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Portrait of Emperor Paul I of Russia
Details
Attributed to Dmitrii Grigorievich Levitskii (1735-1822)
Portrait of Emperor Paul I of Russia
signed in Cyrillic 'D. G. Levitskii' (center right)
oil on canvas
27 1/4 x 22 in. (69.2 x 55.9 cm.)
Portrait of Emperor Paul I of Russia
signed in Cyrillic 'D. G. Levitskii' (center right)
oil on canvas
27 1/4 x 22 in. (69.2 x 55.9 cm.)
Provenance
Formerly from the Collection of the Demidoff Family.
Further details
Despite the fact that Dmitrii G. Levitskii is often considered the greatest Russian painter of the 18th century, little is known about his early life. He was born in Kiev in 1735. His father, a priest and a skilled engraver, taught him to appreciate art and beauty. In Kiev he met his first teacher Alexei P. Antropov in the late 1750s. In 1760 Atropov and Levitskii were commissioned to paint the portrait Catherine II Under the Triumphal Arches, which led to other commissions for the young artist and a fast rise to fame. Levitskii managed to create a significant gallery of his contemporaries, which included not only aristocracy but also the rising Russian inteligentsia. He mastered the depiction of psychological characteristics, objectively painting his sitters rather than romanticizing them as protagonists.
Levitskii's works have been placed in many important museum collections, the most comprehensive of which is the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg. The late years of his life are as obscure as the beginning years. The artist died in poverty, blind and alone in 1822. The most famous of his students, Vladimir L. Borovikovskii, though influenced by his mentor conformed to the artistic ideals of his time and made a transition from neoclassicism to sentimentalism, abandoning Levitskii's nonconformist teachings.
Emperor Paul I of Russia is one of the most portrayed personalities of the Russian aristocratic society in the 18th century. His portraits are housed in important museum and private collections. Such masters of portraiture of the 18th century as Roslin, Leney, Ign. S. Klauber, Voille, G. Skorodumov, G. Valderverk, I. Rosenov, D. Levitskii, V. Borovikovskii, and S. Shchukin were commissioned to depict this famous personality.
Levitskii's works have been placed in many important museum collections, the most comprehensive of which is the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg. The late years of his life are as obscure as the beginning years. The artist died in poverty, blind and alone in 1822. The most famous of his students, Vladimir L. Borovikovskii, though influenced by his mentor conformed to the artistic ideals of his time and made a transition from neoclassicism to sentimentalism, abandoning Levitskii's nonconformist teachings.
Emperor Paul I of Russia is one of the most portrayed personalities of the Russian aristocratic society in the 18th century. His portraits are housed in important museum and private collections. Such masters of portraiture of the 18th century as Roslin, Leney, Ign. S. Klauber, Voille, G. Skorodumov, G. Valderverk, I. Rosenov, D. Levitskii, V. Borovikovskii, and S. Shchukin were commissioned to depict this famous personality.