(Chuguyev 1844–1930 Penates)
Study of a Man’s Head, inscribed on the reverse “Rjepin Rysk malare” and label of the Petrograd art supplies shop I. Daziaro, oil on canvas laid down on cardboard, 26 x 21.5 cm, framed

Provenance:
Collection of Harry Moberg (1927–2018);
Sale, Karlstad Hammarö, 2023;
Private Collection, Germany.

We are grateful to Dr Olga Sugrobova-Roth for her scholarly advice.

We are grateful to Ludmilla Andrushenko, Museum of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, for the scholarly advice.

A detailed art-historical analysis by Ludmilla Andrushenko, St. Petersburg, May 2024, is available upon request.

According to extensive research based on high-resolution photographs and information from Ludmilla Andrushenko, the present painting is an authentic study by Ilya Repin for the painting ‘The Duel’ and depicts the wounded man. The depiction is based on a story by Alexander Kuprin. The artist explored this theme between 1895 and 1913, producing several studies and three large-format paintings. The nephew of the artist Ilya ‘Jol’ W. Repin (?-1968), who regularly stayed with his uncle in Penates in Kuokkala and modelled for the artist on several occasions, sat for this study.