Pchelov Evgeny Vladimirovich – Candidate in History, associate professor, Russian State University for the Humanities, S.I. Vavilov Institute for the History of Science and Technology of Russian Academy of Sciences
The article analyzes V.M. Vasnetsov’s painting Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible and its details, which allow us to identify symbolic connotations and come closer to understanding the author’s idea. Ivan the Terrible is presented at the end of his life in the face of God’s judgment as a sinner who committed numerous atrocities. The interior painting program symbolizes the appearance of the Apocalypse star and one of the episodes of the Last Judgment. This star may correspond to a heavenly sign, which became a harbinger of the death of the tsar, which occurred during Great Lent. The details of the painting point to the beginning of Lent, which once again underlines the deep religious meaning of the entire composition.
Victor Vasnetsov; Ivan the Terrible; historical painting