“Hunters”, Konstantin Apollovich Savitsky – overview of the painting 
- Posted by Konstantin Apollonovich Savitsky
- Museum: Private collection
- Year: 1886
Overview of the painting :
Hunters – Konstantin Apollonovich Savitsky. 1886.
If someone had doubts about which direction the Russian artist Konstantin Savitsky belonged to, then after watching this canvas, the answer comes by itself – it was a painter-realist, and very observant.
Savitsky addressed the topic of hunting several times. The most famous experience is the painting “Hunter”, written in 1874, where the author depicts a tense animal that lurks behind a tree, tracking down prey. The presented canvas, which was released two years later, broadcasts to us a completely different story, honest and slightly ironic.
“The Hunter”
At the forest edge of two hunters, fatigue fell. Judging by the spreadable patch or newspaper with food leftovers, it can be assumed that sudden fatigue was caused not only by exhausting searches for prey in the forest…
If in the picture “Hunter” we see an experienced rural resident in this matter, then obviously representatives of urban culture “hun” here. On one of the young people, the military uniform in which the second hero is dressed is not visible, however, a flaunted yellow hat adorns his head. Not the best disguise for those who need to go unnoticed and let the predator come as close as possible.
The author emphasizes the unluckyness of young people with ridiculous postures: the military completely dispersed, lowering his cap to his eyes, and the dandy melted on his stomach, raising his hands to his head. Carelessly scattered guns complete the comic exposure.
The scenery for this genre scene is written very carefully and poetically. The Shishkin “Morning in the pine forest” comes to mind, where Savitsky made his contribution by writing those same bears. Sleeping hunters are surrounded by a beautiful forest with slender birch trees, high pine trees, sun-dried grass. The pastoral picture of nature only emphasizes the irony of the situation. It is unlikely that hunters will have luck today.