Painter, graphic artist. Master of landscape painting. Between 1873-1885 he studied at the MSPSA under A.K.Savrasov and V.D.Polenov. Member of the STAE (from 1891). From 1898 he supervised landscape classes at the MSPSA. Took part in exhibitions of the STAE, World of Art group and Munich Sessions. Academician of Painting (from 1898). The distinctive sorrowful rhythm inseperable from love for the beauty of Russian nature is forever associated with the tradition of Russian landscape painting and the name of I.I.Levitan. Being Savrasov's favourite student, Levitan developed the lyrical experience in nature from his teacher and translated it into a new quality to create his landscapes, with a peculiar "atmosphere" of philosophic contemplation. The painter tried to understand the mysterious beauty of nature and simultaneously experience the impossibility of dissolving in its perfection. A reason for the peculiar melancholic mood in his landscapes. Nature is a shrine where man can contemplate eternity and beauty, the shrine where his spiritual vision is awakened. Liberating his work from the narrative quality of landscapes of the past, the master focuses his attention at the expressive landscape motif and its artistic aspects. The first remarkable work by the artist was entitled An Autumn Day. Sokolniky (1879) which already is a testimony to the bright original awareness of the integrity of nature and the soul. Preferring mostly tonal harmony, Levitan was also influenced by Impressionism (March, Golden Autumn, 1895). Landscapes such as Above Eternal Peace (1894), Dusk. Haystacks (1899) are noted for the influence Symbolism and the language of Art Nouveau. The artist’s life ended unexpectedly at the turn of the 20th century.