Portrait of Peter
Serbia. 18th century
- oil on canvas. 111,5 х 81
Received in 1953 from the State Russian Museum; earlier (in 1938) – State Russian Museum; from 1880 – Winter Palace; 1821–1880 – Velika Remeta Monastery, Serbia; collection of Pavao and Natalia Paniotovic- State Hermitage, St. Petersburg
In 1821 two residents of Karlovec, Pavao and Natalia Paniotovic, brought the portrait to the Velika Remeta Monastery on the Fruška Gora mountain. The painting was first mentioned in the press in 1879: it was a local legend saying that the portrait was given to the monastery by Peter the Great himself when he stopped there on his way to Russia. At solicitation of Konstantin Pobedonostsev, Attorney General of the Synod, the painting was presented to Emperor Alexander II and bought for the Romanov Gallery of the Winter Palace. It is most likely that the portrait was painted by a Serbian artist in the 18th century.