File:Family of Paul I of Russia.jpg

Summary

Gerard von Kugelgen. Portrait of Paul I with his family. 1800. Pavlovsk State Museum-Reserve. Canvas, oil. 146 x 215. At the bottom left is the caption and the date: "Gerard Kugelgen 1800." C-3589-III.

The Imperial family is depicted against the backdrop of Pavlov Park. To the right in the background you can see the facade of the PavlovIan Palace, facing the Slavyanka River.

The picture from left to right depicts: led. Kn. Alexander Pavlovic, wearing the uniform of the Semyonov Regiment's Leib-Guard, who was on a pedestal with a bust of Peter I, was led next to him. Kn. Konstantin Pavlovic in the uniform of the Leib Guard of the Equestrian Regiment; further leaned against the knees of Empress Maria Fedorovna's mother, a little man led. Kn. Nikolai Pavlovic. Behind the figure of the sitting Empress stands led. Kn. Ekaterina Pavlovna, and in the center of the composition, behind the harp is depicted led. Kn. Maria Pavlovna. Behind it in the shade of trees is a column with a bust of the deceased in infancy led. Kn. Olga Pavlovna. Then, leaning on the knees of Emperor Paul I (in the uniform of the Preobrazhensky Regiment), stands the youngest daughter - led. Kn. Anna Pavlovna. At the foot of the chair on the ground sits a child - led. Kn. Mikhail Pavlovic. At the right edge of the picture are led. Kn. Alexandra and Elena Pavlovna.

Kugelgen worked on the portrait in 1799-1800. The Drawings Department of the State Hermitage Museum holds a preparatory drawing with a pen (inv. No. 40419) with a divergence in details. Closer to the final version the figure was exhibited in 1911 in Riga (the real location is unknown). The portrait was intended for the emperor's private rooms in the Pavlovian Palace.

Anachronism in the depiction of Alexander and Constantine's uniforms draws attention to itself. Their fractal cut with a very high standing, open front collar was introduced by Alexander I only in 1801. The innovation in the cut is easy to detect when comparing the shape of the eldest sons with the costume of Paul I. This circumstance indicates that the "Family Portrait" was partially rewritten by the artist after the death of Paul I. In the handwritten catalogue of paintings of the Pavlovian Palace, compiled in 1925 by V. Dzubov, there is an indication that this inconsistency drew the attention of emperor Alexander II. and the original forms of Alexander and Constantine looked different.

Copyright status:

public domain

Source:

http://fotki.yandex.ru/users/varjag-2007/view/162726/?page=1