Ah, Georgia… One cannot be indifferent to this geographical region. The beauty and splendor of the mountain ranges located on its territory simply attract the eye. However, among all the natural diversity of this country, the Daryal Gorge stands out, the photo of which is presented below. In this article, you can get acquainted with the description of the most picturesque parts of this valley.
A bit of history
Daryal Gorge is located in the valley of the Terek River. Cliffs rise above the bed of this reservoir, reaching a height of 1000 meters. Moreover, such a hilly picture pleases the eye for 3 km. The Darial Gorge has become an important link since the Middle Ages. By the way, the Georgian Military Highway passes there even today. Initially, the Darial Gorge was in the possession of nomadic tribes. In view of this, before the valley bore their name - the Alan Gate.
Sky Gorge Pass
Before the 19th century, this section of the road was an extremely unsafe and narrow "corridor", which was still used by many wanderers. And hereThis path acquired historical significance only in 1783, after the conclusion of the well-known treaty - the Treaty of St. George. To date, the Georgian Military Highway, 207 km long, has been laid from Vladikavkaz to Tbilisi. An extremely picturesque picture opens up along the entire length of this section. Passing the Redant Valley and bending the Pasture Range, on the right you can see the city of Fethuz towering in all its glory, and on the left - the Lime Mountain overgrown with beech forest.
By the way, on its slopes you can easily see a limestone quarry. The mountain ranges of the Central Caucasus are formed by the Lateral, Wooded, Rocky and Pasture Ranges. From the outside, such a natural formation appears as a giant staircase. These ridges are especially well exposed from the side of North Ossetia. From the southeast direction, the depression is crowned by Table Mountain, reaching a height of 3000 meters. For your information, the top of this array has an intricate table shape.
Nature in Art
The beauty that distinguishes the Darial Gorge has inspired many famous poets. Artists also could not stay away. Particular attention among the existing works should be given to the canvas, which depicts the Darial Gorge, "Moonlight Night". The picture was painted by an outstanding Russian painter. This painting by Arkhip Kuindzhi is part of the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery. The natural appearance in the works of the artist is completely devoid of any everyday life. On the contrary, there is something majestic in it, somewhereeven theatrical. Moreover, this manifestation is observed in classical landscapes. An example of this is such canvases as "Rainbow" or "Lake Ladoga". Surprisingly, Kuindzhi performed most of the master's works, which depicted the Daryal Gorge, from memory. But this did not prevent the painter from conveying through the canvas all the natural grandeur of the hollow, as well as its expressiveness and mystery. Moreover, the paintings, as connoisseurs of beauty can make sure, are distinguished by rare authenticity.
Daryal Gorge. Picture
This work is strikingly different from all other works of the artist. In it, the master depicted the Georgian Military Highway, where the harsh Terek River hurries along the bottom of the hollow. And the towering rocks, rising significantly above the earth, pierce the sky with their peaks. The painter managed to achieve a simply unique image of the gorge. Many viewers, when looking at his landscape, involuntarily have a feeling of slight sadness. But at the same time, an elusive freshness flows directly from the canvas. In addition, in this picture, due to the many glare, the illusion of volume inherent in the master was created. And, despite the small size, the image of the landscape is not accurate. This manner of drawing is also characteristic of Kuindzhi. With its help, he conveys not only the transparency and freshness of the night air, but also an atmosphere of calm and serenity.
Technique
To show the public all the beauty of those places and create volume in the canvas,the artist includes two bright spots in his work: this is a night star and a reflection of the moon path in a calm water backwater. Such an image gives the work some kind of serenity and allows you to balance the light contrast in the landscape. At the same time, Kuindzhi used one risky element in his work. This is an almost opaque image of clouds, which are brightly illuminated from below by the moon. The doubtfulness of the application of such an artistic decision lies in the fact that the master moved away from realism. However, viewers can be convinced that this element made it possible not only to balance the picture, but to give even greater strength to the radiance of the night star. It should be noted that the master captured the mountains in the foreground. As a result, he had great difficulty in writing the sky. But it was extremely difficult to depict its darkness, as well as mountain haze, but the artist managed to get around all the rules of painting. By simply adding more contrasting, solid color spots, Kuindzhi was able to create the effect of "pushing out" the sky towards the audience.
In closing
Occupying the position of head professor at an art school, Arkhip Kuindzhi explained to his students the technique of composition on the basis of this work. Here he clearly demonstrated that the use of volume in some cases is more preferable than the play of light. By the way, thanks to Kinji, many adjustments were made to Russian painting.
