The State Council of the Russian Empire was created by Alexander I in 1801. It was a law consultative institution, the members of which were appointed by the Emperor. In April 1901, Nicholas II instructed Ilya Repin to capture the anniversary meeting of the State Council.
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Ceremonial Meeting of the State Council
Creation period
1903
Dimensions
400x877 cm
Technique
Oil on canvas
Collection
Exhibition
55
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Ilya Repin
Ceremonial Meeting of the State Council
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Repin decided to make the canvas large-scale — almost nine by four meters. The artist at that time was already almost sixty years old, and he could hardly draw with his right hand because of severe pain. Therefore, the picture was created with participation of his students Boris Kustodiev and Ivan Kulikov.
The ceremonial meeting was to be held in the Round Hall of the Mariinsky Palace in St. Petersburg. Repin and his assistants made interior sketches in advance, and the image of the furnishing was ready by the moment of the event. During the event, the master managed to write a sketch in oil. Also, in order to fix everything, he took a picture on camera for the first time.
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Meeting of the State Council. 1900
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Then for several months the artist was making sketches of the State Council meetings in albums. He was given a list of the council members with ranks, uniforms, awards. Repin left his comments on these materials, for example: Count Alexey Ignatiev — gourmet; cunning, smart eyes, the Synod Ober-Procurator Konstantin Pobedonostsev — quite an owl.
Ilya Repin. Portrait of Konstantin Pobedonostsev. Oil on canvas. 1903. State Russian Museum
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For the canvas, Repin painted sixty portraits from life, not without the help of students. Overall there are eighty-one persons in the picture — members of the State Council led by Nicholas II and state secretaries — but some are with their backs or half-turned to the audience.
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Due to urgency, the painter made portraits in a sketch form in three to four sessions, and sometimes in one. Never before had the master of Russian realism had to work so fast. For the author that was a preparatory material, but it turned out to become a whole portrait gallery that delighted contemporaries with vivid details.
Ilya Repin. Portrait of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich. Oil on canvas. 1903. State Russian Museum
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The artist Ilya Grabar wrote: Actually, these are amazing brush sketches, almost fleeting impressions, but at the same time they are the last synthesis of long-term close observations.
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The author’s talent also appeared in constructing the plot and composition. Initially Repin was supposed to depict Nicholas II reading out an anniversary letter at the meeting. However, he proposed to add dynamism and show the moment when secretaries delivered commemorative medals.
The painter added accents to the rows of seated people: he painted some of them standing upright or in motion. And in order to make everyone visible, he had to change the scale of separate figures and designate the perspective from several points of view. In fact, the picture is a panorama.
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Repin masterfully built the coloring of the picture. Despite the abundance of dark red in the interior, black, gold, blue and scarlet in clothes, Repin expressed all the colors in different ways, using the finest shades. For example, depending on the lighting, a red chair could be maroon or pink.
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The whole work took three years. Kustodiev completed the right side of the final canvas, Kulikov — the left one. The master himself painted the centre, and at the end passed throughout the whole picture with his brush. Photo in oil became both the largest canvas of its era, the most mass portrait, and a historical document.
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The meeting hall of the Mariinsky Palace with a painting by Ilya Repin. 1900s
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State Russian Museum
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Ceremonial Meeting of the State Council
Creation period
1903
Dimensions
400x877 cm
Technique
Oil on canvas
Collection
Exhibition
55
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