The influence of Ilya Repin on Russian painting

19th century Russia had a social structure that lagged behind Western capitalist developments and was governed by aging military and bureaucratic autocratic structures. In this era, Tsarist Russia was caught in the winds of change, at times by liberal revolts and at other times by reforms implemented by the Tsars, influenced by Western liberal ideas. In reality, the reforms initiated from the 17th century onwards and the opening of the Tsarist regime to the outside world led to inevitable developments and transformations in Russia's economic, social, educational and administrative systems. At the same time, art, and especially painting, accompanied this process of change. During the following century, as art moved away from religious and abstract subjects and towards sentimentalism, young Russian painters traveled abroad to study art, and young people from the popular classes also had the opportunity to study art. From 1757 when the Russian Academy of Arts founded onwards, artists concentrated on subjects such as rural landscapes, the life of ordinary people and portraits. It is especially noteworthy that in the Russian painting of the 18th century, works reflecting the daily life of the people emerged in addition to portraits. In the first half of the 19th century, portraits in painting gradually moved away from the aristocracy. In this period, as seen in the works of great artists, portraits of writers and artists as well as commoners began to be painted. From the second half of the 18th century onwards, realism increased its influence in Russian painting and continued its influence in the 19th century. In the 1870s, Russian realist painters formed the Union of Traveling Painters to exhibit their works in St. Petersburg, Moscow and other major cities. Kramskoy, the president of this union, is especially famous for his portrait works. Ilya Efimovich Repin, one of the members of the Union, brought innovation to realist painting with his work "Barge Carriers on the Volga" in 1873. Repin, of Ukrainian origin, studied at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg, was a member of the Wanderers, and devoted a large part of his works to his native Ukraine. His realistic works often reflect an intense psychological depth and tensions with the existing social order. Within the scope of this study; Ilya Efimovich Repin's art is analyzed in the context of the social, political and artistic environment of Russia before and during the period in which he grew up, and the environmental and artistic conditions that the artist was influenced by while creating his own unique style and the traces he left on Russian and world painting during and after his period are examined. Keywords: Russian Painting, Ilya Repin, 19th Century Russian Painting.