History Painting
Oil on canvas
Russian Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia
‘The Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks to Sultan Mehmed IV of the Ottoman Empire’ relates the story of the Zaporozhian Cossacks who defeated the Ottoman forces but are commanded to submit to Turkish rule. Their response is a letter containing insults and profanities. Repin captures the delight of the Cossacks in their vulgar task with each character adding to the sense of devilish energy.
Ilya Repin
Realism, Naturalism
Born: 24 July 1844, Chuguev, Russian Empire
Nationality: Russian
Died: 29 September 1930, Vipuri Province, Finland
One of the foremost advocates of naturalistic representation from any artistic era Repin defined the essence of Russian Realism. From the humble beginnings of his birth he became an artist of bedazzling skill and insight, creating technically skilled work which conveyed a deep sensitivity to human emotion and suffering, and to historical and political events. Repin was committed to the spirit of the peasant class of his roots which allowed his art to be a humane social commentary. Despite being highly critical of Tsarist oppression his work brought him fame within state institutions. It is perhaps ironic that as an adopted patriarch of drab Social Realism the power of his work resonates much further than that milieu or any narrow context
