Over eternal rest Isaac Ilyich Levitan (1860-1900)

Description of Isaac Levitan’s painting "Above Eternal Rest

Isaac Levitan’s painting "Above Eternal Rest" is one of the gems of the artist’s work. Art historians refer this work to a trilogy of his paintings, believing that the first is At the Omita, the second is Vladimirka, and the third is Above Eternal Rest.

The picture was painted from nature, which was an old wooden church near Vyshny Volochok (a small town in Tver province).

The artistic canvas depicts the high shore of the lake, a vast beautiful sky at sunset with pale purple clouds and a small wooden church, standing lonely on the shore. Next to the church is an old cemetery with wood crosses that have grown crooked with time.

The viewer seems to feel all the harsh beauty of Russian nature, the coldness of its winds, the power of the rivers and the immense distance of the fields.

And in this unpretentious subject there is a profound philosophy of life and death, the foundations of the Russian folk spirit. It’s a reflection on God, life and man, his place in the world, memory and the future. The image of the little wooden church is an image of man himself, seeking God’s truth on earth, striving for light, for life, for love, but often not finding them. It is a painting about hope, about the transience of life, about the fact that each of us feels his connection to something majestic and grandiose, whose name for us is found in terms of religious rather than material concepts.

There is also a sense of subtle longing and loneliness, but there is also much faith, faith in the future joy of heaven. There is also a sense of peace and grandeur of the world created by the Creator.

But the beauty of Levitan landscapes is that each viewer can see in his paintings something different. But they do not leave anyone indifferent, as can not leave a person indifferent to his homeland - quiet, majestic and beautiful.