Early spring (Sketch) by Endogourov Ivan Ivanovitch (1861-1898)

Endoguruv was one of the great artists in the history of Russian landscape painting, and the depiction of still waters was an important theme in his works.
Ivan Endogurov depicted not only Russian nature, but also Western and European nature, treating it with respect and love. The master tried to penetrate as deeply as possible into the world of nature, the better to convey the changing character of its state and the depth of its colors.
This painting is one of the artist's finest works. Looking at this work, one can note the extraordinary lightness of the canvas, feel the thrill of the intimate moment when nature awakens from a long sleep and reveals herself to the world once again in all her glory. The soft, smooth lines underline the lightness of the master's brush, which conveys with reverence and tenderness the moment before full bloom and the arrival of spring.
The sky seems ethereal and dynamic, as if the clouds were drifting away, disappearing in the rays of the golden sun. Endogourov has perfectly selected the color palette, trying to render as faithfully as possible the actual colors and nuances of the work. The landscape is incredibly lyrical, evoking warm, strong emotions. The artist's frequent travels enabled him to bring out in his canvases all the subtleties of nature that surrounded him in one place or another. One senses the attentive attitude and admiration of the master, who became one of the finest Russian landscape painters of the 19th century. His works are preserved both in the Tretyakov Gallery and in a number of European museums.
Compared with the finished work, this sketch on burlap has a more pronounced color palette, giving the impression of having been created at an earlier moment in the morning.

Dimensions: 35 cm (h) x 59 cm (w) unframed.
Oil on burlap
Signed: Lower left

Endogurov Ivan Ivanovich (1861-1898)
(also ENDOGUROV, Yendogurov, Endogouroff)
Ivan Ivanovich Yendogurov (Russian: ???? ???????? ?????????); was a Russian landscape painter and watercolorist; associated with the Peredvizhniki ( a group of Russian realist artists who formed an artists' cooperative in protest against academic restrictions). His younger brother, Sergey, was also a renowned artist.
His father, Ivan Yendogurov (1812-1871), was an admiral in the Imperial Russian Navy. His mother was the daughter of Admiral Fyodor Yuriev. While attending gymnasium, he and his brother (Sergey) met landscape painter Yefim Volkov and decided to make art their career.
After graduating in 1880, he began studying law at St. Petersburg State University, but continued to take lessons from Volkov. In 1884, he left the university to attend the Imperial Academy of Arts. His first exhibition took place the following year, and he was awarded a large silver medal in 1890.
From 1885 to the early 1890s, he exhibited prolifically, at the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, as well as with the Peredvizhniki; he also took part in the Paris World Fair (1889), receiving a silver medal, at the Berlin International Fair (1891) and at the Chicago World Fair (1893).
In the late 1880s, he developed the first symptoms of tuberculosis and, due to his illness, spent most of his time in the Crimea, Ukraine and the Caucasus. From 1890 to 1893, he lived in Italy, then spent a short time in the south of France (1893). After a stay at a spa in Bavaria, he lived in Crimea from 1894 to 1895. Most of his paintings there seem to have been lost. He visited Norway (in 1890 and 1895). Later, he returned to Italy and died of his illness on the island of Capri.
Towards the end of 1898, the Imperial Academy organized a joint retrospective for three artists who had died that year: Yendogurov, Nikolai Yaroshenko and Ivan Shishkin. The following year, his mother set up a fund at the Academy to establish the "Yendogurov Prize" for landscape painting, which was awarded until 1917.
As Ivan Endogurov only lived to the age of 37, his works are quite rare. Consequently, the return of Moonlit Night in Ajaccio in Winter to the Russian State Museum in 2000 (thought to have been lost after the Second World War) was a very special event. Endogourov was one of the great artists in the history of Russian landscape painting, and depictions of calm waters were an important theme in his works.
Works in public collections

"A mountain lake near Munich" - 1894 - (Arkhangelsk Regional Museum of Fine Arts, Russia)
"Mosses" - (Yaroslavl Art Museum, Russia)
"Beginning of Spring" 1890s. Oil on canvas. 70 x 97.2 cm. (