Isaac Ilyich Levitan is a famous Russian landscape artist, a poet of perfect nature.
Origin and difficult youth
Isaac Levitan, the future great artist, was born on August 18, 1860 in Lithuania, in the small place of Kibarta, into an educated but poor Jewish family. Father - Ilya (Elyash Leib) Levitan (1827-1877) - stationmaster, was the son of a rabbi. In his youth, he studied in Vilna at a Jewish religious school - yeshiva. In parallel with his orthodox training, Ilya Levitan was very successfully engaged in self-education, for a short time the young man mastered French and German. Subsequently knowledge foreign languages ensured the existence of the whole family; he taught and also worked as a translator. Isaac had an older brother, Abel, and two sisters, Teresa and Mile.
In 1870-1871 the family moved to Big city opened up completely different opportunities both for Ilya Levitan himself and for his children. Noticing their sons' ability to draw, the parents sent the boys to Moscow school painting, architecture and sculpture. The young men were incredibly lucky, because in those days brilliant Russian artists - Savrasov, Perov, Polenov - taught at the school. Having barely begun his studies, Isaac Levitan was soon singled out among the rest of the students; the young man’s talent was beyond doubt. Initially, Levitan studied in a full-scale class with Vasily Perov, but Alexey Savrasov begged Levitan from him into his landscape class. A surprisingly warm and trusting relationship developed between Levitan and Savrasov. Isaac Levitan became his favorite student. Savrasov was a talented, kind, intelligent and enthusiastic teacher. In Levitan, he felt a kindred spirit, a man who, like himself, was immensely admired by the great beauty of nature.
In 1875, Levitan's mother died, and two years later the young man lost his father; he died of typhus in 1877. Isaac Levitan, along with his brother and sisters, found himself in complete poverty. Levitan was even expelled from the school for non-payment. However, the management of the school, having entered into the difficult financial situation of the talented student, exempted him from tuition fees. The school provided Levitan with financial assistance more than once, but despite this, the young man lived in complete poverty. Levitan often went hungry, he did not even have the most necessary things, sometimes he had to secretly spend the night within the walls of the school. But, despite all life's difficulties, Levitan worked hard, he continued to achieve new heights of artistic excellence.
Climbing
In March 1877 work young artist were exhibited at an art exhibition, critics responded very favorably to the artist’s work, he was awarded a small silver medal and a bonus of 220 rubles. Receiving a cash bonus helped to continue further studies in art school. However, in 1879 a new disaster occurred. People's Volunteer Alexander Solovyov made an attempt on the life of the Russian Emperor, as a result of which on April 2, 1879, a royal decree was issued on the eviction of all persons of Jewish nationality from Moscow. Alexander Solovyov himself was not a Jew, but a certain Semitic trace was seen in the assassination attempt. Levitan, along with his brother and sisters, was expelled from the capital.
At first, the artist was forced to live in a dacha in the village of Saltykovka near Moscow; later, thanks to the sale of one of his paintings, he was able to rent a furnished room on Bolshaya Lubyanka. All this time, Levitan worked with inspiration, a whole series of wonderful landscapes came out from under his brush: “Evening after the rain”, “Pines”, “Oak”, “ Last snow. Savvinskaya Sloboda" and others. However, not all teachers at the school favored Levitan. Anti-Semitic sentiments have always been popular in Russian society, and the Moscow Art School was no exception; some figures believed that a Jew should not paint Russian landscapes. In 1885, Levitan graduated from college, but he did not receive the title of artist; he was given a diploma as a teacher of calligraphy; only in 1886 did Levitan receive a diploma as an extracurricular artist.
At that time, the artist’s financial situation was catastrophic. Levitan settled in the Moscow region - in a small village. However, here an interesting acquaintance awaited him, which influenced the artist’s entire subsequent life. The fact is that in the neighboring village, on the Kiselyov estate, the Chekhov family was visiting. Levitan had already been friends with Nikolai Chekhov, the brother of the great Russian writer; they were classmates at school. In Babkino, Levitan was introduced to the Chekhov family. It was there that they met the writer - an acquaintance that soon grew into a strong friendship that lasted throughout his life.
It is worth noting that with youth Levitan was in poor health and had a heart condition. In 1886, on the advice of doctors, the artist went to Crimea; the trip had the most beneficial effect on Levitan. After his return, he organized an exhibition of fifty landscapes. During this period, Levitan met interesting person, the famous philanthropist Savva Morozov. Morozov was carried away by the production of the Russian opera “The Little Mermaid” by Dargomyzhsky, he invited Levitan and Vasnetsov as decorators for the opera. The artists coped with the task brilliantly, and the success of the opera was resounding. Participation in the production opened new horizons for the artist.
