One of the most famous Russian artists is Ilya Repin. The paintings of the painter have received recognition not only in our country, but also abroad. The author has created many wonderful paintings of the most diverse content. However, he always tried to show actual problems contemporary reality. Even in plots on historical subjects, he always sought to bring the depicted scenes closer to the viewer.
Brief description of creativity
Ilya Repin, whose paintings deservedly entered the golden fund of Russian art, has always remained a realist. At the same time, he was open to everything new: he was interested in a wide variety of artistic styles: starting from the painting of the Dutch artists of the 17th century and ending with the achievements of contemporary impressionists.
However, he himself invariably adhered to the principle of simplicity, realism and reliability. The artist has always avoided any frills, preferring simplicity and clarity of subjects. He did not experiment with colors, on the contrary, he painted objects as they appeared to his imagination. He outlined these principles in his work "Far Close".
"Barge Haulers on the Volga"
Particularly keen interest in paintings folk life invariably showed Ilya Repin. The artist's paintings on this subject have always received a warm response from the democratically minded intelligentsia and artists. In 1870-1873, he created one of his most famous and monumental paintings, Barge haulers on the Volga.
The plot of the picture arose under the impression of the artist's trip along the Volga. In this canvas, the author conveyed the strength and greatness of the simple Russian people. The images of workers turned out to be very solid and poetic, largely because the author gave individual features to each of the depicted people. This work received international recognition, as it depicted a scene from folk life, while given topic was unpopular among the painters of the Academy.
Historical canvases
Some key moments in the past of our country were shown by Ilya Repin. The artist's paintings on this subject were filled with special drama. One of the most famous works is the painting "Ivan the Terrible and his son Ivan", created in 1885. It is indicative that the artist chose the writer V. Garshin for the image of the prince, in whose appearance, in his opinion, there was an expression of some doom. The canvas was negatively received by Emperor Alexander III, a ban was even imposed on it, which, nevertheless, was lifted through the efforts of other cultural figures.
In 1880, Ilya Efimovich Repin traveled through Little Russia. Artist's paintings late period are distinguished by special epicness and brilliance. In 1891, under the impression of the aforementioned journey, he created the painting "The Cossacks write a letter to the Turkish Sultan."
The writing of the work was preceded by a long period of studying the conditions of life, costumes, and the history of the people of Little Russia.
portraits
The painter created many images of his prominent contemporaries. Almost all of them had friendly relations with him. Ilya Efimovich Repin was friends with the writer L. Tolstoy for almost twenty years. Paintings-portraits of the artist convey his sympathy for those people who posed for him. He created many images of this author, however, the most famous portrait is called "Plowman Leo Tolstoy on the arable land", which he painted in 1887. In this picture, he emphasized the writer's closeness to folk life, his whole nature and outstanding physical strength.
Ilya Repin was friends with many outstanding artists. Paintings whose description shows wide circle his interests, is distinguished by democracy and simplicity, invariably captivating viewers and critics. This is the picture famous composer M. Mussorgsky. The work was written during his illness, however, with amazing skill showed his lively mind, focusing on the eyes and facial expressions. Other no less famous portrait author - image famous philanthropist P. Tretyakov.
Ceremonial works
Ilya Repin, whose paintings with the names are presented in this review, completed a number of orders from the emperor. In 1884-1886, he painted the canvas “Reception of the Volost Elders by the Emperor Alexander III in the courtyard of the Petrovsky Palace in Moscow. This order attracted the artist new opportunity show representatives of the people. In 1901-1903, he painted a picture depicting a meeting of the State Council. This order was of political importance, however, attracted the artist with the opportunity to make small sketches and sketches of the assembled faces. The fast pace of work led to the fact that they short term several interesting sketches were created. So, the work of the artist was diverse and diverse. He painted pictures using a variety of subjects, and the canvases invariably worked out for him. The author made a great contribution to the development of realism in Russian painting. In addition, he brought up a whole galaxy wonderful artists, among whom were V. Serov, I. Grabar and others.
Many historical figures we know only from sculptures and portraits, so we have to judge their appearance by other people's interpretations. Fortunately, history has short period when a photograph has already appeared and has not yet become a thing of the past classical painting. Let's compare how people looked "in life" and in portraits, using the example of Ilya Repin - one of the greatest portrait painters in history, who was also a subtle psychologist.
(Total 11 photos)
Left: Maxim Gorky and Maria Andreeva posing for Repin. 1905 Right: Repin's portrait of Maria Andreeva in 1905.
The fatal Maria Fedorovna Andreeva (née Yurkovskaya) was one of the most famous and influential actresses of the early twentieth century: she helped Stanislavsky open the Moscow art theater, fascinated Savva Morozov and turned his feelings to finance the needs of the theater and the party. She had known Repin since childhood and at the age of 15 she posed for illustrations for Pushkin's Stone Guest: the artist painted Donna Anna from her.
