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The man in the purple coat : Art and empire in Ilia Repin’s Reception of Volost Elders

Balagurov, Nikita LU (2023) In Rethinking Art's Histories p.143-164
Abstract
This chapter discusses Ilia Repin’s court commission, Reception of Volost Elders by Alexander III in the Courtyard of the Petrovsky Palace in Moscow (1886). It argues that the painting reflected marginalizing discourses on the non-Russian minorities dominant at the outset of Alexander III’s rule. Repin employed a differentiating approach to rendering ethnically and religiously diverse representatives of the empire. He placed elders of Slavic appearance from the ethnically Russian imperial “core” in more favorable positions, while the inorodtsy (aliens) were less visible and occupied subordinate positions. The chapter further argues that Repin’s loose brushwork in the conspicuously marginalized Tatar figure articulates the artist’s... (More)
This chapter discusses Ilia Repin’s court commission, Reception of Volost Elders by Alexander III in the Courtyard of the Petrovsky Palace in Moscow (1886). It argues that the painting reflected marginalizing discourses on the non-Russian minorities dominant at the outset of Alexander III’s rule. Repin employed a differentiating approach to rendering ethnically and religiously diverse representatives of the empire. He placed elders of Slavic appearance from the ethnically Russian imperial “core” in more favorable positions, while the inorodtsy (aliens) were less visible and occupied subordinate positions. The chapter further argues that Repin’s loose brushwork in the conspicuously marginalized Tatar figure articulates the artist’s painterly ambitions. It acts as a counter to his own skilled realistic rendering of the central figures in the painting, and eventually to its ideologically problematic subject matter. These arguments build on the investigation of Repin’s creative process in the context of the contemporary colonialist and nationalistic discourses, on the one hand, and Repin’s artistic evolution, on the other. The discovery of Repin’s original source, an album of group photographs of volost elders, enables one to identify a number of the characters in the painting. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
host publication
Russian Orientalism in a global context : Hybridity, encounter, and representation, 1740–1940 - Hybridity, encounter, and representation, 1740–1940
series title
Rethinking Art's Histories
editor
Taroutina, Maria and Leigh, Allison
pages
22 pages
publisher
Manchester University Press
external identifiers
  • scopus:85170182282
ISBN
9781526166234
9781526166227
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
2fab4d14-0430-4fb4-97a2-594e408ff206
alternative location
https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526166227/
date added to LUP
2023-10-24 17:00:09
date last changed
2024-04-19 03:52:09
@inbook{2fab4d14-0430-4fb4-97a2-594e408ff206,
  abstract     = {{This chapter discusses Ilia Repin’s court commission, Reception of Volost Elders by Alexander III in the Courtyard of the Petrovsky Palace in Moscow (1886). It argues that the painting reflected marginalizing discourses on the non-Russian minorities dominant at the outset of Alexander III’s rule. Repin employed a differentiating approach to rendering ethnically and religiously diverse representatives of the empire. He placed elders of Slavic appearance from the ethnically Russian imperial “core” in more favorable positions, while the inorodtsy (aliens) were less visible and occupied subordinate positions. The chapter further argues that Repin’s loose brushwork in the conspicuously marginalized Tatar figure articulates the artist’s painterly ambitions. It acts as a counter to his own skilled realistic rendering of the central figures in the painting, and eventually to its ideologically problematic subject matter. These arguments build on the investigation of Repin’s creative process in the context of the contemporary colonialist and nationalistic discourses, on the one hand, and Repin’s artistic evolution, on the other. The discovery of Repin’s original source, an album of group photographs of volost elders, enables one to identify a number of the characters in the painting.}},
  author       = {{Balagurov, Nikita}},
  booktitle    = {{Russian Orientalism in a global context : Hybridity, encounter, and representation, 1740–1940}},
  editor       = {{Taroutina, Maria and Leigh, Allison}},
  isbn         = {{9781526166234}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{06}},
  pages        = {{143--164}},
  publisher    = {{Manchester University Press}},
  series       = {{Rethinking Art's Histories}},
  title        = {{The man in the purple coat : Art and empire in Ilia Repin’s Reception of Volost Elders}},
  url          = {{https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526166227/}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}