In a peaceful and calm manor…

Every nation boasts places that are deemed holy, that have a sacred connection with the human heart. Their main feature is the ability to unite people around them, imbue people with strength, and give them a sense of belonging. Each of these sites has its own genius.

The 180th anniversary of great artist Ilya Repin’s birth is an excellent reason to go to Zdravnevo and immerse oneself in history

Zdravnevo Museum Estate      Anton Stepanischev


On August 5th, the world art culture celebrated the 180th anniversary of Ilya Repin’s birth. He is one of those artists whose name is known to everyone. The subjects of his paintings Barge Haulers on the Volga, They Did Not Expect Him, Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan are imprinted in the memory of even those who are distant from fine art. A significant chapter in the career and personal life of this great artist is associated with Belarus. The Zdravnevo Museum Estate, buried in verdure of lime trees and oaks, is located twenty kilometres from Vitebsk, near the village of Koitovo. The setting is quite modest — a house, a cellar for liqueurs, a well, a small manager’s house and an apple orchard. Just as it was many years ago, the artist’s presence is palpable in the estate.

“In 1891, Tsar Alexander III purchased the painting Zaporozhian Cossacks are Writing a Letter to the Turkish Sultan from the artist. By that time, Repin had already achieved fame within the artistic community. The result surpassed all expectations — the royal family paid the artist ₽35,000 for the canvas measuring two by three metres. The amount was staggering at that time,” said Aleksei Sukhorukov, the guide and permanent head of the Zdravnevo Museum Estate.

Zaporozhian Cossacks are Writing a Letter to the Turkish Sultan by Ilya Repin

Repin spent part of the proceeds from the sale of the painting to buy the estate, located fifteen versts from Vitebsk upstream of the Western Dvina River. After the purchase, Repin began to improve his Belarusian estate and devised a project for the future manor house. In his letters to Lev Tolstoy’s daughter Tatiana, the artist described that period in this way: At present, I am busy with building a tower above the house. The yard is bustling with craftsmen — carpenters, sawyers, stove-makers. Our lovely courtyard is impassable because of logs, chips, shavings, sawdust; the clatter of axes, the screech of saws, and the rustling of jack plane begin at 4 a.m. and end at sunset.
In addition to the house construction, Repin took an interest in landscaping the estate. Following the traditions of the early 19th-century manor culture, Zdravnevo got a park designed in the classic French style, decorated with alleys and tranquil ponds. The artist often went out into nature, where he made sketches of rural landscapes.
During his first visit to Zdravnevo, Repin painted a portrait of his elder daughter Vera — Autumn Bouquet. Subsequently, the paintings Duel, Hunter, Sunrise over the Western Dvina, Young Ladies’ Walk among Herd of Cows were created. On warm summer nights, Repin went to the Western Dvina, where he would think about life and art, gazing at the water flowing away into the distance. It was perhaps during those moments that the artist conceived the idea for the work Moonlit Night. The painting depicts the dark waters of the Western Dvina, which the artist so often admired. Today, Repin’s Moonlit Night is part of the collection of the National Art Museum in Minsk.
The State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg houses a painting The Belarusian by Repin, which was painted by the artist in Zdravnevo in 1892. A local peasant named Sidor Shavrov posed for the artist. This is what Repin wrote about the creation of The Belarusian: There lived a peasant — Sidor Shavuro — across the river. He posed for me, standing in the open air in front of my workshop’s window. The Shavuros are a family of several brothers and sisters. Sidor, as the eldest brother, inherited the seniority upon his father’s death; the house was spacious... according to his younger brother, Sidor knew many poems by Lermontov and Pushkin by heart and would recite them with passion even in the field and on the road.
The descendants of that very Sidor Shavrov still live near Zdravnevo, proud of their family’s history. Repin’s house was always full of guests flocking from the two capitals. Stasov and the Tolstoys often visited Ilya Repin at his Belarusian estate. Sometimes the Repins took on the role of guests themselves, coming by for coffee at Vitebsk artist Pen, whose creative work the head of the family appreciated, or visiting local peasants.
Based on Repin’s records, one can conclude what attitude the artist had towards Belarusians: Yesterday we went 15 versts to visit familiar peasants. Their son works for us. They live well, like farmers, and how delicious their dishes are! The village of Zezdrino is idyllic: apples and cherries are ripening, and the road there lies through a forest. ...Belarusians are a glorious people, very similar to the Little Russians, only more hardworking, modest and good-natured.
The Repins spent 12 summer seasons in Zdravnevo. Ilya Repin visited his Belarusian estate for the last time in 1904. Repin’s connection with Zdravnevo did not end with the artist’s departure from these places. Vera Repina and the artist’s children — Vera, Nadezhda, Tatiana and Yuri — continued to come there on vacation.
It was in Zdravnevo that Repin’s father, Yefim Repin, died and was buried. After the October Revolution, Ilya Repin’s daughter, Tatiana, gave away several rooms of the manor house to accommodate an elementary school, where she taught local children herself.
In 1988, Repin’s estate was restored based on drawings. Now, as in the old days, Repin’s manor house is again filled with guests, eager to visit the welcoming host — to have a conversation, to drink tea with jam. And those who are lucky may see a celebration in honour of the artist’s name day.

BOTH THE MASTER AND THE ARTIST

The exhibition Repin as Master and Artist, timed to coincide with the 180th anniversary of the painter’s birth and the 160th anniversary of Tatiana Sukhotina-Tolstaya’s birth, has opened in Zdravnevo. The exposition includes over fifty items from the collections of the State Museum of Lev Tolstoy in Moscow. Sketches, portraits of Tolstoy’s family members and their inner circle, scenes of life at Yasnaya Polyana, personal correspondence, are dedicated to the creative and friendly relations between Ilya Repin and Tolstoy’s elder daughter — artist and memoirist Tatiana Tolstaya. Zdravnevo features copies of the works.
According to Olga Frantsuzova, a senior researcher at the museum, Ilya Repin sent a lot of messages to his student from his country house near Vitebsk. Their dialogue lasted for decades, with the master encouraging his younger colleague never to abandon painting. They also discussed artistic vision, works and creativity. It is this correspondence that provided insights into the artist’s leisure time in Zdravnevo. The exhibition at Zdravnevo will run until September 30th.

Some of Ilya Repin’s instructions to novice artists 

•  Watch more, paint longer, write simpler.
•  Expression is above all.
•  Nothing in excess.
•  Look for where large planes meet.
•  A sense of measure! A sense of measure!
•  Make sure that a body looks like a body, and water like water.
•  The way it came out, stop.

By Artemiy Vasilevich