Лето. На пчельнике

autumn 1873

Admitted to the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture

At thirteen he enters the school where his elder brother Abel-Leib has studied since 1871; his teachers are Vasily Perov, Alexei Savrasov and Vasily Polenov.

1875

The death of his mother and his father's illness

His mother dies; his seriously ill father has to give up his work on the railway and cannot support four children by tutoring. The family's position is such that the school gives the brothers material help from time to time.

1877

Savrasov takes him into his landscape class

Alexei Savrasov, a friend of Perov, notices Levitan's talent and takes him into his own landscape class.

3 February 1877

The death of his father from typhus

On 3 February 1877 his father dies of typhus; a time of extreme want begins for Levitan, his brother and sisters. Isaac himself is then studying in the “life class” under Vasily Perov.

March 1877

His first exhibition: a small silver medal

In March 1877 two of Levitan's works shown at an exhibition are noted by the press; the sixteen-year-old artist receives a small silver medal and 220 roubles “to make it possible to continue his studies”.

spring 1888

He discovers Plyos on the Volga

In spring 1888 he sails by steamer along the Oka to Nizhny Novgorod and on up the Volga with the artist Alexei Stepanov and Sofia Kuvshinnikova; to their own surprise they discover the small, quiet town of Plyos and decide to stay on for a while. The three summer seasons there (1888–1890) prove extremely productive: some two hundred works bring Levitan wide fame.