Description of the picture:
Autumn. Veranda – Stanislav Yulianovich Zhukovsky. Canvas, oil. 126 x 94 cm
Zhukovsky is a talented painter of Polish descent who worked for a long time in Russia. He became known as the author of lyrical landscapes, often depicting noble and aristocratic estates.
The turn of the century is characterized by nostalgia for irrevocably bygone times and lifestyles. A typical estate life gradually dies and becomes a relic of the past. Many estates fell into disrepair, as the inhabitants either spent most of the time in cities, or even went abroad. Longing for the past and some of its idealization is reflected in many paintings of this master, including this canvas.
On it, the viewer sees the terrace or veranda of a large country house located on a hill. Only part of the terrace is visible with a steeply going down staircase. Its steps are not visible, but the angle of the railing allows us to assume that it is there, and it goes down very sharply. Behind it lies a colorful autumn forest or park, and blue is visible in the gaps between the trees. Most likely, this river is a motive, also often present in the paintings of this artist.
Apparently, the estate is still inhabited. There is still summer furniture on the terrace, and there is a vase with large yellow roses on the table. Their color echoes the colorful autumnal foliage of trees. The benches have beautiful carved backs, and two of them are small, obviously childish – a family lives with the kids in the estate. But on the floor of large stone slabs are fallen autumn leaves, so we can assume that the family is about to leave the summer house.
Long purple shadows lie on the floor, emphasizing the time of year and creating the necessary contrast with both the light shade of the plates and the bright colors of the autumn trees. In the garden, flexible lace birch trees clearly stand out against the background of dark, almost black mighty firs. It looks very nice against the background of a still blue, fairly clear sky with light, translucent clouds. The sky brightens towards the horizon, which, combined with shadows and a complex perspective, creates a sense of presence, and also fills the picture with air and space.
The viewer thinks that he himself is standing on the threshold of a room overlooking the veranda, and is looking into the picturesque autumn garden. This creates a very interesting impression, because a person can swear that they feel the characteristic aroma of fading nature, autumn, yellow roses and fallen leaves on the floor of this terrace."