There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job

There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job. And that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil..

The story of Job, one of the greatest of the righteous, has drawn many artists, but one of the most piercing illustrations from the life of Job belongs, perhaps, to the brush of Ilya Repin. And Repin painted it when he was only 25 years old.

The painting "Job and His Friends" was painted in 1869 and is held in the State Russian Museum.

A great trial befell Job's prosperous family, which had everything: well-being, abundance, health, happiness and faith. All of it dissolved; poverty, dreadful sickness and death came into the house of pious Job. Job, having lost his children and all his property, fell ill with leprosy and withdrew to live in the wilderness: his wife abandoned him and his friends forsook him. All that remained to Job was his faith and his life.

In Repin's picture, Job, broken, wretched, living in the wilderness, yet unbowed and never once having murmured, is visited by old friends in resplendent robes, unbelieving and convinced that Job has received this retribution for his sins. Their faces show horror, bewilderment and compassion at what they see.

But rays of sun pierce the thick mist over the grim, desolate landscape. Despite all the horror of his trials, Job is awaited by a happy resolution of all his misfortunes: in the end God grants him new blessings, a new family and new grace.