Portrait of Vladimir Aleksandrovich 1910

Ilya Repin made this portrait of Vladimir Aleksandrovich with oil paints, sometime around 1910, and what grabs me first is the controlled chaos of the brushwork. It's like Repin is wrestling with the very idea of portraiture, pushing and pulling the paint. Check out the way he renders the face. It’s not about smooth perfection but about capturing something raw and real. The brushstrokes are visible, almost chunky, building up the form in layers. And that red table! It’s not just a flat surface; it's alive with texture and movement. You can almost feel the weight of the fabric, the way the light catches those impastoed peaks. I’m reminded of Lovis Corinth, another artist who wasn’t afraid to let the paint do its thing. It’s like they’re both saying, "Hey, art is messy, life is messy, let’s embrace it." Ultimately, it's a reminder that art is an ongoing experiment, and there's no one right way to see the world.