Abraham Manievich (Mscislau, present–day Belarus (former Russian Empire), 1881 – 1942, Bronx, New York). <em>Birch Trees</em>, 1911. Oil on canvas, 31 5/8 × 26 15/16 in. (80.3 × 68.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Collection Fund, 24.63 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 24.63_PS1.jpg)

Abraham Manievich (Mscislau, present–day Belarus (former Russian Empire), 1881 – 1942, Bronx, New York). Birch Trees, 1911. Oil on canvas, 31 5/8 × 26 15/16 in. (80.3 × 68.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Collection Fund, 24.63 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 24.63_PS1.jpg)

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The technique used in this painting makes the trees appear so realistic!

Yes! The color is so realistic. Abraham Manievich developed a unique style of landscape painting based on the Post-Impressionist works of French painter Paul Cézanne, which were well known in Russia through private collections and reproductions in avant-garde art journals. Cézanne’s influence is visible in the painting’s thickly applied brushstrokes and flattened, anti-illusionistic space, both of which Manievich heightens here to great effect.

Hi. This reminds me a lot of Canada's Group of 7? Were they contemporaries? Did they share influences?

That is a really interesting connection! Manievich painted "Birch Trees" in 1911. Abraham Manievich was landscape painter from Kiev who exhibited in Paris in 1913, just before World War II. While the Group of 7 was a little bit later, but they likely had similar influences. Manievich was heavily influenced by Cézanne in terms of his heavy brushstrokes and flattened landscapes. Cézanne's work had an impact on nearly every modernist painter of the early 20th century. In other works Manievich showed his interest in the bright harsh colors of the Blaue Reider school which is also apparent in the paintings of Canada’s Group of 7, particularly Lawren Harris. Common to all of these artists was a desire to have a distinctive voice apart from European painting that reflected their heritage and local.

Thanks. That's helpful and I suppose it makes sense that northern hemisphere landscape artists would have similar styles.

You're welcome! And you're right, before the reign of Stalin and ultimately the Cold War, Russia was a big part of the development of modern art in the early 20th century. Plus Russia and Canada are not so environmentally different in some areas.

That is a work by Abraham Manievich as you may have read on the label the artist was heavily inspired by the work of well known painter Cézanne. There is such a great handling of the branches to create a complicated and interesting skyline, this is common in his work.

My daughter took a Russian art class at Duke so we're looking for some paintings.

Manievich's "Birch Trees," painting has only been on view for a few months now and I had fun researching it. Would you like to hear more about it?

Sure

Great! As you may know, before the Bolshevik Revolution, artists and tastemakers in the Russian Empire looked to Paris for influence. This is apparent both in Manievich's stylistic nod to Post-Impressionism and in his signature in Latin letters for the Western market.

Make sure to get up close and see all the different colors the artist used to create the illusion of muted tones!

Manievich was known for painting landscapes with trees in the foreground, just barely obstructing your view. Here the birch trees are the star of the show. The river we see could be the Dnieper, the artist was living in Kyiv when this was painted.

Manievich was especially inspired by the work of Cezanne which explains both the multitude of colors and the bits of canvas peeking through the paint.

Some visitors have even asked if paintings like this are "finished." It is. Experimentation with paint application was something artists were doing throughout the West in the early 20th century.

The style of this is quite unique. I can't seem to categorize it, thoughts?

Manievich's style is based on Post-impressionism, drawing inspiration form Paul Cézanne in particular. This is Birch Trees by Abraham Manievich, a landscape painter working in Kiev in the 1910s.

The theme of the Tranquil Landscape which emphasizes the harmony of people with their landscape and which became a particularly popular subject in Europe starting in the 15th century.

I love birch trees. Beautiful!

Manievich was known for painting landscapes and buildings through birch trees.

You should definitely get up close to this painting. The drab colors are actually built of a rainbow of bright shades, a technique inspired by post-Impressionists like Cezanne, but that Manievich made his own.

