Tuesday, November 9, 2021

Levitan's 'Water Margin'

When he painted "The Water Margin in 1898," Isaac Levitan had been suffering heart problems and knew he was nearing the end of his life  

Isaac Levitan (1868-1900) -- The Water Margin -- 1898

He said: "You probably think that my future landscapes will be soaked in pessimism, so to speak? Don’t worry, I love nature too much."

7 comments:

Jim Douglas said...

Regardless of how much time we have left remaining in our lives, we each have the blank canvas that sits before us today. Paint boldly!

R. Wesley Nipper said...

What a truly beautiful quote :')

Laura G. Young said...

So poignant, is Levitan. I can’t recall if I’ve mentioned the book, “Antosha & Levitasha: the shared lives of Anton Chekhov and Isaac Levitan” by Serge Gregory? It’s one of the few books in English that delves into Levitan’s close and complicated friendship with author/playwright Chekhov — as well all sorts of insights into his struggles as an artist. Highly recommended.

Speed2011 said...

How do I join this group? Please email me. mrclbueno56@gmail.com

James Gurney said...

Laura, thanks for that tip on Chekhov / Levitan. I've run across a few quotes by Chekhov, and I can't wait to learn what we can learn about painting from that book.

Speed2011 It's free to visit the blog, though I don't know how to let new people sign up for the subscription.

Jim and R. Wesley, so true!

Bill Marshall said...

This painting makes me wonder how much Levitan used photography (at least in as much as what was available at the time) just because, in my perception, the dark fields of color being so flat compared to the rest of the composition.

Bill

nobita said...

GOOD