Twilight 1900

Isaac Levitan painted this oil on canvas, called Twilight, in Russia at the end of the 19th century. At first glance, the work may seem like a simple landscape, a common genre at the time. But consider Russia's complex social structure; the rigid class divisions, the rise of revolutionary thought, and the intellectual debates around national identity. We can see the simple life and rural subject matter as a reflection of the values of the Russian ‘intelligentsia’ at the time, who believed that there was something authentic in peasant culture. It offered a critique of Western values, particularly the French Academy. Levitan was a prominent member of the ‘Peredvizhniki’, or ‘Wanderers’, a group of Russian realist artists who rejected academic restrictions and instead chose to depict the lives of ordinary people. Levitan's choice of subject matter, his focus on the Russian landscape, and his commitment to realism, all reflect the social and cultural concerns of his time. Understanding this art requires historical investigation and archival research to reveal the complex interplay between art and society.