Portrait of Empress Catherine I
1727
- Enamel, gold. 3.7 x 3 (oval)
- Ж-268
Received in 1930 from the State Hermitage- Provenance: Jewelry Gallery of the Hermitage
- Period 18th century
- CategoryPortrait
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Catherine Alexeyevna (née Marta Skowrońska) (April 15, 1684 – May 6, 1727). Second spouse of Peter the Great (became his wife on February 19, 1712). On May 7, 1724 Peter crowned her as empress-consort and made her his co-ruler. On January, 1725 she became Empress of Russia.
Traditionally the painting is thought to be based on the original portrait created by Johann Gottfried Tannauer; the same type was also used by Ivan Adolsky. A similar portrait signed and dated 1725 was inserted into a clock that was made in England in the 1720s and is now part of the Hillwood Collection, USA. An identical portrait of Catherine also signed and dated 1727 is now exhibited in the State Hermitage. Catherine is depicted with a ribbon and a star of the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called, wearing an ermine mantle, and with a small crown on her head. Her hair is plated with strings of large pearls.