Official Tretyakov Gallery webpage
Ivan the Terrible Killing his Son artwork by famous Russian painter of the Peredvizhniki School Ilya Repin was damaged by the drunk person in Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, on May 25th, TASS reports.
The attacker is detained, and a criminal case is brought against him. The vandal is 37-years old from Voronezh, who explained his act as a righteous deed made because of "falsehood of the historical facts depicted on the canvas."
After just 100 grams of vodka, the man smashed with a metal post the protection glass and ripped the canvas and the frame in few places. "Luckily, the most valuable images, those of the faces and hands of the tsar and prince were not damaged," the Tretyakov Gallery statement says. In addition, art experts have marked that Repin's canvases were very special because he liked to use very thick and raw materials. Hence, a restoration process should go well.
The investigation also shall establish why the painting's glass was not protected with a vandal-resistant window film, while in documents it's stated otherwise.
It's worth mentioning that the artwork provokes negative behaviour not for the first time. It was previously vandalized by mentally ill man in 1913. Luckily back then the artist was still alive and actively participated in the restoration.
Russkiy Mir
