Winter 1895

Isaac Levitan created this watercolor painting titled 'Winter' during a period of significant social and artistic change in Russia. The late 19th century saw the rise of Realism and a focus on depicting the everyday lives of ordinary people, and Levitan's landscape embodies a sense of national identity. He was part of the Peredvizhniki movement, or the Wanderers, a group of Russian realist artists who protested against academic restrictions and formed an artists' cooperative that evolved into the Society for Travelling Art Exhibitions in 1870. The Wanderers sought to bring art to the people by depicting the lives of the peasantry, and images of Russian landscapes played a vital role in constructing a shared sense of national identity. Levitan's 'Winter' fits this mould through its poetic depiction of the Russian landscape. To fully appreciate paintings such as this, we turn to historical sources, museum archives, and critical analyses to understand the artistic and social context in which they were created.