Repin, Ilya Efimovich (1844-1930)

Russian painter. He painted portraits, historical, and genre subjects in a realist style, many of his works expressing a sympathy for the poor and the politically oppressed. Among his best-known works are Procession of the Cross 1880-83 (Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow).

He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, St Petersburg, then travelled in France and Italy. In 1894 he was appointed professor of historical painting at the St Petersburg Academy. He was noted for his portraits of the writer Leo Tolstoy and the composer Modest Mussorgsky, and such scenes of Russian life as They Did Not Expect Him 1884 (Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow), which depicts a political prisoner returning from exile.