Ivan Kramskoi. A Portrait of a Woman. 1883

A Portrait of a Woman (Ivan Kramskoi, 1883)

This is, perhaps, the most famous painting by Kramskoi. It is enigmatic and mysterious, one could call it the Russian equivalent of the Mona Lisa. This is the only work by this artist known well in the West.

Ivan Kramskoi. Unconsolable Grief. 1884

Unconsolable Grief (Ivan Kramskoi, 1884)

What is her pain and loss? Is it a husband? A grown child (for she appears to be too old to be mourning an infant)? A sibling or friend? One doesn’t know that, or, even the circumstances under which she is mourning. It is all a mystery…

Ivan Kramskoi. A Bouquet of Flowers: Phlox. 1884

A Bouquet of Flowers: Phlox (Ivan Kramskoi, 1884)

Ivan Kramskoi. A Portrait of Tsar Aleksandr Aleksandrovich. 1886

A Portrait of Tsar Aleksandr Aleksandrovich (Ivan Kramskoi, 1886)

This painting conveys well the physical and psychological presence of this tsar. He was a physically-powerful man, for instance, once the Hapsburg ambassador threatened him with a mobilisation on the Galician frontier. Aleksandr Aleksandrovich picked up a poker, bent it into a pretzel, and threw it at the feet of the ambassador. “That is what we shall do to your army”. Needless to say, no war ensued. Indeed, he was a man of peace, but, he was no appeaser or wimp. His belief was simple… if one was strong and prepared, one would not be attacked. His belief was justified by the result, for there were no foreign wars in his reign.

He was a man well-aware of his limitations, and I would sooner trust a man of that sort than a self-willed and arrogant pseudo-intellectual. Aleksandr Aleksandrovich was a pious Christian, a devoted husband, a loving father, a good friend, and a strong ruler. A man to emulate, I would say.