How can I tell an Impressionist painting from a Post Impressionist one?

That's a great question! And you photographed two great paintings to compare. There are no hard and fast rules here, but I can give you some general points. Typically, Impressionist works are a bit softer as you can see with the Monet on the left. Like the term "impressionist" suggests, it's an impression of a moment.

Post-Impressionist paintings, like Manievich's on the right are a bit harder and build on the "impression" with some abstracted reinterpretation. If you get up close to "Birch Trees," you'll notice the pale, neutral colors are built out of many bright colors used together.

Impressionist paintings do, also, tend to be a study in the effects of light, in a way. It's something Monet, especially was known for. The Post-Impressionists tended to focus a bit more on objects than air. Overall, Post-Impressionism has a looser definition, it's the movement that came after Impressionism.

Very informative! Thanks.

Could you tell me a little more about this painting?

Manievich developed a unique style of landscape painting based on the Post-impressionist works of French painter Paul Cezanne. You can see that in his heavy brush strokes and flattened perspective. I love how when you get close up you can really see how thickly the paint has been laid on the canvas and how he used strokes of so many different colors to create the forms of the tree trunks and the branches and give them dimension.

Yes that's what first attracted me to it! Thank you I appreciate the extra information.

Was this painted with a pallet knife?

To my knowledge Manievich used mostly brushes. If you look closely you can see the impressions of the individual brush hairs in the paint strokes.

This is so pretty, brought a tear to my eye.

This is one of my favorite paintings too! Have you taken a close look at it yet? Manievich used a rainbow of colors to build what looks like muted tones far away.

Manievich was known for painting images of building shown through birch trees like these. In this simpler landscape, the trees themselves are the star of the show! This likely represents a landscape just outside Kyiv.

What does, “...flattened anti-illusionistic space” mean?

Basically, that the artist has not tried to create the illusion of depth in the painting. Though the trees do appear smaller as they get farther away, the tones remain relatively even making the landscape look more like a flat image on the wall rather than a space you walk into.

Is that then kinda like Japanese woodblock prints?

Similar! Impressionists and Post Impressionists were influenced by Japanese woodblock prints in line, form, and color, because they were becoming more readily available in the west at the time. However, a woodblock print would be even flatter and more segmented, generally, than Manievich's work. Manievich creates uniformity by combining colors so that they flatten as you move away from the piece, whereas a woodblock print would already be composed of flat color, or a gradient and flat color.

I get more of a sense of depth as I move away from the piece. Thanks!

Birch Trees

Abraham Manievich

European Art

Abraham Manievich depicts a landscape through a screen of birch trees, whose branches form a delicate web across the cloudy sky. His thickly applied paint, which seems to flatten objects and space, demonstrates his interest in Paul Cézanne and other modernists, whose works were well known in Russia.

After his son was killed in 1919 during an organized massacre of Jews in Kyiv, Manievich left Kyiv and immigrated to New York City.

ARTIST Abraham Manievich, Mscislau, present–day Belarus (former Russian Empire), 1881 – 1942, Bronx, New York

MEDIUM Oil on canvas

Place Made: Russia

DATES 1911

DIMENSIONS 31 5/8 × 26 15/16 in. (80.3 × 68.4 cm) frame: 33 × 28 3/8 × 2 1/4 in. (83.8 × 72.1 × 5.7 cm) (show scale)

SIGNATURE Signed and dated lower right: "Maniewitch/1911"

COLLECTIONS European Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 24.63

CREDIT LINE Museum Collection Fund

EXHIBITIONS

Monet to Morisot: The Real and Imagined in European Art

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Abraham Manievich (Mscislau, present–day Belarus (former Russian Empire), 1881 – 1942, Bronx, New York). Birch Trees, 1911. Oil on canvas, 31 5/8 × 26 15/16 in. (80.3 × 68.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Collection Fund, 24.63 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 24.63_PS1.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 24.63_PS1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2007

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

RIGHTS STATEMENT No known copyright restrictions

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