Repin created a piece of art that went far beyond the bounds of a genre scene. A huge crowd is moving right at the viewer. We see in it diverse human types that belong to different social classes and play different social roles. The artist gives a subtle psychological characterisation to each of them. Here Repin unfolds a broad panorama of Russian post-Reform society with all its contrasts and contradictions. He wrote: “I apply all my feeble forces to try to give true incarnation to my ideas; the life around me preoccupies me a great deal and gives me no peace – it begs to be captured on canvas…”
State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow