The artwork is an oil on canvas painting titled “Portrait of the Composer Mikhail Glinka,” created by the renowned artist Ilya Repin in the year 1887. This painting, which embodies the Realism art movement, measures 98 by 117 centimeters and portrays the eminent composer Mikhail Glinka. The genre of the painting is portraiture and it is currently housed in the Tretyakov Gallery, located in Moscow, Russia.
The artwork presents a contemplative scene where Mikhail Glinka is depicted reclining on a couch with sheets of manuscript papers and a book, which indicates his profession as a composer. His attire appears luxurious and comfortable, suggestive of his status, featuring a robe that is draped around him in a casual yet dignified manner. Glinka exhibits a thoughtful expression; his eyes gaze into the distance, possibly reflecting on his music or the composition at hand. Repin’s brushwork captures the textures of fabrics and furnishings with precise detail, accentuating the realistic portrayal of the scene. The color palette employed in the artwork is quite restrained, with a dominance of muted tones that harmonize to evoke a sense of calmness and intellectual engagement. Repin’s masterful rendering of light and shadow contributes to the depth and three-dimensionality of the space, further enhancing the lifelike appearance of the subject.
