REPIN, Ilya Yefimovich
(b. 1844, Chuguyev, d. 1930, Kuokkala)

They did not expect him

1884
Oil on canvas, 161 x 168 cm
State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Repin's paintings of the 1880s that were important for their focus on social problems included "They did not expect him" which present the early return home of a political exile. The sensitive colouring and atmospherics of this truthful picture are convincing, as are the spacial tensions, the snapshot recording of movement, and the precise rendering of facial expressions.




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