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The Russian Museum. From his bronze throne, a living man peers at the viewer with a sullen look! This tyrant, consumed by terrible passions, is Mark Antokolsky's Ivan the Terrible.
A copy of the sculpture was acquired by the Kensington Museum — the first time in history that the work of a Russian sculptor had captured the interest of foreign 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 (now Vilnius). What could a Jew from the lower classes hope for during the reign of Nikolay I? But a chance encounter 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' was admitted to 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.
