As the Miloslavskys wanted to incite the streltsy to rebel, they spread a rumour that Tsarevich Ivan had been strangled, and gave them a list of “traitor boyars”. On 15 May 1682 armed streltsy came to the Kremlin, burst into the palace and carried out a savage massacre. The dead included the boyar Artamon Matveyev, Peter’s guardian, as well as the two brothers of Tsarina Natalia Naryshkina. These terrible events were permanently seared into Peter’s memory, and were probably the origin of his heightened irritability and burning hatred for the streltsy. Charles de Steuben has treated the scene romantically, bringing drama and dynamism into the composition. He has transferred the action from within the royal palace to one of the cathedrals in the Kremlin.

Steuben Charles de

Steuben, Charles de
1788, Bauerbach (Grand Duchy of Baden) – 1856, Paris
French painter, portraitist, painter of historical, allegorical and religious subjects. Born into a family of an officer who soon entered Russian service. Studied at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St Petersburg (1802–1803).Entered ÉcoleNationaleSupérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris (1805), studied under RobertLefrève, Pierre-Paul Prud’hon and FrançoisGérard (from 1808).Contributed to the Paris Salon(1812–1843). ReceivedthetitleofbaronfromKingLouisPhilippeIofFrance (1831). Honorary associate member of the Imperial Academy of Arts (from 1833). Lived in St Petersburg painting portraits on commissions (autumn 1843–1854).Painted icons for St Isaac’s Cathedral. Left for Paris due to grave illness.