Moonlit Night. Village. 1897 Isaac Ilyich Levitan (1860-1900)

Description of Isaac Levitan’s painting "Moonlit Night. Village."

The painting was painted in 1897.

The viewer is presented with a row of huts that have fallen asleep until morning. On the left side, we see majestic trees that cast whimsical shadows on the road. The night is filled with special mysteries and a kind of unaccountable anxiety. It is so quiet all around, even the treetops are not stirred by the wind. The moon is looking down on the village. We can’t see it yet. But its light is already flooding the sky and the windows of the houses. It is so tender and inviting. All is frozen in lingering anticipation.

The spectators are in a sad mood. But it is bright and almost elusive.

There is a light on in one hut. Maybe they are playing cards there, or maybe someone just has no time to sleep on this charm-filled night.

Levitan was able not only to capture the picture he saw, but to convey his attitude to it, and a special look at a completely ordinary things.

Painter skillfully uses the palette. Just amazing how many shades of brown he used in his work. With a certain monochromaticism the painting is incredibly rich in shades. The moon, or rather the light from it, and the white walls of the huts become some spots of light that somewhat enliven the landscape.

At first glance, the gloomy picture of the night becomes truly captivating, filled with the expectation of something unusual and certainly fairy-tale. Everything around is so quiet, as if everything is frozen in anticipation of the grand events that may soon occur. Every detail counts.

With Levitan, everything matters. It seems that a little more and the wind will rise or night cicadas will rattle. And meanwhile the mysterious silence reigns all around.

Levitan was able to see in the familiar to his contemporaries paintings something special and convey his attitude and a special mood in the paintings. Only a true master can not only depict what he sees, but also to create in the audience a special mood.