overgrown pond Isaac Ilyich Levitan (1860-1900)
Isaac Ilyich Levitan – overgrown pond
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Painter: Isaac Ilyich Levitan
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Download full size: 800×1000 px (0,2 Mb)
Painter: Isaac Ilyich Levitan
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THE TRUTH OF THE POND
1
A pond with smooth, dense water.
Surface tension
Wont scare you with its depth –
And now there is no intrusion into the pond.
And on the green shores
You stand and look at the water, the water,
Where the wind in new script
Will describe glory and freedom.
An olive color shimmers,
And pierced by a gray stripe,
It must give an answer to the sunset –
But you dont hear it, stunned.
The letters flicker quickly:
There is an emerald stripe
Appeared – and diminished,
Although for a moment it flashed brightly.
Here are a pair of yellow patches,
They will fray quite soon.
The water is wise. No words needed,
Which we often scatter in the form of trash...
2
The sunset writes texts
In zigzags across the surface of the pond.
There are reeds. How cramped they are!
Any reed can be easily broken.
Zigzags, painted arcs –
Pictures cover the pond.
And I would decipher these complex signs –
But the task is difficult.
3
At the shore, the water turned transparent yellow, and the layered bottom seemed hidden by a translucent fabric. The pond was especially quiet in the evening, and it exuded peace and tranquility... A light ripple covered its surface with letters, and where these letters flowed, the pond played with color, as if illuminated from within, and a dark olive stripe, pierced by white patches, turned into a bluish-purple layer, which gave way to a saturated cadmium. The reeds on the opposite shore stood guard; and twilight shadows spread looping nets across the grass.
The pond of your own heart responded to the pond of nature with a subtle vibration.
4
You can go to Tibet,
And there they will open for you
The third eye – but this
Is not given by fate.
You only see what you see –
The pond, shimmering in the evening.
Youll rub your feet on the grass,
If you swam here.
But you didnt swim! – just
You look at the water,
You react sharply
To the shades of its beauty.
Yellow, olive, white.
And Tibet is far away -
All-knowing, wise, mature...
It is not easy to gain wisdom...
You cannot comment Why?
The surface of the water is rendered with loose brushstrokes, creating an impression of movement and reflection. The mirrored image of the tree and surrounding foliage appears distorted by ripples, suggesting a subtle dynamism within what initially seems like a tranquil scene. A few lily pads break the reflective surface, adding visual interest and reinforcing the sense of an overgrown, somewhat wild environment.
The color palette is predominantly green, with variations in tone to differentiate between light and shadow. The sky, visible through gaps in the foliage, displays muted blues and grays, contributing to a feeling of quietude and perhaps even melancholy. The artist’s application of paint appears rapid and expressive, prioritizing capturing an overall impression rather than meticulous detail.
Subtly, theres a sense of enclosure within this scene. The dense vegetation creates a visual barrier, isolating the viewer from any broader context. This feeling is amplified by the limited depth of field; the background landscape fades into obscurity, drawing attention to the immediate surroundings. One might interpret this as a representation of introspection or a retreat from external pressures. The overgrown nature of the pond suggests a place untouched and perhaps forgotten, hinting at themes of times passage and the persistence of nature.