Hmm, what information might I share about these images...? Oh, yes, he's dead.
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| Portrait by Ivan Nikitich Nikitin. |
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| Portrait by Ivan Nikitich Nikitin. |
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| Portrait by Johann Gottfried Tannauer. |
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| Portrait by Louis Caravaque. (I've been unable to find any information to explain this odd composition.) |
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| Peter the Great's death mask. |
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| His tomb in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in the Peter and Paul Fortress, St. Petersburg. |
Quite a handsome man, even in death. His tomb in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in the St Petersburg fortress is fittingly grand.
ReplyDeleteHello Stephilius, first time to pipe up here, although I've been enjoying your blog for a while. I'm reading Simon Sebag Montefiore's sweeping biography "Romanovs" right now and have just read about Peter the Great's death: agonising, smelly and very public. No mention of how he was dressed for his long laying in state, though, and these portraits suggest this really is his deathbed, so it seems that at least one artist got to troop in at the end, too.
ReplyDeleteThanks for piping up, Pipistrello! Yes, kings and emperors didn't always go gracefully. I can't help but recall Louis XIV and Louis XV. Ugh. No deathbed portraits for them, but Peter had at least three artists commemorating his remains, plus whoever it was took his death mask. Must have gotten a little crowded in there...!
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