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Isaac Levitan
Isaac Ilyich Levitan (Russian: Исаа́к Ильи́ч Левита́н;
30 August [O.S. 18 August] 1860 – 4 August [O.S. 22
Isaac Levitan
July] 1900) was a classical Russian landscape painter who
advanced the genre of the "mood landscape".

Contents
Life and work
Youth
Early work
Friendship with Anton Chekhov
The landscape of mood
Later life
Legacy
Issac Levitan, Self portrait (1880)
Gallery
Born Isaac Ilyich Levitan
See also
30 August [O.S. 18
References August] 1860
Sources Kibarty, Augustów
Governorate,
External links
Congress Poland,
Russian Empire
Life and work Died 4 August [O.S. 22
July] 1900 (aged 39)
Moscow, Russian
Youth Empire
Nationality Russian
Isaac Levitan was born in a shtetl of Kibarty, Augustów
Governorate in Congress Poland, a part of the Russian Empire Education Member Academy of
(present-day Lithuania) into a poor but educated Jewish Arts (1898)
family. His father Elyashiv Levitan was the son of a rabbi, Known for Painting
completed a Yeshiva and was self-educated. He taught German
and French in Kowno and later worked as a translator at a Notable work Autumn day.
railway bridge construction for a French building company. At Sokolniki (1879)
the beginning of 1870 the Levitan family moved to Moscow. Over Eternal Peace
(1894)
In September 1873, Isaac Levitan entered the Moscow School
of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture where his older brother
Avel had already studied for two years. After a year in the

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copying class Isaac transferred into a naturalistic class, and Movement Realism,
soon thereafter into a landscape class. Levitan's teachers were Peredvizhniki,
the famous Alexei Savrasov, Vasily Perov and Vasily Polenov. Impressionism
In 1875 the school admitted Nikolai Chekhov, brother of the
Russian writer, Anton Chekhov who would later become Awards Silver Medal (1877)
Levitan's closest friend.[1] Patron(s) Pavel Tretyakov,
Savva Mamontov
In 1875, his mother died, and his father fell seriously ill and
became unable to support four children; he died in 1877. The
family slipped into abject poverty. As patronage for Levitan's talent and achievements, his Jewish
origins and to keep him in the school, he was given a scholarship.

Early work

In 1877, Isaac Levitan's works were first publicly exhibited and

earned favorable recognition from the press. After Alexander
Soloviev's assassination attempt on Alexander II, in May 1879,
mass deportations of Jews from big cities of the Russian
Empire forced the family to move to the suburb of Saltykovka,
but in the fall officials responded to pressure from art devotees,
and Levitan was allowed to return. During that year Levitan
painted Осенний день. Сокольники (Autumn day. Sokolniki),
which depicted a long path in a Moscow park. When Nikolay
Chekhov saw the work he told Levitan the path needed
someone walking on it, so Chekhov painted a woman in a black
dress walking toward the viewer. This kind of collaboration
between a genre painter such as Chekhov and a landscape
painter such as Levitan was common in the school.[1] In 1880
the famous philanthropist and art collector Pavel Mikhailovich
Autumn day. Sokolniki. 1879
Tretyakov bought the painting for 100 rubles. Tretyakov
continued to purchase Levitan's works and eventually acquired
20 additional paintings (See also Tretyakov Gallery).[2]

Savrasov, who was influenced by painters in the Barbizon

school, such as Camille Corot, took students outside to paint en
plein air. Previously, the Russian countryside had been
considered too uninteresting for painting, but for Levitan
landscapes became the center of his work. Savrasov taught
Levitan to paint details in his landscapes and to bring his
emotions into his works.[3] But by 1883 Levitan had grown
discouraged with the Moscow School of Painting and decided to
enter a landscape painting in the hopes of winning a silver
medal which would qualify him to be a classed artist. Levitan
Levitan. Portrait by Valentin Serov
showed the painting to Savrasov, who had been drinking
(1893)
heavily and had stopped teaching at the school; Savrasov wrote
"silver medal" on the back of the canvas. The school rejected
the painting, and Levitan stopped attending classes.[4] One
possible explanation for why the school snubbed one of its best students was because the disgraced
Savrasov had commented on the back of the canvas.[5][6] Korovin repeated gossip that

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antisemitism played a part in the rejection. The Soviet writer,

Konstantin Paustovsky, repeated the contention that some
thought a Jew should not be painting the Russian countryside.
[6][7]

In the spring of 1884 Levitan participated in the mobile art

exhibition by the group known as the Peredvizhniki and in 1891
became a member of the Peredvizhniki partnership. During his
study in the Moscow School of painting, sculpting and
architecture, Levitan befriended Konstantin Korovin, Mikhail Lake. Russia 1900. The last,
Nesterov, architect Fyodor Shekhtel, and the painter Nikolay unfinished Levitan painting.
Chekhov. Levitan often visited Chekhov and some think
Levitan was in love with his sister, Maria Pavlovna Chekhova.

