Nord 1908

Ilya Repin painted Nord, an oil on canvas, sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. Repin really captures something in the way he's built up the paint here, a sort of scruffy, textural quality. Look at how he's handled the fur, it's all loose strokes and blended tones, but it gives you a real sense of the dog’s shaggy coat. The sand and water are equally gestural. It's not about hyper-realism; it's more about conveying the essence of a dog enjoying a day at the beach. You can practically feel the dampness of the sand and the slight breeze. Repin knew how to capture life in motion, I think. The colors are muted, mostly browns and tans, which adds to the down-to-earth feel. It's a far cry from his more famous historical paintings, but there's a similar attention to detail in the dog's expression. I'd say Repin has an affinity with Courbet, and his gritty, unvarnished approach to painting. Ultimately, it's a great painting, full of ambiguities, and that's what makes it so interesting.