evening on the Volga 2. 1888 Isaac Ilyich Levitan (1860-1900)

Description of Isaac Levitan’s painting "An Evening on the Volga

Levitan’s painting "An Evening on the Volga" arrests the eye with its brevity. An early summer sunset-the sun is obscured by clouds, but it is still light. Dusk is coming.

Tremendous vastness of the river surface - in the distance the Volga river merges with the sky on the horizon line. The water surface seems to be endless ahead.

The picture is very three-dimensional and striking in its realism. The view of the majestic river gives the impression that the viewer is on the shore of the Volga. In the foreground there is a flat bank covered with sparse but very bright grass. Several old wooden fishermen’s boats are standing on the bank almost by the water. There are no people near them.

The shore stretches far into the depth of the picture. It seems that the river is endless and goes somewhere beyond the edge of the canvas.

Outwardly the landscape is very calm. But the cold-blue tones that dominate on the canvas bring tension and sadness. We can’t see any wind or ripples in the water, it’s as if the water is smooth as a mirror. The evening is thickening. The viewer will definitely feel the coolness of the evening on the riverbank, the freshness and the smell of the mud coming from the water. Goosebumps will run down the skin, as if chilled shoulders.

The sky is very low, the clouds seem to touch the water. The clouds are gloomy, covering the sun that has almost set. But its light is still shining a little behind the clouds before it disappears over the horizon. You can see the shore in the background, it is completely covered by shadows, dusk has already fallen on the far shore.

Painting "Evening on the Volga" has a deep philosophical sound. Depth of feeling, a reflection of loneliness and tension fill the picture. At the same time, the viewer would like to be on that shore, sit on the ground, think about the deep, looking only in the distance - where the sky connects with the river, where the sun sinks below the horizon, slowly feeling the impending darkness of night.