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Ilya Repin's portrait of Ivan the Terrible and his Son is one of the most controversial paintings ever produced. Learn more about the history behind this exceptional artwork and the role of Ivan the Terrible within Russian history.

00:14 Introduction
00:56 Who was Ivan the Terrible?
01:45 The Painting
03:23 Location

Ilya Repin was a renowned Russian-Ukrainian realism painter who lived from 1844 until 1930.

He had a long and successful career and is credited with bringing attention to Russian art and culture. Ivan the Terrible and his Son was one of his most famous and controversial paintings.

Although he was not typically a painter of historical scenes, by his late thirties Repin chose to depict a famous event from the life of Ivan the Terrible, a formidable Russian Tsar from the 16th century.

Ivan the Terrible and his Son encompasses all of the artist's best qualities, from his attention to detail, to the extreme emotions which appear in some of his better works. He later described working on the piece as quite an ordeal.

"...I painted in tears, I was tortured, I tormented myself... I was disappointed with this painting, I hid it...."

Ivan the Terrible was the Grand Prince of Moscow and ruler of Russia from 1547-1584. Accounts vary on his style of leadership, but he was known for having having a temper as he would fall into rages that became more frequent in his old age. During one of his episodes, he killed his son and the heir to the throne, Ivan Ivanovich.

Titles such as The Terrible were mainly, therefore, in reference to his treatment of his own people who would suffer greatily as a result of his political decisions.

Many historians have concluded that Ivan's worst legacy was in how he burdened his people with high taxation in order to finance endless wars for the purposes of expanding his kingdom.

The debts accrued by these aggressive acts would hammer later generations and ultimately lead to the demise of his own dynasty, Rurik dynasty, which then led on to what became known as the Time of Troubles.

His own people would also start to become tired of these endless crusades that would ultimately lead to them being poorer within their own lives.

Father and son came into conflict over the failure of his son's wives to deliver the next heir, as well as Ivan the Terrible's obsession with war and expansion.

The artist produced a number of study pieces in preparation for the final work. These included pencil sketches followed up oil studies of specific sections of the final composition. Many of these were signed and this exist today.

The final painting shows the aftermath of this brutal murder.

Ivan the Terrible's has look of horror and a heartbreaking realization of what he has done. His emotion is juxtaposed with the lack of expression on the face of his son who has been killed.

The painting can bring out mixed feelings because you feel sad for Ivan the Terrible but also realize he is the murderer.

The artist also includes key elements around the scene to explain the story, such as the staff that was used in the assault, and also other items such as the carpet which has been displaced during the struggle.

Repin was skilled at depicting real people in real situations and preferred to paint for moral and social purposes. While he did not normally paint historical pieces or ones with violence and bloodshed, Ivan the Terrible and his Son (1885) is a major exception.

It is believed that Repin painted this piece as a rejection to violence and bloodshed. He was apparently inspired by the assassination of Alexander II as it caused him to reflect on other tragic events in Russia's history.

It is a reminder to us all so as to control our urges and our very worst personality traits, which Ivan the Terrible clearly could not manage himself.

Most criticism of the painting has been less about its technical qualities, and more about the image that it presents of Russia as a nation, with some of the more extreme nationalists having attempted to see it removed from display on a number of occasions.

Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan on 16 November 1581 can be found at the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, Russia. It was sold to the gallery in 1885 by the artist himself.

In early 1913 a young man would slash at the painting with a knife, causing considerable damage. He rejected the idea of icons being used within art, and sadly his attack impacted key parts of the painting. Thankfully, Repin was in his late sixties at the time and therefore able to help out in its restoration.

A second attack occurred as recently as 2018. On this occasion the attacker was fuelled rather more by drunkenness than any particular political leanings.

All images included within this video are courtesy of Wikipedia.