Isaak Levitan

Levitan's lyrical, expressive fin de siecle evocations of the Russian countryside are little known in the West and this book is an introduction to his life and work. It describes the artist's training in Moscow, his youthful visits to the Crimea and the Volga region and the creation of the 'mood landscapes' which won him early recognition. It highlights his motifs, typical of rural Russia and the innovative nature of his art; Levitan travelled extensively, if briefly, in Europe, visiting Berlin, Paris, Italy, Switzerland, Munich and Vienna and was thus, unlike most of his Russian contemporaries, well aware of artistic trends in the west. His experience of European painting added considerably to his vision in depicting the Russian terrain. His work was greatly admired by Diaghilev, Stanislavsky, Chekhov and Chaliapin.