Barge Haulers On The Volga is a masterpiece of Repin, and it is also known as his signature work. On the composition of this painting, Repin made the eleven barge haulers appeared on a yellow and high foundation by making full use of the terrain of the beach and the transition of the river bend. The barge haulers were just like a group of statues that made this painting with a magnificent profound tension.

Let’s have a close look at this painting. Barge Haulers On The Volga depicts 11 barge haulers dragging a barge by the Volga River. The barge is too heavy and the 11 men have to collapse forward in exhaustion on order to drag the large boat forward. And we can see that the weather is obviously hot.

There are many straight and curve lines in this painting. The painter created this work in such line to create thin and thick objects. Repin was good at using the lines in his paintings. And in Barge Haulers On The Volga, The straight line and the curve line match each other perfectly so that to create a wide field of vision. The barge haulers created by thin lines and thick lines showed us the hard work of the men. The main apart of this painting is the 11 barge haulers, from who we can feel what the painter want to tell us. Repin also used contrast of the colors to express his emotion.

Most of Ilya Repin’s works are famous, and the portrait of Musorgsky and Barge Haulers On The Volga is one of the most famous paintings. He was the leader of the Realism painting in the 19th century. His friends were many famous people such as Musorgsky, Tolstoy and Rubinstein. Repin is considered as the national painter and a rare virtuoso artist in Russia.