A Russian Porcelain Cabinet Plate Painted En Grisaille After "Blessing a Militiaman in 1812". Likely Imperial Po...

Description

A Russian Porcelain Cabinet Plate Painted En Grisaille After "Blessing a Militiaman in 1812"
Likely Imperial Porcelain Factory, St. Petersburg, Period of Alexander I (1801-1825)
9-1/8 inches (23.2 cm)

PROVENANCE:
A La Vieille Russie, New York.


The offered lot shows, in exquisitely painted Grisaille, a version of a lubok print scene known as "Seeing off a Militiaman" (ПРОВОДЫ ОПОЛЧЕНЦА) a well-known early 19th century engraving by A. Ukhtomsky. The print itself, however was after the influential 1810 painting by I. Luchaninov called "Blessing a Militiaman in 1812".

On April 3, 1812, students of the portrait painting class at the Imperial Academy of Arts were assigned the theme of "a recruit saying farewell to his family." However, once the Napoleonic "Patriotic" War broke out later that year, the subject was reinterpreted as "the blessing of the militiaman." What had originally been a routine genre motif of peacetime was thus transformed into a patriotic image, calling on the nation to defend itself against the enemy. For this work, Luchaninov was awarded a gold medal and elevated to the rank of academician. (cf. КАРТИНЫ ВОЕННОЙ ЖИЗНИ В ОТЕЧЕСТВЕННОМ ИСКУССТВЕ XVI-XX ВЕКОВ. СПБ, 2022. С. 54.).

The painting secured Luchaninov a remarkable degree of recognition. Owing to the strong historical resonance of its theme, he produced several versions of the composition, which were also widely disseminated through engravings and copies. A tapestry replicating the original was created at the St. Petersburg Tapestry Manufactory, and in the first half of the nineteenth century the subject reappeared in lithographs as well as on porcelain. (Grigory Goldovsky and Yuri Epatko, «НЕДАРОМ ПОМНИТ ВСЯ РОССИЯ...» // 1812 ГОД В ПРОИЗВЕДЕНИЯХ ИСКУССТВА ИЗ СОБРАНИЯ РУССКОГО МУЗЕЯ. СПБ, 2012. С. 5.).


Estimate: $15,000 - $20,000.

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