Portrait of a military engineer, Captain A. Shevtsov, brother of the artist's wife 1876

Ilya Repin painted this portrait of Captain A. Shevtsov, his wife’s brother, using oil on canvas. Repin’s technique here reveals a confident handling of the medium. Look at the face of Captain Shevtsov. See how Repin has built up the form with small, precise strokes of paint? Notice also the textures and details of the uniform, capturing the weight and feel of the fabric. The application of paint is more vigorous in the background than the foreground, bringing Captain Shevtsov into sharp relief. Repin's art often engaged with social and political themes, and while this portrait might seem straightforward, it reflects the social context of tsarist Russia. The labor involved in producing such a detailed painting – and indeed, in the tailoring of Shevtsov’s military garb – speaks to the hierarchies of labor in Russian society at the time. By paying attention to the materials and the way they are handled, we can begin to understand an artwork's deeper cultural resonance.