Ilya Repin is one of the most renowned Russian artists. Art critics call him the painter able to sense the spirit of the age and reflect it in his works. His evocative images in art profoundly unveil complexity and controversies in the Russia of that period. His works reflect the painter’s faith in human potential and humanity as such.
Repin’s talent reached its peak in the age of Russian Realism. A fifteen-year period between 1877 and 1892 was the most fruitful in his life as his works were arousing a continued interest of critics and the public, and he became one of the most popular and sought-after painters of the second half of the 19th century.
In the collection of the Astrakhan Art Gallery, there is a sketch for his painting Kuzma Minin made by Ilya Repin in 1894. This work was initially acquired by Ivan Tsvetkov, a famous Moscow collector, for his collection which he called the ‘synopsis of Russian Art’. After the Tsvetkov Gallery was decomposed, the sketch entered the Astrakhan gallery through the State Museum Fund.
The sketch is painted in a broad and free manner, and its color scheme is based on soft shades of silver-blue and ocher colors.
The center of the sketch composition is occupied by the figure of the Russian national hero Kuzma Minin, the organizer and one of the leaders of the people’s volunteer corps during the 1611-1612 struggle of the Russian people against the Polish-Lithuanian and Swedish interventions.
This sketch did not become a painting because Repin had not finished his work. However, another Russian painter Konstantin Makovsky was working in parallel with Repin on the picture with a similar plot. Unlike Repin, he managed to manifest his vision in the painting completed in 1896. It was called Minin’s Appeal to the People of Nizhny Novgorod. At present, you can see the picture by Makovsky at the Nizhny Novgorod Art Museum.
Repin’s talent reached its peak in the age of Russian Realism. A fifteen-year period between 1877 and 1892 was the most fruitful in his life as his works were arousing a continued interest of critics and the public, and he became one of the most popular and sought-after painters of the second half of the 19th century.
In the collection of the Astrakhan Art Gallery, there is a sketch for his painting Kuzma Minin made by Ilya Repin in 1894. This work was initially acquired by Ivan Tsvetkov, a famous Moscow collector, for his collection which he called the ‘synopsis of Russian Art’. After the Tsvetkov Gallery was decomposed, the sketch entered the Astrakhan gallery through the State Museum Fund.
The sketch is painted in a broad and free manner, and its color scheme is based on soft shades of silver-blue and ocher colors.
The center of the sketch composition is occupied by the figure of the Russian national hero Kuzma Minin, the organizer and one of the leaders of the people’s volunteer corps during the 1611-1612 struggle of the Russian people against the Polish-Lithuanian and Swedish interventions.
In the picture, Minin appeals to the huge crowd on the cathedral square. He is calling people on raising money for creation of people’s volunteer corps and taking up the fight for liberation of Moscow from the Polish invaders. The silhouette of Minin stands out against the background of the white-stone Nizhny Novgorod Cathedral.
This sketch did not become a painting because Repin had not finished his work. However, another Russian painter Konstantin Makovsky was working in parallel with Repin on the picture with a similar plot. Unlike Repin, he managed to manifest his vision in the painting completed in 1896. It was called Minin’s Appeal to the People of Nizhny Novgorod. At present, you can see the picture by Makovsky at the Nizhny Novgorod Art Museum.