In 1900, when the Moscow Art Theater went to Sevastopol to show Chekhov The Seagull, the writer introduced Andreeva to Maxim Gorky. Around the same time, she became interested in Marxist literature, began to approach the Bolsheviks and help them in party affairs. Even the actress joined the RSDLP before Gorky. A few years later, Andreeva became the writer's common-law wife and his literary secretary. Having moved to Finland, they often visited Repin's estate and posed for the artist's portraits.
Gorky and Andreeva posing for Repin. Finland, 1905
Even before this portrait was completed, the writer Alexander Kuprin and his wife saw it: they were invited to the studio to read Gorky's play Children of the Sun. When Repin asked what Kuprin thought about the picture, he hesitated: “The question took me by surprise. The portrait is unsuccessful, it does not look like Maria Fedorovna. This big hat casts a shadow on her face, and then he (Repin) gave her face such a repulsive expression that it seems unpleasant. I felt embarrassed, I could not immediately find what to say, and was silent. Repin looked at me carefully and said: “You didn’t like the portrait. I agree with you - the portrait is unsuccessful.
Left: portrait of the composer Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky, 1881.
Ilya Repin was a friend of the composer Modest Mussorgsky and an admirer of his work. He knew about his friend's drunkenness and wrote bitterly about it:
“It is incredible how this excellently educated guards officer, with excellent secular manners, a witty interlocutor in ladies' society, an inexhaustible pun<...>soon found himself in some cheap taverns, losing his cheerful appearance there, becoming like regulars like " former people”, where this childishly cheerful booty with a red potato nose was already unrecognizable. Is it really him? Dressed, it used to be, with a needle, a shambler, an impeccable man of society, perfumed, refined, squeamish.
When the artist found out that Mussorgsky was in serious condition got to the hospital, he went to him and in four sessions (from March 2 to March 5, 1881) painted this portrait. As an eyewitness said, they had to work “with all sorts of inconveniences; the painter did not even have an easel, and he had to somehow settle down at the table in front of which Mussorgsky was sitting in a hospital chair. The composer died 10 days later. The artist refused to pay for the work, donating money for a monument to a deceased friend.
Portrait of Leo Tolstoy, 1887, and photo of the writer.
Repin and Tolstoy were warmly friends for almost 30 years, until the writer's death. Repin created 3 busts of the writer, 12 portraits, 25 drawings, 8 sketches of members of the Tolstoy family and 17 illustrations for Tolstoy's works - both in watercolor, and in pen, and in pencil. Even after moving to St. Petersburg, Repin met with Tolstoy on every visit to Moscow. In his memoirs, the artist admitted that in the presence of Leo Nikolayevich, as if hypnotized, he could only obey his will, and any position expressed by Tolstoy seemed to him indisputable at that moment. The writer criticized Repin's paintings and suggested details to him, and said admiringly about one of the works: "Skill is such that you can't see the skill!"
I have been to the artist's house eldest daughter Tolstoy Tatyana Sukhotina, who also became his model. Tatyana Lvovna was fond of painting and copied the portraits of her father made by Repin (although she did not dare to paint a new one). After the revolution, she even opened a drawing studio in Moscow.
Tatyana Sukhotina (Tolstaya).
Valentin Serov began to draw on the recommendation of Repin, at the age of 9, and the accomplished artist worked with a teenager for six years. In Serov's mother, Valentina Semyonovna, Repin found the features of a proud princess Sofya Alekseevna. He had long wanted to paint Princess Sophia in prison, but could not find a model, but here he was lucky.
In the painting “Princess Sofya”, the artist combined sketch portraits of the translator Blaramberg-Apreleva, the dressmaker and Valentina Serova. It is believed that Sophia has a little portrait resemblance to the artist’s mother: it was important for Repin to create collective image and show the fortitude, perseverance and unbroken will of a woman.
Valentina Serova in the photo and in the painting "Princess Sophia in the Novodevichy Convent", 1879.
Valentina Serova in the photo and in the portrait of Repin.
Repin repeatedly offered his friend Pavel Tretyakov to pose for a portrait, but the gallery owner did not agree for a long time: he was a reserved person and did not want to be recognized. Lost in the crowd of visitors to his exhibitions, he could, remaining unrecognized, hear their sincere reviews. Repin, on the other hand, believed that everyone should know by sight one of the most prominent cultural figures of the era, and yet persuaded him to take a portrait. The artist depicted a friend in his usual pose, absorbed in his thoughts, in his favorite gallery. Contemporaries called the portrait successful and recognized in him the modest spiritual Tretyakov - the way he was in life.
