Ilya Repin was Russia's most celebrated realist painter. His painting of the Volga Boatmen of 1870-73 catapulted him out of obscurity into the limelight of both the Russian and European art scenes (Hamilton, 382-383). In the early 1870's Repin went abroad to study. After spending just a few months in Italy he settled in Paris, where he stayed until 1873 (Olga's Gallery), returning again in 1883. In Paris, Repin was introduced to the Impressionists and their technique. Despite lengthy time spent in France, Repin never fully subscribed to Impressionism (Olga's Gallery). In fact, an impressionistic influence is not seen in his work until later, specifically after his return to Paris in 1883 (Hamilton, 382-383).

The portrait of the artist's daughter, Vera Repina, painted in 1884, is an excellent example of the impressionistic influence on Repin's technique. However, there is evidence in this painting of Repin's reluctance to commit entirely to impressionism. On the contrary, this portrait is a blend of Repin's romantic and realistic ideals painted with an impressionistic brush.

Although the manner in which the actual paint has been applied to create this study is important, to understand better the significance of this portrait it is necessary to look at the subject and her surroundings as a whole.

Repin's daughter occupies almost the entire surface of the canvas, leaving space for very few additional items. This places a great emphasis on the subject and heightens the importance of those few items that share the canvas with her. Dressed in a green dress, matching hat, cream colored tights and brown shoes, she is seated outside, perched upon a fence. Her feet are dangling, unable to touch the ground. The significance of Vera's pose is twofold. Romantics often put a heavy emphasis on nostalgia for childhood or the past (Virtual Park). The fact that Repin's daughter is small enough to casually sit on the fence plays on childhood memories that one might have. It also puts emphasis on an action that is associated with the playfullness and fearlessness of a child. Furthermore, her inability to touch the ground not only reinforces the idea of her young age, but gives the impression of floating in the air. She is not grounded by her size and hence by her age but is in turn suspended and unteathered by her surroundings. Known for its "reaction against industrialization and its consequent interest in nature, landscape, and search for the divine" romanticism plays a definitive role in constructing the surroundings of Vera. Beneath her feet there is wild grass. Like her feet that do not touch the ground, the grass is also a symbol of freedom and lack of restraint. The girl is presented on the background of a bright blue sky with delicate white clouds. There is nothing else in the picture either in the background or foreground to draw away the audience's attention from the child. Furthermore, the simple outdoor setting contrasts dramatically with industrialization taking place in Russia at the time. It is also in nature and in children that one might continue the search for the divine that the Romantics sought through an effort "to express, by suggestion, states of feeling to intense and mystical, or elusive to be clearly defined" (Encarta).

Repin does not, however, subscribe here to the Romantic tendency to depict the exotic, melancholy, dreamlike or visionary subjects. It is here that Repin falls back on the ideas of true realism. He does not attempt to glaze over the reality of the times. Like other representatives of the realist school, he attempts instead to give an accurate, detailed, unembellished account of nature or contemporary life (WebMuseum). He offers to the viewer another angle, another reality, that of his daughter, innocent and simple, unaware of the world around her and uninhibited by its political and social problems. Hence the title of the painting, Dragonfly. The dragonfly flies and flits about aimlessly and playfully without much care.

Repin's realistic approach is also evident in his ability to create a painting that is so "real" that it almost resembles a photograph. Extreme detail (down to the hollows in the girl's earlobes) can be seen in the depiction of the child's face and clothing. Close examination of the picture reveals that although Vera is wearing a hat that appears to shade her face, she is till squinting in response to the bright sunlight. Repin is able to show the conditions outdoors by showing the girl's reaction to the sun and by using highlights to show the sun's direction. The sunlight appears to be coming from the left, and that accounts for the slight tilt in the child's head as well as the highlights on the left side.

It is here that we begin to see the impressionistic influence in the painting. Repin's technique and use of color sets it apart from other paintings and shows the painter's leaning towards impressionism. Impressionists developed a new way of looking at the subject and transferring that subject to canvas. Impressionism is, according to one source, an "attempt to accurately and objectively record visual reality in terms of transient effects of light and color" (WebMuseum). The innovative use of light was a major feature of impressionism. For this reason, most impressionists painted outdoors (Fleischer Museum). Their objective was to capture on canvas what the eye captured in an instant. They wanted to be able to capture the light and the feeling of what they saw. Many impressionistic paintings seem blurry or unfocused as they are merely impressions on canvas of what catches the painter's eye. Although Dragonfly is not as "blurry" as some true impressionistic paintings, it does lend itself to this characteristic. There are several places in which this lack of clear definition can be seen. The muted detail of the clouds in the upper left-hand corner of the canvas is one example. In addition, the grass below Vera is not clearly defined either. It is obvious to the viewers that it is grass, but its representation is not precise or academically "perfect." Furthermore, the figure of the child is not academically "precise" because Repin has placed no emphasis on line and drawing. Although much detail can be seen in both the child's dress and face, they are muted and blended. The stockings provide another example. The ribbing in the stocking on Vera's right leg is obvious, but it is not painted in a precise and clear manner. Instead it is represented using soft undefined lines. A close examination of the painting of the dress and hat reveals the same trend. Impressionists were also obsessed with color, leaning heavily towards unmixed primary colors (WebMuseum). The impressionists' obsession with light and color did revolutionize an old theory of painting. Before impressionism, shadow and light were created through the use of white and black paints added to other colors. Impressionists believed that shadow and light are not only black or white, but can be created by juxtaposing the primary and complimentary colors.

Repin's use of this impressionistic fascination with light and shadow is a highlight of the painting. Any dress highlight or shadow is accomplished by gradations of the original green ranging from an extremely light whitish-green to a darker brownish-green. It is worth noting that in accordance with impressionistic rules, these gradations are achieved by mixing paints on the canvas, not on the painter's palette. This style and the intensity of color add to the reality, volume and richness of the picture. Color in this painting is of utmost importance. It is calming. There are no harsh reds, and the soft pastel blues and greens contribute to the tranquility of the painting.

Ilya Repin was a realist at heart who met the impressionistic movement with some reluctance. This did not, however, keep him from being influenced by it. As one source explains, Impressionism did not ever completely take hold in Russia; it was transformed into Russian realist works created in impressionistic technique (Fleicher Museum). If we add to it a touch of Repin's romanticism, the end result is Repin's light and cheerful portrait of his daughter Vera, the Dragonfly. [L.O.]

[Sources: Hamilton, Artlex, Encarta, Web Encyclopedia, Fleischer Museum, Olga's Gallery, Romanticism, Stanford Online, Virtual Park, WebMuseum