[1][2] Levitan began working on the canvas in the autumn of 1895, while living in the Gorka estate in the Tver Governorate, where he painted the first sketches.

"[11] Art historian Dmitry Sarabianov wrote that the artist was inspired by the "unusual, striking effect of the colour scheme, in which the contrast between gold and blue plays the leading role."

The estate belonged to Privy Councillor Ivan Nikolayevich Turchaninov, a senator and assistant to the governor of Saint Petersburg.

[16] A two-storey workshop house was built for the artist on the shore of Lake Ostrovno, at the confluence of the Syezhi River, as there were no suitable rooms on the estate.

[24] Artist Vitold Byalynitsky-Birulya, who also worked in those places, stated that Levitan based his painting Golden Autumn on a sketch made during his stay in Gorka.

"[29][30] In an article published in the magazine Russkaya Mysl (May 1896 issue), the writer Mitrofan Remezov ironically referred to the entire landscape component of the travelling exhibition, including Levitan's "'forests' of autumn gold": in Remezov's words, "we pay tribute to the artists' skill, but we begin to become indifferent to their works: we have already seen all the 'moods', experienced all the impressions, and are repeating the sensations.

[37] The 24th travelling exhibition continued its journey to other cities of the Russian Empire in autumn and winter, visiting Kharkiv (October–November), Kyiv (December–January) and Tula (January–February).

[38] The exhibition catalogue issued in Kharkiv described the paintings Golden Autumn and March as "property of the Moscow City Gallery of brothers P. and S.

"[39] In Kharkiv, the painting Golden Autumn was damaged when a copper canopy from a wall heater fell on it and tore through the canvas.

[12] The bright, joyful, optimistic colours of this painting are not typical of Levitan's work, which usually features softer and more gentle tones.

The busy left side is compensated for by "the grouping of objects, distribution of illuminated and shaded masses, and division of plans."

A group of trees, including birches with bright yellow foliage and aspens with the last reddened leaves, is depicted in close-up at the left edge of the canvas.

They create a "bright and sonorous patch",[12] which contrasts with the "slowly flowing, 'cold' river reflecting the coolness of the sky" to the right,[35] which appears dark and cold.

The surface of the river appears to be another large color patch, with the base being blue, to which brownish reflections from the banks are added.

"[56] At the edge of the distant forest, where the terrain rises slightly, there are green fields with winter crops and several village houses depicted.

[citation needed] Like in March, the artist uses Impressionist techniques in Golden Autumn and combines gold and blue colours to create a decorative effect, but in a "more open and strong manner.

[citation needed] Unlike March, Golden Autumn has less glaze, mainly applied to the lower body layer.

[11] According to Fedorov-Davydov, the Golden Autumn canvas is a new, plastically enriched stage of "landscape mood", it "sounds like a song or a poem", and standing in front of it, we once again realise "what a poet of nature, what a finely felt and organically expressed poetry of the man Levitan was".

According to him, the artist was inspired to create Golden Autumn by the "unusual, striking effect of the colour scheme, in which the contrast between gold and blue plays the leading role".

[citation needed] Art historian Olga Lyaskovskaya wrote in her book "Plein-air in Russian Painting of the XIX century" that Golden Autumn, unlike March, was not one of Levitan's best works.

Lyaskovskaya also quoted a passage from the memoirs of the artist Boris Lipkin, which showed that Levitan himself was not satisfied with Golden Autumn, saying when it was mentioned: "Well, it's so crude.

"[60] According to art historian Faina Maltseva, the image created in this painting "carries a deep and multifaceted content", which "is revealed as you look at what is depicted for a long time, as you empathise with it lyrically".

According to Maltseva, there is "nothing accidental" in the painting, and "the immediacy of the vital impression" was achieved through a long search for a suitable composition and the rejection of many unimportant details.

[12] Art historian Vladimir Petrov wrote that Levitan's numerous works dedicated to the Russian autumn "together form a unique, extremely rich in emotional shades 'autumn suite'".

However, Levitan's "comprehension of the Russian chord of nature" is somewhat similar to the frescoes found in Yaroslavl and Rostov churches of the 17th and early 18th centuries.

[62] In his discussion of the painting Golden Autumn, writer Vladimir Porudominsky acknowledges the difficulty of describing Levitan's landscapes in words.

He notes that a simple enumeration of the elements depicted, such as trees, grass, river, and sky, cannot fully convey the feeling that unites and binds them into a cohesive whole on the canvas.