Nicholas of Myra eliminates the death of three innocently convicted, Repin

Description of the picture:

Nicholas of Myra save the death of three innocently convicted – Ilya Efimovich Repin. 1895. Oil on canvas, two hundred fifteen x one hundred ninety six cm

The presented work is not just an appeal to one of the biblical subjects – it was an urgent topic for Russia, and Ilya Repin did not fail to respond to it. The thing is that in one thousand eight hundred eighty seven Leo Tolstoy delivered a fiery moral sermon proclaiming the abolition of the death penalty.

The acts of the revered Russian St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, once managed to prevent the unjust execution of three convicts who fell victims of the greed of the corrupt worldly governor Eustathius. It is not surprising that Repin, who in his youth was known as a talented “Bogomaz” (icon painter), found a semantic connection between the actions of Nikolai Ugodnik and the sermon of Count Tolstoy.

Scrupulous work preceded the picture – collecting information, sketches, sketches of individual heroes. The author was so impressed with the plot that he even created several versions of the canvas, differing in composition and size.

The work was first presented at the 17th traveling exhibition and impressed the public, collecting a lot of flattering reviews, including Leo Tolstoy. The work was bought by Emperor Alexander III, and, according to legend, it was this painting that prompted the emperor to establish the Russian Museum, where a dramatic multi-figured canvas is exhibited today."

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