Ilya Efimovich Repin - Russian portrait painter, master of everyday and historical scenes. Repin's paintings with the names make it possible to understand the portraits of what kind of people he created. Indeed, some heroes of paintings are known, and the surnames, social status of others allows you to find out the name of the picture.
"Barge Haulers on the Volga" (1870-1873)
The artist went to this monumental work for several years. Once, being on the banks of the Neva, he saw the haulers pulling a barge. Not far from this place gentlemen strolled in holiday dresses. The contrast was so great that the painter decided to convey his impressions of what he saw on the canvas.
At first, he wanted to build the plot in contrast - rich gentlemen and pulling burdens of an excessive burden. The master made many sketches. In the final version, Ilya Efimovich decided to capture the Volga River, along the shore of which there are tired barges doing their hard work.
They pull the straps that are tied to the barge. The ship could not pass by the shallows, so people dragged it in this way. It can be seen that they get very little for such work, since the clothes of the barge haulers have long turned into rags. The faces of people are black from tanning and hard work.
The sadness from the contemplation of the joyless life of the barge haulers is a little dispelled by the rainbow colors that depict the sky and the sea.
But not all Repin’s paintings with the names are so sad, illustrations for the tale "Sadko" are more optimistic.
"Sadko in the Underwater Kingdom" (1876)
In 1871, the artist wrote a sketch for the fairy tale "Sadko", calling it "Woman with a Dagger." It depicts a proud oriental beauty in a half-profile. The girl has a national hat and clothes. Long dark hair flows down over the shoulders. The girl holds the sheath, she is tense and focused - at the slightest danger she will take out a dagger and use it as a defense weapon.
In 1875-1876, other paintings by Repin appeared with names on this topic. In 1875, he creates a sketch for the canvas "Sadko". But the faces of the girls living in the underwater kingdom are hardly distinguishable here. But in the finished picture, even the smallest facial features of sea beauties are visible. The underwater tsar wanted to marry Sadko on one of them, and several hundred young charming women appeared before the young man.
The artist managed to convey even reflections of water, reliably depict air bubbles. When considering this work of art, the viewer may seem that he, along with the main character, is in the underwater world.
The Pauper (Girl-fisherman) (1874)
The creations of the great Russian painter can be seen in the Tretyakov Gallery, other museums of the country and the world. In order not to go so far, you can see photos taken from the original paintings.
Repin realistically portrayed what he saw. On his canvases forever remained the images of not only noble gentlemen, but also people who have almost nothing. Repin's paintings with the names help to find out who these nineteenth-century inhabitants were.
The poor girl, apparently, lived near the river and was a fisherman. From the history of writing this masterpiece, it becomes clear that the child lived in the French city of Veul. The girl posed for the artists and thereby earned her bread. According to Ilya Efimovich, it was not easy to draw her, as the girl was grimacing and constantly spinning. But in an hour the master was able to catch her thoughts, feelings, internal state.
The nature on the canvas is depicted as if inanimate colors, the child attracts all the attention: eyelashes, eyebrows, hair, and weathered hands burnt out in the sun. Repin managed to convey even the smallest details of the girl’s beggarly clothes.
Many artists, art historians claim that, having painted this picture, Repin first took place as the greatest portrait painter.
Repin's pictures (photo) with names
However, the artist continues to work in different genres. In the same year, other well-known paintings by Repin appeared with names, such as “Portrait of Elizabeth Mamontova”, “Portrait of Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev”, “Ukrainian at the Wattle fence”, as well as a small canvas “The Road through the narrow passage” and other paintings.
In the painting “Road through a narrow passage”, the author depicted a narrow path, and on both sides of the picturesque nature of the hills - bright flowers against a background of green grass.
In Paris
Living in France, Ilya Repin experienced a rush of creative inspiration. The paintings with the names that he wrote here are not only “Beggar” and “Sadko in the underwater kingdom”, but also “The Road to Montmartre in Paris”, “Paris Cafe” and others.
In the “Paris Cafe” (1875) we see richly and stylishly dressed people. If you look at the image of a poor girl in parallel, then the contrast will be significant. In the cafe, ladies and men eat, drink, and relax.
In the foreground is a well-groomed woman in a black dress. It is evident that she is very confident in herself, as she knows about her attractiveness. A man sits at a nearby table, he is so staring at the beauty that he does not heed the requests of his daughter. Perhaps only this girl sitting next to her nanny with a red ribbon in her hair and the young man reading the newspaper, real, lively faces. All the rest are like wax figures that have no genuine human feelings.
“Didn't wait”
But a lot of emotions can be seen on the canvas created by the painter in 1884-1888. Speaking about what are the paintings of the artist Repin with the names known to everyone, it is impossible not to recall this.
First, the artist wanted to convey the moment of returning to the family from the study of a girl-student. This version, written in 1883, also remained, the canvas has a small size.
In 1884, the artist painted the main version of the picture. It depicts an exile who returned to his family. An elderly woman in the foreground got up from her chair to meet her son. The boy sitting at the table was delighted with the arrival of his father. The girl looks warily, because she did not recognize her dad in this person. Perhaps she was still very small when her father was exiled to Siberia, so she forgot the features of his face. The woman at the piano, apparently the wife of the newcomer, looks at him in surprise and joy.
The picture is filled with air and light, which emphasize its positive content. Like other canvases of the great Repin, she very realistically and truthfully conveys everything that happens.