The artwork, titled “Before the Thunderstorm,” was crafted by Isaac Levitan in 1893 in the Russian Federation. This piece, executed in pencil on paper, belongs to the Realism art movement and represents the genre of sketch and study.
The artwork depicts a landscape on the brink of an impending thunderstorm. Dark, ominous clouds dominate the sky, casting a moody and foreboding atmosphere over the scene. In the foreground, the outlines of trees and structures are sketched in a loose, expressive manner. The view extends to a body of water, with its surface slightly disturbed, indicating the approaching storm. Levitan’s masterful use of pencil shading captures the dramatic interplay of light and dark, imbuing the scene with a sense of tension and impending change. The artwork exemplifies Levitan’s ability to convey emotional depth and atmospheric conditions through the medium of pencil.
