On the large canvas “The Last Minutes of the Godunov”s Family’, Nikolay Shakhovskoy depicted a historical episode of a boyar conspiracy against Fyodor Godunov, the second Russian tsar from the Godunov’s family.
Fyodor was the son of Boris Godunov and Maria. Maria was the daughter of the oprichnik Malyuta Skuratov. Shortly before the birth of his son, Boris became the ruler of the Russian state. With the death of Feodosia, the minor granddaughter of Ivan the Terrible, the family of the Moscow Rurikids was suppressed, and Godunov began to prepare his dynasty. Fyodor was given appropriate honors, and after Boris ascended the throne in 1589, he officially became the successor. Fyodor was trained to become an “enlightened monarch” and he received a good education.
In 1605, at the height of the war with False Dmitry, Boris Godunov unexpectedly died. 16-year-old Fyodor began to prepare for coronation. Gifts were distributed to the people for the chantry of Boris’s soul, and an amnesty was also announced to all those he had sent into exile.
Meanwhile, a split occurred in the Russian troops, and many went over to the side of the False Dmitry. His forces continued to advance as he gradually won the sympathy of the people. Meanwhile, a conspiracy against Tsar Fyodor was prepared in Moscow. He, his mother Maria, and sister Xenia were arrested on June 1, 1605. Bogdan Belsky, a cousin of Maria Godunova, swore that he had saved Tsarevich Dmitry, the son of Ivan the Terrible, from death in Uglich. On June 10, the Godunovs were killed by the rebels.
Nikolay Shakhovskoy depicted the last minutes of their lives in the painting. The family is in hiding from enemies in the prayer room of the Kremlin. Fyodor is at the door listening to the noise outside. In the center of the composition, Ksenia prays, clinging to her mother. On the left, there is a wall with icons, a thick candle on a high candlestick, and an old book lying on the icon stand.
Nikolay Shakhovskoy was born in 1850 in the village of Zhukovka, Mosalsky district. He studied at the Moscow Commercial School, and in 1868 entered the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. He first studied as a non-degree student, and in 1870, he became a matriculated one.
The following year, Shakhovskoy was awarded two small and two large silver medals for his drawings and sketches. In 1874, he got a small gold medal for the ‘Good Samaritan’ series. In 1877, Shakhovskoy competed with other painters for a large gold medal with the painting ‘Marriage in Cana of Galilee’, but without success. In the same year, he graduated from the Academy with the title of a first-degree class artist.
In the early 1880s, the painter completed several orders for Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich depicting the historical events of the reign of Ivan the Terrible. In 1890, Shakhovskoy was awarded the title of academician for the paintings ‘The Godunov’s Family’ and “Holy Saturday Morning”.
Fyodor was the son of Boris Godunov and Maria. Maria was the daughter of the oprichnik Malyuta Skuratov. Shortly before the birth of his son, Boris became the ruler of the Russian state. With the death of Feodosia, the minor granddaughter of Ivan the Terrible, the family of the Moscow Rurikids was suppressed, and Godunov began to prepare his dynasty. Fyodor was given appropriate honors, and after Boris ascended the throne in 1589, he officially became the successor. Fyodor was trained to become an “enlightened monarch” and he received a good education.
In 1605, at the height of the war with False Dmitry, Boris Godunov unexpectedly died. 16-year-old Fyodor began to prepare for coronation. Gifts were distributed to the people for the chantry of Boris’s soul, and an amnesty was also announced to all those he had sent into exile.
Meanwhile, a split occurred in the Russian troops, and many went over to the side of the False Dmitry. His forces continued to advance as he gradually won the sympathy of the people. Meanwhile, a conspiracy against Tsar Fyodor was prepared in Moscow. He, his mother Maria, and sister Xenia were arrested on June 1, 1605. Bogdan Belsky, a cousin of Maria Godunova, swore that he had saved Tsarevich Dmitry, the son of Ivan the Terrible, from death in Uglich. On June 10, the Godunovs were killed by the rebels.
Nikolay Shakhovskoy depicted the last minutes of their lives in the painting. The family is in hiding from enemies in the prayer room of the Kremlin. Fyodor is at the door listening to the noise outside. In the center of the composition, Ksenia prays, clinging to her mother. On the left, there is a wall with icons, a thick candle on a high candlestick, and an old book lying on the icon stand.
Nikolay Shakhovskoy was born in 1850 in the village of Zhukovka, Mosalsky district. He studied at the Moscow Commercial School, and in 1868 entered the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. He first studied as a non-degree student, and in 1870, he became a matriculated one.
The following year, Shakhovskoy was awarded two small and two large silver medals for his drawings and sketches. In 1874, he got a small gold medal for the ‘Good Samaritan’ series. In 1877, Shakhovskoy competed with other painters for a large gold medal with the painting ‘Marriage in Cana of Galilee’, but without success. In the same year, he graduated from the Academy with the title of a first-degree class artist.
In the early 1880s, the painter completed several orders for Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich depicting the historical events of the reign of Ivan the Terrible. In 1890, Shakhovskoy was awarded the title of academician for the paintings ‘The Godunov’s Family’ and “Holy Saturday Morning”.
