A story about the painting of Levitan over eternal peace. “Above Eternal Peace” by Isaac Levitan. Levitan did not pay for his studies for his success in painting

Over eternal peace. 1894

Those above us
as in ancient times, the heavens -
And they pour to us the same way
the blessings of their streams...

V.G. Benediktov "And now..."

Painting "Over eternal peace" (1894, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow) is the third most large-scale painting of Levitan’s “dramatic cycle”. In a letter to Tretyakov, he even admitted that in this picture he was “whole, with all his psyche, with all his content.” Depicting a cape with a dilapidated wooden chapel and a cemetery against the backdrop of the matte lead waters of a lake extending into the deserted distance, above which heavy clouds swirl in the gloomy sky dark clouds Levitan very expressively conveyed the feeling of discomfort of this harsh space.

The picture allows you to understand what the artist felt at the moments when he was overtaken by attacks of mortal melancholy and loneliness. At the same time, the feeling of loneliness and powerlessness in Levitan’s film is not overwhelming. Together with him in her figurative structure live other experiences of the artist, which gave the large canvas, in comparison with the sketch, a more transpersonal, philosophically calm and courageous emotional and figurative meaning. The composition of the canvas is strict and clear: a high and majestic, wonderfully painted sky, to which a chapel with a glowing light at the end raises its head, bringing into the picture, along with the feeling of loneliness and peace of the graves, the artist’s “heartfelt thought” “about the light that darkness cannot embrace,” about the eternal thirst for warmth, faith, hope, the flame of which people light again and again, from century to century, “like a candle from a candle” (L.N. Tolstoy).

Vladimir Petrov

Levitan began working on this painting under Vyshny Volochok, near Lake Udomlya, where he lived with Kuvshinnikova in 1893. The painting obviously ended in Moscow in December 1893 and at the very beginning of 1894, which is indicated by the author in the painting. The painting “Above Eternal Peace” completed the cycle of works of 1892-1894, in which Levitan sought to express large and deep thoughts about the relationship of human existence to the eternal life of nature.

Kuvshinnikova testified in her memoirs that in the painting “Above Eternal Peace” “the area and in general the entire motif was taken entirely from life... Only the church was different in nature, ugly, and Levitan replaced it with a cozy little church from Plyos.” The sketch of this Plyos church has been preserved and is known to us.

The fact that the landscape “Above Eternal Peace” is basically a natural view of Lake Udomlya was also testified in his memoirs by V.K. Byalynitsky-Birulya, whose estate “Chaika” was located nearby . According to him, in the foreground is the cape of that oval island from which Levitan “was carried away by the large expanse of water” and from which “after a stormy stormy day he saw those dark clouds piling up in the sky over the water of Udomli , which sound so unique, a tension-filled chord in his painting.” But unlike Kuvshinnikova, he claims that the landscape was “supplemented by the motif of a church and cemetery observed on Lake Ostrovenskoye.” Be that as it may, it was no coincidence that the artist combined the two types; in this way he tried to express a certain philosophical idea. The artist himself claimed that in this picture he is “all of me, with all my psyche, with all my content.”

The idea of juxtaposition human life with the majestic, grandiose element of nature, living its own life, its own being, which first arose in the painting “Evening on the Volga” (1887-1888), unfolded here with all its strength and breadth, in all the maturity of Levitan’s mastery.

In this landscape, the grandiose expanse of water of the lake and the even more majestic expanse of sky with swirling clouds colliding with each other are combined with a fragile cape on which an old church and a poor rural cemetery are nestled. On this Yura the winds whistle at them; they are alone among the vast expanses. From this juxtaposition of nature and the traces of human existence in it, a landscape filled with sublime sorrow and tragic heroism is formed.

A fragile cape with a church and a cemetery, whistling by the wind of the elements, seems like the bow of some ship moving into an unknown distance. We see a light in the church window, a witness to human life, its indestructibility and quiet submission. The warmth of human existence and the homelessness of the vastness of nature simultaneously oppose each other and are combined in this picture. It seems to combine both of Levitan’s attitudes towards nature: showing its habitability by man and contrasting man with nature - just like in Chekhov’s landscapes. And what unites these two seemingly mutually exclusive relationships to nature is what was called “mood,” that is, the transmission in the state of nature of a person’s experiences, and through them, his thoughts.

