Ilya Repin. A Man’s Best Friend, His Dog. 1908

A Man’s Best Friend, His Dog (Ilya Repin, 1908)

I do daresay that Mr Repin probably had an “interesting” week when he painted this one! Probably, his daughters came calling with complaints about their husbands, his new wife Natalia was maybe giving him a hard time, and impecunious friends such as Maksim Gorky no doubt had hit him up for a “loan”. One can see Mr Repin walking out to the shore of the Gulf of Finland with his faithful dog. “You, at least, do not complain, give me a hard time, or feed me some sob-story BS for some money…”

WOOF! (tail wagging, front paws on Mr Repin’s chest, and lolling tongue)

No doubt, that raised a LARGE smile on Mr Repin’s face… he got an inspiration, whipped out his canvas and palette… Voilà! Maybe not great art, but, certainly heartfelt.

Did Rover get an especially meaty bone that evening? One would hope so!

WOOF! (lying down, gnawing his bone with great contentment, tail hitting the floor, and, “oh, what a good boy am I!”)

Ilya Repin. My “Grasshopper” (A Portrait of Nadezhda Repina, the Artist’s Daughter). 1884

My “Grasshopper” (A Portrait of Nadezhda Repina, the Artist’s Daughter)(Ilya Repin, 1884)

I have a sneaking suspicion that A Family Portrait by Mr Aleksandrov is a painting of his wife and children. Ergo, this painting by Mr Repin of his daughter Nadezhda (obviously she is about five or so, and the apple of her daddy’s eye!). She looks ready for any number of assorted mischiefs, to the vast amusement of her surviving parent. You see, Ilya Repin had lost his wife Vera to death a short while before, and his daughters were obviously his solace and consolation (that is, until they reached those “interesting” teenage years!) .

Vladimir Aleksandrov. A Family Portrait. 2005

A Family Portrait (Vladimir Aleksandrov, 2005)

Vladimir Aleksandrov. Twilight on the River. 2006

Twilight on the River (Vladimir Aleksandrov, 2006)