Shishkin found his Yosemite on a Russian island at 28 - 2 Hours Screensaver

Americans had Bierstadt painting Yosemite. Russians had Shishkin. And he found his cathedral on a small island called Valaam. He was 28. Still a student at the Imperial Academy. Most students came back from Valaam with homework. Shishkin came back with this. Every rock, every birch, every leaf painted like he had a personal grudge against shortcuts. This painting won him a gold medal. It also told everyone exactly who he was going to be. The guy who painted Russian nature like nobody else would bother to. Spend the next two hours inside a forest that hasn't changed its mind in 160 years. The