Isaac Levitan: Establishing the Date of a Landscape.

In 2020, the world marks the 160th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding Peredvizhnik (a group of Russian realist painters who organized traveling exhibitions) artist Isaac Levitan (1860–1900), the creator of the “mood landscape”. Although he lived a short life, he made a unique contribution to the treasury of world art. He brought sincerity and openness into the artistic space of the late nineteenth century. It was on his canvases that modest nature acquired a sacred meaning. Levitan’s work had a profound influence on the development of Russian and European painting.

Isaac Levitan belonged to the constellation of Peredvizhnik artists, whose history began in 1863 with an open confrontation with the Academy and its detachment from reality. Through their work, the Peredvizhniki demonstrated that the ideological aspect of the artistic process outweighed the purely aesthetic one. Their goal was the democratization and wide popularization of fine art, the social and aesthetic enlightenment of the masses. To achieve this, the Society for Traveling Art Exhibitions was founded, organizing exhibitions in major cultural centers of the nineteenth century: Moscow, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Poltava, and other cities. At various times, its members included such artists as I. Repin, V. Surikov, V. and K. Makovsky, I. Pryanishnikov, A. Savrasov, I. Shishkin, G. Myasoedov, K. Savitsky, A. and V. Vasnetsov, A. Kuindzhi, V. Polenov, I. Levitan, N. Yaroshenko, and others. The Peredvizhniki influenced all spheres of artistic life in the Russian Empire and the further development of artistic schools and movements.

The history of the Poltava Art Museum (Gallery of Arts) named after Mykola Yaroshenko is closely connected with the activities of the Peredvizhniki. The idea of creating an art museum in Poltava belonged precisely to our compatriot Mykola Oleksandrovych Yaroshenko — the driving force and one of the ideological leaders of the Society. The museum collection was based on his personal collection of works by fellow Peredvizhnik artists — his friends and colleagues. Thus, thanks to the will and efforts of M. O. Yaroshenko and in accordance with the testament of his wife, Mariia Pavlivna Yaroshenko, paintings by Isaac Levitan appeared in the collection of the Poltava Art Museum.

One of Levitan’s works — a summer landscape — mentioned by the Deputy Director for Research of the Central Proletarian Museum of Poltava Region, Ya. O. Ryzhenko (1882–1974), in the article “Museums” (1927), was lost during the Second World War.

Today, the Poltava Art Museum (Gallery of Arts) named after Mykola Yaroshenko holds two works by Isaac Levitan. One of them is the study “Early Spring” (cardboard, oil, 16.5 × 20.5 cm, 1892, Zh 129). The painting bears the inscription: “To the deeply respected M. P. Yaroshenko — I. Levitan. 92.” The artist gifted it to Yaroshenko’s wife, Mariia Pavlivna.

Painted in a realistic manner, the study is distinguished by a particular softness of tone. Through subtle transitions of color half-tones, the artist achieves the illusion of cool dampness. The silhouettes of trees in the background dissolve into haze; the gloomy sky envelops the bare branches in mist, and we almost feel the swirling of moist air. Further contemplation immerses the viewer in a sense of anticipation of nature’s vigorous rebirth. Simple in composition, the study is so emotionally rich that it evokes a wide range of feelings in the viewer. This is the power and talent of Levitan — his extraordinary ability not only to depict nature and its state but to make the viewer live through that state while contemplating the work.

The second study by Levitan is titled “Watermill” (paper, oil, 15 × 26 cm, Zh 128). Until recently, it had no confirmed date. Research has established that the study was painted for the work “Autumn. Mill. Plyos” (canvas, oil, 41 × 65 cm, 1888), now housed in the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. Levitan created several studies for this painting. One of them, titled “Landscape with a Mill (Autumn. Mill)” (paper on cardboard, oil, 14.7 × 21 cm, 1888), is in the collection of the Isaac Levitan House Museum in Plyos (Russia). Another, titled “River” (canvas on cardboard, 22.6 × 32 cm, 1888), belongs to the State Tretyakov Gallery.

The study “Watermill,” preserved in the Poltava Art Museum, was considered one of the earliest preparatory works for the painting. This is noted by Y. O. Ryzhenko in the aforementioned article. Therefore, the dating of the study could be attributed to 1888 or earlier. Only a careful study of Levitan’s biography allows us to draw a final conclusion. In the spring of 1888, the artist traveled by steamboat along the Oka River to Nizhny Novgorod and further up the Volga. During the journey, he was captivated by the beauty of the small, quiet town of Plyos, which he saw for the first time that year. He decided to stay there for some time and later established a studio, returning there over the next two summers. Thus, the “Poltava” study “Watermill” could only have been painted in 1888, between Levitan’s first arrival in Plyos and the completion of “Autumn. Mill. Plyos.”

Levitan conceived the subject of “Autumn. Mill. Plyos” and gradually approached its realization through a series of studies. Even from the natural setting in “Watermill,” it is clear that the painting depicts the early days of autumn. The artist loved autumn — it resonated with his soul. Autumn landscapes dominate his oeuvre. “Watermill” shows nature at the turning point of the seasons, when summer and autumn have only begun their quiet dispute. The golden treetops add resonance, brightness, and a sense of surprise, while at the same time reminding us of the inexorable passage of time.

