Ilya Repin

Ilya Repin was a Russian realist painter and sculptor originating from the Kharkov region of present day Ukraine. A member of the free-thinking society of Peredvizhniki artists, Repin's works of realism became a model imitated by "Socialist Realist" artists of the Soviet Union. His works expressed great psychological depth and brilliantly exposed tensions within the existing social order.

After an apprenticeship with an icon painter, Repin received an art education at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg. With the academy's allowance, he also studied briefly in Italy and France from 1873 to 1876. While exposed to French Impressionist painting, and gaining insight into its use of light and color, Ilya Repin never became an impressionist himself. The artist remained a realist painter his entire life.

A few notable Paintings of Illya Repin include the following:

Barge Haulers on the Volga (1870-1873)

portraying the hard life of the Russian peasant, but not without hope for Russia's future (as a brightly colored youth fights against his leather binds and takes on a heroic poise)
one of the most famous pieces of the Peredvizhniki movement, the painting helped establish Repin's fame

They Did Not Expect Him (1884-1888)

A masterpiece dealing with the theme of the Russian revolutionary movement, the painting shows a family surprised by an unexpected return home of a political exile.
The painting is one of Repin's finest artistic achievements from the social point of view of the Peredvizhniki movement.

Religious Procession in Kursk Province (1880-1883)

The work shows an angry, huddled mass attending the annual religious procession carrying the famous Our Lady of Kursk icon from its home at the Korennaya monastery to the nearby city of Kursk in western Russia.
The large oil on canvas is a continuation of Repin's social commentary in his work, highlighting perceived abuses by both church and state.
Considered by many a model for Russian national style, the painting displays various social classes and the tensions among them.

Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan on November 16th, 1581 (1885)

One of Ilya Repin's most psychologically intense works, the painting displays a horrified Ivan embracing his dying son, whom he had just struck and mortally wounded in an uncontrolled fit of rage.

Zaporozhian Cossacks Writing a Letter to the Turkish Sultan (1880-1891)

A painting depicting Ukrainian Cossack republicanism, Repin started the painting around 1880 and never finished it until 1891.
Alexander III bought the painting for 35,000 rubles, at the time the greatest sum ever paid for a Russian painting.

Ceremonial Session of the State Council (1903)

In 1903, Ilya Repin was commissioned by the Russian government to paint the Formal Session of the State Council on May 7, 1901 (commemorating the 100th Anniversary of its founding). Painted on a large canvas of 400cm x 877cm (13.1 feet x 28.8 feet), it was one of Repin's most grandiose works.

Portraits of Famous Russians

While Repin frequently painted regular Russians and Ukrainians, in his later years he also painted members of the Imperial Russian elite, the intelligentsia, and the aristocracy. Examples include portraits of Emperor Nicholas II, writer Leo Tolstoy, scientist Dmitri Mendeleev, and composer Modest Mussorgsky.

Memorial Home "Penates"

Ilya Repin designed his own home Penaty ("the Penates"), located in a settlement just to the north of Saint Petersburg. Formerly known as Kuokkala in the Grand Dutchy of Finland, the settlement is now called Repino in his honor. The Penates are part of the World Heritage Site, Historic Center of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments.