There is the saying in Ukraine and Russia, “Kartina Repina Priplyli”, and it is used when you appeared in a stalemate situation which is totally embarrassing and confusing.

And I assume you will partly understand why people out there have this saying if you will take a look at the works of this talented, unique, and mesmerizing artist whose name is Ilya Yefimovich Repin.

He was born in 1844 in Chuguev (Kharkiv province, Ukraine). The artist’s father was a “ticket soldier” and his mother, Tatyana Stepanovna, came from a well-educated family. Repin discovered a passion for painting at an early age so that in 1855 he was sent to a school of typographers, but in 1857 the school got closed, and Repin went as a student to an icon-painting workshop. He quickly became the best and at the age of 16, he began to work independently, enrolling in an artel, which was engaged in the construction and restoration of churches. In 1863, Repin decided to go to St. Petersburg and enter the Academy of Arts. He did not enter immediately, but after going through a course in an evening art school, he finally made it. After that, from 1863 he became a student of the Academy (until 1871). For 8 years of studying, he managed to receive several awards, including a large gold medal of the Academy.

The artist set himself a goal of creating a monumental canvas dedicated to the life of the people and not only revealing the severity of its share but also praising its spiritual strength. The painting above was revolutionary because of its disgusting reality which was widely normalized and maybe that is why it is one of the most popular paintings in Russia, to specify, it is reflected in the people’s own lives. “It depicts 11 men who are physically dragging a barge on the banks of the Volga River. They are at the point of collapse from exhaustion, oppressed by heavy-duty, hot weather, [and almost on the verge of death because of hunger and thirst]”, Wikipedia. It depicts dirty, tired, poor, and helpless people who a desperately looking into the viewer for something as if they are pleading for help. “[This work as if subtly hints at the] condemnation of profit from inhumane labor. Although they are presented as stoical and accepting, the men are defeated; only one stands out: in the center of both the row and canvas, a brightly colored youth fights against his leather binds and takes on a heroic pose. Repin conceived the painting during his travels through Russia as a young man and depicts actual characters he encountered”, Wikipedia.

This painting, with the old, mad man and his dead son made a huge wave of criticism and indignation in tsar’s Russia, not only because of its “absurd” penetration of the ruler but also because of its true darkness and not entering the framework of Christianity. It was believed that this painting was possessed by the devil because of its true craziness indeed. In the painting, you could see the dead body and true insanity, and it is all because the father killed his own son, and probably Repin caught that right moment when the ruler understands what he is done, by that entering the actual hell of repentance and pain. Also, we can see how dark the actual tones are in this painting, only the area of the two people is alighted, and maybe here is the moment when someone in the Repin’s imagination is opening the door, seeing the horrific. The dead son, if you will take a closer look, have a teardrop on his cheek, and I think that this adds a more obscure atmosphere to the painting, which a lot of people, in reality, wanted to destroy, because they believed that the ruler was a better person and also because of its accurate and deep penetration of the moment which sometimes happened in Russian Empire…

This is, indeed, is a very interesting and profound artist, who covered his works into savory symbolism, straightforward realism and whom I would like to write more about, because I for sure know that there is a lot more to share.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilya_Repin

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ilya-Yefimovich-Repin

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barge_Haulers_on_the_Volga

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_the_Terrible_and_His_Son_Ivan