THE ZAPOROGUES COSSACKS WRITING A LETTER TO THE SULTAN OF TURKEY, 1880-1891 (oil on canvas)

1880-1891//Oil on canvas Near the still-smoking ruins of a battlefield, a group of Cossacks write a provocative letter intended for the Ottoman sultan Mohammed IV. Faithful to their reputation as a proud and independent people, they refuse to pledge allegiance to him and send him a missive whose rudeness amuses them. The painter's work on the theme of the Zaporogues Cossacks began in 1878 and was followed by a trip to Ukraine in 1880. But it was the meeting in 1887 with the historian Dmitro I. Yavornitsky that was decisive for the realization of this painting. The latter gave Repin access to all useful documentation, as well as a collection of ancient Ukrainian objects. Tsar Alexander III acquired the painting in 1891. At the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, Répine received a grand prize for this work, which remains one of his most famous.