Levitan always dreamed of visiting and working on the Volga. His favorite teacher Savrasov, who loved the Volga immensely, spoke enthusiastically and with inspiration about the beauty of the legendary river. And so in 1887 Levitan went to the Volga, but the first rendezvous did not become love at first sight. The Volga met the artist with rainy and cold weather, the artist was somewhat disappointed. However, Levitan did not believe that his wonderful teacher could be so mistaken. And in 1888, together with his artist friends Alexei Stepanov and Sofia Kuvshinnikova, he again went to the Volga. This time the acquaintance took place. The friends boarded a ship, sailed along the Oka River and then went on a journey along the Upper Volga. They sailed surrounded by the delightful, majestic beauty of the Volga banks, the beautiful river gave the artists hundreds of new stunning views, each of which begged to be painted on canvas. The area around the small town inspired Levitan so much that the artist spent three whole summers, 1888-1890. worked in those wonderful places. In total, about 200 paintings were painted in Plyos. After Levitan, this area became extremely fashionable among Russian landscape painters. The artist became famous, he had many followers and imitators. Levitan brought the art of Russian landscape to a completely different level. Levitan taught successfully, he taught a landscape class at the school fine arts artist-architect A. O. Gunst.
Creative maturity
In 1889-1890 Levitan visited Western Europe, the purpose of the trip was Levitan’s desire to get acquainted with the latest trends modern painting. A world exhibition was held in Paris, which the artist attended. Levitan got acquainted with the paintings of the newfangled impressionists, he liked many things, but the artist had his own creative path- an image of the beauty and grandeur of Russian nature.
Upon returning from abroad, Levitan joined the newly formed Association of Peredvizhniki Artists. The famous Moscow philanthropist Sergei Morozov, who was friends with Levitan and greatly appreciated him, put a wonderful workshop at the artist’s disposal in Trekhsvyatitelsky Lane. In the spring of 1892, Levitan completed and presented to the public several canvases that also became famous: “Autumn”, “Summer”, “At the Pool”, “October”. In the same year, another government persecution of Jews occurred again; within 24 hours, all Jews were ordered to leave Moscow. For some time the artist lived in the Tver and Vladimir provinces. A little later, thanks to the intercession of friends, Levitan was able to return to Moscow. At the same time, he painted the iconic painting “Vladimirka”; the canvas depicts the road along which convicts were driven to Siberia.
Personal life
In 1892, an unpleasant episode occurred in the relationship between Levitan and Chekhov, which temporarily stopped their friendship. The fact was that Chekhov released his next story called “The Jumper”, it featured characters whose story was strikingly similar to the real one life situation, which developed between Levitan and his student Sofia Kuvshinnikova, who was also married to the doctor Dmitry Kuvshinnikov. Levitan was very offended by Anton Pavlovich, three years later, thanks to the patronage of mutual friends, they reconciled.
However, Levitan's personal life continued to perform new pirouettes. In the summer of 1894, the artist, together with his friend Sofia Kuvshinnikova, was invited to the estate of V.N. Ushakov, the estate was located in the village of Vyshnevolotsky district of the Tver province on the shore of Lake Ostrovno, near picturesque lake Udomlya. It was in these places that the artist painted the majestic painting “Above Eternal Peace.” The picture is amazing, it is filled philosophical meaning, the inviolability and grandeur of the surrounding nature, makes everyone think about the insignificant life span allotted to the lot of a person. Many experts believe that the painting “Above Eternal Peace” is the most Russian of all paintings written on a Russian theme.
Not far from Ostrovno there was the Gorka estate, which belonged to a prominent official, deputy mayor of St. Petersburg I. N. Turchaninov. The official’s family was vacationing on the estate - his wife Anna Nikolaevna Turchaninova and her two daughters. Having learned that a celebrity was in the neighborhood, Anna Nikolaevna paid a courtesy visit. Turchaninova, a beautiful, graceful St. Petersburg lady, made the best impression on Levitan, and a passionate romance began between them. Alas, this whole story unfolded before the eyes of Sofia Kuvshinnikova, Levitan’s longtime friend. The result of the affair was their final break, Kuvshinnikova left the estate, and she never saw Levitan again. The artist found himself in an ugly situation, which was aggravated by the fact that eldest daughter Turchaninova also developed loving feelings for him. The result was not even a triangle, but a whole love square. Having found himself in an extremely bad everyday situation, the artist fell into deep melancholy, he even attempted suicide. Levitan shot, but missed. According to the recollections of contemporaries, this gesture was more theatrical than a real attempt to die.
In 1895, Levitan settled in Gorki on the Turchaninovs’ estate, and a workshop was built especially for him two-storey house- a secluded place where the artist had an excellent opportunity for fruitful work. In winter, Levitan visited Europe again, he visited France and Germany, after the trip the artist returned to Gorki, where he painted the famous painting “March”.
