Religious Procession in Kursk Governorate information

Religious Procession in Kursk Governorate (also known as Easter Procession in the District of Kursk or A Religious Procession in Kursk Gubernia'^[1]) (Russian: Крестный ход в Курской губернии) is a large oil on canvas painting by the Russian realist painter and sculptor Ilya Repin (1844–1930). Completed between 1880 and 1883, the work shows a seething, huddled mass attending the annual crucession (cross-carrying Eastern Orthodox religious procession) which carried the famous icon Our Lady of Kursk from its home at the Korennaya Pustyn Monastery [ru; pl] to the nearby city of Kursk, western Russia.

The procession is led through a dusty landscape by robed, Orthodox priests holding icons, festoons and banners over their heads.^[2] Behind them follow a crowd mostly of peasants, but ranging from beggars and disabled people, police and military officers to figures from the provincial elite. Religious Procession led to controversy when first exhibited due to the icon being held by a man who appears to be drunk.^[3]

The painting is a continuation of Repin's social commentary in his works and highlights perceived abuses by both church and state. He wrote of the work, "I am applying all of my insignificant forces to try to give true incarnation to my ideas; life around me disturbs me a great deal and gives me no peace – it begs to be captured on canvas..."^[4]