Ilya Efimovich Repin (1844 - 1930) is a great Russian artist, one of the most influential and versatile artists of the post-reform era, who painted many remarkable paintings. We will tell you about the most remarkable of them in this article.
Self-portrait, 1887
Repin decided to paint the picture "Barge Haulers on the Volga" back in 1860 - he was too struck by the contrast between the "respectable public" strolling sedately along the St. Petersburg embankment and the barge haulers who were pulling a barge to the eternal "Dubinushka". He quickly sketched a sketch, which, in addition to the barge haulers, included wealthy townspeople in decent suits and ladies in elegant dresses. But he lacked knowledge about the barge haulers themselves, so Repin went along the Volga to collect the necessary material. He communicated a lot with the barge haulers, made a huge number of sketches, trying to find the most memorable and at the same time convincing images. The result of all this work was reflected in one of the best paintings of Russian art.
Barge haulers on the Volga 1873.
There are several details that are difficult to notice at first, but they are very important. On the left in the painting you can see a steamship, and Repin makes it clear that it is time to use steamships to transport heavy barges, rather than hiring barge haulers the old-fashioned way. Moreover, there is no particular benefit for the merchant owners, since barge haulers' labor is quite expensive, just a desire to do everything "as before" and a fear of everything new.
The second detail is even more provocative - an inverted Russian flag on the mast of the barge that the barge haulers are towing. This is a clear hint that someday such blatant exploitation of manual labor will end in disaster for our entire society.
Seeing Off a Recruit (1879)
Until 1874, peasants in Russia were called up for military service for 15 years, which meant that they had to say goodbye to their previous life and the hope of ever seeing their loved ones again. It is not surprising that the farewell to such peasants resembled a funeral. The bride would surely fall out of love with her betrothed in 15 years, the little children would grow up and forget their father, and if he was lucky enough to return home, he would already be a stranger to his family. Repin tried to reflect the tragedy of this state of affairs in this painting.
Religious procession in Kursk province (1883)
A comprehensive depiction of Rus', according to Stasov: "in all its ugliness and in all its grandeur." Repin had observed religious processions since he was a child. They were held every year in the Kursk province, and their participants walked about 30 km. In general, Repin had enough time to look closely at all their participants, to feel and remember the whole atmosphere. The result was amazing, the picture very clearly demonstrates the existing class inequality, the division of society into the noble and the poor. The most revered icon is carried by a local official, surrounded by rich gentlemen, and there is no doubt that they will have priority access to it for their requests and prayers. Well, all sorts of beggars, hunchbacks and "wandering cripples" who rely on this icon as their only hope for a miracle do not have access to it - this is strictly monitored by mounted police, ready to use a whip to rein in even an overzealous disabled hunchback. Tretyakov asked Repin "to make the crowd more beautiful and remove all the negative aspects", but Repin refused and sarcastically asked: "And how often do you see beautiful faces in the crowd, especially for your pleasure, that are sure to come to the forefront?"
Refusal to confess before execution (1885)
The painting, which Repin worked on for six years. The source of inspiration for it was Nikolai Minsky's poem "The Last Confession". It sank deep into the soul of Repin, who generally sympathized with the revolutionaries. He decided to show the clash of two completely opposite opinions and ideologies: a revolutionary sentenced to death and a priest who came to confess him. But the revolutionary does not want to confess: he is probably an atheist, and does not take the priest seriously. He is clearly sure that he will not go to heaven or hell, but his comrades will continue his work, whom he will not betray under any torture. In the end, such a fierce pursuit of one's ideas and ideals deserves respect, it is just a pity that such revolutionaries chose too radical methods to achieve them.
The artist's sleeping wife Natalia Nordman
In addition to genre scenes, Repin painted numerous portraits, including nudes. For example, he depicted his wife Natalia Nordman sleeping and naked. Of course, he did not create this picture for a wide display, but rather in the same way as modern intimate photos are made, only he used brushes and paint instead of a camera. By the way, Repin knew how to paint very quickly, so it is possible that when Natalia woke up, this picture was already finished. Not a bad surprise from her artist husband.
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