The composition, quite static both in the initial drawings and in the oil sketch, acquires a dynamic, asymmetrical character in the painting. The viewer's gaze is directed into the distance by the line of the coast, and the cape with its trees bending in the wind, and, finally, by the fact that the shore on the right has been removed and instead the water there begins right from the front edge. Work on the painting proceeded along the line of increasingly revealing the gloomy and alarming state of the landscape during a thunderstorm, expressing its tragic sound, conveying the wind blowing over the water, wrinkled its surface, bending the trees, the movement of clouds, deepening and expanding space. And it was precisely in this work that it became necessary to include a church with its graveyard in the landscape.

The clouds in the sky, their movement, transitions of light and color are worked out in the most subtle and detailed way in order to best convey the majestic and tragic action happening in the sky. On the contrary, the expanse of water and long-range plans of green fields and blue distances are interpreted in a very general way. The cape, completely covered with trees and crosses in the sketch, is exposed, which is why individual trees and crosses, lying down or silhouetted against the background of water, benefit in their expressiveness. Reducing the picture to a few, clearly and immediately perceived parts, Levitan, within these plot-important parts, gives a subtle elaboration of the details to which he wants to draw the viewer’s attention. Thus, if a triangular island in the distance is given in the form of a generalized mass, and the water is only enlivened by ripples, then the mass of the cape in front is developed internally. Thus, Levitan depicts a barely visible path, subtly depicts the church and crosses. Before us is an already familiar technique, in which the landscape seems to be immediately captured at one glance, and then gradually reveals itself in its details.

Ultimately, the picture is built on large generalized masses, such as the sky as a whole, the cape in front, the water, the island, the stripes of the far shore. The sky itself is quite clearly divided into a cloudy part at the bottom and a light part at the top. This construction on large generalized masses is due to the fact that Levitan, creating a monumental-epic harsh landscape, solves it compositionally not only asymmetrically, but also very dynamically. Comparing the painting with the sketch reveals the fragmentary composition of the painting. By cutting off the right side from the shore and bringing the water to the lower edge, Levitan gave the landscape the character of a kind of “cutout” from nature. This seemingly random fragmentation of the landscape gives it spontaneity. A landscape that is strictly constructed and symbolic in nature is perceived as a natural view.

The picture as a whole is a wonderful combination of moments of living spontaneity and strict picturesqueness. If the “floating” cape and the flowing water that reaches below the picture frame draw us into the picture space, then the clouds floating parallel to the picture plane and the strong horizon line expand the space on the plane. If the details on the cape in front, like a luminous window, seem to introduce us into the landscape, then overall it opens up before us as a grandiose panorama, as a majestic spectacle.

If, while working on the painting “By the Pool,” Levitan made the landscape more gloomy than in the sketch and darkened its color range, then in working on the painting “Above Eternal Peace,” he, on the contrary, brightened and enriched it. The sketch is written in a rather monotonous dark palette. The greenery of the shore is almost black, the church is dark gray, the water is leaden; leaden dark tones dominate the sky, although the yellow tones of the sunset and pinkish ones in the clouds already appear here. This dark color scheme is very expressive. But it expresses only one experience, only one “mood” of gloomy sinisterness. The sketch is more integral and more collected in color, written more energetically than the painting, but the latter is richer in color wise. And this richness of colors contributes to greater breadth, complexity and versatility of its content. It can no longer, as in a sketch, be reduced to one feeling, to one emotional note or thought. On the contrary, it is a whole symphony of experiences and - accordingly - a variety of colors and their shades. They sound especially subtly in the sky, where the gloomy, heavy leadenness of the sky at the horizon, completely overshadowed by clouds, is different from the also leaden, but different, sometimes lighter, sometimes darker, shades of the clouds above it. And how complex are the transitions of yellow and pinkish tones in the gaps of the sunset sky and in the color of a sharp zigzag cloud cutting through the swirling clouds. The color of the greenery on the cape, on the island and in the strip of the far shore is also different. Levitan uses a kind of “color flow” technique. So, on the dark grass of the cape we see yellowish tones in front, which are associated with the color of the roof of the church and then with yellow tones in the distance to the right and with yellow shades thin zigzag cloud.