In the early 1880s Levitan collaborated with the Chekhov brothers on the illustrated magazine
Moscow and illustrated the M. Fabritsius edition Kremlin. Together with Korovin in 1885-1886 he
painted scenery for performances of the Private Russian opera of Savva Mamontov, a railroad
baron and art patron, who developed an artists' colony 37 miles from Moscow. In his memoir,
Polenov wrote that when the curtain rose for the underwater scene Levitan painted with Victor
Vasnetsov for the opera Rusalka the audience applauded.[8]

In the 1880s he participated in the drawing and watercolor gatherings at Polenov's house.[9]

Friendship with Anton Chekhov

By the mid-1880s Levitan's friendship with Chekhov had deepened, and Levitan began spending
time with the Chekhov family near Babkino where the Chekhovs had a house. During his first
summer there he painted The River Istra (1885) and gave it to Chekhov. He also painted Twilight
River Istra (1885) with a darker, more somber palette. Chekhov was fond of creating pantomimes
for his guests, with Levitan often ridiculed for playing the villain, the victim and the alien Jew,
ostensibly all in jest.[10]

In 1892 Levitan had a falling out with Chekhov over The Grasshopper, a story Chekhov published
in the "Sever" (North) magazine, which Levitan believed was based on his romantic relationship
with Sofia Kuvshinnikova. Although Chekhov apologized the two remained estranged until January
1895.[11]

The landscape of mood

Levitan's work was a profound response to the lyrical charm of the Russian landscape. Levitan did
not paint urban landscapes; with the exception of the View of Simonov Monastery (whereabouts
unknown), mentioned by Nesterov, the city of Moscow appears only in the painting Illumination of
the Kremlin. During the late 1870s he often worked in the vicinity of Moscow, and created the
special variant of the "landscape of mood", in which the shape and condition of nature are
spiritualized, and become carriers of conditions of the human soul (Autumn Day. Sokolniki, 1879).
During work in Ostankino, he painted fragments of the mansion’s house and park, but he was most
fond of poetic places in the forest or modest countryside. Characteristic of his work is a hushed and
nearly melancholic reverie amidst pastoral landscapes largely devoid of human presence. Fine

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examples of these qualities include Vladimirka, (1892), Evening Bells, (1892), and Eternal Rest,
(1894), all in the Tretyakov Gallery. Though his late work displayed familiarity with
Impressionism, his palette was generally muted, and his tendencies were more naturalistic and
poetic than optical or scientific.

Birch trees, which grow freely in central Russia and are considered a national emblem of spring
and renewal,[12] were a common motif in Levitan's work, which he painted in various seasons. In
Spring Flood (1897) the thin curved white trunks, devoid of foliage, are reflected in the floodwaters
left by the melting snows from nearby mountains. Birch Grove (1885–89), another spring scene,
with dappled sunlight and low viewpoint, was painted in an Impressionist style. Golden Autumn
(1895) shows a grove of autumn birches with orange and yellow foliage beneath a cloud streaked
sky which is reflected in a dark blue river winding up from the lower right of the frame. Levitan
painted not only the trees, but the light itself illuminating them, and this was most evident in a
painting such as Moonlit Night: Main Road (1897) where two row of birches line a straight road in
moonlight. The white trunks shine through the moonlight against the darkening leaves and fields.
His ability to capture the various qualities of light has been compared to Claude Monet, but it is
unlikely that he used Monet's work as a model for his own.[13]

Later life

In the summer of 1890 Levitan went to Yuryevets (Юрьевец) and among numerous landscapes
and etudes he painted The View of Krivooserski monastery. So the plan of one of his best pictures,
The Silent Monastery, was born. The image of a silent Monastery and planked bridges over the
river, connecting it with the outside world, expressed the artist's spiritual reflections. It is known
that this picture made a strong impression on Chekhov.[14] By 1891 Levitan was a member of the
Association of Itinerant (or roving) Exhibitions, whose mission was to create a democratic art that
was accessible to as many ordinary people as possible, but unlike many of his fellow artists who
sought to deliver a message about the hard life of the Russian people, Levitan sought simply to
paint beauty. Levitan eventually contributed to exhibitions by the World of Art group, a younger
generation of artists who believed beauty as the goal of art.[15]

In September 1892 Jews were again expelled from Moscow and Levitan left the city for Boldino.
His friends' pleadings enabled him to return by December of that year.[11]

In 1897, already world-famous, he was elected to the Imperial Academy of Arts and in 1898 he was
named the head of the Landscape Studio at his alma mater.

