Ilya Yefimovich Repin (Russian: Илья́ Ефи́мович Ре́пин; 5 August [O.S. 24 July] 1844 – 29 September 1930) was a leading Russian painter of the Peredvizhniki artistic school. He was born in Chuguyev, in the Kharkov Governorate (currently Ukraine) of the Russian Empire into a military family. His father Yefim Vasilyevich Repin was a private in the Tsar's army.
Ilya was a student at the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg from 1863 to 1871. He was taught by the renowned Russian painter Ivan Kramskoi, who had a great influence on his works. After graduating from the Academy, Repin moved to Paris, where he lived for five years. During this time he studied the works of the French Impressionists and developed his own style of painting.
Repin's most famous works include his portraits of Ivan the Terrible, Ivan Tsarevich and the Seven Boyars, and Barge Haulers on the Volga. He also painted many landscapes and scenes of everyday life in Russia. Repin was an active member of the Peredvizhniki artistic school, and was a founding member of the Society for Traveling Art Exhibitions, or “The Wanderers”.
He was also a vocal political activist, and his works often reflected his political views. He was an outspoken critic of the Tsarist regime, and his works were banned from official exhibitions. Repin was also an accomplished draftsman and illustrator. His illustrations, including those for Nikolai Gogol's Dead Souls, were especially popular.
He was also a member of the Union of Russian Artists and the Imperial Academy of Arts. Repin was awarded numerous awards for his work, including the Order of St. Vladimir in 1895, and the Order of St. Anna in 1908. He was made a People's Artist of the Russian Federation in 1926.
Repin died on 29 September 1930 in Kuokkala, Finland. He is buried in the Alexander Nevsky Monastery in St. Petersburg, Russia. Ilya Repin is widely regarded as one of the greatest Russian painters of all time. He was a master of portraiture and a passionate social commentator whose works still resonate today.