The Volga grainers

The Volga grainers
	Ilya Repin , 1872–1873
	Oil on canvas
	131.5 × 281 cm
	Russian Museum

The Volga grains (Russian title: Бурлаки на Волге) is a painting by the Russian painter Ilya Repin . It can be assigned to realism . The 131.5 × 281 cm painting was started in 1872 and completed in 1873. It is one of Repin's most famous works and is part of the holdings of the Russian Museum in Saint Petersburg .

Emergence

Repin first saw Treidler , called Burlaki in Russia , on the Neva in the summer of 1868 . The sight of the hard-working men in ragged clothing made a lasting impression on him. His original idea, which was later rejected, was to depict the towers together with strollers on the river, in order to make the contrast between rich and poor clear.

Together with the painter Fyodor Alexandrowitsch Wassiljew , Repin went on a study trip to the Volga in the summer of 1870 and made numerous sketches for a painting. Until then, he was only used to models posing motionlessly and first had to win the trust of the towers, who initially refused to allow themselves to be drawn. He met several of them personally and discovered that they were people of different origins, including a former priest who served as a model for the leader of the group. A composition sketch in the 18.3 x 32.7 cm format made in pencil on paper in 1870 is now in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow (inventory number 11488), from which a first version was painted in oil in the 23.5 x 50.5 cm format (Tretyakov Gallery, inventory number 708). In March 1871, a preliminary version of the picture was exhibited in Saint Petersburg and awarded a prize. Repin then continued to work on it in his studio and presented the final version in March 1873, which was then shown at the World Exhibition in Vienna in 1873 and received a bronze medal there. Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich paid him 3,000 rubles for the picture.

description

The picture shows eleven hauliers pulling a barge on the banks of the Volga, most of them leaning forward and against the ground, bracing themselves in the wide belts in front of their chests. The colors are dominated by muted brown and green tones, which represent the unity of the group. The column gains dynamism through the alternation of raised and lowered heads, which reproduce the rhythm of the monotonous sequence of steps. A wide range of emotions can be seen in the faces, from gentleness to determination to anger. The youngest hauler, the only one looking into the distance, loosens his belt for a moment. Repin has positioned him in the middle of the group in a slightly twisting motion of standing up with one shoulder pulled up on one side. The boy is portrayed brightly and in color, the red of his torn blouse forms the center of the Treidler column.

The broadly flowing Volga can be seen as a symbol for Russia. Treidlers were still used on the Volga when the first steamers were already sailing on it. Repin has depicted one deep in the background. The figures are unadorned and reproduced realistically. The hard working conditions of the underprivileged and the devotion to fate with which they endure their existence are exemplified. The Treidler allegorize, as it were, the ability of the Russian people to suffer. The boy in the center of the picture, with whom Repin sets a counter-accent, is hopeful in the midst of the misery.

Volgatreidler, crossing a ford (1872)

The picture has an impact due to its size, the panorama format, the calculated perspective proportions of the Treidler group and the depth perspective of the landscape representation. All but one of the towers themselves are portrayed. The work became the program image of the Peredwischniki . There is also a small-format variant of the Volgatreidler, created in 1872, walking through a ford (Tretyakov Gallery, inventory number 709) with a different perspective: the towers there do not pass the viewer, but come towards him. A threatening thunderstorm in the background creates dynamism and symbolism.

reception

The picture received mostly positive reviews. The influential Russian art critic Wladimir Wassiljewitsch Stasow said at the time that such a picture had never existed. Even Fyodor Dostoyevsky praised it. In France it has been compared to Gustave Courbet's Die Steinklopfer . The picture laid the foundation for Repin's fame. As a result, he received regular grants from the Petersburg Academy and was able to devote himself to painting without worrying about his existence.

literature

Elizabeth Kridl Valkenier: Ilya Repin and the world of Russian art. Columbia University Press, New York NY 1990, ISBN 0-231-06964-2 , pp. 36ff.
Angelika Wesenberg (Ed.): Ilja Repin. In search of Russia. Nicolai, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-89479-092-X , pp. 20f., 60ff.

Web links

Commons : The Wolgatreidler - collection of images, videos and audio files