Levitan spent the last year of his life at Chekhov's home in Crimea. In spite of the effects of a
terminal illness (he suffered from a heart condition for much of his life), his last works are
increasingly filled with light. They reflect tranquility and the eternal beauty of Russian nature.

He was buried in Dorogomilovo Jewish cemetery. In April 1941 Levitan's remains were moved to
the Novodevichy Cemetery, next to Chekhov's necropolis. Levitan did not have a family or children.

In the 1890s, he had an on-again, off-again affair with an older married woman; the painter Sofia
Kuvshinnikova, which led to a small scandal — and a play by Anton Chekhov ("The Grasshopper")
and a threatened duel with the playwright. Chekhov published the story in Sevyer (North), in
January 1892.[16] The story concerns a lecherous man who has an affair with a married woman,
whose husband dies of an accident (that may have been suicide) after she leaves him. Levitan and

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Kuvshinnikova were both offended although the central figure in the

story was a young wife and Kuvshinnikova was 42. Moreover, she
was dark haired and a talented painter, whereas Chekhov's character
was blonde and not an artist. The stronger similarity was that her
husband was tolerant of her disloyalty to him, as was "The
Grasshopper" who forgave his wife's indiscretions.[17] She, Levitan
and her husband travelled together and were considered a ménage à
trois.[18]

Isaac Levitan's hugely influential art heritage consists of more than a

thousand paintings, among them watercolors, pastels, graphics, and
illustrations.

Legacy
During the year after his death an exhibit of several hundred Levitan Portrait of Sofia
paintings was shown in Moscow and then in St. Petersburg. His Kuvshinnikova by Levitan
works appeared on the covers of Russian language textbooks and (1888)
school children learned of his love for his native land.[19]

A minor planet 3566 Levitan, discovered by Soviet astronomer Lyudmila Zhuravlyova in 1979 is
named after him.[20]

Gallery

Sunny Day Autumn Savvinskaya sloboda near Bridge. Savvinskaya

(1876) Landscape Zvenigorod (1884) sloboda
(1880)

Birch Forest (1885-1889) Spring, High Evening Bells (1892)

Water

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Vladimirka, 1892 Over Eternal Peace Fresh Wind. Volga (1891–1895)

(1894)

March (1895) Golden Autumn (1895) Water lilies (1895)

Silence (1898) Plyos (1889) Spring in Italy (1890)

Dusk (1900)

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See also
List of Russian artists

References
1. Gregory, Serge (2015). Antosha & Levitasha. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press.
pp. 10–11. ISBN 978-0-87580-731-7.
2. Gregory, Serge (2015). Antosha & Levitasha. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press. p. 11.
ISBN 978-0-87580-731-7.
3. Gregory, Serge (2015). Antosha & Levitasha. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press. p. 16.
ISBN 978-0-87580-731-7.
4. Gregory, Serge (2015). Antosha & Levitasha. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press.
pp. 20–21. ISBN 978-0-87580-731-7.
5. "Levitan | Isaac Levitan" (https://cathylocke.wordpress.com/isaac-levitan/). Musings on Art. 27
March 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
6. Gregory, Serge (2015). Antosha & Levitasha. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press. p. 21.
ISBN 978-0-87580-731-7.
7. "The artist beside himself: 1901: Isaac Levitan gains posthumous acclaim.(russian calendar)
(Calendar) - Library Search" (https://librarysearch.temple.edu/articles/gale_ofa316797200).
librarysearch.temple.edu. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
8. Gregory, Serge (2015). Antosha & Levitasha. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press. p. 27.
ISBN 978-0-87580-731-7.
9. Fiodorov-Davydov, Alexei: "Levitan", page 166-7. Aurora Art Publishers, 1988.
10. Gregory, Serge (2015). Antosha & Levitasha. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press. p. 40.
ISBN 978-0-87580-731-7.
11. Chizhmak, Margarita (2010). "Isaac Levitan's Life and Work Timeline" (https://www.tretyakovgal
lerymagazine.com/articles/isaac-levitan/isaac-levitans-life-and-work-timeline). Heritage. 28: 3 –
via JSTOR.
12. "Birch Tree as a Symbol of Russia :: Manners, Customs and Traditions :: Culture & Arts ::
Russia-InfoCentre" (http://russia-ic.com/culture_art/traditions/5320). russia-ic.com. Retrieved
9 March 2022.
13. King, Averil (2004). "Levitan and the Silver Birch" (https://librarysearch.temple.edu/articles/proq
uest1367039402). Apollo. 160: 46–51.
14. "Isaac Levitan. Quiet Abode. The description of a picture. Masterpieces of Russian painting |
Русские художники. Russian Artists" (http://www.tanais.info/art/en/levitan6more.html).
www.tanais.info. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
15. Eidelman, Tamara (2011). "The Artist Beside Himself" (https://librarysearch.temple.edu/articles/
proquest854588961). Russian Life. 54 (2): 17–19 – via JSTOR.
16. Muratova, K. D. Commentaries to Попрыгунья. The Works by A.P. Chekhov in 12 volumes.
Khudozhestvennaya Literatura. Moscow, 1960. Vol. 7, pp. 516-517
17. Donald Rayfield (1998). Anton Chekhov: A Life (https://books.google.com/books?id=9Z_vTUU
YxkgC&pg=PA269). Northwestern University Press. pp. 269–. ISBN 978-0-8101-1795-2.
18. Donald Rayfield (1998). Anton Chekhov: A Life (https://books.google.com/books?id=9Z_vTUU
YxkgC&pg=PA269). Northwestern University Press. pp. 221–225. ISBN 978-0-8101-1795-2.

