Portrait of General Admiral Fyodor Apraksin
Mid-1710s (?)
- oil on canvas. 196 х 92
Received in 1852 from the Imperial Hermitage- ГМЗ "Гатчина"
Fyodor Matveyevich Apraksin (1661–1728) General-Admiral of the Russian Navy, associate of Peter the Great. Became a stolnik (cupbearer) of Peter the Great in 1682; in 1693 became military governor of the Dvinsk district and governor of Arkhangelsk. In 1707 he became Admiral commanding fleets. Apraksin took part in the Northern War; for his victories he was awarded title of Actual Privy Councillor and Count. In 1718 he became Head of the Admiralty. Member of the Committee of Inquiry investigating the case of Tsarevich Alexis. He was in favour with Catherine I; when Peter II came to power Apraksin left for Moscow.
In the 19th century, the portrait was kept in the Chinese Gallery of the Gatchina Palace and the Portrait Gallery of the Arsenal Halls, and from 1920 to 1941 it was in the Elizabeth Room on the third floor of the Central building.