[2] Mordukh Matysovich Antokolsky[3] was born in Vilnius (Antokol city district), Lithuania (at the time part of the Russian Empire).

On 28 October 1864, the Council of the Academy decided to award Antokolski with the Small Silver Medal for the "Tailor" by the majority of votes.

In later years the sculptor continued working on Jewish themes, which developed into complex, yet unfinished compositions: "Talmud Dispute" (1866–1868) and "Inquisition Attacks the Jews" (1868–1869).

Moreover, an inscription remained that Morduchas was excluded from the revision register of Antakalnis Jewish community as a person awarded the name of an honorary citizen.

In 1871 Antokolsky started his first "Russian" sculpture, "Ivan the Terrible", which made an enormous impression on all valuators and connoisseurs of art.

When Emperor Alexander II saw the sculpture he asked to make its bronze copy and allocated the sculptor advance payment of 4,000 roubles.

Antokolsky used 4,000 rubles for the "Ivan the Terrible" to buy half of a big house in Vilnius, the other part of which had previously belonged to his wife.

After 1876, Antokolsky was a rare visitor to his native town due to illnesses, work, and exhibitions in Paris and Italy, which took almost all of his time.

Antokolsky left for Paris the same year, and stayed in the French capital until the end of his life, apart from periods on Lake Maggiore, in northern Italy.