But still, large color planes predominate in the picture. This is especially noticeable in the blue stripes of the distances beyond the river. And if on the cape this general green spot of color is broken up by the detailed rendering of architecture, trees, paths, and the introduction of yellow strokes into the green color zones, then the color of the water is much more monotonous. Levitan sought to break its monotony with the image of ripples. It is conveyed partly by gray and white strokes, but more by varying texture rather than color. Levitan, in addition to variously directed strokes, then scratched the water “on the damp layer of paint,” apparently with a comb. The sky and clouds are also painted with great textural variety: from liquid paint, through which the canvas is visible, to a very dense layer of brushwork in dark swirling clouds. But the most densely painted part of the picture is the “earthly” part - both the cape in front and especially the water.

The greatest difference in the degree of thickness of the paint layer corresponds to the same richness of shades and color transitions in the rendering of clouds, contrasts of thunderclouds with the sunset sky. This once again proves that the motif of a thunderstorm, the motif of the majestic and menacing breath of the elements, interested Levitan most of all in the picture.

The small number of “objects” depicted in the painting, their general laconicism, relatively large color spots, to one degree or another developed inside - all this corresponds well with both the size of the canvas and the monumental heroism of the image of nature.

In this picture, the asymmetry of the parts is balanced by the counter-directional movement of each of these parts that make up the picture - a cape, an island, water, clouds, etc.

Levitan creates poetry of the grandiose, majestic, here we have a symphony. And as in musical symphony there is no need to retell it verbally musical content, so here too the complexity and richness of feelings and thoughts can hardly and should be reduced to any one thought or idea. This is a complex interweaving of grief and admiration, an interweaving that makes this picture epoch-making. Levitan in this picture managed to convey his time and its “philosophy” using purely landscape, emotional and lyrical means.

Criticism after another traveling exhibition, without understanding at all deep meaning Levitan's paintings - the opposition of the eternal and powerful forces of nature to the weak and short-term human life, the desire to answer the question about the relationship between man and nature, about the meaning of life - naively saw, instead of showing the contradictions of life, there were simply two contents, “thanks to this, the picture is completely makes a harmonious and strict impression.”

But still, even those who were perplexed sometimes admitted that “the concept of this picture is so new and interesting that it deserves mention” and analysis, and that, although in “an attempt to paint a huge space one cannot see perfection, it shows that the artist is looking for a new path and, judging by his other, smaller works, he will probably find this path.” Only V.V. Chuiko, finding the picture unsuccessful, unsatisfactory in artistically, admitted that “despite, however, all these very large technical shortcomings, there is nevertheless a mood in the picture: Mr. Levitan was able to express the impression of some kind of dead peace, reminiscent of the idea of death, it’s only a pity that this idea is expressed so Weird ".

But if there were still some disagreements in assessing the ideological concept and content of the painting, its title, then everyone agreed in admitting that it was picturesquely bad and weak. Critics believed that the clouds were written in too ink, that they were “stone”, that “the river will pour out of the frame, and will not go under it”, that it was written in “absolutely white paint”, that “there is no movement in the water”, that “ the distant plan is heavily painted with vat paint” and “is not brought into any correspondence with the foreground triangle,” etc. etc. The new nature of painting, with its decorative features, was taken for strange eccentricity, for unfinishedness, “vague daub,” passed off as a special “manner.” New techniques of painting, a new interpretation with its decorative features, with the construction of images on large planes, seemed artificial.

