Barge Haulers on the Volga
Painting by Ilya Repin / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Barge Haulers on the Volga or Burlaki (Russian: Бурлаки на Волге, Burlaki na Volge) is an 1870–1873 oil-on-canvas painting by artist Ilya Repin. It depicts 11 men physically dragging a barge on the banks of the Volga River. They are at the point of collapse from exhaustion, oppressed by heavy, hot weather.[1][2]
Barge Haulers on the Volga | |
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Artist | Ilya Repin |
Year | 1870–1873 |
Medium | Oil-on-canvas |
Dimensions | 131.5 cm × 281 cm (51.8 in × 111 in) |
Location | State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg |
Although they are presented as stoical and accepting, the men are defeated; only one stands out: in the center of both the row and canvas, a brightly colored youth fights against his leather binds and takes on a heroic pose.
Repin conceived the painting during his travels through Russia as a young man and depicts actual characters he encountered. It drew international praise for its realistic portrayal of the hardships of working men, and launched his career.[3] Soon after its completion, the painting was purchased by Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich and exhibited widely throughout Europe as a landmark of Russian realist painting. Barge Haulers on the Volga has been described as "perhaps the most famous painting of the Peredvizhniki movement [for]....its unflinching portrayal of backbreaking labor".[4]