Ivan the Terrible and his Son Ivan 

Ivan looks like he’s somehow crying and screaming at the same time The fact that this mouth is covered ironically makes it scarier

The person who painted this captured amazing emotions almost like he's seen something like this before, it feels too real.

"he made us feel pity for a ruthless man" Wow, incredible. Fantastic writing~

One of my favorite paintings. Four words come to mind when I see this painting: *"What have I done?"*

Some fun facts about the painting. The model who posed as Ivan the Terrible was one of Repin’s friends and a fellow painter Grigory Myasoyedov, who albeit being a great artist, was a terrible father and a domestic tyrant. When his son Ivan Myasoyedov was still a child he took him to the orphanage and left him there. He later took him back, but from that moment always told him that he was adopted. Because of the constant abuse Ivan Myasoyedov grew up traumatized, yet he still followed his father’s steps and became a great artist too. They always fought and hated each other. If you try to look them up you can find that they were complete opposites, and Ivan lived quite a life to say the least. He was quite popular in Germany at some point, where he ran away with his family after breaking out of prison (look up how he did it). But his most famous deeds were not his pieces but the false dollars that he used to draw and live off of using💀 Concerning the painting, Ilya Repin was never satisfied with how his pieces looked, and he is infamous for trying to sneak into a gallery of his friend Pavel Tretyakov (hence the name Tretyakovskaya Gallereya) and trying to make “small” corrections. He sometimes could start trying redoing the painting that was already hanging on the wall with all the people watching. After he tried to do the same with this piece Tretyakov forever banned Repin from entering the gallery with his tools. All of the gallery’s employees had to always watch and stalk him so that he would not try this shit ever again.

If u look into his eyes u can feel his pain and suffering it almost makes u insane

This is a haunting painting, reminding me somewhat of Goya's 'Saturn Devouring His Son'. I believe it was also seen hanging in the Kremlin in HBO's 'Chernobyl'.

The realization The regret The despair The fear.

Perhaps my favourite painting... so sad that it was attacked again in 2018... really awful.

This painting perfectly shows the regret of anger and how you can change under pain, anger, and sadness.

The first time I saw this painting, I freaked out. I never tough it was possible to be scared of an old work of art, and yet those eyes, those expressions, those little human details (holding his head, stopping the bleeding to keep him longer, perhaps whispering"nonono it can't be real"), it litterally makes me look away from the painting because of the genual fear it causes. Very nice analyse, thank you for the video

The painting is amazing, and I find it even more incredible when you are aware of Ivan's story. As a child he often experienced hunger, lived in the streets and cared for his deaf brother. There are many accounts of his misdeeds as a youngster, almost acting like a bandit, but after his coronation and first mariage he seemed a very capable and even kind ruler in terms of modernization, military canpaign and internal affairs as a whole. But after the very likely poisoning of his first wife it went all away and his dark side shown during his youth came back. After all the horrible things he had done which were shown in the video, he made his worst mistake, and the killing of his son showed he still had some of the kindness left in him, that he wasn't a complete monster and he was a very troubled but still human. That is my interpratation of his life and of the painting, but it really shows a very real side of human nature and that's for me the purpose of art.

In Latin documents in the Vatican, Ivan Grozny is referred to as Ioannes Severus (Ivan the Severe), identical to the Latin appellation of the Roman Emperor Septimus Severus (AD 193-211). Interesting that Ivan was the first Russian monarch to bear the title Tsar (Latin Caesar). History is full of strange resonances. Tsar Ivan Grosny = Caesar Ioannes Severus.

This is why I love facial expressions in art. So much can be told just by the eyes. Even without knowing the story behind the painting, you feel his pain just from his helpless eyes. Meanwhile, his son looks as if in shock and betrayed. So much story in just two faces, I love this painting

I could see him repeatedly saying “I’m sorry” all over and over again

Easily the scariest painting ever made. Just look at those eyes man

easily has to be one of my favourite paintings... the sheer emotion you can feel when you look at Ivan's eyes still baffles me. fantastic painting

Ivan's stare will make me insane

My vision about this painting is a little different. I particularly think that the pain and distress in Ivan's eyes it's due to the political and social consequences he was imagining for his actions. And, as that young man was his only heir, he realized at that moment that he destroyed his own dynasty with one simple hit at the head.

