Levitan Isaak Ilyich

Isaac Ilyich Levitan is a Russian painter, one of the most famous landscape painters of the late 19th century, a master of the "mood landscape". His works are characterized by deep emotion, the ability to convey not only the visual beauty of nature, but also its sounds, smells, mood, as well as the inner feelings of the artist.

Biography

Levitan was born in 1860 in the town of Kibarty (Kovno province) in a Jewish family. His father was a foreign language teacher and a station supervisor. In the 1870s, the family moved to Moscow.

In 1873, Levitan entered the Moscow College of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. His teachers were Vasily Perov, Alexey Savrasov and Vasily Polenov. In 1875, the artist's mother died, and in 1877, his father. Levitan found himself in a difficult financial situation, but continued to study.

Because of the law prohibiting Jews from permanently living in Moscow, Levitan was repeatedly deported. Only the intervention of friends and patrons allowed him to return to the capital.

Since 1891, Levitan was a member of the Association of Peredvizhniki, and in 1898 he received the title of academician of landscape painting. In the late 1890s, he began teaching at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture.

Levitan suffered from a heart condition that worsened with age. In 1900, he died in Moscow at the age of 39.

Features of creativity

Levitan created a new type of landscape — the "mood landscape". He did not just depict nature, but conveyed human feelings and experiences through it. In his paintings, nature becomes a mirror of the soul.

The artist paid great attention to the play of light and color, which allowed him to create a unique atmosphere in his works. He did not write out small details (leaves, blades of grass), but conveyed the general mood, the essence of the landscape.

Levitan was particularly fond of several themes and motifs — combining in his work, they sounded like a symphony celebrating the beauty of Russian nature.

Some of Levitan's most famous paintings:

"Autumn day. Sokolniki" (1879). One of the early works, imbued with a sense of loneliness. The painting depicts a "sad time" in a Moscow park, a mysterious stranger in a dark robe is walking along the path.

"Evening. Golden Ples" (1889). A painting created during a trip to the Volga cities. Ples became a source of inspiration for Levitan.

"Above Eternal Rest" (1894). A deeply philosophical canvas in which the artist expressed himself. The painting depicts the harsh Volga expanses, a cemetery and a temple.

Personal life and connections

Levitan was not married and had no children. He had stormy romantic relationships, including with Sofia Kuvshinnikova (an artist, hostess of a secular salon) and Anna Turchaninova (wife of a senator). His first deep affection was for Maria Chekhov, the sister of the writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov.

Levitan was friendly with Chekhov. The writer used details from the artist's life in his works (for example, in the story "The Bouncer" and the play "The Seagull").

Heritage

Levitan had a significant influence on Russian artists of the turn of the 19th–20th centuries and subsequent decades. His contemporaries and students are P. Petrovichev, N. Sapunov and others. Later, S. Zhukovsky, V. Byalynitsky-Birul, N. Krymov and others experienced his influence.

Today Levitan is considered a classic of Russian painting, and his works continue to evoke an emotional response from the audience.