The subject of Sadko is from a bylina—an oral epic poem—recorded in north-western Russia. The merchant and musician Sadko has been brought to the realm of the Sea Tsarto give a performance. After the Sea Tsar has danced to his music—causing a devastating storm in the process—Sadko is asked to choose one of the tsar's mermaid daughters to take as his wife. Following the advice of a saint, Sadko refuses three times three hundred daughters before accepting the last one, Chernavushka. Repin painted Sadko to the right, overlooking a procession of half-human, half-aquatic women who pass by; the rejected mermaids at the front look disappointed. Chernavushka appears behind everybody else and glances toward the man. The image composition is made with a worm's-eye view and a high horizon.