Barn. Twilight. 1895

Editor: This is Isaac Levitan’s "Barn. Twilight," from 1895. It's a pen and pencil drawing, quite small, and gives the impression of a quickly jotted-down scene. I’m curious, what catches your eye when you look at this work? Curator: Immediately, I see a focus on the means of production, both of the artwork itself and what it depicts. Notice Levitan's choice of readily available, inexpensive materials: pen, pencil, paper. It speaks to the accessibility of artmaking. Now, consider what he's drawing: a barn. What is a barn if not a crucial element in the process of material creation? It's a storehouse, a site of labor. Editor: That's an interesting point about the materials being accessible. I hadn’t thought about how the choice of materials relates to the subject. Curator: Exactly. It pushes us to reconsider traditional hierarchies. This isn't some grand, history painting executed in oils on canvas. It's a sketch, arguably humble. But consider the labor invested not only in the making of the sketch, but in the creation and maintenance of this rural landscape. What kind of labor would you imagine? Editor: Difficult physical work, certainly. Harvesting, building, repairing. I see what you mean about Levitan blurring those lines between high art and everyday labor. It makes me consider how landscape painting can sometimes romanticize a reality that was often very difficult. Curator: Precisely. The 'twilight' of the title also hints at this – the end of the working day, perhaps, but also maybe a fading way of life connected directly to the land. Editor: So by using these simple materials and depicting this very ordinary scene, Levitan is making us think about the connection between art, labor and the materials that enable both. I see it now! Thank you for pointing that out. Curator: It is a pleasure. This humble sketch reveals a world when one truly slows down and considers the intersection of those important concepts.