By the whirlpool 1891

Isaac Levitan captured this landscape, titled "By the whirlpool", with oil on canvas. Levitan, a Russian landscape painter of Jewish origin, lived in a society marked by both artistic flourishing and anti-Semitic policies. His identity as a Jew in Russia shaped his artistic path, influencing the emotional depth and melancholic undertones often found in his work. In "By the whirlpool", we see more than just trees and water. The composition invites a deeper reflection, offering an atmospheric experience. Levitan, in his own words, aimed to convey in his landscapes "that which is so intimately familiar and infinitely sad in the Russian landscape." The whirlpool becomes a potent symbol, an emotional undercurrent mirroring the turbulent undercurrents of Russian society. The painting is thus a space where the personal and the political intertwine, reflecting Levitan's own sense of identity and belonging.