Against the backdrop of all this harsh criticism, the positive reviews of V.I. were lonely, but all the more significant. Sizov and V.M. Mikheev, who highly appreciated and correctly understood Levitan’s painting. Sizov called it “well thought out and strongly felt”, distinguished by “undoubted artistic merits”. But V. Mikheev, who gave a detailed analysis of it, interpreted the painting especially correctly. He sensitively grasped the deep psychological nature of the canvas and called it a genuine landscape painting, although not without certain technical and pictorial shortcomings, but remarkable for its content and “mood.” Mikheev correctly felt its peculiar “musicality”, saying that “this picture is a symphony, strange at first, but subtly embracing the soul, you just have to trust its impression...”. And, having trusted him, he understood what remained hidden to other critics. He understood it as “a picture of a strong, deeply taken mood”, felt its drama: “It’s almost not even a landscape: it’s a picture of the human soul in the images of nature...”. Mikheev here is close to the understanding of the picture that Levitan himself expressed in the mentioned letter to Tretyakov, believing that in it he expressed all of himself, his entire psyche.

Mikheev’s article appeared in the same month when Tretyakov decided to purchase the painting, obviously having also seen and understood what great personal and social content, experience, and philosophy were contained in this painting. Here again, Tretyakov’s remarkable flair, his attention to expressing great, epoch-making ideas and moods in painting, was revealed once again.

A.A. Fedorov-Davydov

Essay based on a painting by 6A student Maria Lozinskaya

I liked this landscape so much that I even wanted to go up to this hill, to this small but interesting church, and calmly look at this vast expanse all day and evening. It seems to me that I. I. Levitan specially created this picture a little in dark colors to make nature even more significant.

Looking at the trees on the hill, we see that they are tilted to the side, which means the wind is blowing on them. But the waters of the Volga River, unlike the trees, seem very calm. The sky was enveloped and covered with dull, gray clouds. And I like it! I really love it when it gets evening and such an atmosphere is created!

When I look at nature, and especially like this, I immediately forget about everything and enjoy the beauty of nature. Levitan managed to convey the uniqueness, great beauty and charm of nature. I believe he gave the picture the title “ Above eternal peace", because he, sitting on the hill and painting his work, really felt peace, and this peace is felt by everyone when they see the work, and therefore it is eternal.

Essay based on a painting by student 10A Yulia Vagina

Levitan’s student Kuvshinnikova recalled: “Levitan painted the painting “Above Eternal Peace” later, in the summer we spent near Vyshny Volochok, near Lake Udomlya. The terrain and, in general, the entire motif were taken from life during one of our rides on horseback. Only the church was different in nature, ugly, and Levitan replaced it with a cozy church from Plyos. Having made a small sketch from life, Levitan immediately set to work big picture. He wrote it with great enthusiasm, always insisting that I play Beethoven for him and most often Marche funebre.” This picture is one of best works Levitan. The landscape captivates with its grandeur, makes a person feel his insignificance before nature and Time, which is the main character of the picture. Most of the canvas is occupied by the sky. Heavy lead clouds make a depressing impression. They are reflected in the endless pristine waters of the lake. And on a small island there is a wooden chapel, behind it are the rickety crosses of the cemetery. It’s as if the church, a creation of human hands, realizes its powerlessness before eternity. And she came to terms with it. The picture is imbued with philosophical calm and loneliness. Thanks to the mood with which it was written, it simply cannot leave the viewer indifferent and not touch a single heart string.

Looking at the peaceful landscapes of Isaac Levitan, it is difficult to believe that the artist often suffered from depression, because of him, women were ready to commit suicide, and he himself almost shot himself. August 30 marked the 156th anniversary of the birth of the brilliant landscape artist. Levitan did not live to see his 40th birthday for several weeks; he devoted half of his life to painting. On the artist’s birthday, we remember one of his most famous paintings, “Above Eternal Peace” and little known facts his biography.

1. Levitan did not pay for his studies for his success in painting

Isaac Levitan was born in the town of Kybartai (now part of Lithuania). The head of the family, in search of big earnings, moved his family to Moscow in 1870. Here the future artist, at the age of 13, entered the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. Famous masters taught at Levitan: Vasily Perov, Alexey Savrasov and Vasily Polenov.

