Reggel a fenyvesben

The motif of the coniferous forest, to which Shishkin refers in this picture, is typical of his work. Evergreen pines and spruces emphasize the sense of grandeur and eternity of the natural world. Often found in the paintings of the artist and compositional technique, when the treetops are cut off by the edge of the canvas, and huge powerful trees, it would seem, do not even fit into a fairly large canvas. There is a kind of landscape interior. The viewer has the impression that he was inside an impassable thicket, where bears feel comfortably, nestled on a broken pine tree.

The four bears were depicted by Russian artist Konstantin Savitsky (1844–1905), who told his relatives: "The painting was sold for 4 thousand, and I am a participant in the 4th share". Then Savitsky reported that he had to put his signature on the picture, but then he removed it, thereby giving up copyright. (But, in another account, the art collector Pavel Tretyakov effaced Savitsky's signature, stating that "from idea until performance, everything discloses the painting manner and creative method peculiar just to Shishkin.")

The Morning in a Pine Forest" became very popular, being reproduced on various items, including the "Clumsy Bear" chocolates by Krasny Oktyabr. According to one poll, the painting is the second most popular in Russia behind "Bogatyrs" by Viktor Vasnetsov. Shishkin's similar paintings are the "Forest in Spring" (1884) and "The Sestroretsk Forest" (1896).

It is believed that Shishkin painted the pine trees near Narva-Jõesuu in Estonia, where he often enjoyed spending his summers.

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Few people know, but in fact this is the creation of TWO artists - Ivan Shishkin and Konstantin Savitsky...They were not only artists, but also close friends. When Shishkin showed his friend the unfinished work “Morning in a Pine Forest” Savitsky suggested:

- Let's complete your picture...

Shishkin replied:

- Stupid joke! Don't even think about touching my painting! I paint about the life of the forest...!

Shishkin's idea was this: Morning, fog, dew. And an old, old tree, whose roots weakened, like the health of a person in old age - it bent, fell, broke, withered... But Savitsky was not far behind 

- Let's add more bears, let's add more!

And Shishkin, being a rather gentle person, eventually agreed and went to the experiment. Savitsky added the bear family with his own hand, without touching the landscape. And later he came to the exhibition to listen to what was said about his bears, and since few people knew the artist by sight, he managed to remain unnoticed. Coming closer, he saw a crowd of people in front of the painting and was terribly happy, but when he heard what they were saying, he was very disappointed... People were perplexed:

“Someone is definitely joking with us! This can’t be! Why are there some teddy bears in the beautiful landscape of Shishkin?”...

The offended Savitsky came to Shishkin and said:

- I give you my authorship...

And at his request, the friends went together to Pavel Tretyakov, since the painting had already been bought by him, and they asked in their presence to erase Savitsky’s surname in the lower left corner of the canvas with turpentine... By the way, about 20 years ago, Savitsky’s heirs turned to the director of the Tretyakov Gallery with a request to restore authorship... Having considered this application, a negative answer was given, since it was a joint decision - Shishkin, Savitsky and Pavel Tretyakov... Therefore, there is no reason to change authorship...!

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