After the rain. Plyos Isaac Ilyich Levitan (1860-1900)

Description of Isaac Levitan’s painting "After the Rain. Ples."

I.I. Levitan painted the painting "After Rain. Plyos" in 1889. On it he depicted his impressions of the Volga, which were gathered while he was on this great river.

This work is very significant in his work.

On this canvas, you can see the daily life of the Volga. A lot of space is taken up by the image of the shore - unsightly, sparse shrubs, urban buildings on the outskirts.

It looks like the rain has recently ended and left puddles, you can feel the humidity in the air. Through this cold dreary weather there is a feeling that soon it will be warm, thanks to grayish clouds, through which the rays of the sun are trying to break through and touch the ground. And the coast studded with stones, and the still drying roofs of houses and bushes all illuminate the shimmering light.

The left side of the painting shows the river, with a pier and barges on it. It is associated with the labor of the people who live in the city - these are movers and fishermen. Not far from the shore are their poor houses. In the distance on a hill you can see a white church with blue domes. Its graceful silhouette makes the work look more ornate. Levitan on this work expresses the idea that the spiritual world of people and steamers, the river, the pier are linked. Three masts of small ships occupy the center of the canvas, like three church domes.

This work is distinguished by the luxury of the means used, thanks to which the artist was able to show the freshness of nature after the last downpour, and how in harmony with it live churches, barges on the river, which is covered by ripples, homes, the people themselves.

In this picture Levitan appeared before us as a talented artist, and as a man with a big heart. It’s like he wrote a lyrical tale of the inhabitants of the country, depicting a small town on the Volga coast, steamboats, barges, homely houses and the church.