Chekhov visited his friend after simulating suicide; the writer stayed with Levitan for 5 whole days. Subsequently, under the impression of his visit, he wrote the story “House with a Mezzanine”, as well as the famous play “The Seagull” - works that again caused Levitan’s offense. In Gorki, the artist created a series of paintings that became famous: “March”, “ Golden autumn", "Nenyufars" and many others. All these paintings were bought by the famous collector P. M. Tretyakov.
In 1896, in Odessa, the paintings of Isaac Levitan took part in a joint exhibition with artists Viktor Simov and Alexander Popov. In the same year, Levitan visited Finland, the result of the trip was a series of wonderful landscapes. However, the artist’s health deteriorated significantly; for the second time in his life he suffered from typhus, this sad fact aggravated the heart disease that Levitan already had. His friend, writer and doctor Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, wrote in one of his letters: “I listened to Levitan. It's bad. His heart does not beat, but blows. Instead of the sound of a knock-knock, you hear a pf-knock..."
In 1897, Levitan went to Italy; he lived in the city of Courmayeur in the vicinity of Mont Blanc. In 1898, the artist was awarded the title of academician of landscape painting. Levitan began teaching at his native school. The students were in awe of the eminent teacher, and he found his own special approach to everyone. The artist was a versatile person, he was distinguished by his wide erudition, which greatly helped in pedagogical activity. Levitan dreamed of creating a huge workshop - the “House of Landscapes”.
Last year
In the winter of 1899, doctors strongly recommended that Levitan go to Yalta, which he did. In Yalta, he met Chekhov again, but their friendship faded. Levitan felt very bad and complained of a constantly aching heart. Upon returning to Moscow, Levitan was hopelessly in a house on Trekhsvyatitelsky Lane; he was seriously ill. At the same time, his paintings were exhibited with great success at the World Exhibition in Paris.
On July 22, 1900, Isaac Levitan died. The great landscape painter of the Russian land has passed away, the man who, with the power of his brilliant brush, showed the strict, but at the same time infinitely beautiful nature of the heart of Russia, has passed away. There were about 40 unfinished works and about 300 sketches left in Levitan's studio. great artist was buried on July 25, 1900 in the Jewish cemetery. His artist friends came to the funeral: Valentin Serov, Konstantin Korovin, Apollinary Vasnetsov, Ilya Ostroukhov and many other people who were fans of Levitan’s talent.
In 1901, a posthumous exhibition of works by Isaac Levitan was held, among the paintings was his last unfinished canvas, “Lake. Rus". In 1941, the remains of Isaac Levitan were transferred to the Novodevichy cemetery. In 1904, there was a fire in the Gorki estate, in which the artist’s workshop burned down.
Dmitry Sytov
Isaac Ilyich Levitan was born on August 18 (August 30, new style) 1860 in the suburb of Kibarty (now this city is located in Lithuania) near the Verzhbolovo station into an intelligent Jewish family. The grandfather of the future artist was a rabbi. His father, Ilya Abramovich, continuing family tradition, also prepared to become a rabbi, but in the end chose secular service for himself. Served on railway- translator, controller, cashier. He was a foreign language teacher. In his last capacity, he moved to Moscow, hoping that his children there (there were four of them) would receive a more decent education. This happened in 1870. In Moscow, Ilya Abramovich survived on penny lessons, but at the same time he was attentive to the spiritual aspirations of teenagers and did not object when first the eldest son, Adolf (Abel), and then the youngest, Isaac, wanted to study painting. So the brothers ended up at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. Isaac entered the school very young - in 1873.
From this time on, we can trace his life in some detail - thanks to the numerous memories of those who knew him. Generally speaking, little is known about the artist’s childhood - he did not like to remember it, and the letters from which we could glean more detailed information were destroyed by the will of Levitan after his death.
The Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in those years clearly opposed the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts with its commitment to classicism and academicism. Among the school's favorite teachers were prominent Itinerants - in particular, A. Savrasov, in whose landscape workshop Levitan worked since 1874. Savrasov singled out Levitan and saw in him a huge talent. And this despite the fact that Levitan’s fellow students were K. Korovin, M. Nesterov, A. Arkhipov, A. Golovin and others - artists whose names made up an entire era in the history of Russian visual arts. Savrasov had to leave the school - he suffered from a traditional Russian disease, drank bitters, and from the autumn of 1882 Levitan studied with a new teacher - V. Polenov, whom aspiring artists also idolized.
Meanwhile, he lived very hard during these years. His mother died in 1875, followed by his father two years later. Levitan was left without a livelihood. He had nowhere to lay his head; he was literally starving. At the school he was exempted from tuition fees and provided with paints and other art supplies. Some light appeared in 1879, when the School Council awarded Levitan a scholarship from the Governor General of Moscow, and P. Tretyakov bought his painting “Autumn Day. Sokolniki” for one hundred rubles. However, just at this time another misfortune broke out - after Solovyov’s assassination attempt on Alexander II, all Jews were evicted from Moscow. The artist lived near Moscow, and went to classes in a cast iron car. This story, by the way, repeated itself in 1892, when it was no longer an unknown student of the school of painting and sculpture, but a famous landscape painter, who was expelled from the capital. Then, in the early 1890s, it took energetic efforts from Levitan’s friends to allow him to return to the capital.
