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The Russian Museum. From his bronze throne, a living man peers sullenly at the viewer! Consumed by terrible passions, this tyrant is Mark Antokolsky's Ivan the Terrible.
A copy of the sculpture was acquired by the Kensington Museum — the first time in history that a work by a Russian sculptor had interested foreign museum curators! Antokolsky also became the first sculptor of Jewish origin to achieve international recognition...
The future genius of sculpture was born in 1840 in provincial Vilna. What could a Jew from the lower classes hope for during the reign of Nikolay I? But chance helped the talented boy. One of his works was accidentally seen by the wife of the Governor-General of Vilna; thanks to her recommendation, the provincial artist from the 'shtetl' entered the St. Pyotrsburg Academy of Arts.
Life in the capital was not easy for Antokolsky at first, as he could barely speak Russian. However, he worked tirelessly — and it paid off: in 1864, he received a silver medal from the Academy for his high relief The Jewish Tailor... The very next year, the sculptor was awarded a gold medal.
And then came Ivan the Terrible — his graduation piece. The professors of the Academy refused to even consider it, deeming it "far from generally accepted canons." And here Antokolsky was lucky again! The sculpture captivated Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna. On her recommendation, Alexander II purchased the work for the Hermitage! And four days later, Antokolsky became an Academician.
He would go on to create Pyotr I, Yermak, and the chronicler Nestor... forever remaining a Russian sculptor. Unfortunately, not everyone knows his name today, but everyone has seen one of his works — it is his Pyotr I that adorns the 500-ruble banknote.