Right: portrait of Pavel Tretyakov, 1883.
Contemporaries of Alexei Feofilaktovich Pisemsky claimed that Repin was able to very accurately capture the character of the writer - sarcastic, skeptical, mocking - and that his work went beyond the usual portrait. But in the look of the writer, longing is also noticeable: Repin knew that the writer was unhealthy and addicted to alcohol, that one of his sons committed suicide, and the second was terminally ill, and showed this in the picture. The portrait was made a year before the death of the writer.
Right: portrait of Alexei Pisemsky, 1880.
The portrait of the eldest daughter of the artist Vera in the painting “ autumn bouquet". In a letter to Tatyana Sukhotina (Tolstoy), Repin shared: “I am starting a portrait of Vera, in the middle of the garden with big bouquet coarse autumn flowers, with a thin, graceful boutonniere; in a beret, with an expression of a sense of life, youth, bliss.
Right: Autumn bouquet. Portrait of Vera Ilyinichna Repina, 1892.
"My main principle in painting: matter as such. I don’t care about colors, strokes and virtuosity of the brush, I have always pursued the essence: the body as a body "(I. E. Repin)
Born in the Kharkov province in a family of military settlers. At the age of 13, he was sent to be trained as an icon painter. With the money earned, Repin went to St. Petersburg, where he entered the Academy of Arts. In 1871, for the painting "The Resurrection of the Daughter of Jairus" he received gold medal and title cool artist. Repin's first success came in 1873 at an exhibition in Vienna with the work Barge haulers on the Volga. From that moment on, the fame of the artist only expanded. The creative range of the artist was huge: paintings from modern folk life (“ Procession in the Kursk province”, 1880-1883), portraits (“V. V. Stasov”, 1883; “P. A. Strepetova”, 1882), scenes from Slavic mythology(“Sadko”, 1876), historical canvases (“The Cossacks write a letter to the Turkish Sultan”, 1878-1891). This picture was based on a historical episode: in 1675 Turkish sultan Mohammed IV presented the Cossacks of the Zaporizhzhya Sich with something like an ultimatum demanding to submit to him and pass into Turkish citizenship. The Cossacks responded to this statement with a message where, without any diplomatic roundabouts, with humor and malicious irony (adding insulting titles to the Sultan at the end), they explained their position to the arrogant ruler. Repin captured on the canvas the moment of creating a collective composition of the letter, where he does not focus on individuals, but focuses on the entire colorful mass of the people. But no matter what Repin wrote about, no matter what genre he turned to, his artistic gift to feel main idea era, the ability to see the reflection of this idea in the private destinies and characters of people. His work is historical reality itself, its pain and hope, its deep contradictions and dramas. Most vividly, the realism of Repin's art is reflected in portraiture. The true masterpieces in this genre are the grandiose canvas " Solemn meeting Council of State” (1903) and “Portrait of MP Mussorgsky” (1881), written shortly before the death of the composer. Repin spent only 4 sessions in the hospital, where Mussorgsky was being treated. Therefore, the musician is depicted in a hospital gown, in an unbuttoned shirt, with disheveled hair. The artist created an impressive image of life, the characteristics of the model immediately catches the eye, it is given accurately and capaciously, while maintaining the sharpness and freshness of the first impression. The sick and unattractive appearance of the composer, his puffy face, red-blue nose attract attention, but do not distract from the main thing - the spiritual wealth and greatness of human genius, which is preserved even in such an environment.
Religious procession in the Kursk province, 1880-1883
Barge haulers on the Volga, 1870-1873
Cossacks writing a letter to the Turkish Sultan, 1880-1891
On a turf bench. Red village, 1876
Portrait of the composer M. P. Mussorgsky, 1881
Protodeacon, 1877
Portrait of the writer A. F. Pisemsky, 1880
Belarusian, 1892
Portrait of L. N. Andreev (Summer vacation), 1905
Ivan the Terrible and his son Ivan November 16, 1581, 1885
Did not wait, 1884-1888
The timid man, 1877
Portrait of the writer Leo Tolstoy, 1887
Actress P. A. Strepetova, 1882
Portrait of the artist V. I. Surikov, 1877
Portrait of Tretyakov, 1883
V. Sklyarenko about the work of Ilya Repin
An outstanding Russian genre painter, portrait painter, historical painter realistic direction. Professor of painting (1893), full member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. Winner of honorary awards: the gold medal "For Expression" them. Vigée Lebrun for the painting "Barge haulers on the Volga" (1873); a commemorative gold medal and a diploma "For special works and merits in the field of painting and art" for a portrait of E. N. Korev on world exhibition in Saint Louis (America). Author of the memoirs "Far Close" (1915, published in 1937).