The nature of the Moscow region enchanted Levitan; he worked tirelessly. In general, the Moscow region, apparently, should be called the artist’s first love. He spent two happy summers (1875-76) in Babkino, near New Jerusalem. There, in Babkino, the Chekhov family lived. Nikolai Chekhov was Levitan’s classmate at school, and he brought him together with his family. Levitan's long friendship with A.P. Chekhov began precisely then.
The artist left the school in 1884, receiving a diploma as a non-class artist, which only gave him the right to be an art teacher. There are various reasons given for this: some say that this happened due to “not attending classes”; others argue that this expressed a rather condescending attitude towards the landscape genre itself, as something secondary and not worthy of high praise. The latter is very likely - given the then dominance of the “accusatory” trend in painting (and in art in general).
Around this time, Levitan became close to Savva Mamontov and the Abramtsevo art circle he founded. For the just opened Private Opera of the famous philanthropist, Levitan created several sets for the operas “A Life for the Tsar” by Glinka, “The Snow Maiden” by Rimsky-Korsakov and “Rusalka” by Dargomyzhsky (some of them based on sketches by Polenov and V. Vasnetsov). However, the artist did not completely belong in the Abramtsevo circle, and the theatrical work did not captivate him, a born easel painter. But the money he earned allowed Levitan to make his first long journey- to Crimea. Before this, Levitan wrote only in the Moscow region. After this trip, new colors appeared in his painting.
The next year, 1887, turned out to be a turning point in the fate of. He first met the Volga, which became a huge theme of his work. He spent four summers in a row on the great Russian river. He went to the Volga not alone, but with S.P. Kuvshinnikova, an artist, musician, actress and simply an original, rather extravagant woman, whose Moscow salon was visited by many celebrities. They spent almost eight years together - this romantic episode of Levitan’s life is reflected in a rather cartoonish form in Chekhov’s story “The Jumper,” which caused a scandal after its publication and led to a short-term cooling of relations between the writer and the artist.
During the years spent with Kuvshinnikova, Levitan created many of his famous paintings, establishing himself as a leading Russian painter. In 1894, he broke up with Sofia Petrovna, throwing himself headlong into new novel- with A. N. Turchaninova. The romance was complicated by the fact that her eldest daughter fell passionately in love with the artist; It all ended with Levitan shooting himself in 1895.
He was a complex person, easily fell into anger, despair, terrible blues, repentance, this was not the first attempt in his life to commit suicide. “I was moping beyond measure and limit, I was moping to the point of stupidity, to the point of horror,” he wrote in one of his letters from that time.
Meanwhile, Levitan's fame grew. His paintings were regularly bought by P. Tretyakov, in 1891 he became a member of the Association of Traveling Exhibitions, in 1897 - a member of the Munich Secession, in 1898 - an academician of painting and a teacher at his native School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (among his students was the most talented, but early deceased Nikolai Sapunov). In the 1890s he made several trips to Europe. Levitan closely followed the latest artistic movements, in his declining years became close to the newborn “World of Art” and its leaders S. Diaghilev and A. Benois.
But there was no life left. He was getting sick more and more, his heart refused to serve. Back in 1896, Chekhov noted in his diary: “Levitan has an enlarged aorta. He wears clay on his chest. Excellent sketches and a passionate thirst for life.” A few months before his death, the artist himself wrote to Maria Pavlovna, Chekhov’s sister (something like a half-romance also happened between them at one time): “Marie! How scary it is to die and how my heart hurts!” It seemed to him that he had understood something important in life and would now be able to write in a completely different way. On July 22 (August 4, new style), 1900, Levitan died.
The largest representative of Russian lyrical landscape painting of the 2nd half of the 19th century. Levitan's paintings contain elegiac moods and sad reflections on the meaning of life. He has paintings full of tragic sorrow and hopelessness, and paintings full of cheerfulness and life affirmation; There are paintings full of melancholy and paintings full of ringing joy!
Levitan was born in 1860, in the family of a small railway employee. They lived in poverty. In addition, his parents died early, and little Isaac was left in the care of his sister, who herself lived off day labor and only occasionally fed her brother and darned old clothes. The little Jewish boy spent the night wherever he could. Since childhood, he passionately loved to draw and at the age of 12 he entered the School of Painting and Sculpture. His teachers were Savrasov and Polenov. The young man was immediately noticed by his teachers as a very talented student. Savrasov immediately singled out Levitan, but the School did not like Savrasov himself for his unrestrained character, so this dislike was transferred to the boy. Having completed the School brilliantly, he nevertheless did not receive a well-deserved medal upon graduation. The young artist still lived in poverty, saw no reason for joy and was always gloomy and depressed. Mental gloominess held his hands while he worked. Levitan could not write lightly and transparently for a long time. Dim light lay on the canvases, the colors frowned. He couldn't make them smile.
