Portrait of a Boy

Russian artist Ilya Repin painted this portrait in the early 1880s, depicting an unidentified boy with tender directness that avoids sentimentality. True to Realist principles, Repin captured his young subject in a straightforward manner that reflects his progressive artistic approach. During this period, he painted numerous portraits of children, including relatives of his patrons and his own daughters and son.

Repin was born in the rural Ukrainian town of Chuhuiv when it was part of the Russian Empire and became one of the most important Russian painters of the 19th century. His works range from intimate portraits like this to monumental historical scenes. He died in 1930 in what is now Repino, near Saint Petersburg, a town later renamed in his honor.

The work held at the Taganrog Museum of Fine Arts in Russia, though major collections of Repin's work are also at the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow and the Russian Museum in Saint Petersburg.