A misfortune occurred in the Levitan family. In May 1975, my mother died, and two years later my father also died, who fell ill with typhus. It was a very difficult time for Isaac, his brother and two sisters. Levitan was allowed not to pay tuition for his success in art. The talented young man was supported by his teachers. Savrasov took Isaac to his landscape class. Already at the age of 16, Levitan received recognition. In 1877, an exhibition was held where the aspiring artist presented two of his paintings. For them he received a small silver medal and 220 rubles to continue painting.

Levitan later recalled that his time at school was very difficult. He was malnourished, wore shabby clothes, and was ashamed of his torn shoes. Sometimes he had to spend the night at the school. The artist often found himself in difficult financial situations. Later he rented a room in Moscow on Tverskaya, for which he paid only in paintings. Moreover, the hostess very meticulously chose, in her opinion, the most beautiful works. She also grumbled about why there were no chickens, goats or other animals on them.

2. Levitan received a diploma as a penmanship teacher

Surprisingly, after graduating from college, Levitan was not given an artist’s diploma, although he was considered one of the most talented students. But they didn’t give him a diploma because of revenge on his teacher Alexei Savrasov. The master, when he drank, often spoke unflatteringly about creativity their colleagues. And these colleagues decided to take it out on Levitan at their graduation. Savrasov's favorite student was predicted to receive a large silver medal, but he was not awarded anything, but was given a diploma as a teacher of calligraphy.

3. Vasily Polenov wrote Christ from Levitan

Isaac Levitan had a bright appearance - refined facial features, a deep look of dark, sad eyes. This thoughtfulness of the artist inspired Vasily Polenov, who depicted Levitan in the image of Jesus Christ in the painting “Dreams” of 1894.

Levitan inspired Vasily Polenov’s painting “Dreams” (“On the Mountain”)

4. The artist had an eight-year affair with a married woman

Thanks to his talent and natural beauty, Isaac Levitan has always been the center of women's attention. Although the artist often had affairs, he never married anyone. Levitan said that even the best women are owners by nature. “I can’t do this. All of me can belong only to my quiet, homeless muse, everything else is vanity of vanities,” the landscape painter believed.

Isaac Levitan “Self-portrait”, 1880

And yet the artist also had long affairs. One of them lasted eight years with Sofia Kuvshinnikova, into whose salon the artist once ended up. This married lady was older than him. Kuvshinnikova turned out to be a very extraordinary person. Sophia was fond of hunting, painting, wore elements of a men's suit, her house was decorated in the Russian style, and fishing nets hung on the windows instead of curtains; a hand-made crane lived in her bedroom. In general, this lady was clearly different from most women of that time, which interested the artist. Kuvshinnikova, who admired Levitan’s works, began taking private lessons from him. In the summer they went to sketches on the Volga.

5. Levitan had a fight with Chekhov over a woman

Isaac Levitan and Anton Chekhov were friends all their lives; they had a warm relationship long before both became famous. They met through the brother of the writer artist Nikolai Chekhov. Anton Pavlovich even came up with a special term in relation to the works of his artist friend. He called them “Levitanists.” Moreover, according to Chekhov, the artist’s paintings had varying degrees of “levitanism.”

Levitan more than once became the prototype for some characters in Chekhov's works. The writer did not approve of his friend’s romance with Kuvshinnikova; he considered her rude. Then Anton Pavlovich wrote the story “The Jumper”, in the heroes of which you can recognize Isaac and Sophia. At first, Levitan chuckled, saying that who else, but not Chekhov, should teach him morality. But gossip around Kuvshinnikova and her affair with the artist began to grow, and she persuaded Levitan to write an offensive letter to Chekhov. The writer also responded in a harsh tone. After that, the friends did not communicate for three years.

