Nikolay Nevrev painted this picture in 1874. The artist depicted a real historical event – the meeting of False Dmitry I and the Polish king Sigismund on 15 March 1604. At it, they signed an agreement that declared False Dmitry a legitimate claimant to the Russian throne.
False Dmitry pretended to be the surviving Prince Dmitry, the son of Ivan the Terrible, who died at the age of eight under unclear circumstances. Sigismund officially recognised the impostor as the heir. In exchange, he asked to give Poland part of the land in the Smolensk region, support Poland in foreign policy and spread Catholicism in Russia. The picture shows the moment when the contract is signed and the participants in the meeting say goodbye to each other.
On the left, Nevrev captures the Polish king. He is wearing a black suit with a white collar and a gold chain. Sigismund raises his hat and expresses his respect to the guests. False Dmitry stands on the right and thanks the Polish king with a gesture. In pink – Claudio Rangoni, representative of the Pope in Poland, he acts as the organiser of the meeting.
The author created a simple composition – all the figures are located in the foreground and are half-turned to the centre of the image. Nevrev used a rich palette – raspberry, red, blue, goldish, green. However, he muffled them to create twilight in the room. He hid the source of light from the audience and placed it as if outside the picture.
Nevrev presented the painting The Oath of False Dmitry I to Polish King Sigismund to the public at the exhibition in 1881, seven years after its creation. For the picture he received a prestigious award – the first prize of the Moscow Society of Art Lovers. However, the path to it had not been easy.
False Dmitry pretended to be the surviving Prince Dmitry, the son of Ivan the Terrible, who died at the age of eight under unclear circumstances. Sigismund officially recognised the impostor as the heir. In exchange, he asked to give Poland part of the land in the Smolensk region, support Poland in foreign policy and spread Catholicism in Russia. The picture shows the moment when the contract is signed and the participants in the meeting say goodbye to each other.
On the left, Nevrev captures the Polish king. He is wearing a black suit with a white collar and a gold chain. Sigismund raises his hat and expresses his respect to the guests. False Dmitry stands on the right and thanks the Polish king with a gesture. In pink – Claudio Rangoni, representative of the Pope in Poland, he acts as the organiser of the meeting.
The author created a simple composition – all the figures are located in the foreground and are half-turned to the centre of the image. Nevrev used a rich palette – raspberry, red, blue, goldish, green. However, he muffled them to create twilight in the room. He hid the source of light from the audience and placed it as if outside the picture.
Nevrev presented the painting The Oath of False Dmitry I to Polish King Sigismund to the public at the exhibition in 1881, seven years after its creation. For the picture he received a prestigious award – the first prize of the Moscow Society of Art Lovers. However, the path to it had not been easy.
