
Daria Khristova nee Chernenko
Department Director
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£15,000 - £18,000
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Department Director
The figures depicted in the painting would be as follows:
The Metropolitan himself, Emperor Alexander I, the Dowager Empress Maria Fedorovna (mother of Alexander I and his siblings), the Crown Prince, Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich (Alexander I's younger brother and the future Emperor Nikolai I), the multi-figured group with the Orthodox Patriarch in front, placed above the three members of the Romanov family. This group is a symbol of the Russian nation: among the figures, one can see Peter the Great and his wife Catherine I, as well as merchants and warriors Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky.
Antonio (Anton Karlovich) Vighi (1764 France - 1844 St. Petersburg) was a graduate and later member of the Accademia di San Luca in Rome. In 1799 upon the invitation of Emperor Paul I, Vighi started working on decorations of Mikhailovsky Palace. He also worked on interior decorations for Yelagin Palace in St. Petersburg (1822), and interiors of the Foreign Office, Winter Palace (Malachite Room, Hermitage Museum); in 1824 -Ekaterininsky Palace in Tsarskoe Selo; in 1832 - St. Petersburg Imperial Theatre.