Forest River. 1886-1887 Isaac Ilyich Levitan (1860-1900)

Description of Isaac Levitan’s painting A River in the Woods

In I. Levitan’s famous landscape painting, the painting "River in the Woods" occupies its modest place. The place of the painting in Levitan’s oeuvre is modest only in comparison with the rest of the artist’s masterpieces. But in general, the "River in the woods" fully creates the famous Levitan’s "landscape mood," conveying the "poetry of the forest.

The small glade with the forest river in the middle is surrounded by dense bushes. In the background, on the other side of the river, begins the forest, at the edge of which stands a hut. Everything is simple, beautiful and expressive. As for expressiveness, let us begin with the river, which in the foreground with its light movement and mirror-like surface evokes tranquility. As the main element of foreground, through reflections on its surface it seems to prepare us for perception of the background - dense woods with a hut. From the foreground to the interior the glade visually narrows and loses its significance. But the space is filled with the forest, which is open in all its glory.

Trees and grass, thanks to the successful color combination, on the background of the river slightly smells damp. The grass is characterized by juiciness and freshness. Thanks to this you can feel the summer smell of the forest, its clean and fresh air.

From light green coloring of the foreground the author switches to dark green coloring to convey the gloom of the forest. The colors are definitely muted in the painting as a whole.

Clouds, hovering over the forest with disturbing hues, contain a small hint of anticipation of rain.

As with the rest of Levitan’s works, there is also, albeit not quite visibly, a human presence here. This presence is conveyed through the depicted hut. But most importantly, the presence of man is felt through the experiences that arise when viewing the painting. The truly poetic beauty of nature, conveyed by the great artist, creates the impression that the landscape he depicts is the best place in the world. The painting "River in the Woods" leaves the same impression.