The greatness of Repin as an artist was the result of a harmonious combination of innate talent, a deep awareness of reality and, in the highest degree childishly enthusiastic worldview. Baby and youth Ilya were held in Ukraine, in the city of Chuguev. He was born into the family of a military villager Yefim Vasilievich Repin, who served as a forageman and quartermaster in a cavalry regiment. When the father was away for a long time on business, the welfare of four children (two died in early age) took over the mother, Tatyana Stepanovna. Ilya was an extremely inquisitive boy, but he did not have a chance to study at school. Ilya was taught literacy by a village sexton, and arithmetic by a deacon. Having received a set of paints at the age of seven, he painted with such enthusiasm and perseverance that his nose began to bleed. All the neighbors predicted that the boy would not survive. But he recovered and returned to paints, never to part with them again.
After studying for several months in the Corps of Topographers, in 1858 Ilya became an apprentice to the icon painter I. M. Bunakov. He quickly mastered the complex technique of painting, and in icons he gave free rein to his imagination. The priests liked them bright colors. Ilya was especially successful in "Mary Magdalene" - the flaming rays and tearful eyes of the sufferer on the icon produced strong impression on believers. Young artist received many commissions to paint churches and portraits of townspeople. At the age of 19 in hometown he was a recognized master. In 1863, taking the 100 rubles he earned, Ilya went to St. Petersburg to storm the academy, which he had long dreamed of. However, the experience of a provincial painter was not enough for admission. Repin was summed up by "shading". On the advice of the artist-architect Petrov, from whom he rented a room, he entered the evening drawing school at the stock exchange. During the day, Ilya rushed around the capital in search of work, and in the evening he successfully mastered the ill-fated hatching. Having received the first number at school, he coped with the exam at the academy and in 1864 was enrolled as a volunteer. To pay 25 rubles for the first year of study, Ilya went to bow to the philanthropist General Pryanishnikov, and he contributed the necessary amount. With all the fervor of youth, Repin learned the basics of creativity. But he lacked general educational knowledge, and he studied history, literature, anatomy, mathematics, physics, and chemistry with amazing persistence. Ilya even thought about giving up painting for four years in order to catch up with the “intellectual rich”. Study mates - V. Polenov, M. Antokolsky, A. Shevtsov, N. Murashko - dissuaded him and tried to get him orders for portraits so that he could earn a living. Having overcome all obstacles, after a year and eight months of training, Repin received a Small Silver Medal for the sketch “The Angel of Death Destroys the Egyptian Firstborn” (1865). For Ilya, this was not just a recognition of his success, but also allowed him to free himself from the taxable estate and corporal punishment, to receive the title of an artist and no longer pay for education.
Required academic papers for biblical stories Repin did not care. Since 1863, I. N. Kramskoy was his second teacher, and V. V. Stasov became a close friend and adviser. Imbued with the ideas of artels and itinerants, aligning with realistic creativity V. G. Perov, Ilya successfully completed the tasks, but did not put his soul into them. He was looking for his subject. And it opened up to him on a serene day in 1868 on the Neva. The figures of barge haulers, brought by hard labor to the state of draft cattle, their exhausted faces and defiant glances obscured the entire horizon. Repin simultaneously fell ill with the plot and fell in love with his characters. He conceived a complex composition built on contrast: emaciated figures of barge haulers, a bright sunny day and flocks of young ladies in multi-colored dresses on the shore. But on the advice of a friend F. Vasiliev, Ilya refused to "edify" in the picture, and spent the holidays of 1870 with friends and his brother on the Volga, "hunting" for barge haulers, imbued with their life and habits. Sketches summer jobs, scattered on the floor of the conference room, were personally examined by Grand Duke Vladimir, and he reserved the right to buy future picture. Repin was so carried away by barge haulers that his friends hardly persuaded him to participate in the competition for the Big Gold Medal and a pensioner's trip abroad. Ilya did not know for a long time how to approach the next biblical theme - "The Resurrection of the Daughter of Jairus" (1871), until he remembered the death of his sister Usti. He imagined how a man would enter their house, silent from grief, and return his sister to life. After four months of fruitless searching, Ilya rewrote the painting in a few days, received a medal and successfully graduated from the academy. The young artist could not immediately go on a retirement trip. Unfinished portraits, "Barge haulers" and a huge order for the painting "Slavic Composers" (1871-1872), which Turgenev called "a cold vinaigrette of the living and the dead", were delayed. The picture was a huge success, although everything in it is contrived, and among outstanding masters there is no Mussorgsky, no Borodin, not even Tchaikovsky.
