Ivan the Terrible Killing His Son

1883-1885 painting by Ilya Repin

The Tsar had his son’s first two wives, Eudoxia Saburova and Feodosiya Solovaya, sent away to convents. While they were at the Alexandrov Kremlin in November 1581, Ivan is said to have assaulted his son’s third wife, Yelena Sheremeteva, for being inappropriately dressed. She was pregnant, and the beating caused a miscarriage.^[16] 

The Tsarevich reprimanded his father, and the Tsar responded by accusing his son of inciting rebellion by challenging his father and advocating attempts to relieve the on-going Siege of Pskov. Ivan struck his son with his sceptre, and also struck Boris Godunov when he tried to intervene.

The Tsarevich fell to the floor bleeding heavily. Ivan was quickly remorseful, but his son died a few days later.

Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan, Wikipedia

Damage to the painting from the 1913 attack

On 16 January 1913, Abram Balachov attacked the painting three times with a knife, making three parallel slashes over the faces of Ivan and his son.

The curator of the Tretyakov Gallery Georgy Khruslov was so distressed by the vandalism that he threw himself under a train.

Repin returned to Moscow from Finland to restore the work. He suspected the attack was «the result of that monstrous conspiracy against the classic and academic monuments of art which is daily gathering momentum«, i.e. modernism.^[15]