Portrait of Peter Alexeyev

Thanks to the artist’s own detailed comments on the back of this picture, we know the names of the convict depicted (Piotr Alexeyev) and his victim (the peddler Ivan Loginov). However no biographical information about these men has survived. Alexeyev was branded with the three Cyrillic letters KAT, as was done to criminals sentenced to hard labour. Another comment on the back of the canvas – “No. 3. The last of those flogged with the knout and branded for murder” – may have been added later. It is not possible to confirm the accuracy of this statement. The work was painted in 1858, while branding and corporal punishment were finally abolished in the Russian Empire only in 1863.