Early Life, Family and Training Isaak Ilyich Levitan was born on August 30, 1860, in a shtetl called Kibarty, located in the Augustów Governorate of Congress Poland, which was then part of the Russian Empire. He grew up in a family that was poor in means but held a deep respect for education. His father, Elyashiv Levitan, had been the son of a rabbi and had completed his studies at a Yeshiva. This background provided a foundation of literacy and thought even as the family faced the daily struggles of their economic reality. In 1873, the young artist entered the Moscow School of Painting, Scu…