JOURNAL ARTICLE

Eastern Encounters: Ilia Repin's Orientalist Aesthetics Abroad and at Home.

  • Published In: Art History, 2023, v. 46, n. 2. P. 228 1 of 3

  • Database: Academic Search Ultimate 2 of 3

  • Authored By: Taroutina, Maria 3 of 3

Abstract

This article examines Ilia Repin's engagement with European Orientalist painting and its influence on his major works—*Sadko in the Underwater Kingdom* (1876), *Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan* (1885), and *Zaporozhian Cossacks Writing a Letter to the Turkish Sultan* (1880–91). It argues that Repin used Eastern motifs to challenge prevailing East/West and self/other binaries within the Russian imperial context, reflecting his complex Ukrainian-Russian identity and an anti-imperial, anti-autocratic stance. The essay highlights Repin's incorporation of Orientalist aesthetics not only as stylistic influence but as a subtle critique of Russian autocracy and imperialism, situating his art within broader global and postcolonial frameworks. It also calls for reconsideration of Russian and Ukrainian art histories beyond nationalist and imperial narratives, emphasizing the hybrid and contested cultural identities embedded in Repin's oeuvre.

Additional Information

  • Source:Art History. 2023/04, Vol. 46, Issue 2, p228
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:Ethnic and Cultural Studies
  • Publication Date:2023
  • ISSN:0141-6790
  • DOI:10.1111/1467-8365.12717
  • Accession Number:164634509
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