An exhibition of works by Ilya Repin opened in Paris

An exhibition of works by Ilya Repin opened in Paris

An exhibition of Ilya Repin’s works entitled “To paint the Russian soul” has opened in Paris

The first large exhibition of Ilya Repin’s works in France, entitled “Painting the Russian Soul” (Peindre l “âme russe), opened at the Petit Palais (Small Palace) in Paris. On Sunday, the exposition was visited by Russian Ambassador to France Alexei Meshkov, RIA Novosti correspondent reports.

The exhibition will be open to the general public from October 5 to January 23 next year.

The exposition brings together more than a hundred paintings from the collections of the State Tretyakov Gallery, the State Russian Museum, and the Finnish Art Museum Ateneum.

At the exhibition you can see the most famous works of the artist, including “Barge Haulers on the Volga”, “Cossacks Writing a Letter to the Turkish Sultan”, portraits of Leo Tolstoy, Ivan Turgenev, Modest Mussorgsky, Mikhail Glinka.

Repin’s legendary painting “Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan”, which was vandalized in 2018, is absent from the exhibition in the Small Palace, since it is still under restoration.

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Repin was especially fond of France and its capital. In Paris, commissioned by the patron and collector of Russian fine art Pavel Tretyakov, he worked on a portrait of Ivan Turgenev, which presented him in French society and introduced him to prominent people of that time. Repin’s second daughter was born here.

According to the artist, this was the happiest time in his family life. In 1900, Repin came to Paris for the World’s Fair in order to present several of his works, and also as a member of the jury of the painting section. As a result, his paintings received the highest award “out of competition”.

When visiting the exhibition on Sunday, the Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Paris was accompanied by the director of the Small Palace and the curator of the exposition Christophe Leribault.
The Russian ambassador commented on the painting “Reception of volost elders by Emperor Alexander III in the courtyard of the Petrovsky Palace in Moscow” to journalists.

“You ask why with Alexander III? Because he was the first emperor to spend the night at the (Russian) embassy on Grenelle Street,” Meshkov said.
He pointed out that a certain part of Repin’s life was associated with Paris.
“I am convinced that this (exhibition) will be one of the most culturally attractive places in Paris in the coming months,” he added.
Meshkov recalled that recently an exhibition of paintings from the collection of the Morozov brothers was opened at the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris.

“This indicates that, despite the pandemic, cultural life is returning. Our large-scale exhibitions are returning to Paris, and this testifies to the progressive development of Russian-French relations, whether in the cultural sphere, where – I will not be cunning – they have advanced further than in other spheres. Trade turnover is growing, “the Russian ambassador said.

“We have a very impressive schedule of upcoming political contacts at the end of the year,” Meshkov said, but did not provide details.

Source: bbc