In 1886, Levitan came to Crimea for the first time and his mood changed. Here he first understood what pure paints were. He felt with complete clarity that only the sun rules over the colors. And the sun and black are incompatible. Thus began a new period in the life and work of the talented Jewish artist.
Levitan's work is a whole era in the development of Russian landscape painting. Continuing the line of Savrasov’s lyrical landscape, Levitan reached enormous heights in the art of depicting national nature. Levitan was rightly called “the poet of Russian nature” by his contemporaries. He subtly felt the discreet beauty and intimacy of the Central Russian landscape. “Levitan showed us that modest and intimate thing that lurks in every Russian landscape - its soul, its charm,” wrote M.V. Nesterov.
One day at the end of summer, at dusk, Levitan met a young woman at the gate of his house. Her narrow hands were white from under the black lace. The sleeves of the dress were trimmed with lace. A soft cloud covered the sky. It was raining sparsely. The flowers in the front gardens smelled bitterly like autumn.
The stranger stood at the gate and tried to open a small umbrella. Finally, it opened and rain rustled on its silk top. The stranger slowly walked away. Levitan did not see her face; it was covered with an umbrella. In the wrong light, he only noticed that she was pale.
Returning home, he remembered the stranger for a long time, and that same fall he wrote “Autumn Day in Sokolniki.” This was his first painting, where gray and golden autumn, sad as the life of Levitan himself, breathed from the canvas with careful warmth and pinched the viewer’s heart...
Along the path of Sokolniki Park, through heaps of fallen leaves, a young woman in black walked - that stranger. She was alone among the autumn grove, and this loneliness surrounded her with a feeling of sadness and thoughtfulness.
This is the only landscape of Levitan where a person is present, and the figure of a woman was painted by Nikolai Chekhov.
Autumn is Levitan's favorite time of year; he wrote a lot autumn landscapes, but this one stands out because it doesn’t have a tragic sound or a sad mood; This is a very lyrical canvas, giving a feeling of peace, tranquility, quiet joy and light sadness.
Before us is a corner of nature with a running river and a birch grove on the bank. And in the distance there are fields, forests and a bottomless sky with light white clouds. The day is sunny, not warm like autumn. The air is clear and fresh.
Solemn peace reigns in nature: the clarity of the distance is transparent, the foliage on the trees is motionless, the water in the river is calm in autumn.
A bright, joyful mood is created by a varied, rich range of colors: the copper-golden decoration of the grove, the sparkle of already falling leaves, the reddish branches of a bush against a blue background cold water, the bright greenery of winter in the distance and the faded blue of the sky. However, all this splendor of the palette is not flashy, not defiantly bright, but very modest, creating a feeling of gentle dreaminess and expectation of happiness. Truly, no one said better than Pushkin about this period of autumn:
Ouch charm! I am pleased with your farewell beauty!
I love the lush decay of nature, the forest dressed in crimson and gold
The painting was painted on the shore of Lake Udomli in the Tver province. A tragic canvas full of boundless melancholy and sorrow. Severe, indifferent to humans and majestic nature causes a feeling of anxiety and tension.
A small, almost rotten wooden church, stuck lonely on the steep shore of a cold lake, behind which the crosses of the old cemetery are barely visible. From the slope, where dark birches bend under the gusty wind, the distance of a remote river, meadows darkened by bad weather, and a huge cloudy sky opens up. Heavy clouds, filled with cold moisture, hang above the ground. Slanting sheets of rain cover the open spaces.
A person here feels like a small grain of sand, lost in the universe. The feeling of loneliness, the insignificance of a person in front of the infinitely great and eternal nature gives the picture a truly tragic sound. Here are Levitan's deep philosophical reflections on the meaning of life and death, human existence in nature - and all this takes on a dull and hopeless tone. It is no coincidence that while painting the picture, Levitan loved to listen to Beethoven’s funeral march.
A modest poetic work covered in subtle lyricism. Thin, white trunks of birch trees, a thick carpet of emerald grass, young fluffy greenery of recently blossoming foliage. This is an image of a young nature that has just awakened from the winter torpor, touching and soulful. The picture is imbued with a feeling of the bright joy of existence, warmed by the warmth of the dim northern sun.
