Red Sunset.
1905-1908.
Oil on canvas.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.
Red Sunset.
1879.
Sketch. Oil on canvas.
19,2 x 35,5.
The State Russian Museum,
St. Petersburg, Russia.
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Sunset in the winter. A coast of the sea.
1876-1890.
Oil-cloth on a cardboard, oil.
25 x 30,2.
Государственный Русский Музей, Санкт Петербург, Россия.
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The next comprehensive series of works created at the same time as the mountain cycle, was a group of pictures with the red-hot sun, which culminated in the large canvas The Red Sunset (1905-1908), as well as landscapes with the dying-out evening sun of ashy hues. The portrayal of nature in the works of this series is less romantic, although they retain a contemplative mood. Several landscapes with sunsets can be perceived metaphorically-as a quiet passing away of nature, as a completion of the natural cycle of life. Such elegiac, melancholy moods were characteristic of the social consciousness at the turn of the century; they also had their parallels in poetry, philosophy and music.
Sergey Esenin
Sun's Golden Arc
Sun’s golden arc
Hot like a red coal,
Sent down its spark
And it warmed my soul;
Although, I am not sure
Now, I hope that I could
Expect from my future
To bring something good;
The warmth brought me back
To life, the light illuminated me
I forgot the past, all that I lack
And all that is lacking in me.
Warmed by the Light
My blood caught fire,
My soul shined, alight
My spirit was inspired.
I feel restored by the ray,
My heart still beats stronger,
These good feelings are here to stay
Even when the sun shines no longer;
On the trip I am forced to make
Love goes with me from the start.
It banishes anguish, fear and ache
And it gives freedom to my heart.
Translation by K.M.W. Klara
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