The painting depicts Peter I and his son Alexei Petrovich, who has been accused of preparing to seize power, in the interior of the Monplaisir Palace in Peterhof.

[5][6] Writer and critic Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin described the heroes of the canvas as follows: "Anyone who has seen these two simple, not at all spectacularly staged figures will have to admit that he has witnessed one of those amazing dramas that will never be erased from memory.

This fascination was also evident in the works of other Russian artists of the period, including Vyacheslav Schwarz, Konstantin Flavitsky, Valery Jacobi and Karlis Huns,[17] who were interested in "bloody episodes of court life, in the spectacular exposure of facts hidden by official historiography".

"[26][27][28] By the early 1870s, the Russian public had become sufficiently aware of the "case of the Tsarevich Alexei", although a couple of decades earlier this episode could be more accurately described as a "historical mishap", of which it was not customary to speak.

In particular, the publication included documents that contradicted the official version of Tsarevich Alexei's death, which stated that he died in the Peter and Paul Fortress "out of grief."

[42] According to Repin, during his visit, a canvas was positioned on an easel with an initial charcoal sketch on which "Peter was silhouetted against the light background of a window in the Montplaisir palace".

These were portraits of Tatiana Petrovna Kostomarova (mother of Nikolai Kostomarov),[49] writer Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev[50] and chemist Hugo Josef Schiff.

[55] Pavel Tretyakov purchased the painting Peter the Great Interrogating the Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich at Peterhof directly from the artist's studio, shortly before the opening of the travelling exhibition in St Petersburg.

Nevertheless, the artist stated that he would not proceed without Pavel Mikhailovich's consent, and as a result, the original was presented to Tretyakov, while for Alexander II, an author's repetition was painted, which subsequently passed into the collection of the Russian Museum.

[59][60] A large number of newspapers and magazines published articles devoted to the travelling exhibition, in which the painting Peter I interrogating and the Tsarevich Alexei received considerable attention.

"[61] The writer Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin (Otechestvennye Zapiski magazine)[63] and the critic Vladimir Stasov (newspaper Sankt-Peterburgskie Vedomosti) praised Ge's painting.

Of particular note is Ge's painting Peter I and the Tsarevich Alexei, which was referenced in the report of the Board of the Society on the second travelling exhibition, although without specifying the cities in which it was shown.

[77] In the report on the Saratov exhibition, it was noted that "the greatest interest of spectators and critics was attracted by two historical paintings by N. N. Ge – Catherine at the tomb of Elizabeth and Peter interrogating the Tsarevich Alexei.

"[76] In 1873, the author's copy of the painting Peter the Great Interrogating the Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich at Peterhof was exhibited at the World's Fair in Vienna.

In the exhibition catalogue, the canvas was listed under the French title Pierre le Grand fait subir un interrogatoire au tsarevitch Alexis, à Peterhof (N. N.

The first plaster version of this statue appeared in 1872,[35] and it was subsequently cast in bronze and replicated in the form of monuments in Peterhof, St Petersburg, Taganrog and Arkhangelsk.

[86] The image of Alexei Petrovich from Ge's painting was evidently employed in the film Peter the Great (1937–1938), in which the role of the Tsarevich was portrayed by actor Nikolai Cherkasov.

[3] The prototype of the image of Peter the Great could have been a bronze bust by Carlo Bartolomeo Rastrelli (1723–1730), and the face of Tsarevich Alexei bears a resemblance to his portrait by the German artist Johann Gottfried Tannauer, created in the 1710s.

[99] The corner of the table and the red-and-black tablecloth hanging from it ("colours of mourning") appear to serve as a visual separation between father and son, suggesting a foreshadowing of the tragic outcome of the drama.

[60] The anguished search for a solution depicted in the painting suggests that Ge wished to portray Peter the Great not as an executioner, but as a father who transcended his personal desires for the sake of the state's interests.

The illuminated part of the carpet tablecloth in the foreground, with its excessively clear and detailed pattern, including sharp colour combinations, plays a certain role.

[109] The Tretyakov Gallery maintains a sketch bearing the same title as the painting Peter the Great Interrogating the Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich at Peterhof (1870, oil on canvas, 22 × 26.7 cm, Inventory No.

According to art historian Irina Leytes, the scene depicted in this sketch reads as follows: "the guilty son, still inspiring the viewer with involuntary sympathy by the elegance of his appearance, obediently listens to the judgement of the formidable but fair parent-monarch".

[123] The Tretyakov Gallery also holds Ge's etching Peter the Great Interrogating the Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich at Peterhof (1872), previously in the collection of L.M.

[124] The writer and critic Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, in his review "The First Russian Travelling Art Exhibition", published in the magazine Otechestvennye Zapiski, paid much attention to Ge's painting.

The strength and colourfulness of writing even in such trifles as, for example, a multicoloured carpet on the table, the simplicity and extraordinary truth of every detail, starting from Peter's head <...> and up to his dusty boots and kaftan, make this picture one of the Russian jewels, on a par with the best historical paintings of new Western art.

99, 1872), the art critic Apollo Matushinsky wrote that the painting "Peter the Great Interrogating Tsarevich Alexei" "is well conceived, but it is far from making the impression it should have made, due to its highly tragic content".

In Matuszynski's opinion, Ge did not develop the theme deeply enough, did not cover all its details, "limiting himself to conveying only the most important aspects of the chosen drama" and not allowing the viewer to look "into the very soul of its actors".

[65][66] Criticising the way the figures of Peter the Great and Tsarevich Alexei were portrayed, Matushinsky nevertheless acknowledged that the colouring of the painting "seems to be somewhat more lively" than in Ge's previous works.

According to Sternin, despite the fact that the artist himself in this work wanted to be "first and foremost a documentary historian", the audience had "the most divergent assessments of the ideological content of the canvas": on the one hand, the author was reproached for Slavophilia and excessive sympathy for Tsarevich Alexei, and on the other - praised for "the ability to reveal in the image of Peter the energy and creative power of the new Russian state".