Portrait of Unknown Man in Uniform of the Toy Army (Peter I?)
1690s – early 1700s
- oil on canvas. 99 x 77 (oval in rectangle)
Received in 1918 from the Sheremetevs collection- Музей-усадьба "Кусково"
The portrait was thought to depict young Peter the Great in the uniform of the Toy Army, and was believed to be painted in the 1690s; later the date was changed to the beginning of the 18th century. At an exhibition of 1973 it was exhibited as a “portrait of an unknown man in the uniform of the Toy Army” painted by an unknown artist of the beginning of the 18th century. In the catalogue of the exhibition Russian Historical Portrait. Parsuna Epoch (2004), organized by the State Historical Museum, this assessment was confirmed and it was suggested that the person depicted is a cavalry officer of the Swedish Army. However, this assessment of the portrait does not really contradict the historical attribution with Peter the Great as the subject.