Morning in a Pine Forest

Ivan Shishkin produced this beloved scene in 1889, showing a mother bear and her three cubs playing on a fallen pine trunk in a misty forest glade. The massive canvas measures 139 by 213 centimeters. Though Shishkin painted the magnificent forest landscape, the bears were actually rendered by his friend Konstantin Savitsky.

The collaboration sparked controversy. Both artists originally signed the work, but when collector Pavel Tretyakov purchased it, he was upset to see Savitsky's name. Tretyakov personally removed Savitsky's signature with turpentine, declaring the painting belonged entirely to Shishkin's creative vision. Shishkin did share his fee, giving Savitsky one thousand of the four thousand rubles he received.

The painting became one of Russia's most recognizable images after appearing on "Mishka Kosolapy" chocolate wrappers made by the Red October factory. Today it hangs at the State Russian Museum in Saint Petersburg. Shishkin likely based the forest on Gorodomlya Island in Lake Seliger, an area untouched by human civilization.