Isaac Levitan was born on August 18 (30, New Style), 1860, in the settlement of Kibarty (now Kibartai, Lithuania). He received his initial education at home under the guidance of his parents — his father was a teacher of foreign languages and later a railway employee. At the age of ten, he found himself in Moscow, where his family moved in search of a better life. At thirteen, he entered the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture.

His teacher Alexei Savrasov (1830–1897), who headed the landscape class, immediately recognized Levitan’s talent and instilled in him an inspired attitude toward nature and the ability to render even the simplest motif with lyricism and beauty. Another teacher, Vasily Polenov (1844–1927), taught not only technical aspects of plein air painting and the principles of conveying light and atmosphere but also introduced students to contemporary Western art — Barbizon painters, Impressionists, and others.

Levitan’s talent grew stronger, and his distinctive painterly manner attracted the attention of art connoisseurs and renowned collectors such as Pavel Tretyakov (1832–1898) and Savva Mamontov (1841–1918). Everything seemed to be developing favorably in his artistic career, yet his private life was never easy.

He lost his parents early: his mother died when he was fifteen, and his father survived her by only two years. Together with his older brother and sisters, Levitan experienced poverty and humiliation. Due to lack of funds, he had to leave school, but thanks to his talent, he was allowed to continue studying free of charge. To earn a living, he fulfilled commissions, gave painting lessons, and created lithographs and drawings for journals. He devoted all his time to work, honing his mastery. His diligence earned him a scholarship from the Moscow governor-general and commissions, improving his financial situation. However, the assassination attempt on Tsar Alexander II in 1879 and the subsequent expulsion of Jews from Moscow once again threatened his studies.

That time, he managed to remain in Moscow — thanks to his teachers and friends.

In the early 1880s, Isaac Levitan became a renowned artist. He could afford to travel, acquaint himself with Western art, and absorb the achievements of other schools. Yet his heart disease, from which he had suffered since childhood, began to take its toll. To improve his health, he traveled to Crimea, where he continued to work with inspiration. He also visited Italy, France, and Finland.

In 1890, Levitan joined the Society for Traveling Art Exhibitions, and in 1898 he became an Academician of landscape painting at the School. This was the period of his triumph and an attempt to assert himself against fate. Yet despite his relatively young age, his health began to deteriorate rapidly.

His fragile physical and mental condition led him to reflect on existence, the search for meaning, the awareness of inevitable early death, and attempts either to accept it or escape from it. The theme of escape is evident in his behavior: he could suddenly burst into tears during a conversation or leave abruptly without explanation; at times, he disappeared for days, and even the police refused to search for him, being familiar with his habits.

In a sense, Levitan’s life was a conscious opposition to death. He defended himself through tireless work and the feelings that arose in his soul while painting nature. Painting was his only solace — a way to concentrate within a space and create his own unique world filled with delicate emotions and inner experiences. Work brought relief to his tormented soul. Levitan deeply felt the harmony of nature, the profound calm of the world, and masterfully embodied these sensations in his works.

The theme of inevitable death is undoubtedly present in Levitan’s art — not directly, but on the level of feeling. In his paintings, we see nature depicted by a gravely ill person, yet at the same time we understand that only an enlightened soul could so precisely convey the emotion of contemplating nature’s beauty as if for the last time. Levitan knew that each day might be his last, and therefore he worked on every painting as if it were his final one — without haste, prolonging the moment, stopping time.

And indeed, the founder of the “unobtrusive” Russian landscape succeeded in stopping time through his genius. Life continues on his canvases; nature enchants with a tranquility that was so lacking in the artist’s real life. His landscapes evoke a wide spectrum of emotions: peace, anxiety, gentle sadness, admiration, uplift, empathy.

Isaac Levitan had a highly sensitive artistic nature and a subtle perception of reality and human character. He remained friends until the end of his life with the doctor and writer Anton Chekhov (1860–1904), whose sister, Maria, was Levitan’s first love. He admired Tchaikovsky’s music and was a frequent guest at fashionable salons, where he mingled with prominent figures of his time — actors, scientists, composers. This deepened his aesthetic sensibility and his ability to perceive the multifaceted nature of the world.

Levitan’s personality, character, and difficult fate were integral to his unique talent. Without such a fate, would he have become the artist he was? His art is profoundly realistic and transcendent. When we look at his works, it feels as though Levitan balances between two worlds — the earthly and the heavenly — as if seen through the eyes of a celestial being. The modest nature in his paintings is imbued with peace, eternal calm, and harmony that evokes a sense of beauty and a poignant awareness of inevitable loss.

Isaac Levitan eternally inscribed his name in the history of late nineteenth-century painting. Thus, when we find ourselves face to face with his works, beyond rational explanation, we fall into a unique spell of Levitan’s art — into a radiant harmony of extraordinary power — and inevitably begin to reflect on eternity.

2020

Original article: https://www.gallery.pl.ua/77isaak-levitan-uslavlennya-lyubovi-prirodi.html

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6TQO5U4qD0&t=25s

#Levitan #levitanIsaak #ArticleaboutLevitan