Focus on Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan and explore the Creation.
According to Repin, the design and painting of the canvas were a lengthy process:I painted in tears, I was tortured, I tormented myself, I corrected again and again what I had painted, I hid it, in a sickly disappointment, no longer believing in my strength, I erased what I had painted. I had already erased, and I was attacking the canvas again. Every minute was terrible to me. I was disappointed with this painting, I hid it. And she made the same impression on my friends. But something pushed me towards her, and again I was working on it.
The painting depicts one of the rooms of the Chambers of the Romanov Boyars from the 17th century while the accessories, throne, mirror, and kaftan were painted at the Kremlin Armoury. The chest is part of the collections of the Rumyantsev Museum.Most of Repin's work involved the choice of models; he sought the faces he needed from acquaintances and passers-by. The models for Ivan the Terrible were the painter Grigoriy Myasoyedov and the composer Pavel Blaramberg, while the landscape painter Vladimir Menk and writer Vsevolod Garshin modelled for Tsarevich Ivan Ivanovich. When he was asked about choosing Garshin, Repin replied:There is a predestination in Garshin's face that struck me. He has the face of a man irreparably condemned to perish. This is what was needed for my Tsarevich.
Sketches and portraits of the models
		
			
			
		
		
			
			
		
		
			
			
		
		
			
			
		
Ivan the Terrible kills his son – detail
		
			
			
		
According to Polish-American art historian Elizabeth Kridl Valkenier, the incorporation of Garshin's face completes and allows her to be fully satisfied with the painting.
Chambers of the Romanov Boyars Vsevolod Garshin Elizabeth Kridl Valkenier Grigoriy Myasoyedov Rumyantsev Museum ru Kremlin Armoury kaftan Ivan Ivanovich Pavel Blaramberg Vladimir Menk Tsarevich Ivan the Terrible