I think the element of this painting that gets me the most is how the son appears relaxed in the arms of his assailant, and even grips the arm of Ivan. Yes, there's the tear and the conveyed betrayal, but Ivan was still his father and somehow seems to be seeking comfort in the arms of the man who killed him. It's like how a victim of domestic abuse might return to their partner over and over, but that this is depicted with a father killing his son really gets me.

Wow, this video is absolutely amazing. Your channel deserve so much more praise, I'll share with my friends!

obsessed with your channel... hope you continue to create more thoughtful, educational content like this!

Honestly, this has always been one of my favourite paintings. Not because it's exceptionally beautiful, in the most conventional way at least, but because it's so hauntingly well-made. The real feeling of regret conveyed in his eyes is so emotionally terrifying, it makes it hard not to think of the absurd and atrocious reality of events that the painting was based on. The severe brutality of it all, portrayed almost entirely by the regretful, glass-like look in his eyes.

As an artist who loves drawing portraits, I feel like this painting inspires me a lot. You can feel the emotions through the painting. You can feel regret, betrayal, sadness, pain and other emotions that can't be explained with words. Although I can perfectly draw faces, I still can't add emotions to them. Maybe it's because I haven't experienced emotions like this. Idk. But someday, I hope I'll be able to draw paintings like this.

One of my favorite painting of all time. The emotions are so incredibly palpable. Ivan's eyes full of madness but also deep regret. The tightness of his embrace to his son as if he doesn't want to let him go, that he doesn't want to let him die, emphasized by how his hand is desperately trying to stop the bleeding. Then you have the son's face, so full of shock and so much sadness, like he can't believe his own father would do this to him. You can already see his life slipping away, the way one of his arm is weakly trying to support himself upright while the other softly holds on to his father. Seriously, what a phenomenal work. One of my life goal is to see it in person one day.

Regardless of the historical accuracy of it, this is still a haunting painting. A father is horrified by what he had done, and a son is in shock that his own father would do such a thing to him

There are so many emotions in just a pair of eyes. It's one of the most impressive paintings I've seen

Wow this deserves so many views. Great job!

Is it weird that despite how many parodies of this painting I've seen, after learning the story behind it, it still managed to make me cry? I've never cried by simply just looking at a painting before. This one really is a masterpiece.

I saw this painting for the first time in a RU-vid short about 2 months ago. It was the first time I felt inescapably moved by a painting. It sent me down a rabbit hole to learn about other famous paintings, and after sharing this newfound fascination with my friend, he recommended your channel and I love it! I'm excited to learn more, keep up the great work!

One of the first and only paintings that made me cry. Even as I knew who Ivan was and what he had done. The painting depicts a fathers genuine anguish, and it is hauntingly beautiful

This painting is so sad. I think it’s easily one of the most memorable I’ve ever seen.

Repin is great in portraying raw emotion. Prehaps my favorite of his works is Unexpected visitors, with a man believed to be dead returns to his family... and not everyone is overjoyed to see him.

Repin spent the last years of his life in Finland and was quite popular here. I've seen his paintings many times in the Ateneum art museum. I truly appreciate this man! He was incredibly talented and those facial expressions...damn!

Never have I seen such a raw expression in a painting before! It's haunting! You don't need to be an expert to know what's going on

this is probably my favorite painting, it casts the emotions both Ivan's feel so expertly and realistically, the sadness and chock in the Tzar's eyes pierce beyond the painting and manages to make you feel like you're in the room with them.

Bro I don't even do art I just draw anime sometimes but damn I'm getting too addicted to this channel, learning about all the context behind popular or famous paintings is really enjoyable and fascinating.

If I remember correctly, I’m rather early on in this video, this son came from his beloved first wife. A woman who knew how to calm him

I'm here from MeatCanyon's new animation. But thank you for creating such a concise and fascinating video about this painting. Repin did an incredible job capturing that raw and tragic emotion- I never thought would be possible through just paints on canvas.

Grew up poor but my dad was a well respected man in the community, some even feared him, he genuinely had power and anything he said "goes". One day I wanted to go out with a couple friends to the store. he was having a meeting with his own friends and took me aside to ask me where I was going. Being the snarky pre-teen I rebelliously said "none of your business" and he slapped the shit out of me, I mean I literally fell lmao. He immediately gasped and held me the same way in this painting. I didn't weep or yell, just had one single tear fall down in shock lol. He never did it again. He obviously never stabbed my head with a spear but i can relate to this painting.

