Focus on this artwork and explain the Reception.
The sketches and paintings brought by Levitan from his trips along the Volga astounded the artist Mikhail Nesterov due to "completely new techniques and great skill" in the paintings. According to Nesterov, Levitan's Fresh Wind. Volga "with elegant barges in the foreground" was difficult to draw but was eventually completed after much effort. Nesterov noted that "perhaps no picture, except for Ilya Repin's Barge Haulers on the Volga, gives such a vivid, accurate description of the Volga" when comparing Fresh Wind. Volga to other works.Art historian Vladimir Prytkov wrote in an introductory article to the album commemorating Levitan's 100th birthday that in Fresh Wind. Volga, the artist manifested a new interpretation of Russian nature with the greatest force. Prytkov notes that this artwork is "all fanned with the breath of the fresh Volga wind, which scattered clouds in the sky, raised strong ripples on the river, and blew the sail of the barge". According to Prytkov, the composition's dynamism, the colourful embroidery, the sparkling snow-white steamer, and white "creates a life-affirming, nationally characteristic image of the great Russian river, animated by human activity."Aleksei Fedorov-Davydov, an art historian, wrote in a monograph on Levitan's work published in 1966 that Fresh Wind. Volga is "an example of long-term gestation"; in contrast to the relatively quickly painted March, the artist worked on Fresh Wind. Volga for several years in his studio. Fedorov-Davydov observed that this artwork conveys a "festive image of life," and that "everything is full of life" in it. According to the historian, the fact that the artist depicts nature not only in relation to human life but also in its modern vivacity allows this canvas to be called the "'industrial landscape' of the Levitan era."According to art critic Faina Maltseva, Levitan chose "a motif in which the mighty beauty of the Volga landscape was revealed in all its sparkling splendour" for Fresh Wind. Volga. Maltseva believed that the painting belonged to a later period of the artist's work rather than the series of Volga landscapes shown at the Traveling Art Exhibitions of 1890–1891.
Ilya Repin sketch Barge Russian barge Barge Haulers on the Volga Aleksei Fedorov-Davydov Faina Maltseva Vladimir Prytkov Volga Russia Mikhail Nesterov