.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
拍品专文
This monumental canvas by James Northcote depicts a widely reported and romanticised episode from the life of Emperor Alexander I of Russia, some fourteen years prior to the execution of the painting. In 1806, during his travels through Poland amid the turbulence of the Napoleonic Wars, the Emperor is said to have performed a remarkable act of courage and compassion; while crossing a bridge near the town of Pułtusk, he witnessed a lifeless man being pulled out of the icy river below. Without hesitation, he dismounted and attended to resuscitating the drowned man. It seemed that all hope was lost, even with the ministrations of the Alexander's personal physician Dr. James Wylie, but the Emperor persisted for more than three hours, after which the man was suddenly revived. Having bled the man during their resuscitation efforts, Alexander tore his own handkerchief to bind the man's arm, and ensured he was conveyed to a place of safety.
For his actions, Alexander was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Humane Society, an organisation set up with the aim of reducing mortality from drowning and other forms of sudden death. The event was further memorialised in the form of four snuff boxes, commissioned from a local craftsman and each decorated with a depiction of the scene, which were presented to the four people involved: the Emperor himself, Dr. Wylie and two Russian noblemen from his retinue. The story itself endured as an emblem of the 'benevolent monarch' image the Emperor sought to embody in the early years of his reign, portraying him as a ruler of strong moral fortitude and humanitarian compassion, but goes further even, into the realm of miracle-making.
For his actions, Alexander was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Humane Society, an organisation set up with the aim of reducing mortality from drowning and other forms of sudden death. The event was further memorialised in the form of four snuff boxes, commissioned from a local craftsman and each decorated with a depiction of the scene, which were presented to the four people involved: the Emperor himself, Dr. Wylie and two Russian noblemen from his retinue. The story itself endured as an emblem of the 'benevolent monarch' image the Emperor sought to embody in the early years of his reign, portraying him as a ruler of strong moral fortitude and humanitarian compassion, but goes further even, into the realm of miracle-making.