This pond was found on the estate property of Vasily's grandmother, Vera. We live in a dangerous, angry and frustrating world, and Polenov has provided us here with a bit of an escape. The abundant and lively colors encourage tranquility. There is nothing 'exciting' about this painting, it is just an ordinary pond with ancient trees growing nearby.
Do you see how diagonal lines build up the scene? In two places the water meets the grass on diagonal lines that converge on the right side of the painting. Then the front, grassy, right bank and the line of the little deck run on the same diagonal. Even the left and right sides of the deck itself are parallel diagonal lines. But all these lines, rather than yanking us into a frenzy, seem to draw us together into a silent, living harmony.
Dark green trees make the air feel cool.The same trees are reflected in the still water. The pond is alive with water lily leaves (some even flowering) and a floating water plant called duckweed. I expect if we're very still, the frogs will come out of their alarm and begin to croak. Maybe dragonflies will zoom in and hover over the water. There would undoubtedly be birds in and around this place, each with a unique song. I had a pond like this on my property where a summertime kingfisher would dive off the trees, disappear into the water and soon reappear with his lunch, and where a great, tall, high-stepping heron with a long pointed bill would stalk frogs along the shallow edges of the pond.
Notice there is only the smallest patch of sky and cloud seen in the upper left corner—yet that bit of sky is reflected in the water on the lower left and the scene is filled with light. The wooden bridge, the dirt path running alongside, and the grass and flowers nearby are alive and bright—even brilliant! But look even more deeply. There is a woman sitting comfortably on a bench in this peaceful, layered world beyond the deck. She's not disruptive, but just as much a part of the scene as the sky, grasses, water, trees and concealed creatures.
This is an ordinary pond—but it's really rather extraordinary, isn't it?
