By the fall

Held at the Tretyakov Gallery, the national repository of Russian art in Moscow, this painting is one of Shishkin's late works and belonged to the collection that definitively enshrined his reputation. The Tretyakov's acquisition policy under Pavel Tretyakov had consistently supported the Wanderers movement, and Shishkin was among its most valued members. A painting 'by the fall' suggests a waterfall or cascade — subjects that posed particular technical challenges in oil, requiring the painter to render moving water convincingly — and demonstrates that even in his final years Shishkin continued to seek challenging natural phenomena rather than retreating to safe formulas.

Moving water demands a different approach from the still reflections of forest pools. Shishkin renders the fall's motion through rapid, directional strokes of white and pale grey that convey the cascade's energy, contrasting with the firmer, more deliberate painting of surrounding rocks and vegetation.