The sketch for this painting was written by Levitan on the estate of Baroness Wulf "Bernovo", with a collapsed mill, with an old dam across a river, with a deep dark pool. Somehow Levitan became interested in the landscape near the pool and began to paint it. The owner of the estate approached him and asked: “Do you know what interesting place you write? The peasants call it a “disastrous place” and avoid it. It also inspired Pushkin to his “Rusalka”. And she told a legend connected with this mill: her great-grandfather, a man of very tough character, had a young servant. He fell in love with the miller's daughter. When the great-grandfather found out about this, he angrily ordered his serf to be shaved into a soldier, and his beloved girl drowned herself here.
Levitan was excited by the story, and he painted a picture.
Deep black pool. Above the pool is a forest, dense, dark, and somewhere deep into the forest a barely noticeable path goes. An old dam, logs, bridges... Night is approaching. Sparkles of the setting sun on the water; near the shore of the dam there is a reflection of an overturned forest; There are gray, torn clouds in the sky. The whole picture seems to be permeated with a feeling of hidden, anxious sadness, the feeling that gripped Levitan when he listened to the story about the death of a young girl, and which possessed him when he was working on the picture.
For many, many years this painting has been hanging in Tretyakov Gallery, and still, just like in the first years, captivated spectators stand in front of her for a long time.
The outskirts in the rays of the setting sun, a field with haystacks silhouetted in the twilight light of the passing day, the outskirts of the village, barely illuminated by the trembling light of the moon... Such familiar pictures, full of deep truth. Silence again enters Levitan’s paintings, and with it a wise reconciliation with life, a farewell to it. A painfully sad note sounds clearly in all these works. Their utmost simplicity and truthfulness are the result of the artist’s desire to write only about the most intimate. No picturesqueness, no writing, no flashy techniques.
To replace the feelings of loneliness and loss of a person in the universe, the tragic feeling of meaninglessness human existence before eternity comes an understanding of the naturalness of the laws of life, the perception of man in harmonious unity with nature. The simple and unpretentious life of man in nature now turns out to be full of great meaning for Levitan.
One of Levitan's most remarkable paintings. That summer he lived not far from Boldin. His student and friend Sofya Petrovna Kuvshinnikova tells how one day they were returning from hunting and came out onto the old Vladimir highway. The picture was full of amazing quiet beauty. A long white strip of road ran away among the copse into the blue distance. In the distance, the figures of two praying mantises could be seen, and an old rickety cabbage roll (a wooden grave monument with a roof and a cross) with an icon worn out by the rains spoke of a long-forgotten antiquity. Everything looked so affectionate and cozy. And suddenly Levitan remembered what kind of road this was..." But this is Vladimirka, the same Vladimirka, the Vladimirsky highway, along which so many unfortunate people once passed to Siberia, clanking with shackles!"
The sun is descending over the steppes, the feather grass is golden in the distance,
Kolodnikov's ringing chains stir up road dust...
And the landscape no longer seemed affectionate, cozy... Levitan saw the real Vladimirka - the road of sorrow, saw chained, hungry, exhausted people, heard the ringing of shackles, sad songs, groans. And a picture was born.
The road, worn by thousands of feet, goes into the blue distance. There is a lopsided cabbage roll by the road. A wanderer with a knapsack is walking along a side path. And above the road there is a huge gloomy sky... And although high road, in Vladimirka, only one old woman is walking with a knapsack and the prisoners in shackles are not visible, we seem to feel their presence, we hear the ringing of shackles...
Levitan did not want to sell this painting and simply gave it to Tretyakov.
An extremely simple and modest painting. Using a combination of gray and greenish-fawn tones, the artist depicts a dark coastal strip, a steel-gray surface of water, a dark gray, dull stripe of thickened clouds and a whitish-silver clearing of the sky at the edge of the picture. The presence of a person is felt: boats pulled ashore, lights on the opposite bank of the river.
The state of peace in which nature is immersed, detachment from the bustle of the day and human affairs helps the artist to show the Volga in all its majesty.
One of the most expressive and beautiful paintings Levitan. A wide panorama of the Volga landscape appears before us. Levitan captures the transitional moment when the ash-golden colors of the sky, the golden fog of the pre-sunset hour, enveloping the mirror surface of the Volga and concealing the outlines far shore, are still struggling with the darkness of the coming evening, but are about to be swallowed up by the thickening darkness. Silence descends upon the earth. A church appears as a light silhouette - like a guardian of this silence - in the wide expanses of the Volga landscape. The trees and bushes of the near bank begin to look like dark, generalized silhouettes, as does the second church in the distance, almost drowning in a grayish-hazy veil of fog.
The picture reflects a joyful perception of the world. The artist depicts the very beginning of spring, when noisy streams are not yet running and the hubbub of birds is not heard. But the warm rays of the spring sun are already beginning to warm the earth. And this one is soft sunlight, poured into the picture, evokes the feeling of the onset of spring. Everything seemed to freeze, warmed by the warmth of the sun. The trees do not move, casting deep shadows on the snow, the smooth wall of the house is flooded sunlight, the horse stands quietly, immersed in slumber, at the porch. Under the influence of the sun's rays, the snow on the roof of the porch began to melt, the deep snowdrifts settled and lost their whiteness. In the transparent air, the blue color of the bottomless sky and blue shadows on the snow ring loudly.
