Looking at the works of artist Ilya Repin (1844-1930) is a great way to learn about Russian history and culture, ranging from Repin's depictions of the Volga Boatmen to scenes from Eugene Onegin to portraits of major literary, artistic and political figures of his time. Repin also had a true gift for capturing the essence of his portrait subject, such as his wonderful impressions of author Leo Tolstoy and his appealingly lost-in-thought painting of composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.
Even if you don't initially recognize the person in one of Repin's portraits, you're likely to be intrigued enough by the visual image to want to know more. This painting of Vsevolod Garshin seems really striking, and further research revealed that Garshin was a writer whose father and brother had committed suicide, and that Garshin eventually committed suicide himself in 1888 at the age 33. He showed considerable literary promise in his short life, and he also posed for Repin's Czar Ivan the Terrible With the Body of His Son (State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow) as Ivan's son. In that particular painting, we learn how Czar Ivan unintentionally murdered his own son Ivan in 1581 during an argument by beating him with his staff. Ivan's son was reportedly upset because Czar Ivan had argued earlier with the son's pregnant wife, and in defending her the final fight between father and son came to pass. They were an intense pair of Ivans, so it seems like some kind of tragedy was inevitable. It's eerie and sad to see Garshin in that pose as the dead son, however; Garshin's portrait by the way is now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Even if you don't initially recognize the person in one of Repin's portraits, you're likely to be intrigued enough by the visual image to want to know more. This painting of Vsevolod Garshin seems really striking, and further research revealed that Garshin was a writer whose father and brother had committed suicide, and that Garshin eventually committed suicide himself in 1888 at the age 33. He showed considerable literary promise in his short life, and he also posed for Repin's Czar Ivan the Terrible With the Body of His Son (State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow) as Ivan's son. In that particular painting, we learn how Czar Ivan unintentionally murdered his own son Ivan in 1581 during an argument by beating him with his staff. Ivan's son was reportedly upset because Czar Ivan had argued earlier with the son's pregnant wife, and in defending her the final fight between father and son came to pass. They were an intense pair of Ivans, so it seems like some kind of tragedy was inevitable. It's eerie and sad to see Garshin in that pose as the dead son, however; Garshin's portrait by the way is now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
