Portrait of Isaac Ilyich Levitan

Isaac Ilyich Levitan Painting Reproductions 1 of 6

1860-1900

Russian Peredvizhniki Painter

Isaac Ilyich Levitan (August 30, 1860 - July 22 August 4 new style, 1900) was a classical Russian landscape painter who advanced the genre of the mood landscape.

Youth
Isaac Levitan was born in a shtetl of Kybartai, Kaunas region, Lithuania, into a poor but educated Jewish family. His father Elyashiv Levitan was the son of a rabbi, completed a Yeshiva and was self-educated. He taught German and French in Kaunas and later worked as a translator at a railway bridge construction for a French building company. At the beginning of 1870 the Levitan family moved to Moscow.

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 copying class Isaac transferred into a naturalistic class, and soon thereafter into a landscape class. Levitan's teachers were the famous Savrasov, V.G. Perov and Vasiliy Polenov. For his successes at school, Levitan was awarded a box of paints and two dozen brushes.

In 1875, his mother died, and his father fell seriously ill and became unable to support four children; he died in 1879. The family slipped into abject poverty. As patronage for Levitan's talent and achievements 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. In 1880 his painting "Autumn day. Sokolniki" was bought by famous philanthropist and art collector Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov.

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, sculpturing and architecture, Levitan befriended Konstantin Korovin, Mikhail Nesterov, architect Fyodor Shekhtel, and the painter Nikolai Chekhov, whose famous brother Anton Chekhov became the artist's closest friend. 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 S.I.Mamontov.

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

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 examples of these qualities include The Vladimirka Road, 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.

Late life
In the summer of 1890 Levitan went to Yuryevets 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.

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, 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.

Isaac Levitan's hugely influential art heritage consists of more than a thousand paintings, among them watercolors, pastels, graphics, and illustrations.

122 Isaac Levitan Paintings

Sunny Day. Spring, 1877 by Isaac Levitan | Painting Reproduction

Sunny Day. Spring 1877

Oil Painting
$438
Canvas Print
$50.22
SKU: LEV-957
Isaac Ilyich Levitan
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection

Evening. The Golden Pool, 1889 by Isaac Levitan | Painting Reproduction

Evening. The Golden Pool 1889

Oil Painting
$711
Canvas Print
$74.32
SKU: LEV-958
Isaac Ilyich Levitan
Original Size: 84.2 x 142 cm
The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia

Above the Eternal Peace, 1894 by Isaac Levitan | Painting Reproduction

Above the Eternal Peace 1894

Oil Painting
$642
Canvas Print
$54.53
SKU: LEV-959
Isaac Ilyich Levitan
Original Size: 150 x 206 cm
The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia

The Lake. Russia, 1895 by Isaac Levitan | Painting Reproduction

The Lake. Russia 1895

Oil Painting
$671
Canvas Print
$75.81
SKU: LEV-960
Isaac Ilyich Levitan
Original Size: 149 x 208 cm
State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia

March, 1895 by Isaac Levitan | Painting Reproduction

March 1895

Oil Painting
$711
Canvas Print
$62.00
SKU: LEV-961
Isaac Ilyich Levitan
Original Size: 60 x 75 cm
The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia

Twilight. Haystacks, 1899 by Isaac Levitan | Painting Reproduction

Twilight. Haystacks 1899

Oil Painting
$542
Canvas Print
$60.06
SKU: LEV-962
Isaac Ilyich Levitan
Original Size: 59.8 x 74.6 cm
The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia

The Quiet Abode, 1890 by Isaac Levitan | Painting Reproduction

The Quiet Abode 1890

Oil Painting
$644
Canvas Print
$59.64
SKU: LEV-963
Isaac Ilyich Levitan
Original Size: 88 x 108 cm
The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia

Birch Grove, 1889 by Isaac Levitan | Painting Reproduction

Birch Grove 1889

Oil Painting
$535
Canvas Print
$50.22
SKU: LEV-8009
Isaac Ilyich Levitan
Original Size: 28 x 50 cm
The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia

Spring, High Water, 1897 by Isaac Levitan | Painting Reproduction

Spring, High Water 1897

Oil Painting
$622
Canvas Print
$65.45
SKU: LEV-8010
Isaac Ilyich Levitan
Original Size: 64.2 x 57.5 cm
The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia

Spring in Italy, 1890 by Isaac Levitan | Painting Reproduction

Spring in Italy 1890

Oil Painting
$525
Canvas Print
$50.22
SKU: LEV-8011
Isaac Ilyich Levitan
Original Size: 19.5 x 32.5 cm
Private Collection

Early Spring, 1898 by Isaac Levitan | Painting Reproduction

Early Spring 1898

Oil Painting
$460
Canvas Print
$50.22
SKU: LEV-8012
Isaac Ilyich Levitan
Original Size: 41.5 x 66.3 cm
State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia

The Evening Bell Tolls, 1892 by Isaac Levitan | Painting Reproduction

The Evening Bell Tolls 1892

Oil Painting
$711
Canvas Print
$59.64
SKU: LEV-8013
Isaac Ilyich Levitan
Original Size: 87 x 108 cm
State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia

Self Portrait, c.1880/90 by Isaac Levitan | Painting Reproduction

Self Portrait c.1880/90

Oil Painting
$393
Canvas Print
$56.91
SKU: LEV-8014
Isaac Ilyich Levitan
Original Size: 58 x 39 cm
The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia

The Twilight Moon, 1899 by Isaac Levitan | Painting Reproduction

The Twilight Moon 1899

Oil Painting
$512
Canvas Print
$51.58
SKU: LEV-8015
Isaac Ilyich Levitan
Original Size: 49.5 x 61.3 cm
State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia

Spring in the Forest, 1882 by Isaac Levitan | Painting Reproduction

Spring in the Forest 1882

Oil Painting
$452
Canvas Print
$50.22
SKU: LEV-8016
Isaac Ilyich Levitan
Original Size: 43.4 x 35.7 cm
The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia

Golden Autumn, 1895 by Isaac Levitan | Painting Reproduction

Golden Autumn 1895

Oil Painting
$693
Canvas Print
$50.22
SKU: LEV-8017
Isaac Ilyich Levitan
Original Size: 82 x 126 cm
The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia

June. Summer, c.1890/00 by Isaac Levitan | Painting Reproduction

June. Summer c.1890/00

Oil Painting
$620
Canvas Print
$58.70
SKU: LEV-8018
Isaac Ilyich Levitan
Original Size: 43.5 x 61 cm
The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia

Water Lilies, 1895 by Isaac Levitan | Painting Reproduction

Water Lilies 1895

Oil Painting
$669
Canvas Print
$54.94
SKU: LEV-8019
Isaac Ilyich Levitan
Original Size: 92 x 128 cm
Astrakhan State Gallery B.M. Kustodiev, Astrakhan, Russia

On Lake (The Tver Province), 1893 by Isaac Levitan | Painting Reproduction

On Lake (The Tver Province) 1893

Oil Painting
$732
Canvas Print
$51.06
SKU: LEV-8020
Isaac Ilyich Levitan
Original Size: 109 x 163 cm
The Saratov State Art Museum A. N. Radishchev, Saratov, Russia

Early Spring, c.1890 by Isaac Levitan | Painting Reproduction

Early Spring c.1890

Oil Painting
$504
Canvas Print
$50.22
SKU: LEV-8021
Isaac Ilyich Levitan
Original Size: 49 x 72 cm
Art Gallery, Taganrog, Russia

Autumn. Hunter, 1880 by Isaac Levitan | Painting Reproduction

Autumn. Hunter 1880

Oil Painting
$633
Canvas Print
$50.22
SKU: LEV-8022
Isaac Ilyich Levitan
Original Size: 93.8 x 68 cm
Regional Art Gallery, Tver, Russia

After Rain in Ples, 1889 by Isaac Levitan | Painting Reproduction

After Rain in Ples 1889

Oil Painting
$693
Canvas Print
$50.22
SKU: LEV-8023
Isaac Ilyich Levitan
Original Size: 80 x 125 cm
The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia

Savvinskaya Sloboda near Zvenigorod, 1884 by Isaac Levitan | Painting Reproduction

Savvinskaya Sloboda near Zvenigorod 1884

Oil Painting
$594
Canvas Print
$74.17
SKU: LEV-8024
Isaac Ilyich Levitan
Original Size: 44 x 67 cm
The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia

Fresh Wind on the Volga, 1895 by Isaac Levitan | Painting Reproduction

Fresh Wind on the Volga 1895

Oil Painting
$682
Canvas Print
$77.17
SKU: LEV-8025
Isaac Ilyich Levitan
Original Size: 72 x 123 cm
The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia

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