The clear and bright mood of the picture is full of jubilant, thoughtless joy, consonant with the feeling of spring. The complete desolation of the landscape helps you feel the silence spread around and immerse yourself in contemplation of the inner life of nature.
But the presence of a person is invisibly felt in the picture: a horse standing waiting at the porch, a slightly open door, a birdhouse on a birch tree. This makes the picture even more intimate, lyrical and soulful.
Isaac was born on August 18, 1860 in the Kovno province village of Kibarty into a very educated family. His father spoke several languages and was a teacher.
In the 1870s, he moved to Moscow with his family. Isaac was fond of drawing from childhood, so that, starting in 1873, he began to study at the school of painting, sculpting, and architecture in Moscow.
After the death of his father and mother, a difficult period began in the biography of Isaac Levitan. Seeing the student’s talent and his inability to pay for tuition, the school exempted him from paying and even provided him with assistance.
After an exhibition of paintings while still studying, the artist received a silver medal. He graduated from education in 1885.
Later in the biography of the artist Levitan, several travels took place in France and Italy. Levitan also presented his works among the Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions. For some time the artist was forced to leave Moscow, but later returned.
If we consider Levitan’s brief biography, it should be noted that since 1898 he taught at his native school. Among famous paintings Levitan – “Above Eternal Peace”, “Evening on the Volga”, “ Birch Grove", "Twilight. Haystacks”, “Spring – Big Water” and many others.
Levitan's creativity
Thanks to his talent and hard work, Levitan graduated from the school with flying colors, but the School Council refused to award him the Big Silver Medal. After graduating from college, Levitan took part in traveling exhibitions, his paintings enjoyed great success.
Thus, his work “Autumn Day. Sokolniki” was acquired by Tretyakov in 1880, which was recognition of Levitan’s artistic talent.
In addition to landscape painting, Levitan also worked on sets for the Moscow Private Russian Opera of S. I. Mamontov. In 1880-1884, Isaac Levitan painted from life in Ostankino.
The result is his works such as “Pines”, “ Oak Grove. Autumn", "Oak". In 1887, Levitan went to the Volga. The Volga nature gives the artist new landscape subjects, the paintings “Evening. Golden Reach”, “After the rain. Plyos", "Evening on the Volga".
From 1890 to 1895, Levitan wrote his best works. These are the paintings “At the Whirlpool”, “Above Eternal Peace”, “Vladimirka”. Isaac Levitan donated the painting “Vladimirka” to the Tretyakov Gallery.
In the spring of 1894, the artist came to the Tver province, here he painted such canvases as “Spring. Last snow", "March", " Blooming apple trees", "Golden Autumn", "Big Road. Autumn sunny day."
In 1898, Isaac Levitan was awarded the title of academician of landscape painting.
The artist teaches at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, where he himself once studied. His paintings were successfully demonstrated at the World Exhibition in Paris and at an exhibition in Munich.
But soon Levitan’s health deteriorates sharply, and treatment abroad helps little. On August 4, 1900, Isaac Levitan died.
Famous works of the artist
- Autumn day. Sokolniki (1879)
- Evening on the Volga (1888, Tretyakov Gallery)
- Evening. Golden Reach (1889, Tretyakov Gallery)
- Gold autumn. Slobodka (1889, Russian Museum)
- Birch Grove (1885-1889, Tretyakov Gallery)
- After the rain. Plyos (1889, Tretyakov Gallery)
- Quiet Abode (1890, Tretyakov Gallery)
- At the whirlpool (1892, Tretyakov Gallery)
- Vladimirka (1892, Tretyakov Gallery)
- Evening ringing (1892, Tretyakov Gallery)
- Above Eternal Peace (1894, Tretyakov Gallery). Collective image. Used view of the lake. Ostrovno and view of the lake from Krasilnikovaya Hill
- Udomlya, Tverskaya province.
- Fresh breeze. Volga (1895, Tretyakov Gallery).
- March (1895, Tretyakov Gallery). Mustache type “Gorka” Turchaninova I. N. near the village. Ostrovno. Tver lips
- Autumn. Estate. (1894, Omsk Museum). Mustache type "Gorka" of the Turchaninovs near the village. Ostrovno. Tver lips
- Spring - great water (1896-1897, Tretyakov Gallery). View of the Syezha River in Tver Province.
