1883
“Religious Procession in Kursk Province” at the exhibition
Repin worked for three years on the picture, which he first called “The Wonder-Working Icon”, gathering material in Kursk province, Kiev and Chernigov; it contains at least seventy figures with clear characters. Novoye Vremya saw in it not an impartial image of Russian reality but only an exposure of the artist’s views, whereas Igor Grabar later held that it established Repin’s reputation as Russia’s foremost artist.
1883
Travels in Western Europe with Stasov; the Communards’ wall
In 1883 Repin travelled around Western Europe with Vladimir Stasov; the same year he painted “The Wall of Père Lachaise Cemetery Commemorating the Paris Commune”.
1887
Razvod s Veroy Alekseyevnoy
При разводе поделили детей: старшие остались у отца, младшие — у матери. Стасов беспокоился о душевном самочувствии друга.
1887
Garshin’s portrait at the 15th Wanderers’ exhibition
From their first meeting Repin wanted to paint the writer, struck by “Garshin’s eyes, full of serious bashfulness”; Garshin would enter the studio noiselessly, like a bodiless angel. Shown in 1887, the portrait split the reviewers — some thought Repin had painted Garshin mad, others had never seen finer eyes and a brighter brow; today it is in the United States, in the Metropolitan Museum.

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