Description of the picture:
Portrait of the writer Leonid Nikolaevich Andreev – Ilya Efimovich Repin. 1904. Oil on canvas. 76×215
Apparently, the portrait of the writer Andreev remained unfinished. Before us is a more elaborate sketch than a finished work. However, perhaps this is a technique used by the artist to convey the essence of the character of the writer: inconstancy, a tendency to irrational, illusory.
Before us is a young man in an embroidered shirt, with a Russian beard, rich hair and a blurred look. In the eyes of the hero melancholy, emptiness and some despondency. There is not a shadow of a smile on his face, lips are compressed. The pose is not free and relaxed, but, on the contrary, some internal tension is felt.
The color scheme of the portrait is restrained. From white to vaguely green (background). The incompleteness of the background, nervous, careless strokes, emphasize the atmosphere of nervousness and tension. One gets the impression that the artist was transferred to a certain energy of Andreev."