Description of the painting by Isaac Levitan “Alps”

Description of the painting by Isaac Levitan Alps

Levitan is called “the artist of the mood” and in this role he is famous. He glorified Russian nature and nature in general, always preferred landscapes and was actually in love with the world around, as can be seen from all his works.

Among them are images of forests and fields, villages and rivers, and in the overwhelming majority of paintings man is absent, as something that does not fit into nature. Levitan did not attach any decisive importance to man – the maximum that was human in his paintings was the mood invested in them. He could portray joy and hope for the best; he could – sorrow and longing. Could describe with a brush a heart’s loving longing, could – waiting or fear.

“Alps” in his image is coldness and detachment. The picture is made in dark colors, only the sky and fog on it are light. It is clearly demarcated inside of itself on several levels – the earth, green and covered with low grass, a strip of mist curling in fancy stripes and twists, then a low mountain range, so low that it can pass for hills, high purple mountains, seen far away and above all this high white sky.

No participation, no interest is felt just around the corner. They just eat and look at the world detached and cold. All shades in the picture are cold. Even green, which can be more than a warm shade, is cold here, not to mention the icy white mist, the violet twilight of a distant ridge, the sky. When you look at the picture, a feeling of mystery is created, as if you look into a secret corner where you should not go to a person. There are avalanches and wild animals, there is ice and cold, you cannot pass a few miles without a guide.

This could be the human soul – frozen ice, where it is better not to go without an invitation and where it is impossible to pass without a hint.


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Description of the painting by Isaac Levitan “Alps”