Thread: We hear relatively little of Russian art. Ilya Repin (1844-1930) was the most respected Russian painter of his time. Here’s an overview of his life & work. His portraits share a vanished pre-Communist society with us. He was born on this day

Born in Ukraine, the son of a private in the Uhlan Regiment & of a school teacher. By 1856 he studied under an Icon painter & in 1864 he was in the Imperial Academy of Arts. Exam prep (1864), Portrait of his Aunt (1859) & Artist’s Mother (1867)

Here’s one of my original ink drawings. It’s just €149/£136 with free registered shipping

Magic Tulips (2020) https://etsy.me/2C5o8yq 

Repin travelled to the Volga River (1870) & in ‘72 the collector Tretyakov started to buy his work. In 1873 he completed his Barge Haulers for the Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich. Burlak (1870 & 1870)

In 1873 Repin travelled to Italy & France & exhibited at the Salon. He saw impressionism yet felt it did not have moral or social depth that he wanted. Haulers (1872), Slav Composers (1871-2), Studies (1873) & Newspaper Seller, Paris (1873)

He was an academician in 1878 for his Sadko in the Underwater Kingdom & he moved to Moscow. Tolstoy & he became acquainted. Sadko (1878), Self-Portrait (1878) & Hero (1878)

Repin felt a special affinity with the Imperial peasants & his fellow artists admired his approach. Religious Procession (1878), In the Hut (1878) & Nun (1878)

In 1880 he went to Zaporozhye to prepare studies for Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks. Hunchback (1880) & Ukrainian Peasants, Study (1880)

In 1885 his painting of Ivan the Terrible & his Son was exhibited. They did not expect him (1884-8), Portrait (1884) & the Artist’s Daughter (1884)

A trip to the Crimea in 1886 was made to make studies for biblical subjects. Taking Christ into Custody (1886), Study (1886) & Portrait (1886)

In 1887 he travelled to Germany, Austria & Italy. Portrait (1887), Self-Portrait (1887), Portrait (1887) & Portrait (1887)

1889 saw him back in Paris & then London, Zürich & Munich. Three portraits & his St Nicholas (1889)

His greatest portraits come from the 1880s. He depicted his sitters with dignity, intelligence & empathy

He held a one-man exhibition in the History Museum in Moscow (1892). Repin travelled again in W Europe. Two portraits (1892), Tolstoy (1891) & Portrait of an Actress (1891)

From 1894-1907 he was teaching at the Higher Art School. In 1895 he was painting the Emperor. Neapolitan Woman (1894), Self-Portrait (1895), Temptation of Christ (1896) & the Emperor (1896)

A trip to the Holy Land (1898) led to his Carrying the Cross. By 1900 he had moved to Finland, just an hour from St Petersburg. Studio (1899), Portrait (1899), Duel (1899) & Gorky (1899)

Repin was a Judge at the World Exhibition in Paris (1900) & travelled in Central Europe. Two Tsars (1900), Natalia Nordman (1900), Art Critic (1900) & In The Sun (1900)

In 1905 he documented troops opening fire on peaceful demonstrators. Demonstration (1905), On Palace Square (1905) & Family Portrait (1905)

He painted portraits of Gorky & of his partner Natalia Nordman. In 1911 he was back exhibiting in Paris. She died in 1914. Gorky (1899), Double-Portrait (1903), Natalia (1901) & Natalia Sleeping (c1900)

Repin welcomed the Revolution of 1917. 1918 saw the Finnish frontier closed, meaning he lost access to his estate there. He donated a large collection of his & others work to Helsinki. Portrait (1916), Portrait (1916), Deserter (1917) & Self-Portrait (1917)

He held a number of exhibitions in his final years & continued to work until his death in 1930. Golgotha (1922), Physiologist (1924) & Hopak (1930). His work is always fascinating

Here’s another of my original ink drawings. Check out my Etsy store to see more of my works.

Look Within (2020) https://etsy.me/2Puef05