The artwork “Portrait of sculptor Mark Matveevich Antokolski” is a pencil drawing completed by Ilya Repin in the year 1866. As an exemplar of the Realism art movement, this artwork captures the character and the essence of the sculptor through precise pencil strokes. The dimensions of the piece are 37 by 28 centimeters, and it is categorized as a portrait, focusing on the depiction of the individual’s likeness.
The artwork portrays Mark Matveevich Antokolski with an introspective gaze. Repin’s deftness with the pencil is apparent in the detailed rendering of textures, from the soft folds of the fabric covering Mark Antokolski’s head to the finely sketched facial hair. There’s a quiet intensity to the subject’s expression, characterized by deep-set eyes and a slightly furrowed brow, which adds a layer of depth and contemplation to the portrait. It is clear that the artist achieved a high level of detail and expressive realism, adhering to the core principles of the Realism movement that sought to depict subjects truthfully without artificiality and avoiding artistic conventions, implausible, exotic, and supernatural elements.
