Ilya Repin 1884-88. The State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. (Photo: J.A.)

"--, the artist continued to improve this picture within next four years. In particularly, he repainted the face of the young man (a political exile who unexpectedly came back home) four times in search of a proper expression. It is generally believed that by depicting various reaction of young man’s household Repin tried to show diverse but mostly positive attitude of society toward revolutionary movements of that time. Actually, under strict censorship of Czarist Russia, it was a political declaration disguised as an everyday genre scene." (Source: WikiArt.org)