Lot 329: Aleksandr Poliakov (1801-1835)

Aleksandr Poliakov (1801-1835)
Portrait of Emperor Nicholas I
signed in Cyrillic and dated 'A. Poliakov. 1829' (lower left)
oil on canvas
35¼ x 27¼ in. (89.5 x 69.2 cm.)

Acquired from Blanca Orlandis Habsburgh, Arch-Duchess of Austria and Lorraine.
By descent to the present owner.

THE PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN
VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 17.5% on the buyer's premium
The present portrait is painted after that executed by George Dawe in the early 1820s (see Rovinskii, Dictionary of Russian engraved portraits, St Petersburg 1887, vol. 2, p. 1360, no. 39). Aleksandr Poliakov, along with Vasilii (Wilhelm) Golicke, worked alongside Dawe in his studio.

The Emperor Nicholas I is wearing the red dress of the Chevaliers-Gardes regiment. This particular uniform was worn between 1815 and 1829.

We are grateful to Gerard Gorokhoff for his assistance in cataloguing the present work.