Portrait of Sergey Vitte 1903

Ilya Repin painted this portrait of Sergey Vitte with oil on canvas, and when you look closely, you can really see the hand of the artist at work. The marks are pretty visible, not blended perfectly, which gives it a real sense of immediacy. The texture of the paint! The gold in the jacket is almost sculptural, isn't it? Like Repin was building up layers of light and shadow to give Vitte this regal presence. I'm drawn to how Repin handled the beard. It's a flurry of strokes, different whites and grays, that somehow come together to give it weight and form. There is a real energy there. For me, this piece has echoes of someone like Manet, who was also interested in capturing the fleeting moment. It is just another example of art as a continuous exchange, where artists borrow, respond, and push against the ideas of those who came before them.