“I think it is all a matter of love; the more you love a memory the stronger and stranger it becomes.” — Vladimir Nabokov [Moonlit Night, Isaac Levitan]
• Vladimir Nabokov lives with his wife Véra in the Montreux Palace Hotel in Montreux, Switzerland, a resort city on Lake Geneva which was a favorite of Russian aristocrats of the last century. They dwell in a connected series of hotel rooms that, like their houses and apartments in the United States, seem impermanent, places of exile. Their rooms include one used for visits by their son Dmitri, and another, the chambre de debarras, where various items are deposited—Turkish and Japanese editions of Lolita, other books, sporting equipment, an American flag. More: https://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/4310/the-art-of-fiction-no-40-vladimir-nabokov
• One thing you will notice about Levitan’s landscape paintings is how diverse they are in terms of style and subject. His academic training allowed him to be such a versatile painter and, like many of the other Russian masters, it appears he was not timid about experimenting with his style and technique. Some paintings are delicately rendered and realistic, whilst others are bold and impressionistic. More: https://drawpaintacademy.com/isaac-levitan/
