"Vladimirka" - a picture of Isaak Levitan

Isaak Levitan - master of Russian painting of the XIX century. His talent is due to the ability to enjoy a huge number of landscapes of Russian nature. One of the masterpieces of I. Levitan is the picture "Vladimirka", about which we will speak.

Painter of the Russian nature: becoming

The native land of the author of the painting "Vladimirka" Isaak Ilyich Levitan is a small Lithuanian town located near the border with Poland. The Levitan family was not very well off, and when Isaak was about 13 years old, the need forced them to leave their hometown and move in search of a better stake in Moscow.

Young talent, which since childhood has shown interest and ability to draw, enters the art school. The years of study were both full of vivid impressions and new discoveries, and were complicated by Jewish origin, as well as by the infatuation with landscape painting, which at that time was not at the time a list of serious pictorial genres. However, thanks to the special sensitivity and support of teachers, remarkable Russian artists Savrasov, Perov and Polenov, the teaching as a whole was fruitful.

A special influence on the development of Levitan's talent was provided by the great writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov and the collector of Russian painting Pavel Tretyakov, who was one of the first to appreciate the young talent and bought several of his paintings for his gallery.

However, the status of the artist Levitan at the end of the school was not appropriated. He became only a teacher of calligraphy. But he remained faithful to the beauty of Russian nature.

Painter of Russian nature: climbing

Damaged health and constant nervous stress forced Isaac Ilyich to leave Moscow and go to the Crimea. It was in the Crimea that the artist painted the first landscapes, which were highly praised by critics. The next success was paintings on the theme of the Volga nature. These successes gave II Levitan financial independence. He was able to go to Europe, where he got acquainted with the work of the Impressionists, their vision of nature and the world in general.

Levitan's entry into the society of "Peredvizhniki" violated the existing stability of life. He was deported for a long time from Moscow. But this only gave additional impressions, reflected in the artist's work. He painted landscapes that glorify the beauty of Vladimir and Tver region.

Painting "Vladimirka"

The canvas was written by I. I. Levitan during the period of exile to the Vladimir province. The artist got acquainted with the infamous Vladimir tract, leading to hard labor in Siberia in 1892. It is this familiarity and the painting of Levitan "Vladimirka" is devoted to.

Turning to the artist's biography, we learn that the canvas was conceived near Gorodok (the so-called village) of the Vladimir province, near Boldino station, when Isaak Ilyich was on his way from hunting. The path of "shackles" at that time was practically not used as a pedestrian for hard labor. The development in the second half of the nineteenth century of a network of railways made it possible to send convicts by stage echelon.

Nevertheless, the creative nature could not fail to respond to the historical memory, concluded in the tract. The masterpiece of Levitan's painting reflects his experiences about the fate of the disenfranchised Russian people, about the sufferings of convicts, the hardships of their share.

Reflection of the theme of the road in Levitan's painting "Vladimirka"

Where does the road lead? Where did this symbol come from?

The image of the road, which extends into the distance, came into Levitan's work from the works of his teacher Vasily Perov.

In describing the picture of Levitan "Vladimirka" occurs the interpretation of the infinity of such a path as the endless patience of the long-suffering Russian people "from century to century". Contrasting the diversity of landscapes and the monotony of the long endless path is an association born of life: the path of martyrdom is monotonous and long, heavy, and it seems that it has no end. And life is bright and diverse, but it is so bright and beautiful - it is inaccessible and passes by, leaving "on the sidelines" of the person convicted of suffering. The ruggedness and unevenness of the road, broken by carts and convict shoes, the difficulty of traveling along this forgotten in the wilderness tract is a symbol of the hardships of the road.

A solitary traveler on the roadside personifies the loneliness of a convict who is left alone with these hardships, his submergence in himself, detachment from all earthly things. Breduschie in one bunch of others are the same - just a faceless mass, accompanying on the road. And only the white church and the blue sky with transparent white clouds are the only ray of light in the gray penal world, a small, almost phantom hope for deliverance and for the help of the Almighty.

A roadside post is depicted on the road. In art, such pillars usually symbolize some guiding landmarks. In this case it can be a place of rest for convicts on the way to a certain place for them. Perhaps this is a sign of some changes in the difficult share of the convict. Or maybe it is a symbol of turning in a worldview, comprehension of one's life path.

Painting "Vladimirka" painted in oil on canvas. Has a small size: 79 x 123 cm. Exhibited in Moscow, the State Tretyakov Gallery.