lya Repin’s painting “Ceremonial Meeting of the State Council on May 7, 1901, on the 100th Anniversary of its Establishment” depicts the emperor who has just finished reading a commemorative diploma on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Alexander I’s establishment of the Indispensable Council, the predecessor of the State Council. Nicholas II is on the canvas at the head of the convention, under his own portrait. Secretaries are distributing commemorative medals to the members of the Council. The painting also depicts the entire State Council - 81 people.
The creation of the State Council was announced by the manifesto of Emperor Alexander I, which came out in January 1810. Council members were appointed and dismissed by the emperor; they could be any person, regardless of class, rank, age and education. The chairman and vice chairman of the State Council were appointed annually. If the emperor was present at a meeting of the State Council, then the chairmanship passed to him.
The powers of the State Council included the consideration of new laws or legislative initiatives, changes in already adopted laws, issues of internal governance requiring the abolition, limitation, addition or clarification of previous laws, domestic and foreign policy in emergency situations, annual estimates of general government revenues and expenditures, reports on state control measures over the execution of the list of income and expenses, and emergency financial measures.
In the process of working on the painting, Repin preferred to paint portrait sketches from nature rather than taking preliminary photographs. He personally created a number of sketches, while others were prepared by his assistants - Ivan Kulikov and Boris Kustodiev.
The sketch for the portrait of Prince Aleksandr of Oldenburg was supposedly made in 1902-1903. Repin depicted the prince in a ceremonial uniform with regalia and a ribbon of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. The artist captured a concentrated face, an imperceptible turn towards Emperor Nicholas II who was giving a speech. At the time of the creation of the painting, Prince Aleksandr of Oldenburg was 59 years old.
