The tomb portrait of Tsar Fyodor Alekseyevich was painted for the Cathedral of Archangel Michael in the Kremlin. Following the tradition of creating “portraits” of deceased grand princes and tsars, this image was placed in front of the tomb of the tsar on the north-western pillar of the cathedral.
The portrait belongs to the “parsuna” genre — the early genre of Russian secular portrait. Its name comes from an altered Latin word “persona”.
The first Russian parsunas were created by artists of the Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin. They also worked on the portrait of Fyodor Alekseyevich. However, the names of the painters are not known: historians suggest that they could have been court painters Ivan Bezmin or Ivan Saltanov. Yerofey Elin and Luka Smolyaninov also participated in creating the portrait.
The portrait is painted with oil paints on primed wood. The tsar is depicted in the so-called “Grand Attire” — the ceremonial vestments that the rulers wore during the coronation, at audiences with foreign ambassadors, or on great church holidays. The “Grand Attire” always included royal regalia: a scepter, an orb, a gold pectoral cross and barmas — a wide collar inlaid with precious stones that covered the shoulders. Fyodor Alekseyevich is depicted with a royal crown on his head which resembles the Monomakh’s Cap: it is trimmed with fur and has a gold top inlaid with precious stones. At the very top of the crown is a miniature Orthodox cross — a symbol of God’s blessing.
Fyodor Alekseyevich succeeded his father, Aleksey Mikhaylovich, on the Russian throne. During several years of his reign, he introduced military and tax reforms, abolished several types of cruel executions, promoted the creation of the first higher educational institution modeled on European universities, established almshouses and state-run orphanages which promoted literacy and taught various crafts. Under Fyodor Alekseyevich, Russia won the war with Turkey and concluded the Treaty of Bakhchisarai, according to which the Ottoman Empire recognized the Left-Bank Ukraine territories and Kyiv as part of Russia.
Fyodor Alekseyevich was also an art connoisseur. During his rule, the “painting” department was established at the Armory, where paintings were created. The tsar personally communicated with the artists, evaluated their projects, and shared his own ideas.
The portrait belongs to the “parsuna” genre — the early genre of Russian secular portrait. Its name comes from an altered Latin word “persona”.
The first Russian parsunas were created by artists of the Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin. They also worked on the portrait of Fyodor Alekseyevich. However, the names of the painters are not known: historians suggest that they could have been court painters Ivan Bezmin or Ivan Saltanov. Yerofey Elin and Luka Smolyaninov also participated in creating the portrait.
The portrait is painted with oil paints on primed wood. The tsar is depicted in the so-called “Grand Attire” — the ceremonial vestments that the rulers wore during the coronation, at audiences with foreign ambassadors, or on great church holidays. The “Grand Attire” always included royal regalia: a scepter, an orb, a gold pectoral cross and barmas — a wide collar inlaid with precious stones that covered the shoulders. Fyodor Alekseyevich is depicted with a royal crown on his head which resembles the Monomakh’s Cap: it is trimmed with fur and has a gold top inlaid with precious stones. At the very top of the crown is a miniature Orthodox cross — a symbol of God’s blessing.
Fyodor Alekseyevich succeeded his father, Aleksey Mikhaylovich, on the Russian throne. During several years of his reign, he introduced military and tax reforms, abolished several types of cruel executions, promoted the creation of the first higher educational institution modeled on European universities, established almshouses and state-run orphanages which promoted literacy and taught various crafts. Under Fyodor Alekseyevich, Russia won the war with Turkey and concluded the Treaty of Bakhchisarai, according to which the Ottoman Empire recognized the Left-Bank Ukraine territories and Kyiv as part of Russia.
Fyodor Alekseyevich was also an art connoisseur. During his rule, the “painting” department was established at the Armory, where paintings were created. The tsar personally communicated with the artists, evaluated their projects, and shared his own ideas.
