7215375 ALEXANDER III RECEIVING THE DEANS OF CANTONS IN THE COURTYARD OF THE PALACE, 1886 (oil on canvas) by Repin, Ilya Efimovich (1844-1930); Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia; (add.info.: 1886//Oil on canvas This huge painting was commissioned in the summer of 1884 for the Grand Palace of the Kremlin, to commemorate the coronation of Alexander III in May 1883. In it, Repine stages the emperor\'s speech to representatives of the peasants of the Empire. The theme of the unity of the nation was crucial at the time when the tsar succeeded his father Alexander II, assassinated in 1881 by revolutionaries. The emperor appears as a powerful figure among his people, rendered in all its cultural diversity. Calm, imposing, it is the embodiment of the Russian state and the continuity of its traditions. The peasants are also highlighted by providing reinforcement and protection to the royal figure, while the nobility is relegated to the background of the picture. Repine gives each figure a particular identity. The painter also represented himself, the drawing notebook in his hand, in the background. The spectacular setting of this painting presents a rich decoration consisting of twenty-five coats of arms of the administrative subdivisions of Russia, as well as decorative elements imitating regional specificities, testifying to the tsar\'s interest in researching ancient Russian art. Moscow, National Tretyakov Gallery); Photo by Sylvain Collet.