Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich was a public figure and military theoretician, but his special passion was literature. He wrote plays and published collections of poems, translated books by foreign authors.
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The King of the Jews
Creation period
1914
Dimensions
32,5x24,5 cm
Technique
Cardboard, coated fabric, leather; press gilding
2
Open in app#7
Konstantin Romanov
The King of the Jews
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Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich as Joseph of Arimathea. Source: Sverdlovsk State Regional Ethnography Museum
The Grand Duke’s works were popular with readers, and the song “The poor man died in a military hospital” with his lyrics was even deemed to be a folk song. However, he was very critical of his own creative work and did not consider himself a famous poet. The duke invariably signed his works with a poetic pen name consisting of two letters – K.R. – standing for Konstantin Romanov.
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“The King of the Jews”, a drama in verse, became one of the last significant works written by Konstantin Konstantinovich. The duke worked on it for 10 years and finally completed it in 1913. The book describes the events of the Holy Week and the last days of Jesus Christ: his entry into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, the betrayal. The play tells about his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane and his execution. The drama ends with the rejoicing over the good news of the resurrection of Christ.
In the center of the play are the people of Jerusalem. Its main character Joseph of Arimathea travels the path from doubt at the beginning to true faith at the end of the narrative. Other characters of the play include Pontius Pilate and his wife Claudia Prokula. Later, Pilate appeared in “Master and Margarita”: while working on the book, Mikhail Bulgakov consulted “The King of the Jews”.
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When the production based on Konstantin Konstantinovich’s play was ready to premiere, the Russian Orthodox Church censorship banned it despite the positive reviews it had received from critics: in those years, staging biblical stories was forbidden. However, Emperor Nicholas II allowed the drama to be staged at the court theater for invitation-only spectators.
Photo and autograph of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich in his book ‘The King of the Jews’, 1914. Source: Sverdlovsk State Regional Ethnography Museum
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The Grand Duke presented his play at the Hermitage Theater in 1914 with over 200 people involved in the production. The cast was made up of amateur actors directed by Konstantin Konstantinovich himself, who also doubled as Joseph of Arimathea. His sons Igor, Konstantin and Ioann also took part in the production playing minor characters. The premiere was attended by Emperor Nicholas II, who liked the play and allowed it to be published.
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Danilo Stepanov. Illustration for the play ‘The King of the Jews’. Source: Sverdlovsk State Regional Ethnography Museum
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This edition of the play ‘The King of the Jews’ was timed for the production opening night and published as a limited edition. The illustrations in the book include colour sketches of costumes and sets, scenes from the play, photographs of the production organizers and participants.
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Sverdlovsk State Regional Ethnography Museum
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The King of the Jews
Creation period
1914
Dimensions
32,5x24,5 cm
Technique
Cardboard, coated fabric, leather; press gilding
2
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