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19. Eidelman, Tamara (2011). "The Artist Beside Himself". Russian Life. 54 (2): 17–19.
ProQuest 854588961 (https://search.proquest.com/docview/854588961).
20. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names (https://books.google.com/books?
q=3566+Levitan+1979+YA9) (5th ed.). New York: Springer Verlag. p. 300.
ISBN 3-540-00238-3.

Sources
A. A. Fyodorov-Davidov: Levitan, Aurora Art Publishers, Leningrad, 1981
A. King: Isaak Levitan. Lyrical Landscape, Philipp Wilson Publishers Ltd., London, 2006
L. Mehulic: Isaac Ilych Levitan and Evening Bells from The Mimara Museum, Muzej Mimara,
Zagreb, 2009

External links
Works by or about Isaac Levitan (https://archive.org/search.php?query=%28%28subject%3A%
22Levitan%2C%20Isaac%20Ilyich%22%20OR%20subject%3A%22Levitan%2C%20Isaac%20
I%2E%22%20OR%20subject%3A%22Levitan%2C%20I%2E%20I%2E%22%20OR%20subjec
t%3A%22Isaac%20Ilyich%20Levitan%22%20OR%20subject%3A%22Isaac%20I%2E%20Levit
an%22%20OR%20subject%3A%22I%2E%20I%2E%20Levitan%22%20OR%20subject%3A%2
2Levitan%2C%20Isaac%22%20OR%20subject%3A%22Isaac%20Levitan%22%20OR%20cre
ator%3A%22Isaac%20Ilyich%20Levitan%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Isaac%20I%2E%20L
evitan%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22I%2E%20I%2E%20Levitan%22%20OR%20creator%3
A%22I%2E%20Ilyich%20Levitan%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Levitan%2C%20Isaac%20Ily
ich%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Levitan%2C%20Isaac%20I%2E%22%20OR%20creator%
3A%22Levitan%2C%20I%2E%20I%2E%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Levitan%2C%20I%2
E%20Ilyich%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Isaac%20Levitan%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22
Levitan%2C%20Isaac%22%20OR%20title%3A%22Isaac%20Ilyich%20Levitan%22%20OR%2
0title%3A%22Isaac%20I%2E%20Levitan%22%20OR%20title%3A%22I%2E%20I%2E%20Levi
tan%22%20OR%20title%3A%22Isaac%20Levitan%22%20OR%20description%3A%22Isaac%
20Ilyich%20Levitan%22%20OR%20description%3A%22Isaac%20I%2E%20Levitan%22%20O
R%20description%3A%22I%2E%20I%2E%20Levitan%22%20OR%20description%3A%22Levi
tan%2C%20Isaac%20Ilyich%22%20OR%20description%3A%22Levitan%2C%20Isaac%20I%
2E%22%20OR%20description%3A%22Isaac%20Levitan%22%20OR%20description%3A%22
Levitan%2C%20Isaac%22%29%20OR%20%28%221860-1900%22%20AND%20Levitan%2
9%29%20AND%20%28-mediatype:software%29) at Internet Archive
Official Isaak Levitan web-site (http://isaak-levitan.ru)
Levitan works at the Russian Art Gallery (http://www.russianartgallery.org/levitan/)
Levitan at MuseumSyndicate (http://www.museumsyndicate.com/artist.php?artist=219)
Tears... again these bitter tears… (http://www.tanais.info/art/en/levitan97more.html) Isaac
Levitan at Tanais Gallery

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