Honestly this (and the other piece of art showing a soldier in the white palace) really encapsulates that feeling of awe at the wealth of the rich. Not like an appreciative awe, or even envious, but simply shock at the opulence that is inconceivable to a lot of people. I remember feeling this even when I walked onto my university campus for the first time, although obviously it's not as evil as aristicrats, just the shock that such a thing actually exists (as someone who went to very badly underfunded schools as a kid)

Yup i love this one too, the storming of the winter palace is my favorite art.