Saint Nicholas of Myra saves three innocents from death
Painting by Russian artist Ilya Repin / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Saint Nicholas of Myra saves three innocents from death is a painting by Russian artist Ilya Repin (1844-1930), completed in 1888. It is held at the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg (Inventory Zh-4001). The dimensions of the painting are 215 × 196 cm.[1][2][3][4] The narrative of the painting is linked to one of the deeds of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker (of Myra), whose courageous and principled actions helped to prevent the execution of three innocent people. The relevance of this theme was linked to Leo Tolstoy's moral teachings and the debate surrounding the abolition of the death penalty.[5]
Saint Nicholas of Myra saves three innocents from death | |
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Artist | Ilya Repin |
Year | 1888 |
Medium | Oil on canvas |
Dimensions | 215 cm × 196 cm (85 in × 77 in) |
Location | Russian Museum, Saint Petersburg |
The canvas was presented at the 17th exhibition of the Society for Travelling Art Exhibitions ("Peredvizhniki"),[6] which opened in February 1889 in St Petersburg.[7][8] The critical response to the painting was mixed. The writer Mitrofan Remezov praised Repin's Saint Nicholas as the best of all the paintings presented at the exhibition "both in idea and execution",[9] while Leo Tolstoy noted that the content of the canvas was "not artistic, not new, not dear to the author", "the whole picture is without focus, and all the figures crawl apart".[10] The painting was purchased by Emperor Alexander III, and the decision to establish the Russian Museum was subsequently attributed to this purchase on numerous occasions.[11][12]
According to art historian Nikolai Mashkovtsev, Nicholas of Myra should not be considered an icon or a religious work - "Repin was carried away to the point of self-forgetfulness by the expression of the actors, especially the convicts", and he shows "the initial, the strongest moment of mental impetus".[13] Art historian Nonna Yakovleva noted that Repin "as if calling on the favourite holy wonderworker to stop the flow of blood in Russia, puts the audience in the face of one of his miracles".[14]