Antosha & Levitasha : the shared lives and art of Anton Chekhov and Isaac Levitan / Serge Gregory.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gregory, Serge, 1948- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Chekhov, Anton Pavlovich, 1860-1904--Friends and associates.

Chekhov, Anton Pavlovich.

Levitan, Isaak Ilʹich, 1860-1900--Friends and associates.

Levitan, Isaak Ilʹich.

Levitan, Isaak Ilʹich, 1860-1900.

Chekhov, Anton Pavlovich, 1860-1904.

Authors--19th century--Biography.

Authors.

Painters--Russia--19th century--Biography.

Painters.

Friendship.

Friends and associates.

Russia.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

viii, 248 pages ; 23 cm

Other Title:

Antosha and Levitasha

Place of Publication:

DeKalb, IL : Northern Illinois University Press, [2015]

Summary:

"Antosha and Levitasha is the first book in English devoted to the complex relationship between Anton Chekhov and Isaac Levitan, one of Russia's greatest landscape painters. Outside of Russia, a general lack of familiarity with Levitan's life and art has undermined an appreciation of the cultural significance of his friendship with Chekhov. Serge Gregory's highly readable study attempts to fill that gap for Western readers by examining a friendship that may have vacillated between periods of affection and animosity, but always reflected an unwavering shared aesthetic. In Russia, where entire rooms of galleries in Moscow and St. Petersburg are devoted to Levitan's paintings, the lives of the famous writer and the equally famous artist have long been tied together. To those familiar with the work of both men, it is evident that Levitan's "landscapes of mood" have much in common with the way that Chekhov's characters perceive nature as a reflection of their emotional state. Gregory focuses on three overarching themes: the artists' similar approach to depicting landscape; their romantic and social rivalries within their circle of friends, which included many of Moscow's leading cultural figures; and the influence of Levitan's personal life on Chekhov's stories and plays. He emphasizes the facts of Levitan's life and his place in late nineteenth-century Russian art, particularly with respect to his dual loyalties to the competing Itinerant and World of Art movements. Accessible and engaging, Antosha and Levitasha will appeal to scholars and general readers interested in art history, late nineteenth-century Russian culture, and biographies"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

1 1860-1885 Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture 6

2 1885 First Babkino Summer 23

3 1886 Second Babkino Summer 33

4 1887-1889 Along the Steppe, on the Volga 49

5 1890-1891 Jealousy 65

6 1892 "The Grasshopper" 85

7 1893-1894 Tangled Affairs 123

8 1895 "I'm Sick of Myself" 139

9 1896 "Superb Sketches and a Passionate Thirst for Life" 157

10 1897 "I Love Him" 165

11 1898 Professor of Painting 184

12 1899 "I'm Young in Spirit" 196

13 1900 "Only Now DO I Understand" 206.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780875807317

0875807313

OCLC:

910981027