Negress 1907

Ilya Repin painted this oil on canvas titled "Negress" in 1907. Repin was a leading Russian painter of the realist movement. Here, the artist captures a lone, dark-skinned woman set against a light green backdrop. Her head is wrapped in red and white cloth. She wears a red dress or shawl that leaves her shoulders bare. Her gaze is directed off to the side, but her facial expression is unreadable. Though Russia had officially abolished slavery in 1723, racial prejudice and the exoticization of non-European people was common in the 19th and early 20th centuries. This portrait invites us to reflect on the context in which it was made, to think about the limited agency and the objectification faced by people of color during this time, and the gaze of the artist.