Another reason for the delay was the change from an uncomfortable bachelor life to a family one. The bride, Vera Alekseevna Shevtsova, in front of the artist, turned from a clumsy nine-year-old girl, sister of a friend, into a tender and thoughtful girl. On February 11, 1872, the young people got married in the academic church, and in November they rejoiced at the birth of their daughter. While little Vera was growing up to master the journey, the happy father presented the audience with the canvas "Barge haulers on the Volga" (1870-1873), which speaks for itself "11 figures - 11 bitter destinies on hot sand under the scorching sun of a wild Russian river" . Repin's craftsmanship soldered calm wisdom here, heroic strength, severe kindness, heavy thoughts and the absence of Nekrasov's humility. “It is impossible not to fall in love with these defenseless ones... It is impossible not to think that they really owe the people... After all, this burlatskaya "party" will be dreamed of later in a dream, in 15 years it will be remembered. And if they weren’t so natural, innocent and simple, they wouldn’t make an impression and wouldn’t make such a picture ... ”- wrote F. M. Dostoevsky. "Barge haulers" were enthusiastically received by the audience and critics in St. Petersburg and at the World Exhibition in Vienna, and then for a long 44 years they were hidden from the eyes of the public in the billiard room of Prince Vladimir ...
Repin went abroad as a famous master. From 1873 to 1876 the artist traveled to Vienna, Venice, Florence, Rome, Naples, Albano and London. For a long time lived with his family in Paris, where his second daughter Nadia was born. Their house became native for nine-year-old Valentin Serov, and Ilya Efimovich became his first and favorite teacher. The artist met Western art, painted many plein-air landscapes, sketches, portraits of Turgenev and Vera's daughter, "The Fisherwoman Girl", the painting "Paris Cafe" (all in 1874) and the allegorical painting "Sadko in the Underwater Kingdom" (1876). Per latest work Repin received the title of academician of painting. But in Russia, something more was expected from the creator of the Burlaks. The Parisian works added nothing to his good name. It seemed that he was accumulating strength so that, upon his return to Chuguev, he would splash out with a kind of chronicle of post-reform Russia: “Under escort” (1876), “In the volost government”, “Return from the war”, “The timid peasant”, “The peasant with the evil eye "(Sent to the International Exhibition in Paris)," Procession in the Oak Forest" (all in 1877). One of actors"Procession", was the Chuguev Cathedral Protodeacon I. Ulanov. His monumental figure is temperamentally, freely, with exceptional wealth painting techniques depicted Repin in the painting "Protodeacon" (1877). “Why, this is a whole fire-breathing mountain,” said Mussorgsky about the portrait. The artist created these and other works in one year of his life in his native city. He was sorry to part with Ukraine, but he really wanted to be in the center of Russian art.
After living in Moscow for five years, Repin and his family, replenished with his son Yuri and daughter Tatyana, moved to permanent place residence in Petersburg. In his painting workshop, the artist worked on several canvases at once. His creative temperament was enormous. He constantly improved compositions, created dozens of sketches not even for the main figures, he was looking for an expressive nature. Thus, the artist found the image of a proud woman in Princess Sofya (1879) by merging sketch portraits of Blamberg-Apreleva, a dressmaker and V. Serov's mother. Repin's critical attitude to his work was excessive. He constantly corrected something in already finished paintings and sometimes repainted them on the same canvas. So, the artist worked on the “Appeared Icon” from 1877 to 1924. Long years, creating in the paintings “Refusal of Confession” (1879-1885), “The Arrest of a Propaganda” (1880-1892), “They Didn’t Wait” (1884-1888) the images of the revolutionary people’s volunteers, Repin sang the image of a man, who gives his life for the highest ideals. No one was left indifferent by the many-sided crowd of the “Religious procession in the Kursk province” (1880-1883), which steadily swooped down on the viewer. There is no reverent and religious ecstasy in the picture - only swagger, stupidity, cruelty, pain and poverty. Dozens of figures, but not a single one is superfluous. Each image, thought out and rewritten dozens of times, could become a separate picture: from a hunchback boy and a beggar woman to a fat woman and a constable with a whip. Repin, even at the request of Tretyakov, did not change anything in the picture, although he very often succumbed to persuasion. “Beauty is a matter of taste; for me it is all true,” the artist replied to the famous gallery owner.
