Boris Kustodiev, Tsar Nicholas II (1915) Painting Poster

Please note, we also sell a framed version of this poster here on RUS & SOV. About the Painting Boris Kustodiev's 1915 portrait of Tsar Nicholas II has rather a cumbersome official title, His Imperial Majesty the Sovereign Emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich the Autocrat of All Russia (Russian: Его императорское величество государь император Николай Александрович Самодержец Всероссийский). Such an awkwardly long title fits well. Kustodiev did not like to paint portraits of famous people, and instead gravitated more towards depicting ordinary people, folk festivals, cute family scenes, and domestic faces. He has been quoted as feeling deeply uncomfortable at the imperial summer palace in Pushkin where he visited to capture this portrait. In general, this son of Volga Russia felt that Petersburg Russia and the entire upper autocratic state apparatus were foreign to him. All the same, Kustodiev has created a beautiful, contemplative work in his portrait of the tsar. The tsar's bright charis