"Hay dos muertes en la historia de los policías quemando perros. La primera, de la que todos hablan, es la del animal torturado. La sevicia que trae la muerte como castigo. La segunda, no tan discutida, es la del indigente que es despojado del amigo, del compañero que lo mira a los ojos, que comparte el pan y que no cruza la acera al verlo venir de frente. El policía no tortura al perro, sino a través de el se ensaña contra el humano que ve como inferior. Así, trae a la muerte que viene con el espíritu paraco que nos consume, el espíritu que uniformado asesina a la madre, al hijo, mientras la víctima impotente solo observa."
Lo que diga Duchamp !
Ivan the Terrible and his Son Ivan, 1885
Ugh, I love this painting so much.
Just some background stuff, Ivan the Terrible was the Tsar of Russia for most of the 16th Century. In I think 1581, he caught his daughter-in-law wearing ‘immodest clothing in front of everyone’ and struck her. She was apparently pregnant and she may or may not have had a miscarriage because of it.
Ivan’s son and the girl’s husband, also named Ivan after his father, hears about it and gets into a really heated argument with his father that ends with Ivan the Terrible taking a swing at his son with his pointed staff. It’s said that he immediately fell down and kissed his son’s face, pressing his hands against his left temple to try to stop the bleeding. He famously screamed “May I be damned! I’ve killed my son! I’ve killed my son!” His son briefly regained consciousness and his last words were “I die as a devoted son and most humble servant.”
I love all the details. I love the pointed staff lying on the ground and the signs of a fight with the tossed over chair, disturbed carpet, and the door wide open. I love the single tear on Ivan’s face and their position on the floor. This is a really gorgeous but raw depiction of one of the darkest moments in an incredible man’s life. I wish there were more historical paintings like this.It’s a bit of a shame that my view of this painting is somewhat ruined by Masha’s tales of the Russian internet memes based around this painting, when we viewed it at the Tretyakov.
(Taken with picplz.)
