Lot Essay
Executed in 1895.
Born in Kyrbartai, Lithuania, Levitan studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, living in extreme poverty. In 1874-75 when the Board of Treachers awarded him a box of paints and brushes for his progress, he was already showing a preference for landscape painting. In 1876 he was accepted into the studio of Aleksei Savrasov, and exhibited two canvases at the 5th 'Wanderers' Moscow Exhibition.
In 1880 Levitan's entry 'Skol'niki Park' in his school's second Students Exhibition was bought be Pavel Tret'iakov. This purchase triggered public recognition of Levitan's talent.
Probably the most important landscape painter of late 19th Century Russia, Levitan's atmospheric depiction of the countryside gave a sense of continuity and national identity to his admirers. His work encompassed the vigour of the Wanderers' movement and the greater sophistication of early 20th Century Russian art.
1895 marked the beginning of the last phase of his career, a phase characterized by his desire to synthesize all his previous achievements. From this time onwards he abandoned themes of hopelessness and melancholy and expressed his newfound optimism in such works as 'March', 'Spring - last snow' and 'Golden Autumn' (all 1895) and 'Spring Flood' and 'Autumn Track' (both 1897). This is a study for 'Spring - last snow' (now in the collection of M.N. Sokolov, Moscow), executed in Gorko, and has the power to evoke in us a sense of wonder at the natural cycle. Another study for this painting is now at the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.
Born in Kyrbartai, Lithuania, Levitan studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, living in extreme poverty. In 1874-75 when the Board of Treachers awarded him a box of paints and brushes for his progress, he was already showing a preference for landscape painting. In 1876 he was accepted into the studio of Aleksei Savrasov, and exhibited two canvases at the 5th 'Wanderers' Moscow Exhibition.
In 1880 Levitan's entry 'Skol'niki Park' in his school's second Students Exhibition was bought be Pavel Tret'iakov. This purchase triggered public recognition of Levitan's talent.
Probably the most important landscape painter of late 19th Century Russia, Levitan's atmospheric depiction of the countryside gave a sense of continuity and national identity to his admirers. His work encompassed the vigour of the Wanderers' movement and the greater sophistication of early 20th Century Russian art.
1895 marked the beginning of the last phase of his career, a phase characterized by his desire to synthesize all his previous achievements. From this time onwards he abandoned themes of hopelessness and melancholy and expressed his newfound optimism in such works as 'March', 'Spring - last snow' and 'Golden Autumn' (all 1895) and 'Spring Flood' and 'Autumn Track' (both 1897). This is a study for 'Spring - last snow' (now in the collection of M.N. Sokolov, Moscow), executed in Gorko, and has the power to evoke in us a sense of wonder at the natural cycle. Another study for this painting is now at the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.