting could have been performed by the artist in Yaroslavl or its environs, shortly before his trip to the Kostroma Governorate. After returning from Molvitino, Savrasov worked on the painting in Yaroslavl and then completed it in Moscow, where he returned in early May. The painting was named by the artist Here Come the Rooks. In the summer of 1871, the painting was purchased from Savrasov by Pavel Tretyakov.

The painting was exhibited at the Moscow Society of Art Lovers in autumn 1871. Later that year, it was presented at the 1st exhibition of the Society for Travelling Art Exhibitions (opened on 28 November in Saint Petersburg) under its current name (listed with an exclamation mark in the catalogue). The Rooks received good reviews: artist Ivan Kramskoi wrote that at the exhibition, this landscape "is the best, and it is truly beautiful," and art critic Vladimir Stasov noted that it is "probably the best and most original painting by Mr. Savrasov."

Painter Isaac Levitan considered The Rooks Have Returned to be one of Savrasov's best paintings. Noting the apparent uncomplicatedness of the plot, he wrote that "behind this simplicity, you feel the soft, good soul of the artist, to whom all this is dear and close to his heart..." Art historian Alexei Fedorov-Davydov called the painting an outstanding work of art and noted that "it has not only artistic, but also general cultural significance." Critic and musicologist Boris Asafiev wrote that the painting became "a symbol of the artistic renewal of the sphere of the Russian landscape for 'far ahead'", and that with this work Savrasov discovered "a new sense of spring and springiness."

Artist
Alexei Savrasov
Date
1871
Collection
Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia
Medium
oil paint, canvas
Size
62 × 48.5 cm

Story adapted from the Wikipedia article and its contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons.

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