Haystacks 

Isaac Levitan’s oil sketch, Haystacks, presents a compelling study in form and light through its seemingly simple subject. The composition is divided horizontally, with the lower half dominated by a field rendered in broad strokes of green and brown, setting a tone of rustic simplicity. Above, the sky is a dynamic interplay of blues and whites, where clouds take on almost sculptural forms. Levitan's brushwork is particularly striking. Each stroke is visible, contributing to a textured surface that enlivens the scene. This technique does not merely depict the landscape but also engages with the materiality of paint itself. The haystacks are depicted with an economy of detail, their shapes suggested by the interaction of light and shadow. The painting's structural clarity, where natural forms are reduced to essential shapes, suggests a move towards abstraction, indicative of late 19th-century artistic trends. Levitan uses these formal elements to explore how representation can exist both within and beyond traditional mimetic representation. This tension invites us to consider the painting as a space where perception is actively constructed.