Bronze Tsars: Ivan the Terrible and Fedor Ivanovich in the Décor of Early Modern Guns

This paper offers a cultural interpretation of two images of Muscovite royalty: the 'portrait' of Ivan the Terrible on a gun by Karsten Middeldorp (1559) and the image of Fedor Ivanovich on the famous Tsar Cannon by Andrei Chokhov (1586). It is argued that dynastic politics, Russia's military aggression and the growing interest in the figure of the tsar required the visualization of the tsar's power both in Muscovy and in the West. Royal portraiture expanded the cultural image of the Russian monarchy. The Muscovite tsar became a recognizable public figure who embodied the military might of Muscovy.

Английский

The Slavonic and East European Review. – 2010. – Vol. 88, № 1/2. – P. 48–72.