Capri by Ivan Fedorovich Choultse
While Ivan Fedorovich Choultse is more well-known for his snow-covered landscapes and forest scenes, the present work is remarkably bright and sunny. Entitled Capri, the artist depicts a collection of cypress and mastic trees, along with other local flora, overlooking the rocky coastline that sinks into the blue Mediterranean waters below. It’s bucolic and pastoral, the view of a mainlander exploring the island for the first time and enjoying the sunbaked serenity. While other depictions of the Italian island may highlight the ruined Roman villas or the cliffside villages, Choultse places the island itself front and center, with the land and the sea as his primary subjects. Capri boasts numerous natural wonders, with the Blue Grotto being the most famous among them. But Choultse instead chose to pick what seems like a random spot on the coastline. It could be absolutely anywhere on the island. It therefore represents the island in a more well-rounded way than something singular.
Choultse may have been part of the School of Paris due to his status as a Russian emigrant, but stylistically, he differed greatly from the modernists. He received his artistic training from Russian and Ukrainian landscape painters such as Konstantin Kryzhitsky and Arkhip Kuindzhi. He had his work shown at prominent exhibitions in Saint Petersburg, with members of the imperial family buying his paintings. Choultse left Russia after the Revolution of 1917, fearing that his connections to the imperial court would jeopardize his safety. Although he was primarily based in Paris until his death in 1939, Choultse traveled extensively, mainly visiting and working in France, Switzerland, and Italy. The snow of the Alps or the shade of trees in the Forest of Fontainebleu may have been closer to his comfort zone. However, a warm Mediterranean island should have been a nice change of pace. Perhaps locales like Capri may have inspired his later move to Nice towards the end of his life. The trail along the cliff leads on, coaxing the viewer to step forward and venture on.