6. Levitan found solace in nature

The artist suffered from frequent depression. Although he understood the power of his talent, doubts about his vocation periodically came over him, and he was often dissatisfied with himself. During periods of such gloomy moods, Levitan could not see people; he took his dog Vesta with him and went hunting. In fact, he did not hunt, but wandered, enjoying nature, in which he found solace.

7. Levitan dreamed of donating the painting “Above Eternal Peace” to the Tretyakov collection

Isaac Levitan wrote one of his most philosophical paintings, “Above Eternal Peace,” in 1894, six years before his death. He worked on this work in the Tver province. The artist transferred the church depicted in the painting from a previously created sketch on Plyos, where he traveled with Kuvshinnikova.

The space in the picture is presented in the form of generalized planes of water and sky. In this work, Levitan managed to reflect the confrontation between the eternity of nature and the frailty of human existence. The gloomy grandeur of nature is countered only by a warm light in the window of a small church.

Isaac Levitan “Above Eternal Peace”, 1894

Levitan considered the painting “Above Eternal Peace” to be one of his main works. He said that he was happy to give this painting to collector Pavel Tretyakov. The artist spoke about his work: “Eternity, a terrible eternity, in which generations have drowned and will drown again... What horror, what fear!” Levitan wrote to Tretyakov about the painting “Above Eternal Peace”: “... I am all in it, with all my psyche, with all my content, and it would hurt me to tears if it had passed by your colossal collection...”. Now the painting “Above Eternal Peace” (150x206 cm, oil on canvas) is kept in the Tretyakov Gallery.

8. Levitan shot himself for love

The artist spent a lot of time with Sophia; they often went to paint together. So they went to Lake Ostrovnoye in Vyshnevolotsk district. Nearby was the estate of St. Petersburg senator Ivan Turchaninov, where his wife Anna Nikolaevna and her daughter Varya lived. Anna Nikolaevna was the same age as Kuvshinnikova. Both ladies began to fight for the artist’s attention, and he amused himself by flirting with each in turn.

Sophia understood that Levitan no longer had the same feelings for her and tried to poison herself. She scraped the sulfur from the matches, added it to the water and drank it. They managed to save her - a doctor was visiting the house where she was staying. Levitan needed new muse and he broke up with Sophia. Unfortunately, Anna Nikolaevna’s daughter, 20-year-old Varya, fell in love with the artist. She threw hysterics at Levitan, demanded that he leave his mother and threatened that he would commit suicide. The artist could no longer stand it and shot himself in the head. The bullet passed through the skin without hitting the skull.

Chekhov found out about this and came to save his friend. The artist did not need serious help. The writer met Levitan with a black bandage on his head, he took it off and went hunting. He returned with a killed seagull, which he threw at Anna Nikolaevna’s feet. Attentive readers of Chekhov's works will note that he used this incident in The Seagull.

Isaac Levitan suffered from heart disease. Anna Nikolaevna was with the artist until the end of his days. Levitan died suddenly in July 1900 at the age of 40.

Above eternal peace - Levitan. 1894. Oil on canvas. 150x206

Helplessness, fragility and defenselessness - these are the main feelings that every viewer experiences before this work of the great artist. Perhaps, thanks to this particular painting, the name of the master of landscape is so widely known not only among art lovers...

The author himself believed that this was his most successful work, revealing his worldview, his attitude. Lead clouds hung heavily over the steep bank. There is a church on a small cliff, next to it there is a forgotten cemetery, a graveyard, the last refuge... Fragile trees bend under the strong wind, a thin, intermittent path leading to the church is a symbol of oblivion, abandonment, wear and tear.

The elements surrounding the cliff breathe with power. It seems that in one more moment the graveyard will disappear, the church will scatter across the world... Destruction seems inevitable.

It is known that the artist wrote this work while listening to music. The solemn and sad sounds of Beethoven's funeral march inspired the author and forced him to create a gloomy and almost tragic atmosphere of this work. The viewer hears the howling of the wind, feels the piercing cold, dampness, and hears the rumble of distant thunder.

In the distance you can see a deserted island, which is rapidly “swimming away” from the cliff. It seems that the island takes with it the souls of the dead, so that eternity absorbs the remnant of the human spirit, the very memories of the departed people.

