The painting shows composer, pianist and conductor Anton Rubinstein. It took Ilya Repin several years to paint the portrait: the work lasted from 1909 to 1915. Anton Rubinstein went down in the history of Russian music as the founder of the first conservatory in Russia and the author of several operas and symphonies.

Ilya Repin portrayed Anton Rubinstein in full height. The composer is standing behind the conductor’s console. Due to the low horizon, it seems that the composer’s figure is rising above the auditorium. He is dressed in a black dress coat and a snow-white shirt with a tie.

The artist abandoned the contour and used fractional strokes, which made the color spots look deprived of clear outlines. The shapes are blurry, and this gives the portrait a resemblance to the works of impressionist masters. The spectators’ faces are almost indiscernible. They merge into one black and white mass, making a background for the composer standing in front of the music deck.

Ilya Repin was born near Kharkov to a merchant’s family. When the future painter was thirteen years old, he became an apprentice in an icon-painting workshop. The news of the talented apprentice spread throughout the province, and the young artist started to receive orders. In 1863, Ilya Repin moved to the capital of the Russian Empire. There he entered the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, where he received the highest award, the Big Gold Medal.

Anton Rubinstein was a friend of Ilya Repin, who was known for his addiction to music.

Anton Rubinstein was born in Podolsk Governorate in 1829. He came from a wealthy merchant family. His musical talent got revealed when he was a child. The future conductor’s first teacher was his mother, a talented pianist. Then Anton Rubinstein took music lessons from a French teacher. When the boy was ten years old, he first performed in public. Soon he was offered to go on a European tour with concerts. In France, Anton Rubinstein met world-famous composers: Ferencz Liszt and Frederic Chopin. The young musician returned to Russia famous.

In 1862, Anton Rubinstein established the country’s first conservatory in St. Petersburg. There he occupied the position of the headmaster and the piano professor. One of his students was Pyotr Tchaikovsky.