Just as creepy in its veracity and reality of crime and death was the painting “Ivan the Terrible and his son Ivan on November 16, 1581” (1882-1885) - the most dramatic work Repin. “Feelings overloaded with the horrors of modernity” made it possible to recreate “living death”, infanticide, on the canvas. The artist captured the moment when a man and a father wakes up in the tyrant Grozny, realizing his brutal deed and grief. A faint smile of forgiveness lights up the dying man's face. The color on the canvas is consonant with tragedy: a gray background, a blood-red carpet, the black attire of the Terrible and the rose-gold clothes of the prince reinforce general impression. But it is the instantaneous change state of mind of a man, beating from the eyes of the king, stuns the viewer more than the blood gushing from the wound. The painting was painted "so masterfully that you can't see the craftsmanship," and so truthfully that Tretyakov, who bought it, was ordered on behalf of the tsar not to exhibit this work in the gallery. Work on "The Terrible" took the artist a lot of strength and spiritual energy. Yes and in family life Ilya Yefimovich had not had peace and happiness for a long time. His frequent hobbies, unbalanced absurd character brought a lot of grief to his wife, busy at home and raising four children. She could not be a secular hostess of Repin's salon. Friends saw the "hidden suffering" of this woman. Vera Alekseevna demanded a break. The older daughters stayed with their father, and Yura and Tanya stayed with their mother. But Repin had no contact with children, they did not forgive him the thunderous atmosphere of childhood and scandals. Quiet family happiness did not satisfy his stormy nature. He needed a state of youthful love, bright and strong passion. At 44, he experienced this feeling for his gifted student, Elizaveta Nikolaevna Zvantseva. The girl could not reciprocate the artist burdened with a family.
After a mental and family crisis, Repin completely immersed himself in work on the sparkling and juicy painting “Cossacks writing a letter to the Turkish Sultan” (1878-1891), which was conceived back in 1878. Imbued with antiquity, the artist traveled to Ukraine several times, met with the historian Yavornitsky (he is depicted in the picture as a clerk). Bright types, laughing faces, figures confident in their power, merged in a single burst of fun, in the picture became a symbol of Cossack liberty and camaraderie. "Zaporozhtsev" bought the king for 35 thousand rubles. With this money, Repin acquired the Zdravnevo estate in Belarus and turned into a real landowner, busy with crops, livestock, and hiring workers. Maybe that would be the end great artist if Repin had not tried to reconcile with his family. But life together again did not work out. The artist left the estate to his wife and returned to St. Petersburg, where he plunged into society high society, from whose representatives he painted portraits. Gradually he assimilated their views, became ashamed of his youthful impulses and quests, turning into a salon painter.
Friends of the Association of the Wanderers, on the board of which Repin was either a member or a member of it, did not recognize him. The artist, with his characteristic sharpness and unpredictability of judgments and assessments, constantly fanned conflicts. Often he categorically criticized what he himself had not yet figured out, and then sincerely repented. But resentment remained. There were fewer and fewer artist friends (although friendship with Stasov, Polenov, Surikov almost did not break), but among the nobility - more and more.
Some kind of duality settled in the soul and work of Repin. He could no longer stop at one interesting story felt a sense of emptiness. During this period, the artist even moved away from realism: “I will stick only to art and even only plastic art for art’s sake,” he wrote from Italy to Stasov in 1893, and he hastened to classify him as a renegade. Increasingly, Repin's easel appeared paintings on biblical themes he had not previously loved: "Golgotha", "Resurrection Morning", "Unbelief of Thomas", "Christ the Child in the Temple".
Collisions with the "World of Art" returned the painter to realism, and his "Duel" in 1897 on International Exhibition in Venice "surprised all of Europe." But Repin wanted to "at least do something for a tolerable finale." And the artist put all his skill as a portrait painter into a huge painting “Meeting of the State Council” (1901-1903) commissioned by Alexander II. The grandiose multi-figured canvas, in the execution of which B. M. Kustodiev and I. S. Kulikov helped, sparkled with elegant uniforms of more than 80 dignitaries, led by the tsar. Using the style of one-session painting, working in the style of the Impressionists, Repin creates etude portraits that surpass even the painting itself in terms of the strength of the impression. "Images of our dzhimord" shake their realistic truth, especially the portrait of Pobedonostsev. Jesuit mask face, prayerfully folded hands, scary face a dignitary confident in his boundless power. The stone, cold face of a man, at whose prompt the tsar forbade showing Ivan the Terrible to the audience. Each portrait is a sentence of cruelty, indifference and cunning. Everyone was happy with the picture. Eyewitnesses of the meeting believed that she became mirror reflection solemn event, so “the faces were so vital, the poses were so characteristic, the situation was so accurately reproduced.”
Repin was considered one of the best portrait painters. Best of all, he succeeded in the images of those people whom he sincerely loved and respected. The painter created portraits of a whole galaxy of scientists: Pirogov, Sechenov, Bekhterev, Mendeleev, Pavlov; Russian writers: Turgenev, L. Tolstoy, Pisemsky, Gorky, Korolenko, Mayakovsky; composers: Mussorgsky, Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov; artists: Kramskoy, Surikov, Kuindzhi, Ge, Vasnetsov, Serov; portraits of Stasov and Tretyakov, as well as all their relatives. According to the painter himself, even in "the most empty portrait" he "put his soul into it."
