In this artwork, how is the History discussed?
Levitan left Moscow for the Vladimir Governorate on 12 May 1892, accompanied by the artist Sofia Kuvshinnikova. They settled in Gorodok, a village on the Peksha River (now part of Peksha village, Vladimir Oblast). On 13 May, Levitan wrote to Pavel Tretyakov: "I've settled in a pretty nice area and I'm thinking of working here". He spent the summer of 1892 there. The house Levitan lived in was later turned into a museum before being destroyed by fire on 22 August 1999.
Kuvshinnikova wrote about the source of inspiration for Levitan's Vladimirka. On one occasion, as they were returning from a hunt, they emerged onto the Vladimir Highway, an unpaved road that ran east from Moscow and was frequently used to ferry prisoners to Siberia for exile. Kuvshinnikova summarised their feelings as follows: "The view had a wonderful, quiet charm to it. Between the trees, a long, white-washed stretch of road extended into the distance. A crumbling old dovecote with a weathered icon and two distant golubets (a roof on a grave or worship cross) both hinted at long-forgotten antiquity. Everything seemed soft and cozy". Levitan later recalled that this was the same Vladimirka where the chained prisoners had travelled to Siberia. In the days that followed, Levitan came back to this road several times to paint a sketch for a future painting. He finished the sketch in a few sessions. Then, in order to quickly paint the picture he had imagined, he departed for Moscow. The work on the canvas was swiftly finished after being recently inspired by the landscape seen on the Vladimir Highway. After completing the work, Levitan inscribed the title of the painting—Володимірка (Vladimirka)—on the canvas. The artist had never previously added painting titles to his canvases, so this was an unusual step for him.Vladimirka and four other Levitan works were exhibited at the Society for Travelling Art Exhibitions' twenty-first exhibition, which debuted in Saint Petersburg in February 1893 before moving to Moscow in March. The landscape paintings in the exhibition received very little attention from Saint Petersburg critics; the only mention of Vladimirka was in the 47th issue of the Peterburgskaya Gazeta on 18 February 1893, where it was noted that Vladimirka had "the most unattractive 'grey' motives" and the author remarked, "What could be more boring than 'Vladimirka' by Levitan?" More reviews of the painting appeared in the press after the exhibition was relocated to Moscow, the majority of which were complimentary; in particular, Vladimir Sizov (Russkiye Vedomosti), Vladimir Gringmut (Moskovskiye Vedomosti), and Mikhail Korelin (Russkaya mysl) all praised the work.Despite the positive reviews, the painting was not purchased during the exhibition. Levitan gave the painting to the Tretyakov Gallery a year later, in March 1894. In a letter to Pavel Tretyakov dated 11 March 1894, Levitan wrote: "'Vladimirka' will probably return from the exhibition one of these days; take it and calm me and her [the painting]".
Exhibition Russkaya mysl Vladimir Gringmut Russkiye Vedomosti Moskovskiye Vedomosti Peksha River Peksha Peterburgskaya Gazeta Tretyakov Gallery Vladimir Highway Society for Travelling Art Exhibitions Moscow exhibited Pavel Tretyakov Mikhail Korelin Sofia Kuvshinnikova left Vladimir Vladimir Sizov Vladimir Governorate Saint Petersburg exhibition Siberia Vladimir Oblast