Repin, Surikov and other painters of end of XIX century drew many paintings with such historic plots, and we had them as illustrations in the History of Russia schoolbook. Only when I came to the Russian Museum (paintings gallery), did I realize these were celebrated masterpieces, not just drawings for the book.

Surikov drew in his Petersburg (IIRC) apartment and stood close to the paintings, hence they're packed with characters. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasily_Surikov