In 1884 Ilya Repin painted the portrait of Alexey Antipov, a mining engineer and privy councilor, sitting in a relaxed pose. The background is done with light, vibrating brush strokes, and on the face the brushwork is more restrained. The coloration is based on a combination of black and grayish blue which Repin favored as gracious colors. Sparing use of artistic devices allowed Repin to concentrate primarily on the person’s intelligent face, accentuating Antipov’s penetrating glance and faint smile.

Initially Repin chose ochre paints for the background, however he did not like it when the work was complete, so he changed it for grayish blue. Instead of removing the earlier reddish ochre he used the brush to put the new layer over it. This fact was discovered in 2008 after restoration of the portrait was complete.

It is known that Repin liked to make later adjustments to his paintings and, “as connoisseurs argued, sometimes to the worse”. Because of this habit he even had a conflict with gallerist Pavel Tretyakov. Once, while the art collector was away from town, the artist entered the exhibition hall with his sketch box, took a ladder and started to overpaint his own works in front of embarrassed attendants. He told them he was doing it with the owner’s consent. This is how he modified the paintings They did not expect him, Ivan the Terrible and his son, and Religious procession in Kursk Province. When Tretyakov returned he was infuriated and did not speak to Repin for a long time.