Human life is insignificant, fleeting and meaningless... The huge space covered by the artist’s gaze presses on the viewer. Sharp feeling The viewer experiences loneliness and defenselessness before this eternal peace, which people are afraid to even think about. Eternal question- what is there, beyond the threshold of eternity, torments the author, but he does not find an answer, leaving this search to the viewer.

The author created several sketches before starting the main work. These sketches are of undoubted value, as individual works. On the other hand, they make it possible to understand the path that the author took from the intended work to the embodiment of his idea. As a result of this path, the master somewhat softened the tragedy of the landscape, while adding the power of the natural elements.

The light in the work is evenly distributed, there are practically no shadows. Using muted tones, the master managed to masterfully convey the very essence of bad weather. His attention to small details makes the work unusually realistic and deep in content.

In an amazing way, the small dome of the church resists the full power of the elements. It is directed strictly upward, and its color, merging with the metallic tones of the sky, creates a feeling of unshakability and strength. The master, even in this work, did not do without optimistic hints. Only firm Faith can help a person find peace and confidence in his goals and the meaning of his life. However, this optimistic statement is “encrypted” in the picture. Only the most inquisitive viewers are able to discern in this small detail the very essence of this iconic work of the artist.

The painting was released at the moment of greatest flowering of the artist’s talent. That is why his idea, philosophical depth, honed skill with which this canvas was painted so amazed his contemporaries and amazes his descendants. The content of this picture will be relevant for all generations.

In terms of its size, the work is quite attributable to the author’s monumental works. And in its essence it is his spiritual testament, his creative program and the most complete philosophical attitude of the artist to the world and people. Russian poets and musicians admired the work. It served as an impetus for the creation of many musical and poetic works. And writers, both of the early 20th century and modern ones, often include a description of this particular work to reveal the characters of their heroes, as well as to give the plot of their works depth and content.

Isaac Levitan’s painting “Above Eternal Peace” is the artist’s third work in a dramatic trilogy, which also includes paintings “At the Pool” and. This painting is distinguished by the appearance of a philosophical component in it, which is no less important than admiring nature. The work is filled with loneliness and deep melancholy, which is emphasized by a carefully considered choice of perspective.

The work of the landscape artist amazed many with its emotionality. A grandiose panorama opens up before the audience: a high cape of the coast, the endless expanses of water of the lake and a huge sky with thunderclouds. The cape seems to be floating, but viewers involuntarily direct their gaze forward in the direction of its movement to the small island, to the blue distances on the horizon and then up to the sky. Three elements - earth, water and sky - are covered at once, in one glance, they are depicted in general, with large, clearly defined details. And it is precisely the generality of what is depicted that distinguishes this landscape from the previous ones - the artist creates a majestic, monumental image of nature.

Here, as in other Levitan canvases, nature lives. In this picture, the psychologism characteristic of all the author’s paintings acquires a new quality: nature lives here too, but own life proceeding against the will of man. She is spiritualized, just as nature is spiritualized in fairy tales and epics. The viewer here sees not just the surface of the water in which the surrounding is reflected, as is usual for us, he feels it as a single mass that sways in a huge bowl and glows with a single whitish-leaden color. The sky is also in motion, majestic actions are unfolding on it: randomly piling up, swirling, colliding with each other clouds, darker, leaden-violet, tones and lighter, heavier and lighter ones move. And only a small pink cloud emerging from the gap that appeared between the clouds, a cloud whose outline resembles an island in a lake, calmly floats past and will soon disappear.

Let us also note the earthly part of the picture - a cape with an old church nestled on it, trees swaying by the wind and crooked grave crosses. Earthly life included in eternal life nature. This painting gives birth to thoughts about the meaning of life, about the life and death of man, about immortality, about the infinity of life. Levitan wrote in one of his letters: “Eternity, a terrible eternity, in which generations have drowned and will drown again... What horror, what fear!”