One can only wonder how such an artist, rebellious and wayward, sensitive to a person, could connect his life (1900) with the writer of banal novels Natalya Nordman-Severova and completely submit to her way of life. She is in different time was a militant suffragette, then an ardent feminist, then preached vegetarianism and self-service. There were anecdotes about her hay meals. Everything she did was ridiculous, pompous, loud, but at the same time sincere. Ilya Efimovich endured all her folly very patiently, although life in the estate of his wife "Penates" in Finland was more like buffoonery than creativity. But Nordman opposed the cult of the artist to the hostility of the Repin family, subordinating Ilya Efimovich to this.
For 15 years life together the world for Repin narrowed down to the size of one estate in Kuokkala. He stopped teaching at the academy (1894-1907), realizing with surprise and resentment that now he "turned out to be a bad teacher", although for many he was a great teacher. He raised Grabar, Malyavin, Kustodiev, Ostroumova-Lebedeva, Bilibin and Serov.
The artist continued to work in his usual mode, and when in 1907 he refused right hand, wrote with his left, fixing the palette with special straps on the body. When it was completely forbidden to draw, he managed to create original portraits of visitors and friends with the help of a cigarette butt and ink on scraps of paper. He often received guests, but breathed freely only after the death of Nordman. She proved her disinterested attitude towards Repin by the fact that, having fallen ill, she left the estate, went to Switzerland and died there in a hospital for the poor, refusing his help. In "Penates" were created: "Follow me, Satan!", "Black Sea Freemen", "Golgotha", "Morning of Resurrection", "Finnish Celebrities", "Gopak". Repin's estate was managed by his beloved daughter Verunya, who greedily sold his precious albums of drawings and sketches after her father's death. She forced Ilya Efimovich to sign each sheet in order to sell it at a higher price. The old man was not happy with his daughter Nadia, who suffered from quiet insanity. Tragically, there was a relationship with his son Yuri, who was recognized as a good painter, but was always in the shadow of his father.
After the revolution in Russia in 1917, Finland became a separate state. Repin felt like a man who "has nowhere to go." He was called to Russia, but, intimidated by his daughter's stories about destroyed museums and "reprisals" against his artist friends, Ilya Efimovich was initially afraid to go, and then his health failed. Repin died on September 29, 1930 and was buried at the "Chuguev Mountain" in the Penat park. Time smoothed out failures and hesitation recent years leaving a clean image seeking the truth artist, preserving the intelligibility of Repin's art and immortalizing his name and work.
(1844, July 24, Chuguev, Kharkov province - September 29, 1930, Penates, Kuokkala village, Karelian Isthmus)
"My main principle in painting: matter as such. I don't care about colors, strokes and virtuosity of the brush, I have always pursued the essence: the body as a body."(Repin I.E.)
Born in the Kharkov province in a family of military settlers. At the age of 13, he was sent to be trained as an icon painter. With the money earned, Repin went to St. Petersburg, where he entered the Academy of Arts. In 1871, for the painting "The Resurrection of the Daughter of Jairus", he received a gold medal and the title of class artist. Repin's first success came in 1873 at an exhibition in Vienna with the work Barge haulers on the Volga. From that moment on, the fame of the artist only expanded. The artist's creative range was enormous: paintings from modern folk life ("The procession in the Kursk province", 1880-1883), portraits ("V.V. Stasov", 1883; "P.A. Strepetova", 1882), scenes from Slavic mythology (“Sadko”, 1876), historical canvases (“The Cossacks write a letter to the Turkish Sultan”, 1878-1891). This picture was based on a historical episode: in 1675, the Turkish Sultan Mohammed IV presented the Cossacks of the Zaporizhzhya Sich with something like an ultimatum demanding to submit to him and become Turkish citizenship. The Cossacks responded to this statement with a message where, without any diplomatic roundabouts, with humor and malicious irony (adding insulting titles to the Sultan at the end), they explained their position to the arrogant ruler. Repin captured on the canvas the moment of creating a collective composition of the letter, where he does not focus on individual personalities, but focuses on the entire colorful mass of the people. But no matter what Repin wrote about, no matter what genre he turned to, his artistic gift to feel the main idea of the era, the ability to see the reflection of this idea in the private destinies and characters of people, is striking. His work is historical reality itself, its pain and hope, its deep contradictions and dramas. Most vividly, the realism of Repin's art is reflected in portraiture. Genuine masterpieces in this genre are the grandiose canvas "The Ceremonial Meeting of the State Council" (1903) and "Portrait of MP Mussorgsky" (1881), written shortly before the death of the composer. This is one of greatest works Russian art, the portrait was painted in February 1881, shortly before the death of the composer. Repin spent only 4 sessions in the hospital, where Mussorgsky was being treated. Therefore, the musician is depicted in a hospital gown, in an unbuttoned shirt, with disheveled hair. The artist created an impressive image of life, the characteristics of the model immediately catches the eye, it is given accurately and capaciously, while maintaining the sharpness and freshness of the first impression. The sick and unattractive appearance of the composer, his puffy face, red-blue nose attract attention, but do not distract from the main thing - the spiritual wealth and greatness of human genius, which is preserved even in such an environment. Repin's personal website - ilya-repin.ru.
