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.
late 1889 – early 1890
His first trip to Western Europe
He visits France and Italy, wanting to get to know modern painting better as shown at the World Exhibition in Paris — probably above all the Barbizon school and the Impressionists. According to Nesterov, in the West he became convinced that the path he had chosen was the right one.
March 1891
Admitted to the Peredvizhniki Association
In March 1891 he becomes a member of the Association of Travelling Art Exhibitions.
spring 1892
The 20th Peredvizhniki exhibition: “Autumn”, “At the Whirlpool”, “Summer”, “October”
By spring 1892 he finishes “Autumn”, begun in autumn 1891, and shows it at the 20th Peredvizhniki exhibition together with three more paintings: “At the Whirlpool”, “Summer” and “October”.
1892
Forced to leave Moscow again
As a “person of the Jewish faith” he is made to leave Moscow and for a time lives in the Tver and Vladimir governorates; thanks to his friends' efforts he is allowed to return “as an exception”.
1892
A quarrel with Chekhov over “The Grasshopper”
In the plot of his story “The Grasshopper” the writer used moments from the relationship of Levitan, his pupil Sofia Kuvshinnikova and her husband, the doctor Dmitry Kuvshinnikov — and the episode clouded the friendship between the two men.