LEON TOLSTOI LABOURANT, 1887 (oil on cardboard)

1887//Oil on cardboard At Iasnaya Polyana in August 1887, Repin made a large number of drawings and studies of Tolstoy. These testify to the writer's new way of life, his spiritual quest and his desire to get closer to the peasant world. If Tolstoy hates posing, however, he does not want to offend Repin and lets him follow him in his activities. Alexandra Tolstoy, the writer's daughter, evoked in an amused way the painter's efforts, forced to run from one end of the field to the other to execute his sketches. Since any mention of Tolstoy already aroused great interest from the public at that time, Repin finally obtained from his model the authorization to have his painting reproduced by photography and engraving.