This is the Oyat River in Russia. It flows for 165 miles. Photographs taken today show it to be (at least in its cleanest sections) like lapis, a magnificent ultramarine blue. The world is packed with beauty; nothing on the earth is unremarkable. I knew a surgeon who studied and cataloged all the native plants on Long Island. He resented their being called, "weeds."
Standing a little bit up on a rise and looking down on the Oyat River, our first sense might be one of isolation. But if we look more closely we see signs that people are near — up front and to the left, we see a tree stump. A little further along on the left we see hay bales (which also suggests it is mid-summer, if not later). Across the river, on the the other side, there is a cultivated field. Has the grass in that field been cut, remaining in the field to dry in the sun before being baled? We might be able to smell the freshly cut grass.
Highly reflective, the river moves along slowly. Only a light breeze stirs the water's surface. Look at the trees mirrored in the water along the shore. It is a clear day and we can see hills beyond hills. This could be the Delaware River in New York or Pennsylvania, USA. Perhaps Polenov has placed two young white birch trees off to the far left of the painting as a suggestion that this river flows in Russia.
The Trappist monk, Thomas Merton, saw himself as the New Adam, writing, "Paradise is all around." The gate of heaven opens up to us from the vantage point we share with Vasily Polenov. There is the stillness, the breeze, the freshness, the light. Undoubtedly, there is bird-song. All of God's seven day creation is here, brand new.
A final thought. Notice that around the tree stump we see small plants popping up. If human beings were suddenly gone — off the scene — plants would heal the world we've poisoned, dug up and chopped down. Plants really own the planet; not us. In God's creation-week, plants appeared on day three. Sunlight, moon and stars were created on day four. Maybe the plants in the Genesis story survived the day without astronomical light, thriving by God's own light. Humans don't appear until day six.
The Oyat River Today ~ Photo by Timin Ilya
