Equestrian Portrait of the Grand Duke Peter Fyodorovich
1757 (?)
- oil on canvas. 79 х 60
- Ж-11370
Пост. в 1985 от Е.Ф. Вишневского (Москва); ранее (до1979) - собр. Ф.Е.Вишневского (Москва)
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Location in museum
The St Michael’s Castle,
The Antique Gallery
Open the panorama of the hall in the virtual tour
- Period Late 17th century – the 18th century
- Portrait
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Peter Fyodorovich (1728–1762) was the son of Tsesarevna Anna Petrovna and Duke Charles Frederick of Holstein-Gottorp. He was the grandson of two irreconcilable enemies: the Russian emperor Peter I and the Swedish king Charles XII. He was raised in the spirit of Swedish patriotism, which was expressed, among other ways, in a hatred of Russia. From 1742, he was the heir to the Russian throne. From 25 December 1761 to 28 June 1762, he was Emperor Peter III. He was never crowned. In imitation of Peter I, he intended to conduct a series of reforms. His "Manifesto on the Freedom of the Nobility", the abolition of the Secret Investigative Affairs Office and the secularisation of church lands be came the foundation for the subsequent legislative activities of Catherine II. In traditional historiography, he is characterised, and not without reason, as an ignorant, weak-minded Russophobe. He was overthrown in a palace coup led by his own wife, the future Empress Catherine II.