Mikhail Leblan. The Golden Chamber of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in the Terem Palace

Mikhail Leblan's painting shows the Golden Chamber of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in the Terem Palace of the Moscow Kremlin. It is painted in oil on cardboard, apparently in 1908. The red walls and vaults are covered with gold ornament, figures are painted in the upper parts of the vaults, the arched windows hold multicoloured glass, and its reflections lie on the floor in patches of colour. Black double-headed eagles can be seen beneath the vaults, and gold figures of animals on the wall to the right. The room contains chairs and an armchair under a golden cover; by the window stands a table with a golden casket-shaped object on it.

The Terem Palace was built in 1635–1636 on the orders of Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich as the ceremonial royal apartments, and it took on its final appearance under Alexei Mikhailovich. In 1836–1837 the palace was reconstructed under the direction of the academician Fyodor Solntsev in an effort to restore its original appearance. Trofim Kiselyov painted the interiors to Solntsev's designs, and carved eagles were installed at the springing of the vaults in all the rooms.

Mikhail Leblan (1875–1940) was a Moscow painter and graphic artist. He studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, including in the studio of Valentin Serov and Konstantin Korovin, painted landscapes, still lifes, portraits and genre scenes, and from 1910 was a member of the Union of Russian Artists.