Isaac Levitan

description

A Russian artist, a famous and unique master of the «mood landscape», who expressed the connection between a person’s destiny, movements of their soul and the nature. In less than 25 years, we created almost 1000 paintings, many drawings and sketches. Having the title of a «free artist”, then an academician; held landscape classes at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture.

Key ideas:

– Among the peculiarities of Levitan’s landscapes, there is not only truly unique coloristic talent of their author, but also his exceptional worldview. In the words of Albert Schweitzer, it is “a reverence for life and nature.”

– The profound consciousness of a spiritual connection with the elements of nature is his key idea. It is known that Levitan treated trees and flowers as living beings, able to rejoice or be sad, feel and reach for the sun.

– Numerous melancholic and expressively sad images, sometimes due to very difficult life conflicts, are not an emotional or moral foundation of Levitan’s creativity. Not gloom, but ecstatic and selfless – literally to tears – adoration of nature is inherent in the master’s paintings.

– Wet haze or clarity of air, lyrics of cloudy sky or joy of clear sky, quivering or silence of trees – everything is created by the artist as a holistic musical imagery and constitutes the unique merit of Levitan’s soulful art.

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1860

1870

1879

1885

1886

1888

1889 - 1890

1896

1898

1899 - 1900

1900

The birth of the artist

On the 30th of August, the second son named Isaac was born into a poor Jewish intelligent family of a foreign language teacher, in a small village on the western outskirts of Russia near the Kibarta railway station and the border town of Verzhbolovo.

The family moved to Moscow

The family moved to Moscow. Isaac entered the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture.

Levitan was expelled from the capital

In connection with the ban on the residence of Jews in Moscow, Levitan was expelled from the capital; lived in the surroundings of Balashikha – the village of Saltykovka for 2 years.

Worked on the scenery for the private opera of Mamontov

Worked on the scenery for the private opera of Mamontov.

Went to the Crimea

Went to the Crimea; within two months, he created several dozens of sketches, which were exhibited by the Periodic Exhibition of the Moscow Society of Art Lovers with great success and became a new word in the artistic depiction of a blessed land. Received (in the absence of Savrasov) the diploma of a “free artist”.

Journey through the Oka

Journey through the Oka and the discovery of the beauty of the small and quiet town of Plyos, where the artist spent productive summer seasons, became important for his work.

Headed the landscape class at the School of Fine Arts

Headed the landscape class at the School of Fine Arts of artist-architect A. O. Gunst. First time traveled to Western Europe, where he saw modern painting presented at the Paris World Exhibition.

A joint exhibition of I. Levitan, A. Popov, V. Simov was successfully held in Odessa

A joint exhibition of I. Levitan, A. Popov, V. Simov was successfully held in Odessa.

He became an academician

He became an academician and began to lead a landscape class in the alma mater. His paintings were presented at the “Exhibition of Russian and Finnish artists.”

Participated in the exhibitions of "World of Art"

Participated in the exhibitions of “World of Art”.

The artist died of pulmonary hemorrhage

In the spring, after returning from Paris, he caught a cold during a trip with students for etudes. On July 22, have not lived one month until his 40th birthday, the artist died of pulmonary hemorrhage.