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Lot Essay
This historic portrait depicts Peter Fedorovich (Karl Peter Ul'rich, 1728-1762), subsequently Emperor Peter III (1761-1762). The son of Duke Karl Friedrich von Holstein-Gottorp and Tsarina Anna Petrovna, Petr Fedorovich married princess Sofia Augusta zu Anhalt-Zerbst, the future Empress Catherine II. As a result of palace revolution he was dethroned in 1762 and killed.
Georg Christoph Grooth became a prominent portraitist at the Imperial Court during the years 1741-49. He was one of many German artists whose reputations were established in Russia during the 1740s. Known as 'Little Grooth' due to his diminutive stature, Grooth painted more than 30 portraits of members of the Imperial family, which are now in various State and private collections in Russia.
Grooth's works represent German Rococco portraiture at its best, with its accuracy of the depiction and the finely tuned use of colour. The artist soon became a favourite at the court of Empress Elisaveta Petrovna, whose coronation festivities he successfully designed.
Georg Christoph Grooth became a prominent portraitist at the Imperial Court during the years 1741-49. He was one of many German artists whose reputations were established in Russia during the 1740s. Known as 'Little Grooth' due to his diminutive stature, Grooth painted more than 30 portraits of members of the Imperial family, which are now in various State and private collections in Russia.
Grooth's works represent German Rococco portraiture at its best, with its accuracy of the depiction and the finely tuned use of colour. The artist soon became a favourite at the court of Empress Elisaveta Petrovna, whose coronation festivities he successfully designed.