The result of the pensionary period of Flavitsky was a grandiose canvas “Christian Martyrs in the Coliseum”. The artist depicted an episode from the history of the Roman Empire of the end of the 1st century AD. e. The entertainment spectacles alternated with public executions of the first Christians, who were given to be torn to beasts. Flavitsky chose the moment when the guards open the doors to the arena and Christians should go out of prison to death.
The obvious didactic nature of the task – to demonstrate the moral strength of Christianity – was combined with the desire to create a great work like the “Last Day of Pompeii” by Bryullov. All this played a fateful role for the picture: in the layout of the characters there were direct quotes from Bryullov. An unnaturally bright color also gives out its secondary imitative nature. The failure of the picture, brought from Rome and shown at the exhibition in 1863, was the reason that Flavitsky did not receive the title of academician, and was recognized only as an honorary freelancer of the Academy.
It was with great difficulty that the artist obtained permission to use the workshop, provided that he would release her on demand, and began to write his main work.
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