The artwork titled “Young ladys walk among herd of cow” was created by the prominent artist Ilya Repin in the year 1896. It has been executed using oil on board as the medium, exemplifying the Realism movement of the time. The piece is a genre painting, encompassing dimensions of 74 cm in height and 35 cm in width. This piece of art distinctly captures a scene from daily life, a hallmark of the Realism movement, which aimed to depict subjects truthfully, without artificiality and avoiding artistic conventions, implausible, exotic, and supernatural elements.
In the artwork, one can observe a scene of elegance juxtaposed with pastoral life. A number of ladies, dressed in the finery of the period, are seen taking a stroll among a herd of cows. The central subject is a young lady in a white dress adorned with a pale pink hat, engaging the viewer with her poised demeanor. Accompanying her is another lady, glimpsed partially, who exudes an air of composedness and style as well. The surroundings betray a countryside environment, where the elegance of the ladies presents a striking contrast with the ruggedness of rural life represented by the cattle and the herders. The finely dressed ladies might be out for leisure, implying a connection or an interest in the rural setting, bringing forth a vivid interplay of different societal elements.
Notably, the artist’s use of color and light imbues the scene with a sense of immediacy and authenticity, capturing the interplay between the figures and their setting. Repin’s masterful brushwork provides texture and vitality to the herd of cows, which populate the lower half of the canvas, emphasizing the realism that was integral to this artistic movement. The pastoral backdrop serves as a muted canvas, highlighting the social aspects of the era depicted.
