Send off of recruit 1879

Ilya Repin captured this scene of farewell on canvas with oil paints. Notice the embrace at the center, a motif as old as time itself. The universal gesture of holding a loved one close, mirroring the Madonna's tender hold on her child, transcends cultures. The soldier's embrace, however, is not one of protection but of parting, weighted with unspoken anxieties. Think back to classical antiquity, the figures on Greek vases saying goodbye to their warriors marching to war. Consider too, the figure of the stoic man in the background – the pain of generations etched on his face. This motif of burdened resignation appears and reappears throughout the centuries, a shared human experience manifested in art. The wheel turns, and we are confronted with the same raw emotions, each time colored by its present.