An empress, twice over - Catherine II by Vigilius Eriksen, circa 1762

This has long been one of my favorite portraits and certainly my favorite portrait of the Empress - even though I'd never seen a decent image of it. It always looked quite dirty, with big patches of very yellowed varnish. It was unfortunate - and seemed rather odd - that such an important painting would be languishing in so poor a state. But now that it's been properly cleaned and restored, Eriksen's compositional and painterly skill can finally be fully appreciated.

The artist painted the Empress on several occasions, and this is considered one of the most satisfying portraits of the oft-portrayed subject. (It's also thought to be one of the painter's most successful pieces.) Eriksen used a very successful approach to the composition, allowing him to show Catherine both full-face and in profile. Intentionally or merely fortuitously, in doing so he manages to capture the contrasting aspects of the Empress' complicated character: the profile is severe, commanding, befitting the ruler of a vast empire - an image fit for a coin - while the face turned to the viewer is that of a charming, intelligent, and very cultured woman.

For the record, this is how you paint diamonds.

The Empress was portrayed shortly after she came to the throne in 1762, and is depicted wearing the sash, star and badge of the Order of St. Andrew as well as the Small Imperial Crown. On the cushions in front of the mirror are the remainder of the imperial regalia: the Large Imperial Crown, created by the Swiss jeweler Jérémie Pauzié especially for the coronation, the sceptre and the orb. The earliest mentions of the portrait date from 1762–63. In the 19th century, the painting hung in the Romanov Gallery of the Small Hermitage among other portraits of members of the House of Romanov.

Before restoration - though it might already have had some cleaning.

From the Hermitage website:

The restoration project included the following work: strengthen of the primer and paint layer across the entire surface; removal of superficial soiling; test removals of varnish and overpaintings; thinning and smoothing of the old varnish layer across the entire surface of the painting; removal of old restoration modifications of colour; second restoration of varnish; new coating of varnish; making good losses of paint.

In the middle of restoration, with old restorations and overpaintings removed.

After restoration.