Why were artists like Ilya Repin feared entry to the Tretyakov Gallery?
Ilya Repin was known for his habit of finishing and reworking his paintings, even after they were already hanging in the museum.
He did this even with works that had already been sold and were now in the museum. Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov, the gallery's founder, was well aware of this trait and, according to contemporaries, was somewhat apprehensive about it.
In 1887, Tretyakov left Moscow. In his absence, Repin arrived at the gallery with a sketchbook and paints. The artist assured the gallery staff that Tretyakov knew of his intention to touch up his painting ‘Unexpected Visitor’. They believed the patron's friend and even gave him a ladder. In the painting, Repin repainted the head of the main character – a returning exile.
The artist didn't limit himself to just one painting. In the painting ‘Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan on November 16, 1581’, he significantly altered the tone of the tsar's face. And, in the background of ‘Religious Procession in Kursk Province’, he "added dust", which, according to witnesses, made the background more difficult to discern. After this, Repin informed Tretyakov of the work he had completed in a letter, in which he also criticized the way the paintings were hung in the gallery.
Upon seeing the "corrections", Tretyakov became enraged and did not respond to the artist's letters for several months. From then on, he took strict measures to prevent similar incidents from recurring. Rumor has it that the gallery owner even forbade his employees from allowing the artist into the gallery if he had paints on him.
