By the Riverside. 1885

Isaac Levitan created "By the Riverside" during a period of significant social change in Russia. Levitan, a Russian-Jewish landscape painter, lived at a time when Jewish people faced considerable discrimination and restrictions, which influenced his artistic perspective. In this quiet landscape, Levitan does not focus on grand estates, but instead on the humble beauty of rural Russia. The village, the boat, and the river offer an intimate view of the Russian landscape, evoking a sense of quiet contemplation. Levitan once said, "There is nothing more tragic than to feel the endless beauty around you and not be able to share it." The artwork offers a mirror to the complicated relationship between identity and place, and suggests that landscape painting can be a profound form of emotional and cultural expression.