I cant believe I’m crying over a painting

i was away from my computer while autoplay was on, you scared me so badly with that beginning

Помню в детстве у меня была большая, чудесная книга в которой были все знаменитые, русские картины среди которых была и эта. Меня она всегда очень пугала и завораживала. До сих пор остаётся такое большое впечатление / I remember as a child I had a big, wonderful book in which there were all the famous, Russian paintings among which was this one. It always scared and fascinated me very much. Very great impression

It's one of the most moving and haunting pieces of art I've ever seen. A father clutching the body of the son he killed. The horror and pure dread in his eyes speaks volumes.

The eyes cut deep into my soul. I can’t look at it for long without tears burning my eyes.

Think this is my favourite painting. I've seen it often over the years but never knew anything about it. Great video, thanks

This painting truly gives me shivers, by just lookin at the dads eyes while holding his son. This sure is a master piece.

You can see the regret, panic and fear in his eyes. Truly fascinating. One of my favourite art pieces.

meatcanyon inspired me to learn about art history... What a time to be alive

Great video! Definitely deserves more views!

Such an incredible piece of art. The pain and anguish the artist was able to capture in just the eyes alone is astonishing. "He made us feel pity for a ruthless man" - never before have those words been more apt. Ivan was responsible for so many atrocities, both on his people and subjects in other lands, but the painting is so impactful that it is able to humanise even a tyrant.

I’ve always found this painting WAY more terrifying and disturbing than either of the famous renditions of Saturn devouring his son. There is a really dark, repulsive aspect of humanity palpably on display in his expression. A moment too horrifying to want to think about.

Amazingly produced! Thanks for the superb content. Great choice of background music as well. Which track is it from CO.AG?

Hidetaka Miyazaki is also very good at making the people who play the games he directed/created feel pity for the most ruthless characters in the series, however he does it with the brilliant soundtrack of each character, as well as by hiding the truth about said characters’ atrocities and depravity until after the players kill the characters, or what’s left of them.

Look, I may enjoy Art quite a great deal - I mean, I'm watching your channel after all. But I've never truly felt a shift in my mood just by looking at a painting. I've felt respect for the artist, I've thought about the meaning of paintings, but I've never experienced any shift in my mood because of a painting before. But as soon as I saw the emotion portrayed in both of the subjects of this painting, I felt my eyes become a little teary. I guess that really says something about this man's talent at portraying emotion through he strokes of his brush, to have managed to make my heart grip for a moment. I can fucking feel the shock from the father and the betrayal from the son in my BONES man what the FUCK

Watched this just to get more context for a meatcanyon video lol

I’m so mad because I visited Russia in 2019, and I really wanted to see this painting in real life but I didn’t have the chance because of the attack :( it’s one of my favourite paintings and it makes me sad how people just can’t seem to leave it be

As horrifying as the painting is, it should never be removed. It captures the reality of horror itself. It shows everyone how truly evil Tsar was. I don't feel pity for this man, I just see someone who's so evil that I don't think he himself even knows what he's done. It's tragic within itself.

This may sound crazy…. But I have always felt like art is heavily close to God. Art imitates life. This is one of the most tragically beautiful paintings I’ve ever seen.

Please don't stop creating. I adore this!

Your channel deserves more recognition friend 👏

did a school presentation about Ivan the Terrible this year. i'm not that good at history but researching this topic was the most interesting thing i have ever done. i would often talk about random Ivan the Terrible facts for weeks after the presentation. even some of my classmates told me they never enjoyed history class but they still paid attention to what i was talking about. he was a very interesting man.

This video left me in tears

My senior year of high school in 2009, my friend made a darn near perfect recreation of this painting for extra credit in a history class. Although it was graphic it was so well done that the teachers kept it up. No one complained, we were all mature enough to understand what it meant.

The paintings back then convey so much emotion and story on one canvas. Such an amazing work of art 👏

The narrators voice in this is amazing and how much detail he puts into describing this amazing painting I literally still get chills every time I walk in my house and see it

thanks for the video 😊💙

this is one of my favorite art pieces, the way the emotions are conveyed here is beyond stunning whenever i think of this painting bloody and blunt by cocteau twins starts playing in my head

12 year old me in January 2015, a young history buff who didn't even know it at the time, decided to read up on Ivan the Terrible randomly. Came across this painting and learns about the fact that he kills his own son. There's something about that painting that really struck me deeply as a 12 year old. It haunted me and never left my head. It's cool to see a video essay exploring the painting more deeper.

