Portrait of the Artist Ilya Repin 1879

Vasily Polenov painted this portrait of Ilya Repin, most likely in Russia, in 1879. In it, we see a member of the Russian intelligentsia depicted by another. The image creates meaning through subtle visual cues. Here is an informal portrait, more relaxed than the conventions of academic portraiture. Repin is holding what looks like a conductor’s baton – a sign of his cultural leadership. Think about the context in which this was painted: a time of political and social reform in Russia, but also of great social inequality. Artists like Repin felt a responsibility to represent the lives of ordinary Russians, and question the existing social order. To understand the painting better, you might look at the history of Russian art academies or explore the writings of 19th-century Russian social critics. The meaning of art is contingent on social and institutional context.