[ART HISTORY] Unexpected Visitors (1884-1888) by Ilya Repin 🎨

The painting we're looking at today presents a picture of the revolutionary as a kind of anti-hero. It's a seemingly broken man who comes back from exile in this one of my favorites from the period. A fascinating picture in which Ilya Repin (1844-1930) seems to have pressed the pause button in the middle of a movie.

The 1870s and 80s were politically troubled decades in Russia. Although Tsar Alexander II undertook some reforms different revolutionary groups grew. They demanded more power for the people and an end to the Tsarist Empire. The Tsar was subjected to several assassination attempts, and terrorist attacks against the power elite were common. In 1881 the terror organization Narodnaya Volya had the Tsar killed, and in the following years his successor, Tsar Alexander III together with his Minister of Interior, Count Dmitry Tolstoy, conducted reactionary policies along with an intensive campaign against nihilistic subversion and terrorism; multiple innocent people were deported to Siberia.

Since freedom of expression was severely limited, it was difficult for Peredvizhniki (The Wanderers), the group of Russian realist that broke away from the Academy, to openly portray political topics. Some artists tried to evade censorship by depicting revolutionary activity in the form of tragic events in the lives of individuals. Ilya Repin is very much associated with images that address controversial political topics.

In his painting "Unexpected Visitors" (1884-1888) we see a scruffy and scrawny man returning home to his surprised family after a long absence. Perhaps he's been held in a prison camp in Siberia? The reactions of the others suggest that his return is not only unexpected but also perhaps unwanted. The older woman has suddenly stood up, but it's impossible to see whether she expresses joy or shock. The young woman at the piano recognizes the man, but just looks surprised. The girl at the table doesn't seem to recognize him and stares suspiciously. The servants in the doorway are somewhat indifferent. Only the boy is happy to see the man. The image evokes emotions, not least the boy's joyous face at the sight of his father, or is it perhaps his older brother? And is the woman standing up the returning man's mother? Her being dressed in black suggests that she's a widow and that the father of the family has passed away - or worse, perhaps executed - without getting to see his eldest son. The youngest sister has a more timid attitude; she was probably too young at the disappearance of her big brother to be able to remember him.

           

The family is almost as thin and pale as the returning man. The children's education and formation has however not been neglected, and they haven't sold the piano. They also still have servants, including a maid that appears to be a little more well-fed than her employers. Perhaps she has had the opportunity to earn money on the side, on shameful work that won't be spoken of. There are some pictures on the wall that might be interesting to identify; what's significant is that the Tsar is absent.

Repin's painting escaped the censors and was a huge success. "Unexpected Visitors" was seen as a telling picture of the tragic times and a testimony of what the consequences might be for those who stand for their personal principles and ideals. The Peredvizhniki group always depicted the revolutionary as a social outsider and never as a heroic activist, and they never sided with terrorism. Creating explicitly political images remained something for the brave few.

 @SteemSwede

Here's a link to a larger image of the painting so that you can study it in detail: Unexpected Visitors