$5,000
circa 1840-1841 watercolor on paper 29 x 21 cm (11 1/4 x 8 1/4 in. ) signed in Cyrillic LOT NOTES The sitter of this painting was identified as Count Adlerberg by the Moscow Expert on Russian Military Portreaits, Mr. Sergei Podstanitski. The author of the work Aleksei A. Pokrovski was a province secretary and well listed watercolor portrait artist who studied at the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts as of 1831. There are well known portraits painted by him of V.F. Odoevski, G.P. Goitzin, N.I. Pavlischev, etc. The circa date of 1840-41 assumes that Pokrovski painted this portrait on his return from Vologda, where he lived from 1838-140, and before Count Adlerberg moved to the Caucuses to take part in the Caucasian War. In this portrait, Count Adlerberg bears the Cross of Hessen-Darmstadt St. Ludwig-Order on the neck and on the breast the St. Anna-Order of 3rd degree and a foreign order. These orders have helped to identify the sitter as during the reign of Nikolai I, there was only one aide-de-camp with a similar set of awards.
Auctioneer:
Shapiro Auctions
Date:
2015-02-28
