“Late Autumn” – an excellent landscape of I.I. Levitan. This time of the year is the author’s favorite. Naturally, one cannot ignore the beauty of autumn with its variety of colors of fading nature.
The painting was painted in the manner of a gloomy landscape typical for the artist. Nature is depicted as it is, without unnecessary gloss. The author showed twilight, and clouds formed in the sky. Most likely, it is raining and it may be more than one day, since a rather large puddle has formed in the foreground. Yellow leaves fell into the puddle, they were like ships descending for children along the first spring streams. The fields have been removed, and a nearby haystack serves as an indication of this.
The landscape is in anticipation and tension – winter is coming soon. The birches have already lost their foliage, it seems that they are frozen, therefore they are pressed closer to each other. Forest in anticipation of frost, cold weather, first snow. A little more and this bright picture will be replaced by a monotonous white snow-covered plain.
In the background, we see evergreen spruces, as well as other trees with yellowed leaves. The grass is the same: yellow and withered. The sky is very cloudy and gloomy.
The picture gives a very gloomy overall impression. The landscape is very difficult to perceive. The author uses gloomy tones in writing the work, it is worth taking a good look to see the small details of the landscape. The picture lacks a riot of colors, but it is she who can clearly reflect the real state of autumn nature, without unnecessary embellishments.
Year of painting: 1896.
Dimensions of the painting: 59 x 91 cm.
Material: canvas.
Writing technique: oil.
Genre: landscape
Style: realism.
Gallery: State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.