ABSTRACT
One of Ilia Repin’s most important works, They Did Not Expect Him (1883–1888) has received continuous scholarly scrutiny since it was displayed at the twelfth exhibition of the group known as the Partnership for Touring Art Exhibitions (the Wanderers, or Peredvizhniki). The painting’s subject of a revolutionary returning home from exile has been explored from its historical and political contexts, compositional development, as well as its significance in the overall treatment of the theme in Russian art. Yet, there is another way to understand this momentous work, both within Repin’s oeuvre and Russian art. This essay proposes a new reading of this painting, one that is based on close looking. Taking as its starting point the striking disjuncture between the content and style of the work, the essay analyzes the painting on its own terms. Considering the changes made to the work from its initial version of 1882–1883 to the final one, the essay suggests a new approach to Repin’s They Did Not Expect Him—one that offers a new way of looking at the aesthetic value of the painting, at its dialogue with modernist developments, and at its relationship with international artistic practices more broadly.
