Raising of Jairus' Daughter by Ilya Repin
The Raising of Jairus’s Daughter was given to final-year students of the Imperial Academy of Arts in 1871 and received the most lifelike and emotional incarnation in the work of Ilya Repin. The artist was at first not particularly inspired by the theme, until he associated it with the death of his sister. Tragedy and sorrow combine with lucidity and hope, enriching the painting with an atmosphere of agitation, expressed in the tense ring of the colours and the lighting contrasts. The image of Jesus Christ is interpreted in the finest traditions of classical art and evokes the sensation of the special significance of the event. Its prototype can be regarded as Alexander Ivanov’s Christ from Christ’s Appearance to the People, though Repin’s Christ is simpler and more human. The sorrowful and deferential hope of the girl’s parents is contrasted to Jesus’ austere solemnity. The painterly culture and spirituality of the young artist’s canvas rank it alongside the leading works of Russian art. The Raising of Jairus’s Daughter was awarded a major gold medal and was acquired by the Imperial Academy of Arts.
Details
- Artist
- Ilya Repin
- Created
- 1871
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimension
- 382cm × 229cm
- Passage
- Luke 8:40-56
- Housed at
- Russian Museum Inzhenernaya ulitsa, 4, St Petersburg
Found in: Luke, Luke 8, 19th century, Miracles by Jesus
Luke 8:40-56
40 When Jesus returned, the multitude welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him.
41 Behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. He fell down at Jesus’ feet, and begged him to come into his house,
42 for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. But as he went, the multitudes pressed against him.
43 A woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her living on physicians, and could not be healed by any,
44 came behind him, and touched the fringe of his cloak, and immediately the flow of her blood stopped.
45 Jesus said, “Who touched me?” When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes press and jostle you, and you say, ‘Who touched me?’”
46 But Jesus said, “Someone did touch me, for I perceived that power has gone out of me.”
47 When the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared to him in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately.
48 He said to her, “Daughter, cheer up. Your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”
49 While he still spoke, one from the ruler of the synagogue’s house came, saying to him, “Your daughter is dead. Don’t trouble the Teacher.”
50 But Jesus hearing it, answered him, “Don’t be afraid. Only believe, and she will be healed.”
51 When he came to the house, he didn’t allow anyone to enter in, except Peter, John, James, the father of the child, and her mother.
52 All were weeping and mourning her, but he said, “Don’t weep. She isn’t dead, but sleeping.”
53 They were ridiculing him, knowing that she was dead.
54 But he put them all outside, and taking her by the hand, he called, saying, “Child, arise!”
55 Her spirit returned, and she rose up immediately. He commanded that something be given to her to eat.
56 Her parents were amazed, but he commanded them to tell no one what had been done.
Luke 8:40-56 · World English Bible
The artist
Ilya Repin
1844 - 1930
Chuguyev, Ukraine
Ilya Yefimovich Repin was a Russian realist painter. He was the most renowned Russian artist of the 19th century, when his position in the world of art was comparable to that of Leo Tolstoy in literature. He played a major role in bringing Russian art into the mainstream of European culture. His major works include Barge Haulers on the Volga (1873), Religious Procession in Kursk Province (1883) and Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks (1880–91).