The artwork, titled “River floods, such as seas,” was created by Ivan Shishkin in 1890. It belongs to the Realism art movement and is categorized as a sketch and study.
In the artwork, the viewer is presented with a serene yet dramatic nocturnal landscape, dominated by a luminous full moon that casts its silvery reflection upon the flooded river below. The foreground reveals a winding path leading towards a rustic wooden gate, flanked by dense, shadowy vegetation. The horizon displays a stark contrast between the reflective water and the darkened expanse of the surrounding land, merging into the night sky blotted with gently rolling clouds. Shishkin’s mastery in depicting the intricate play of light and darkness is evident, capturing the tranquil yet powerful essence of a river swollen to the proportions of a sea.
