In 1860, a boy was born in the Lithuanian city of Kibartai, who later became a unique contemporary artist. It was named Isaac, the name Levitan inherited from his father. At the age of 10, he moved to Moscow with his family, since then the spirit of Russia has not left any of his paintings.
That is why it is customary to consider him exclusively a Russian artist, despite the fact that he was born in another country and had Lithuanian roots. Isaac graduated from the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in 1885 and for only five years painted exclusively landscapes in which an impeccable love of nature was felt - sometimes melancholy, sometimes hysterical, but always sincere and pure.
"March"
Levitan's painting “March” was written entirely from nature, without the use of sketch strokes. She is considered one of the artist’s most famous paintings and occupies a special place in the Tretyakov Gallery. Description of Levitan’s “March” painting allows you to feel the mood of the master and conduct the analysis in more detail. At first glance it seems that there is nothing special on the canvas - a hut, a horse harnessed to a sled, and a forest whose trees cast their bluish shadow on melted snow. If you look closely and for a moment imagine yourself standing on that very wet snow, you will notice many little things that make up the great spirit of nature, painstakingly conveyed by the love of the author.
Description of the picture
The picture of Isaac Levitan “March” in the literal sense of the word has Chekhov's detail - it does not depict anything superfluous. This is a small bright birdhouse awaiting the arrival of swifts, and a blinding blue sky, the radiance of which is intensified by white snow, and the open doors of a wooden house, symbolizing the arrival of spring, and wet ground, breaking through a thin layer of snow, and the snow itself, which has long ceased to be white, it’s as if with the last effort it lingers on the surface of the earth under the power of the warm sun, which makes it seem heavy, and its pile on the porch roof is about to fall, unable to bear the weight of the already melted water. Levitan's painting "March" was the first painting on which snow is so realistic and truthful. It is also surprising that before this work, Isaac extremely rarely painted winter landscapes, preferring the warm seasons, when flourishing nature reached its climax.
Forest
Undoubtedly, the work that Levitan wrote “March” aroused high-profile discussions, the description of the painting was always diverse, which indicated its uniqueness, each left a special note of mood. However, at the mention of the painting, few gave their attention to the forest depicted on it. This kind of symbolism did not exist before, which only once again emphasizes the impeccability of talent. It is no accident that in the background the trees are darker, and closer to the center - light, thin, stretching to the spring sun. The picture of Levitan “March” encrypts behind the forest cold and gloomy winter, deliberately removing it into the distance, which indicates the onset of spring - fresh birch branches illuminated by the sun, on which a white birdhouse firmly holds, can serve as confirmation. The branches seem to merge with the sky, personifying the unity and strength of nature.
The color scheme of the house
The picture of Levitan “March”, as mentioned above, is imbued with symbolism. First of all, it is reflected in the color scheme. If you look at the house, whose walls are painted in a light yellowish-brown color, then you can judge the birth of a new life, since yellow is considered the color of the sun, peace and nature. The doors of the house are wide open, as if releasing the annoying winter cold and meeting the arrival of spring. This suggests that not only nature, but also the life of people comes to life, bright warm colors of oil on canvas represent the house as a bunch of joy and coziness. Despite the fact that the house is not located in the center, but is located to the right of the central part, it is one of the main key fragments of the canvas.
Birdhouse and snow color
The fact that the snow in the picture is special was mentioned above. His performance left behind a real school of excellence for Russian artists. In the background, the snow is bluish in color, which again reflects the cold and winter, but in the foreground the snow is white, mixed with clay, which indicates not only the departure of one season, but also the merger of the two. If you carefully consider the picture, you can see the same shades of the color of snow in the foreground and a birdhouse on a tree. On the one hand, this is the disappearance of one, an interpretation of this can be seen precisely in places where snow merges with the earth, and on the other, the beginning of a new one, that new one that almost took a leading position in the form of a birdhouse merging with the sky. The white color in this case is the color of a leading, governing niche, and spring here occupies higher positions than the outgoing winter.
History
There is no doubt about the genius of the canvas, which was written by Isaac Levitan - “March”. Description of the picture is the best confirmation of this. After the canvas was published, many landscape painters tried to copy the technique and style of the author, learning the very same skills in writing "cold nature." The painting became a kind of visiting card of Russian painting, which still has not lost its relevance and aesthetic value. It is known that the author painted in the period of acute love and who knows, maybe this is what contributed to the creation of a light and major canvas, saturated with pathos and sensuality.