Artwork
Vsevolod Mikhailovich Garshin (1855–1888)

Vsevolod Mikhailovich Garshin (1855–1888) is an oil painting by the Realist artist Ilya Repin. It dates from 1892 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Painted by Ilya Repin in 1892, the subject is identified as Garshin, an author known for his literary contributions and his close relationship with the artist.
The work depicts the Russian short-story writer Vsevolod Mikhailovich Garshin, portrayed in a formal portrait setting. Painted by Ilya Repin in 1892, the subject is identified as Garshin, an author known for his literary contributions and his close relationship with the artist. The iconography focuses on the sitter's likeness; Garshin had earlier served as a model for other significant works by Repin, including Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan and An Unexpected Visitor.
The portrait's meaning is rooted in the artistic friendship between the two men and in Garshin's status within the Russian cultural sphere of the period.
Technique & Style
Repin's portrait of Vsevolod Garshin is executed in oil paint on canvas, a standard combination for his mature portrait practice. The Metropolitan Museum of Art records the support dimensions as 88.9 cm in height by 69.2 cm in width, a vertical format suited to a sitter-oriented composition. The work is classified as a painting within the portrait genre and is held in the museum's collection. Beyond these cataloged facts, the available sources do not describe handling, brushwork, palette, or condition.
History & Provenance
Ilya Repin painted this portrait of the Russian writer Vsevolod Mikhailovich Garshin in 1892, executing it in oil on canvas. Garshin was a close associate of Repin and had also posed for the artist in other major works, including Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan and An Unexpected Visitor. The painting entered the holdings of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where it remains, recorded as an oil on canvas measuring 88.9 × 69.2 cm and classified as a portrait.
Scholarly attention to the work is reflected in Elizabeth Kridl Valkenier's 1993 study in the Metropolitan Museum Journal, which examined Repin's portrait of Garshin in the context of the writer's role as the artist's model.
Overview
Ilya Repin, a prominent 19th-century painter of Russian and Ukrainian origin, created this oil portrait of writer Vsevolod Garshin. Executed in 1884, the work exemplifies Repin's commitment to realism, capturing the subject with a direct and unembellished approach. The painting is now held in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, representing a significant example of Repin's portraiture.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Ilya Yefimovich Repin (5 August 1844 – 29 September 1930) was a Ukrainian-born Russian painter.













