The Rooks Have Returned

In spring 1871, Alexei Savrasov worked in Molvitino near Kostroma. At the first exhibition of the Wanderers he showed thawing snow, crooked birches and rooks’ nests. These travelling exhibitions brought art to audiences beyond the capital’s Academy. An ordinary village view became a subject worthy of serious painting.

Nests and birds occupy the upper branches. Their dark silhouettes remain legible against the cloudy sky. Spring is identified through returning birds and melting snow; flowers have yet to appear.

The nearest birch bends sharply. White bark alternates with dark patches, while thin branches spread unevenly. Savrasov preserves the irregularities of an individual tree, making the place feel particular.

A church with a tent-roofed bell tower stands behind the trees. Trunks and roofs partly obscure it. The building establishes scale and connects the changing season with everyday village life.

Water emerges along the snow’s edge. Reflections extend the trunks downward. Grey and bluish tones within the snow allow its brighter areas to stand out.

Distant fields appear between the branches. A low horizon leaves ample space for the sky. The view extends from nearby meltwater to land barely distinguishable in the distance.

Pavel Tretyakov bought the painting directly from Savrasov in the year it was made. Its reputation marks a change in nineteenth-century Russian landscape painting. Close attention to familiar places could communicate a season through a few precise observations.