Repin!!!!

I just got this book today, it's a giant Russian book on Ilya Repin. It's called Ilya Repin - His Life And Work. It's almost 500 pages. It's chock full of his paintings and drawings. I can't read it at all, but I don't need to. The main bluk of the book is his portrait drawings and paintings, but it pretty much covers his whole life's work.



Beautiful technique!



I love the massing of similar colors and values in this one. Especially how the house blends in with the sand.



Awesome studies!



The best part of the book is that it has the painting on page, and a detail or two on the next page.





I like this one because it doesnt have his typical powerful brushwork, instead he goes for a softer paint handling.



An excellent drawing of his...



One of his rare watercolors...



Look at the strength of the accuracy in the values and color relationships on this one! Wow!



Again, showcasing the best part of this book. It's got this grand-scale painting, then the study, and then a bunch of close-ups:








Another one of his beautiful drawings...



Check out the planes on the faces of these guys! Awesome brush work! So simple but subtle. Masterful.

If you want this book though, be prepared to break the bank. It's been long out of print, and extremely rare.