Self-Portrait

Ilja Jefimovič Rjepin is a prominent representative of the Society for Travelling Art Exhibitions (Peredvizhniki, the Wanderers) who struggled for realism in Russian art. He became famous for his canvases featuring Russian history and contemporary art. Between 1894 and 1907 he was a professor at the Saint Petersburg Art Academy. Rjepin was also a great portraitist who also portrayed himself several times. In the painting of 1915, he depicted himself in the studio in a house in Kuokkale, Finland, near Saint Petersburg where he lived from 1914 until his death. The palette attached to his waist enabled Rjepin to paint with both hands.