ILYA REPIN (1844-1930) Vera. A portrait of the artist’s future wife, 1867.

signed in Cyrillic ‘I Repin’ (lower right), and dated ’30 dekabria 1867’ (center right), inscribed in another hand in Finnish (on the reverse) pencil on paper 35.4 x 27 cm (à vue) executed in 1867 EXHIBITED: ‘Ilya Repin - Artist of the Month’, Turku Art Museum, 1977. ‘Ilya Repin’, Ateneum Art Museum, Helsinki, November 7 – December 14, 1980. ‘Great Russian Masters’, Ateneum Art Museum, Helsinki, June 29 – October 1, 1995. ‘Russian Masters – From Aivazovsky to Repin’, Sinebrychoff Art Museum, Helsinki, February 12 – May 8, 2016, and Tikanoja Art Museum, Vaasa, May 20 – September 25, 2016. LITERATURE: Valdemar Melanko, ‘Ilja Repin - The Past Close at Hand’, WSOY 1970, p. 152. Executed on 30 December 1867, when Repin was 23 and Vera Shevtsova just 14, this early drawing offers a charming glimpse into the beginnings of Ilya Repin’s connection with his future wife. At the time, Vera was simply a friend and frequent model — the youngest daughter of the academician architect Aleksey Shevtsov (c.1815–after 1869), in whose home Repin was a regular guest during the 1860s. In 1872, Repin and Vera married. Over the years, Vera would become both muse and a central figure in Repin’s life and work. Though modest in scale, the drawing radiates warmth and sensitivity. Repin’s light, confident pencil strokes gently capture Vera’s face. She sits with arms gently crossed, gazing away from the viewer, her features rendered with a striking mix of precision and softness. More than creating a likeness, Repin seems to reveal her character as well. This portrait captures a quiet, significant moment — one that hints at the deep personal and creative bond that would later unite them.