Meeting the best works, masterpieces.
The number of works presented depends on the significance of the artist. From 3-4 paintings by good ones to 20 paintings by great geniuses.
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| Procession in Kursk Barge Haulers on the Volga, Cossacks write |
On a turf bench. |
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| Portrait of a composer |
Protodeacon, 1877 Portrait of a writer |
Belarusian, 1892 |
Ilya Repin was one of the greatest portrait painters in the world of art. He created a whole gallery of portraits of his outstanding contemporaries, thanks to which we can draw conclusions not only about how they looked, but also what kind of people they were - after all, Repin is rightfully considered the subtlest psychologist who captured not only the external features of the posing, but also the dominant features their characters. At the same time, he tried to distract himself from own attitude to the posing person and catch the inner deep essence personality. It is interesting to compare photographs of famous contemporaries of the artist with their portraits.
Maria Andreeva was not only one of the most famous actresses beginning of the twentieth century, but also one of the most beautiful and captivating women - of those who are called fatal. She was a fiery revolutionary civil wife Maxim Gorky, Lenin called her "comrade phenomenon." It was said that she was involved in the death of industrialist and philanthropist Savva Morozov. However, Repin managed to resist the charms of the actress - after all, she was the wife of his friend. Both of them were frequent guests at his estate and posed for portraits by the artist.
The writer Kuprin witnessed the creation of this portrait, and when the artist asked his opinion, he hesitated: “The question took me by surprise. The portrait is unsuccessful, it does not look like Maria Fedorovna. This big hat casts a shadow on her face, and then he (Repin) gave her face such a repulsive expression that it seems unpleasant. However, many contemporaries saw Andreeva just like that.
Ilya Repin was a fan of the composer Modest Mussorgsky and was his friend. He knew about alcohol addiction composer and about the consequences for his health to which it led. When the artist heard that Mussorgsky was hospitalized in serious condition, he wrote a criticism of Stasov: “Here again I read in the newspaper that Mussorgsky is very ill. What a pity for this brilliant force, which so stupidly disposed of itself physically. Repin went to Mussorgsky in the hospital and within 4 days created a portrait that became a real masterpiece. The composer died 10 days later.
The friendship between Repin and Leo Tolstoy lasted 30 years, until the death of the writer. Although their views on life and art often diverged, they were very warm towards each other. The artist painted several portraits of Tolstoy's family members and created illustrations for his works. Repin portrayed both willpower, and wisdom, and kindness, and the calm greatness of the writer - the way he saw him. Tatyana Sukhotina, Tolstoy's eldest daughter, also visited the artist's house and also became the artist's model.
Once Repin was approached by the mother of an aspiring artist, Valentin Serov, with a request to see the work of her son. In this imperious woman, Repin saw the features of the adamant and proud princess Sofya Alekseevna. He had long been fond of the historical theme and wanted to paint Princess Sophia in custody, but could not find a model, and then she found him herself.
For a very long time, Repin had to convince his friend Pavel Tretyakov to pose for him for a portrait - the gallery owner was a very reserved and reserved person, he liked to remain in the shadows and did not want to be known by sight. Lost in the crowd of visitors to his exhibitions, he could, remaining unrecognized, hear their sincere reviews. Repin, on the contrary, believed that everyone should know Tretyakov as one of the most prominent cultural figures of the era. The artist depicted the gallery owner in his usual pose, absorbed in his thoughts. Closed hands indicate his usual isolation and aloofness. Contemporaries said that in life Tretyakov was as modest and extremely restrained as Repin portrayed him.
Everyone who was personally acquainted with the writer A.F. Pisemsky claimed that Repin was able to very accurately capture the defining features of his character. It is known that he was quite caustic and sarcastic in relation to the interlocutor. But the artist also caught other important details, he knew that the writer was sick and broken. tragic circumstances his life (one son committed suicide, the second was terminally ill), and he managed to capture traces of pain and longing in the writer's eyes.
With special warmth, Repin painted portraits of his loved ones. The portrait of his daughter Vera in the painting "Autumn Bouquet" is imbued with genuine tenderness.
Behind each portrait of Repin was hiding interesting story: portrait, and
