What Russian problems of the 19th century does the "Religious Procession in Kursk Province" by the great artist Repin tell about?

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Ilya Repin is perhaps the most iconic and well-known Russian realist painter. He wrote: “The life around me is very disturbing and haunted me. She asks to capture her on canvas. " This explains why most of his work is social commentary disguised as art. His large work "Procession of the Cross in Kursk Province", written from 1880 to 1883, depicts the huddled and seething mass present at the annual procession of the cross.

About the artist

Ilya Repin was born in Chuguev, a city in the Kharkov province. At about eleven years old, the artist's mother sent her son to a military topographic school. There he learned calligraphy and card drawing. Two years later, the school was closed, and Repin began to study with the local icon painter Ivan Bunakov. The city of Chuguev has long been the center of icon painting, which gave Ilya many opportunities for learning. In 1859, at the age of 15, Repin became a full-fledged master of icon painting. By 1861, Repin joined the team of icon painters, and began to travel around the region, decorating churches with his creations.

In 1863, Repin went to St. Petersburg, where he wanted to enter the Imperial Academy. On November 1, 1863, the artist arrived in St. Petersburg with 50 rubles in his pocket and … a huge talent, later embodied in the artist's great masterpieces. His first enrollment in the Academy failed and he was offered to enter the school of Ivan Kramskoy "Society for the Encouragement of Artists." Kramskoy's school, open to everyone who showed some ability, offered three evening lessons a week for 3 rubles a year. In September 1863, he was already a student at the Academy, having successfully passed the exams. Repin's work is often referred to in connection with The Peredvizhniki, a group of artists who exhibited their work, clearly Russian in character, throughout the country. Repin, however, did not join the movement until 1878, eight years after its founding, when he firmly established himself as one of the leading artists of his generation.

Throughout his career, Repin was drawn to the common people, of which he was himself. His large-scale painting Religious Procession in Kursk Province (1880-1883) is considered one of his greatest masterpieces and reflects the social classes of Russia and the tension that separated them - a very urgent and painful topic for the artist. his reflection in his work: on the one hand, he created masterpieces aimed at ordinary people, and on the other, he created a number of wonderful portraits of Russian intellectuals and historical paintings, demonstrating sympathy for the ruling elite. In 1892, Repin returned to the Imperial Academy, later becoming rector.

In 1883, Repin completed one of his most psychologically intense paintings, based on the story of Ivan the Terrible, who killed his son. This canvas depicts a frightened Ivan hugging his dying son, whom he just mortally wounded in an uncontrollable fit of rage. Repin dedicated this painting to Tsar Alexander II, who was assassinated in 1881 by a group belonging to the reform movement. With this painting, Repin seemed to warn: “Be careful with your emotions of rage. Otherwise, you may end up doing more harm than good.”After the 1917 revolution, Repin moved to his country house in Finland and never returned to St. Petersburg. His last painting was a hilarious canvas called Hopak, based on a Ukrainian theme. In 1930, Ilya Repin died at his home in Finland.

Religious procession in the Kursk province

The walls of the Tretyakov Gallery are decorated with a great painting by Repin. This is his 1883 work "Religious procession in the Kursk province." Like Barge Haulers on the Volga, this monumental work measures 175 × 280 cm. The annual religious procession in honor of the Kursk Icon of the Mother of God is depicted, during which the famous icon of the Kursk Mother of God is transferred 25 kilometers from the Root Monastery south to Kursk.

A group of Orthodox priests in robes are carrying an icon of the Kursk Icon of the Mother of God. They are followed by a group of believers: peasants, beggars, military, police and representatives of the provincial elite. It is a sarcastic piece of art that reflects alleged abuses by the state and the church. The picture is accompanied by a dusty desert landscape.

Heroes of the picture

The icon is depicted under a gilded dome with multi-colored ribbons. The light of many candles inside the display cabinet flickers, reflecting off the gold cover of the icon. Riza is a metal cover that protects the icon. On the left, a line of peasants is visible, holding hands to prevent the crowd from getting too close to the icon.

Behind the altar, two grim-faced women carry an empty box, which usually contains an altar. Their godly humility contrasts with the bloated and clumsy figures of the landlord and his wife, who hold a gleaming golden icon.

The irony of the master is obvious. The figure of the priest does not look saint at all. His golden vestments and pompous appearance do not inspire confidence and FAITH. By the way, he is the only hero of the plot who looks directly at the viewer. He moves forward decisively.

Another active hero of the picture is a man who cruelly instructs a hunchback. The shadow of his whip casts a shadow on the sand. It is interesting that in the eyes of a young man it is not sadness or sadness. They reflect a determined desire to change the situation. The young man is shown to be empathetic, dignified and devoid of sentimentality. For him, an icon can mean salvation. For him, life cannot become worse than reality, and for him this procession is a hope for a better existence. You can compare his image with the pose of a cavalry officer on horseback, exuding a kind of sanctimonious piety.

In the second half of the 19th century, peasants were often sentimental, but Repin clearly despised this tendency, which he, to his annoyance, found in the writings of the elderly Tolstoy. Speaking about the peasant, Repin wrote: “To step down into this darkness for a moment and say:“I am with you”is hypocrisy. Always wallowing with them is a senseless sacrifice. Raising them, raising them to your level, giving life is a feat!"

Personal pain of the artist and social problems

Repin began writing his first version of the procession in 1876, shortly after his return from three years in France and Italy. Perhaps this experience from other cultures sharpened his own sense of injustice. The choice of theme was certainly based on a deep sense of personal pain about peasant life. By 1883, this topic turned into a harsh chronicle of modern life, covering various strata of Russian society. Although the crowd is walking along a common path, they seem to be driven by a heartless power. The equestrian police and clergy, who angrily look at the poor or look oblivious to their suffering, are presented as mockery and vanity. Memories of Repin's childhood largely influenced the writing of the canvas. As a young icon painter, he witnessed many processions of the cross in the village where he grew up. However, this is not a religious picture. Instead of creating an image of jubilation, Repin is more concerned with the psychology of the personality and the crowd itself, which was undoubtedly influenced by the crowd scenes of Courbet and Manet, whose works he greatly admired.

In addition to the church, state and army, the middle stratum of the peasantry was also subject to oppression within their social strata, the peasant class was divided into several subsections: those who could read and those who could not, those who had livestock and those who who he was not, and so on, and so on. Repin masterfully depicted these contradictions on canvas.

What is interesting about the procession is that the community has gathered a large number of people of different social status. By depicting how people are dressed, he emphasizes the difference in their social status and emphasizes inequality in life. Some of them are in rags and others in rich caftans. Undoubtedly, the talented artist Repin was able to reflect the psychological portraits of most of the heroes of the procession in such a monumental work.