“Portrait of Alexei Petrovich Ermolov” - a painting by George Dow and his workshop from the Military Gallery of the Winter Palace, with the author's repetition from the collection of the State Historical Museum.
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| George Dow and the workshop | ||
| Portrait of Alexei Petrovich Ermolov . Around 1821-1825 | ||
| Canvas, oil. 70 × 62.5 cm | ||
| State Hermitage Museum , St. Petersburg | ||
| ( inv. GE-7876 ) | ||
The picture is a chest portrait of Lieutenant General Alexei Petrovich Ermolov from the Military Gallery of the Winter Palace [1] .
Since the beginning of the Patriotic War of 1812, Major General Ermolov commanded the Guards Artillery Brigade and the 2nd Guards Infantry Brigade, but was soon appointed chief of staff of the 1st Western Army. For the difference in the battle on Valutina Hill, he was promoted to lieutenant general ; then he distinguished himself in the battle of Borodino , at Maloyaroslavets , in street battles in Vyazma and at Red . In the overseas campaigns of 1813 he was the chief of all artillery of the Russian army and then commanded the 2nd Guards Infantry Division. During the assault on the Montmartre Heights near Paris in 1814, he commanded the Russian and Prussian Guards Infantry [2] .
Depicted in profile against the backdrop of a mountain landscape in General Witzmundir. Of the awards, a silver medal “In memory of the Patriotic War of 1812” on the St. Andrew’s ribbon and stars of the orders of St. George of the 2nd class and St. Alexander Nevsky are noticeable. In the lower left corner is the artist's signature: painted from nature Geo Dawe RA [3] . Signature on the frame: A.P. Ermolov 1st, General Lieutenant .
The circumstances of the portrait were not established. The finished portrait was taken to the Hermitage on July 8, 1827 [4] .
V. K. Makarov called this portrait one of the best works of Dow [5] . L. A. Dukelskaya, in her essay on English art, describing the Military Gallery, noted:
Sharp expressiveness and romantic elation, organically combined with accuracy in conveying similarities, are inherent in the best portraits of this grand cycle. Such are the images of Bagration , Ermolov, Seslavin [6] .
In fact, the gallery portrait is a reduced author's variation of the generational portrait of Ermolov, painted by Dow in 1821. Ermolov in 1816 was appointed chief of the Caucasus (probably the background mountain landscape was associated with this) and in February 1821 he came to St. Petersburg . Then he posed for the Dow for a large generational portrait. The main differences from the gallery portrait are as follows. Another position of Ermolov’s right hand: if in the gallery portrait the hand rests on the chest, then in the growth portrait of Ermolov it rests on the saber. The body is turned with its back more accentuated and the awards are completely invisible. A fur cloak is thrown over his shoulders. This portrait is in the funds of the State Historical Museum .
In London in 1824, by the order of the St. Petersburg bookseller S. Florent, Messrs Colnaghi printed an engraving of Thomas Wright dated October 1, 1824, taken from a generational portrait; one of the preserved prints of the engraving is also in the Hermitage collection (paper, engraving with a dotted line and a cutter, 69.5 × 50 cm, inventory number ERG-294) [7] . D. A. Rovinsky mistakenly believes that this engraving was taken from the original from the Military Gallery of the Winter Palace, although at the same time it describes and reproduces precisely the generational version from the State Historical Museum; he also mentions that the original board (printed form) is in the collection of Senator G. K. Repinsky [8] .
Generated version of the portrait. GIM
Engraving by T. Wright. hermitage Museum
Notes
- ↑ State Hermitage Museum. “Dow, George and the workshop.” "Portrait of Alexei Petrovich Ermolov."
- ↑ Dictionary , p. 389-390.
- ↑ Renne, 2009 , p. 291-292.
- ↑ Podmazo, 2013 , p. 292.
- ↑ Makarov, 1940 , p. 191.
- ↑ Dukelskaya, 1983 , p. 110.
- ↑ State Hermitage Museum. - Wright, Thomas. "Portrait of General A. P. Ermolov."
- ↑ Rovinsky, t. 2, 1887 , stb. 966-967, No. 6.
Literature
- Dukelskaya L. A. Art of England of the XVI — XIX centuries. Essay guide. - L .: Art, 1983. - 120 p.
- Makarov V.K. George Dow in Russia // The State Hermitage Museum. Proceedings of the Department of Western European Art. - L. , 1940 .-- T. 1 . - S. 182 .
- Podmazo A. A. Images of the heroes of the Patriotic War of 1812: Military Gallery of the Winter Palace. - M .: Russian Knights, 2013 .-- 864 p. - ISBN 978-5-903389-62-9 .
- Renne E.P. State Hermitage Museum. British painting of the 16th — 19th centuries: Collection Catalog. - SPb. : Publishing House of the State Hermitage Museum, 2009. - 416 p. - ISBN 978-5-93572-376-7 .
- Rovinsky D.A. Detailed Dictionary of Russian Engraved Portraits. Edition with 700 phototype portraits. - SPb. : Printing House of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, 1887. - T. II: E — O.
- Dictionary of Russian generals, participants in the hostilities against the army of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1812-1815. // Russian archive. The history of the Fatherland in the evidence and documents of the XVIII — XX centuries. : Collection. - M .: TRITE studio N. Mikhalkova , 1996. - T. VII . - S. 389-390 . - ISSN 0869-20011 . (Comm. A. A. Podmazo )