What pictures of Russian classics were banned from showing

We are accustomed to associate censorship bans with forbidden books or films. But even in such a seemingly harmless genre of art as painting, artists could go against the ideological attitudes of power, because of which certain paintings were not accepted for display at public exhibitions. Several such stories happened in the Russian Empire, and they are connected not with some little-known artists, but with generally recognized masters of the brush.
One of the most famous Wanderers, Ilya Repin, by the 1880s, was an artist with great experience. Pavel Tretyakov bought his paintings, cultural figures posed for him – such as the writer Turgenev and the composer Musorgsky. In addition to portraits and a social theme (for example, “Barge Haulers on the Volga”), Repin was always interested in historical subjects. Continue reading →