Portrait of member of State Council and Grand Chamberlain, Prince Mikhail Sergeyevich Volkonsky 1903

Editor: Here we have Ilya Repin’s 1903 painting, "Portrait of member of State Council and Grand Chamberlain, Prince Mikhail Sergeyevich Volkonsky," done with oil paint. It has such a weighty presence... the red and gold feel so formal. What symbols or stories do you see in this piece? Curator: It's fascinating how Repin captures Volkonsky. The red and gold aren’t merely decorative, but communicate power. Consider how these colours echo throughout history – imperial robes, religious icons. They resonate with authority. Even the way he’s seated behind a table covered with papers implies business, duty, law... It all adds layers of symbolic meaning to Volkonsky’s status and role. What feeling do you get from the gaze itself? Editor: The gaze is intense! There is a slight sadness, like he is burdened by duty or responsibility, a weariness maybe. It contrasts with the opulence. Curator: Precisely. The weariness speaks to a human element beneath the Grand Chamberlain's finery. Symbols often present dualities; Volkonsky's adornments present status and accomplishment, but they also signal confinement within the rigid structures of the Russian state. His melancholic gaze acknowledges a personal cost, and suggests something deeply complex about the weight of his position. Editor: I hadn’t considered that dichotomy before, how symbols can be both affirming and confining at the same time. Curator: Exactly. It gives us much to consider about the subject of Repin’s portrait and the burdens of authority that Volkonsky seems to carry, but that is one purpose of symbols: to connect us across eras of human existence through their ever-changing, complex meanings. Editor: I'll never see portraits the same way again. There is much more beneath the surface.