I have just learned about another Russian realist painter and I couldn’t resist presenting his beautiful works. He is a landscape painter, he loves the wild nature of central Russia or the narrow streets of a small French town. His style is slightly shifted toward expressionism midway between the photorealism of Sorin Sorin and the heavy expressionism of Ovanes Berberian.
His works were present in around 30 exhibitions since 1993, all over Europe, in Moscow or in more exotic locations like Hong Kong. You can even find his works for sale in the Atlantis Fine Arts gallery in South Florida. You will find Dmitri Levin paintings in private collections all over the world, USA, Canada, Europe and Russia.
Dmitri Levin was born in 1955 in Tambov a region in western Russia, in Morshansk a town dating back to the 17th century. Influenced by his father, he attended the art school and later on (1976) he graduated from Penza Art College. In 1997 he became a member of the Russian Union of Artists.
You have to love with the serenity of the rural life in some of his paintings. Yes, maybe it is a bit too perfect but the execution is impressive and the scenery captures exactly what I feel I’m missing living in the city.
And then, I cannot remain untouched by the majestic beauty of the rising sun of some of his landscapes. Not to mention my soft spot for snow in painting. There is a striking antonymy between the frosted trees and the warm yellows of the sun, which sticks to the retina long after I have closed my eye.
You have to admire his technique in this one. Follow the line of trees as they fade into the background, each layer more vague, closer to gray until you finally cannot distinguish the forms. The foliage blurs out into the same color as the ground, the same color he uses for the upper part of the sky as well. But what I like in this painting is the melancholy the rainy day conveys and the unclear regret, maybe suggested by the couple leaving, they too confounding in the background.
But the one that I really love is this. It speaks to me in a way I’m not really sure I can describe.
Here are some more works.
I found them on his website, which you should visit if you want to see more.
His wife, Victoria Levin is a realist painter too, I will return soon with a gallery of her paintings.
