Portrait of an old woman 1870

Ilya Repin’s “Portrait of an Old Woman” is rendered with oil on canvas, a traditional pairing. But there is nothing traditional about Repin’s raw approach. The rough texture of the painting is impossible to miss, the artist does not seek to conceal his labor. Look closely at the way the colors are applied. They are laid on thick in some places, scratched away in others, with visible brushstrokes. The handling of the paint speaks volumes. There is nothing decorative or elegant here. This is not the portrait of a noble, but instead a study of old age and working-class life in Russia. Repin’s choice of materials underscores his commitment to realism. In the end, it's the very materiality of Repin’s portrait, the unvarnished facture of the paint, that gives it such expressive power. It challenges our assumptions about the separation of high art from the everyday.