Protodeacon Ilya Repin (1844-1930)

Description of Ilya Repin’s painting The Protodeacon

An ordinary portrait of Protodeacon I. Ulanov from Chuguyev, the renowned artist Ilya Repin masterfully transformed into a satirical image of a deacon typical of the time, with great life potential, but lacking in spirituality and kindness, for life conditions forced him to hypocrisy all the time.

The painter’s talent is clearly evident, as he applies a rich, pronounced style of writing and gives the image a contradictory quality.

The appearance of the protodeacon is a complex figure with a strong torso, the shoulders of a real bogatyr, a long gray beard, framed by fleshy cheeks.

The master of brush has presented the vitality and wholeness of the image by various methods of painting.

The deacon is dressed in expensive frock and his head is covered by a dark velvet surplice. On his chest one can see a hilt, hanging on a silver chain, which the deacon holds with his right hand and in his left hand he holds a huge staff decorated with stones.

The face is clearly marked by a thick, flushed nose. His eyebrows are very thick, and from under them staring greedy eyes. One gets the impression that the man in the painting is watching what is happening. His mouth is half-open, and one can feel that the protodeacon of Chuguev is breathing heavily. Perhaps it is the aromas of the drinks after the evening feast.

The character on the canvas of the painter - a strong nature, but it emanates the primitivism, crudity, not alien to the Protodeacon and sinful thoughts that are too far from the biblical principles. The artist very subtly with the help of paints combines two opposing points of view: he admires the naturalness of human nature, but denounces the depravity of man.

The painter has created one of the most vivid Protodeacon images, and the painting itself exposes the essence of the church and the clergy and carries a deep artistic meaning.