The artwork “Woman playing with Umbrella” is an oil on canvas painting by the celebrated artist Ilya Repin, created in the year 1874. This piece is an exemplar of the Realism art movement. It is a portrait with the dimensions of 42 x 28.5 cm and can be viewed at the Tretyakov Gallery located in Moscow, Russia.
In the artwork, a woman is depicted against a mostly plain background, which accentuates the subject. She is dressed in a dark, full-length dress that demonstrates the fashion of the time. The painting captures a sense of informal elegance and a candid moment, as evidenced by the woman’s relaxed posture and the dynamic motion suggested by her handling of the umbrella. The woman’s expression is contemplative, turned to the side, and she looks away from the viewer, lost in thought or possibly observing something out of the viewer’s sight. The brushstrokes and the treatment of light and shadow on the figure’s clothing showcase Repin’s skill in rendering textures and conveying the weight and form of the fabric. The woman’s attire, including her jacket and the ribbon in her hair, are portrayed with meticulous attention to detail, reflective of Repin’s realism style. The artist has signed and dated the work in the lower right-hand side, confirming its authenticity and the period in which it was created.