“The painting “Above Eternal Peace” makes you think about the meaning of life and its transience. “I am all in it, with all my psyche, with all my content,” the artist himself said about this picture.

Year of painting: 1894.

Dimensions of the painting: 150 x 206 cm.

Material: canvas.

Writing technique: oil.

Genre: landscape.

Style: realism.

Gallery: State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia.

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Attention! At the Gallery's box office, entrance tickets are provided at a nominal value of “free” (upon presentation of the appropriate documents - for the above-mentioned visitors). In this case, all services of the Gallery, including excursion services, are paid in accordance with the established procedure.

Visit to the museum holidays

On the Day national unity- November 4 - The Tretyakov Gallery is open from 10:00 to 18:00 (entrance until 17:00). Admission is paid.

Tretyakov Gallery in Lavrushinsky Lane, Engineering Building and New Tretyakov Gallery - from 10:00 to 18:00 (box office and entrance until 17:00)
Museum-apartment of A.M. Vasnetsov and the House-Museum of V.M. Vasnetsova - closed

Admission is paid.

Waiting for you!

Please note that the conditions for discounted admission to temporary exhibitions may vary. Check the exhibition pages for more information.

The right to preferential visits The Gallery, except in cases provided for by a separate order of the Gallery management, is provided upon presentation of documents confirming the right to preferential visits to:

pensioners (citizens of Russia and CIS countries),
full holders of the Order of Glory,
students of secondary and secondary specialized educational institutions (from 18 years old),
students of higher educational institutions of Russia, as well as foreign students studying at Russian universities (except for intern students),
members of large families (citizens of Russia and CIS countries).

Visitors to the above categories of citizens purchase a discount ticket first come first serve basis.

Free visit right The main and temporary exhibitions of the Gallery, except in cases provided for by a separate order of the Gallery’s management, are provided to the following categories of citizens upon presentation of documents confirming the right of free admission:

persons under 18 years of age;
students of faculties specializing in the field fine arts secondary specialized and higher educational institutions of Russia, regardless of the form of education (as well as foreign students studying at Russian universities). The clause does not apply to persons presenting student cards of “trainee students” (if there is no information about the faculty on the student card, a certificate from educational institution with the obligatory indication of the faculty);
veterans and disabled people of the Great Patriotic War, participants in hostilities, former minor prisoners of concentration camps, ghettos and other places of forced detention created by the fascists and their allies during the Second World War, illegally repressed and rehabilitated citizens (citizens of Russia and the CIS countries);
conscripts Russian Federation;
Heroes Soviet Union, Heroes of the Russian Federation, Full Knights of the “Order of Glory” (citizens of Russia and CIS countries);
disabled people of groups I and II, participants in the liquidation of the consequences of the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (citizens of Russia and CIS countries);
one accompanying disabled person of group I (citizens of Russia and CIS countries);
one accompanying disabled child (citizens of Russia and CIS countries);
artists, architects, designers - members of the relevant creative Unions of Russia and its constituent entities, art historians - members of the Association of Art Critics of Russia and its constituent entities, members and employees Russian Academy arts;
members of the International Council of Museums (ICOM);
employees of museums of the system of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the relevant Departments of Culture, employees of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and ministries of culture of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation;
volunteers of the “Sputnik” program - entrance to the exhibition “Art of the 20th Century” (Krymsky Val, 10) and “Masterpieces of Russian Art of the 11th - early 20th Century” (Lavrushinsky Lane, 10), as well as to the House-Museum of V.M. Vasnetsov and the Apartment Museum of A.M. Vasnetsova (citizens of Russia);
guides-translators who have an accreditation card of the Association of Guides-Translators and Tour Managers of Russia, including those accompanying the group foreign tourists;
one teacher of an educational institution and one accompanying a group of students from secondary and secondary specialized educational institutions (with an excursion voucher or subscription); one teacher from an educational institution that has state accreditation educational activities when conducting an agreed training session and having a special badge (citizens of Russia and CIS countries);
one accompanying a group of students or a group of conscripts (if they have an excursion voucher, subscription and during a training session) (Russian citizens).