- Golden Autumn (1895, Tretyakov Gallery). The Syezha River near the us. "Slide". Tver lips
- Nenyufary (1895, Tretyakov Gallery). Landscape on the lake Ostrovno u us. "Slide". Tver lips
- Autumn landscape with a church (1893-1895, Tretyakov Gallery). Church in the village Ostrovno. Tver lips
- Lake Ostrovno (1894-1895, Melikhovo village). Landscape from us. Slide. Tver lips
- Autumn landscape with a church (1893-1895, Russian Museum). Church in the village Islandly from us. Ostrovno (Ushakovs). Tver lips
- The last rays of the sun ( Last days autumn) (1899, Tretyakov Gallery). Entrance to the village of Petrova Gora. Tver lips
- Twilight. Haystacks (1899, Tretyakov Gallery)
- Twilight (1900, Tretyakov Gallery)
- Lake. Rus' (1899-1900, Russian Museum)
On August 4, 1900, the famous Russian artist Isaac Levitan died in his home-workshop on Trekhsvyatitelsky Lane. He was often called a master of “mood landscape” - a picture where nature is inspired by human thought. We talk about the fate and work of Isaac Ilyich.
Childhood
Isaac Levitan was born in 1860 in the village of Kibarty (now the territory of Lithuania) into a poor but intelligent Jewish family. His father, having independently learned French and German, worked as a translator in the city of Kovno, at the same time he was engaged in the education of the child. At the age of 10, Isaac Levitan and his family moved to Moscow, where he and his brother entered the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture.
The building of the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture
First paintings
A huge role in the formation of Levitan as an artist was played by his teachers at the School - famous artists Perov, Polenov, Savrasov. The latter, according to contemporaries, generally had Levitan among his favorites. Soon, having lost his parents, Isaac Levitan was forced to earn money with his skills - with early years He began to carry out art commissions, taught drawing classes, and painted for various magazines. Even then, at the age of 17, Levitan began exhibiting his paintings at student exhibitions.
"Sunny day. Spring". Isaac Levitan, 1877
One of them is the painting “Autumn Day. Sokolniki” was unexpectedly acquired by Pavel Tretyakov for his famous gallery, which certainly inspired the aspiring artist.
“Autumn day. Sokolniki". Isaac Levitan, 1879
Meeting the Itinerants
One of major events in the life of Isaac Levitan became acquaintance with famous philanthropist Savva Mamontov. By order of Mamontov, Levitan began to carry out a number of works, including, together with other artists, designing the scenery. Subsequently Levitan became frequent guest in Mamontov's house, where he met a circle of excellent artists.
"Evening in the arable land." Isaac Levitan, 1883
In 1884, Levitan’s painting “Evening on the Plowed Field” was first shown at the exhibition of the Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions, where visitors appreciated the talent of the novice artist. At the same time, Levitan formally remained a student of the School, although he stopped attending classes. As a result, when he graduated, he never received the title of artist - he was given a diploma as a penmanship teacher.
"Savvinskaya Sloboda near Zvenigorod." Isaac Levitan, 1884
In the early 1880s, surviving on money received from the sale of paintings, Isaac Levitan settled in the small village of Maksimovka near Moscow, where he met Anton Chekhov, who lived nearby, with whom he became friends for many years. In the same village Levitan wrote a large number of landscapes.
"Bridge. Savvinskaya Sloboda". Isaac Levitan, 1884
"Birch Grove". Isaac Levitan, 1885
Trips
Enjoying the peaceful village life, the artist began to look for inspiration on trips. However, Levitan decided not to go abroad for this, but to start from the vast expanses of Russia. The trips to Crimea and the Volga were very fruitful, where the artist completed a number of famous landscapes.
“By the seashore. Crimea". Isaac Levitan, 1886
"Fresh breeze. Volga" Isaac Levitan, 1895
"After the rain. Ples." Isaac Levian, 1889
At the end of the 1880s, as art historians tend to believe, Isaac Levitan’s talent flourished. Anton Chekhov wrote about new painting“Quiet Abode”: “Levitan celebrates the name day of his magnificent muse: his painting creates a sensation.”
"Quiet Abode" Isaac Levitan, 1891
In 1890, Levitan nevertheless visited abroad: he made a whole tour of cultural centers Europe. The trip resulted in several paintings that clearly demonstrate his love for small, quiet towns.
"Canal in Venice", 1890
“On Lake Como. Embankment". Isaac Levitan, 1894
Last refuge
After long wanderings, in 1889 Levitan settled in Moscow, in a house-workshop on Trekhsvyatelsky Lane. In the 1890s, Isaac Levitan worked primarily in various places in the Vladimir and Tver provinces, creating some of his most significant paintings.
"At the pool." Isaac Levitan, 1892
"Above eternal peace." Isaac Levitan, 1894
Isaac Levitan worked in his workshop until the spring of 1900, when, while walking with his students, he caught a severe cold. The artist’s weakened heart could not stand it: he did not recover from his illness and died on August 4, 1900.