ISAAC LEVITAN, 1890s - The Fog over water / oil on canvas, 40.0 x 62.0 cm.
ИСААК ЛЕВИТАН, 1890-е - Туман над водой
☆📝
Location: The Vasnetsov Brothers Vyatka Art Museum, Vyatka, Russia.
Source: goskatalog.ru/portal/#/collections?id=578627
The picture ‘Fog over the Water’ belongs to the 1890s. Levitan managed to catch the moment when thick fumes are just beginning to cover the ground. One more moment and everything in nature will disappear. In this natural phenomenon, the artist saw for himself a difficult, but interesting task: to convey a damp, foggy atmosphere at nightfall, disappearing space, a slow fading of the color of the earth and the cold light of the moon. There is also a noticeable departure from realism and tendency to general forms. The artist conveyed the mood and state of mind. It is possible that the illness that tormented him, or gloomy thoughts were reflected in this canvas.
The landscape ‘Fog over the Water’ is deeply lyrical, even elegiac. The artist managed to subtly relay the nuances of the environment and the modulation of light in the atmosphere of evening nature. The color fades away while retaining its certainty. The restrained coloring of the landscape projects perfectly the mood of quiet sadness. It should be noted that the artist also used various techniques to achieve the desired effects. Microscopic examination showed that the soil in the painting is two-layer: the lower layer is red-brown, while the upper one is white, dense, completely overlapping with the lower one. In some places, you can see how the author tried to remove the already dried paint. Probably, the artist originally had another version of the same composition, where the half of the moon was to the left, and then a new moon appeared, but somewhat smaller.
ISAAC LEVITAN, 1890s - The Fog over water / oil on canvas, 40.0 x 62.0 cm.
ИСААК ЛЕВИТАН, 1890-е - Туман над водой
☆📝
Location: The Vasnetsov Brothers Vyatka Art Museum, Vyatka, Russia.
Source: goskatalog.ru/portal/#/collections?id=578627
The picture ‘Fog over the Water’ belongs to the 1890s. Levitan managed to catch the moment when thick fumes are just beginning to cover the ground. One more moment and everything in nature will disappear. In this natural phenomenon, the artist saw for himself a difficult, but interesting task: to convey a damp, foggy atmosphere at nightfall, disappearing space, a slow fading of the color of the earth and the cold light of the moon. There is also a noticeable departure from realism and tendency to general forms. The artist conveyed the mood and state of mind. It is possible that the illness that tormented him, or gloomy thoughts were reflected in this canvas.
The landscape ‘Fog over the Water’ is deeply lyrical, even elegiac. The artist managed to subtly relay the nuances of the environment and the modulation of light in the atmosphere of evening nature. The color fades away while retaining its certainty. The restrained coloring of the landscape projects perfectly the mood of quiet sadness. It should be noted that the artist also used various techniques to achieve the desired effects. Microscopic examination showed that the soil in the painting is two-layer: the lower layer is red-brown, while the upper one is white, dense, completely overlapping with the lower one. In some places, you can see how the author tried to remove the already dried paint. Probably, the artist originally had another version of the same composition, where the half of the moon was to the left, and then a new moon appeared, but somewhat smaller.