Ilya Repin: Ivan the Terrible and his Son

The subject of the painting is an episode in the life of Ivan the Terrible when, in a fit of anger, he beat to death his son and heir Ivan. The psychological contrast of the main characters in the painting achieves unusual tension. We see the nearly icon-like, calm face of the Tsarevich and the face of Tsar Ivan, with its bulging eyes and covered in drops of blood. The red color dominates in the painting. It is everywhere – from the rose color of the Tsarevich’s shirt to the dull Bordeaux of the background. The painterly expression of the picture was extraordinary for its time. This painting is now in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, Russia.