Negro, Repin – overview of the painting 
- Posted by Ilya Efimovich Repin
- Museum: Russian Museum
- Year: 1876
Overview of the painting :
Negrityanka – Ilya Efimovich Repin. 1876. Oil on canvas. 115 x 92 cm
The picture depicts a black woman in a luxurious oriental outfit, sitting in Turkish on a checkered bed in crimson tones. In front of her on a metal dish is a minted golden jug and a tiny cup without a handle.
Behind the back of a seated woman is a large oriental hookah, standing on a beautiful inlaid table. Next to her bare feet lies a shoe with a highly curved nose. All these details suggest that we are in front of a Turkish slave. Her full longing eyes tell us about the immense fatigue and hopelessness of her position.
The picture impresses with thoroughness of work and an abundance of details. The woman has a very carefully, even meticulously written face, all her rich gold jewelry and the monitor are depicted very realistically. But most of all, hands are striking – graceful, with long thin fingers, tiredly lowered down. It is the hands in this portrait that express the main feeling – doom.
The canvas can be viewed for hours, so many small elements in it that deserve a careful close look.