I came because of Gru and a Minion, and I have stayed because of great writing and thoughtful analysis

I always found this painting devastating idk it’s the emotions that expresses.

"The terrible" is more like an old-fashioned sense of precisely what is meant to be conveyed: formidable, inducing terror. It's not a mistranslation at all, just an old-fashioned sense of the word in English.

"These hands were grown from me, from boy to man, only to be tempted by beggars" -MeatCanyon Edit: Also I like how back then defacing paintings were already a thing, albeit for more personal reasons that are more sound than oil and shit

If you see the son's left hand, its almost like he's trying to get away from his fathers arms.

I absolutely adore Russian history, and if I had the motivation I’d learn Russian.

Your choice of paintings is.. remarkable! Some would say weird, but I like it because it is not standard. After having watched "Great Art Explained" certain time it is refreshing 👍

I'm here because of meatcanyon

Historians don't know how prince Ivan did die, but they DO know he most definitely was not killed by his father. This myth (one of many) was invented to blacken *Ivan the Magnificent* for political reasons - just like calling him "Terrible" (which is a deliberate mistranslation). Prince Ivan died either from natural causes or - more likely - he was poisoned by his father's enemies. Tsar Ivan's wife, his son's pregnant wife, and some of his other relatives and friends WERE poisoned (as modern examination of bodies proved), so he was not "paranoid" in the slightest. Novgorod aristocracy were traitors, no doubt about that, but there were no "executions of everyone", that is just another blackening tall tale. In his entire life Ivan IV executed less people than many European monarchs did in a year, and less than some did in a week. Repin was a brilliant painter, but "Ivan was a terrible ruler and ruthless man who killed his son" is nothing but ludicrous propaganda.

ice cream! pop pop!

When you hit ur lil bro too hard

i just happened to be studying russian history this semester. I didn't know this is where the meme came from

I dont remember where i read it (but even if it's not real is actually a great analysis of evil) but it's said that Ivan is not panicked because he killed his son, he actually has those eyes because, since his only son and wife are death, he won't have any descendence in the throne and probably his enemies will get it

Some close ups to the painting look like real photos. The detail in this painting is unbelievable

Came here from meatcanyon🫤

Here from meat canyon

Not sure any languages have the words to describe the depth of Ivan’s emotions. His bulging eyes are at the same time terrifying as well as mesmerizing. I’m actually wondering if despite having killed his son, Ivan isn’t after all the one who died by perpetrating this atrocious deed. He knows he reached a point of non-return. Blinded by his fury and an insatiable wrath, he had no choice but to give in to his inner demons. But now, he realizes he has to face the horrendous consequences of his crime and the deafening silence of his son who probably will come back to haunt him in his sleep. If Ivan will carry on living, his son’s demise promises a life of eternal sorrow and tribulations. Suicide seems to be the only option left for him. It seems unlikely one father can lead a normal life after such a traumatizing experience. Even if he was named the terrible. His eyes express regrets and sadness. If he decides to live, his conscience will eat him alive.

I have recently found you and your channel! Your videos are so interesting and your voice mesmerising. Keep up the good work ❤️

Thank you. This is inspiring and well thought through.

Another fantastic video. Thank you

now every time i close my eyes, i see this

the fear and pain in his eyes reminds him of a grave mistake losing part of his continues blood line. so sad 😢

I love this, battling unknown depression on earth day, the more depressing story, here, is the balance I crave, much love, ee

His son shouldn't of fallen for Tiktok NPC thirst traps... ice cream yum🍦

Thanks a lot as always.

He looks like he’s on the verge of screaming in despair. It’s so terrible. Ivan WAS terrible. But somehow, despite it, I feel terrible for him

The Canvas: REALLY MOVING!

my fave video so far :)

Better do fact check next time. Novgorod were already looted by his father Ivan 3rd, and relations between Moscow and Novgorod were tense already, since it was an independent country back then. Also when his wife remains were discovered and tests were made the amount of arsenic was skyrocket.

i love these videos so much. you do such thorough research!

Thank you for this video.