Ilya Yukhimovych Repin (1844-1930) (I hope that the official spelling will soon include Rypin) – Ukrainian artist, realist, academician of the Imperial Academy of Arts. One of the three artists of the tsarist era recognized as Ukrainian by The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The other two are Arkhip Kuindzhi and Ivan Aivazovsky.
Ilya Yukhimovych was born near Chuguyev in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine, in the distant year 1844. The artist’s roots come from the Ripa Ukrainian Cossack family, which is why Ukrainian art critics are seeking to change the official spelling from the Russified Repin to Rypin.
Ilya Repin (Rypin) lived a long life, he made a breakthrough artistic career and finally lived to the terrible Soviet times, where communists tried to use his figure to legitimize their bloody regime.
From a young age, Ilya Rypin was engaged in icon painting, studied at a drawing school under the leadership of Ivan Kramskyi (who also had Ukrainian roots), and later, like all artists of his era, at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. I would like to remind you that neither Kharkiv nor Kyiv had an art academy at that time. To get a higher education, future artists were forced to go to St. Petersburg.
The Kyiv Academy of Arts will appear only in 1917, and the Kharkiv Academy – in 1921. These events will take place on the wave of ideas of supporting various nations of the newly created state, and then the founders and main artists will be shot or sent into exile.
The heyday of Ilya Repin’s work fell on the 1880`s. He worked in realism. Created a series of portraits of contemporaries. Throughout his creative journey, he tried to maintain contacts with his native Slobozhanshchyna in Ukraine.
During his studies, Ilya painted his graduation work «Christ Raising Jairus’ Daughter from the Dead», thanks to which the artist received the right to a retirement trip to Europe for six years. Although in the end he spent less time on this trip. Such trips were the norm for artists of that time.
Ilya Repin painted a series of paintings on Ukrainian themes. The most famous of them are:
«Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks to Sultan Mehmed» (1880-91). The picture exists in two versions, one of them is in the Kharkiv State Museum of Fine Arts.
Work on the first painting lasted almost 12 years. The artist exhibited this painting at a personal exhibition, which later took place in Chicago, Munich, Budapest and Stockholm. After the triumphant success, the painting was bought by Emperor Alexander III for a whopping 35,000 rubles.
Vasyl Tarnovsky’s collection of antiquities, whose image can also be seen in the painting, played a major role in the work on the details of the painting. Otaman Sirko, one of the key characters of the picture, is written from the commander of the Kyiv Military District Mykhailo Dragomirov. Other characters are also written from famous people, Repin’s friends, who have Ukrainian roots.
To work on this painting, Repin traveled a lot in Ukrainian villages, studied traditions and clothes, observed and made sketches.
To work on the picture, Repin consulted with the Ukrainian historian Yavornytskyi, who helped Repin in developing the Cossack theme and was his good friend.
At the time of the Bolshevik revolution, Repin lived in Kuokkala, Finland. Then it was part of the Russian Empire, and after the revolution it became part of independent Finland. Before the new occupation of part of Finland, Repin was in safe, although his usual life was destroyed. After all, his property in Russia was confiscated and nationalized, he lost the opportunity to contact with his buyers (many of them were forced to flee or were killed by revolutionaries).
In 1919, Ilya Yukhimovych donated 23 paintings by Russian artists who did not support the Bolshevik coup to the Finnish Society of Artists. It is from these paintings donated by Repin began the history of the largest art museum of Finland in Helsinki, «Ateneum».
However, the USSR sincerely sought the return of Repin. This event could become a kind of legitimization of the new regime. At the Politburo meeting, they even approved a resolution on Repin’s return. There was an information company that Repin wanted to return and he was writing the appropriate letters ostensibly, and the USSR government agreed. In general, the methods of the Chekists have changed little.
Repin’s attitude towards the Bolsheviks is eloquently expressed in his painting «Red Army soldier stealing bread from a child». In addition, in his personal correspondence he called the Bolsheviks «savages» and advocated their rejection in European diplomatic circles. That is, he called for «cancelling», as we would say now.
Repin lived the last years of his life in Finland, where he was buried. Although according to his will he wanted to be buried in his native Chuguyev in Ukraine, but because of the Bolshevik government in Slobozhanshchyna, the artist’s wife decided to violate her husband’s last will.
One of the artist’s sons wanted to study at the St. Petersburg Academy like his father, but he was executed after crossing the Finnish-Russian border.
More interesting information about Ukrainian and European artists you can get by ordering online lectures at the Lihtaryk art studio. Also you can try yourself as an artist of various genres and find another interesting place where to go in Kyiv at the Kyiv art studio «Lihtaryk».
Make your friends and family happy by purchasing our gift certificate for creative master classes and art lectures.
У меня синдром Стендаля сегодня. Утром ходили в Падуанский баптистерий. Смотрели фрески Менабуя. А после обеда у нас было посещение каппелы Скровеньи. Теперь я понимаю , что сделал Джотто для мира. Очень меня все это впечатлило в живую. Привет передала.
Мир прекрасен. Падуя очень понравилась:) спасибо за лекции Света!
Lily Golovchak
Our location
