DAWE, George
(b. 1781, London, d. 1829, London)

Portrait of Dmitry V. Golitsyn

c. 1825
Oil on canvas, 70 x 63 cm
The Hermitage, St. Petersburg

This painting belongs to the 1812 War Gallery in the Winter Palace, St. Petersburg.

The Gallery of 1812 inside the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg was designed by Carlo Rossi (1775-1849), an architect of Italian by origin who had lived in St. Petersburg since childhood. The gallery was completed in 1826 under Nicholas I, Alexander I's brother and successor.

To create portraits for the gallery, Alexander I chose English painter George Dawe, who had been presented to the emperor at the 1818 Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen), where the leaders of the victorious coalition discussed Europe's new frontiers after Napoleon. The list of heroes to be depicted was drawn up by the General Staff and personally confirmed by the emperor. It enumerated 342 men who had held the rank of general in 18112 or been promoted to it soon after. Over the next six years Dawe painted the majority of the portraits from life.

Prince Dmitriy Vladimirovich Golitsyn (1771-1844) was a Russian cavalry General prominent during the Napoleonic Wars, statesman and military writer.




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