Focus on Fresh Wind. Volga and analyze the History.
Between 1887 and 1891, Isaac Levitan visited the Volga four years in a row. The artist's first impression of the river was disappointment; in 1887, he wrote to his friend, the playwright Anton Chekhov: "I was expecting the Volga to be a source of strong artistic impressions, but instead, the river seemed so dreary and dead that my heart ached and I thought, 'why don't I go back?'" However, the river eventually grew on Levitan. He created paintings such as Evening on the Volga (1888), Evening. Golden Plyos (1889), After the Rain. Plyos (1889) based on his impressions of Volga. Fresh Wind. Volga is part of a series of joyous works depicting nature that Levitan made between 1895 and 1897, which also include the paintings March (1895), Golden Autumn (1895), Spring. High water (1897) and others.
Levitan spent the summer and autumn of 1890 travelling along the Volga, visiting the towns of Plyos, Yuryevets and Kineshma. Sofia Kuvshinnikova, a Russian landscape artist and Levitan's friend, accompanied him on the trip. It is believed that the idea for Fresh Wind. Volga occurred to Levitan during his 1890 trip to Plyos (according to some sources, it happened during a trip from Plyos to Rybinsk).Levitan began working on the artwork in 1891, as evidenced by the half-erased original date "91" in the artist's signature, which was later replaced by "95", the year he completed it. The painting also contains repeated changes to the original paint layer as a result of Levitan's years of work on it.
Fresh Wind. Volga was exhibited at the Society for Travelling Art Exhibitions' 24th exhibition in Saint Petersburg on 11 February 1896 under the title Volga, Windy, alongside nine of Levitan's other works, including March, Golden Autumn, and others. Fresh Wind. Volga was relocated to Moscow for the second part of the exhibition the same year. Some sources claim that the painting was not displayed during the Moscow exhibition, while others claim that it was and that it was here that Russian collector Mikhail Morozov saw and purchased it. The work was also shown at the All-Russia Exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod in 1896.Mikhail Morozov died in 1903. Morozov's widow Margarita Morozova transferred part of his collection, including Fresh Wind. Volga, to the Tretyakov Gallery seven years later, in 1910, in accordance with his will.
Margarita Morozova Kineshma Evening on the Volga Spring. High water Plyos Evening. Golden Plyos Nizhny Novgorod Yuryevets Russian Society for Travelling Art Exhibitions Tretyakov Gallery Rybinsk Moscow Sofia Kuvshinnikova Isaac Levitan After the Rain. Plyos Anton Chekhov Golden Autumn Saint Petersburg Volga All-Russia Exhibition Russia