Memorable Dates of Russia: Exhibition of graphics of the 18th-19th centuries, marking the 410th anniversary of the House of Romanov, presented in Simferopol

The exhibition, marking the 410th anniversary of the House of Romanov, has opened at the Simferopol Art Museum. The exposition features over 40 rare graphic sheets from the museum’s collections, created in the 18th-19th centuries: architectural and picturesque landscapes of St. Petersburg, portraits of emperors and prominent state figures, historical engravings.

The anniversary of the dynasty is traditionally associated with the celebration of the accession of Mikhail Fyodorovich Romanov to the Moscow throne. On July 21, 1613, he was crowned tsar in the Assumption Cathedral, – this event marked the end of the Time of Troubles. The portraits of the Russian tsars Boris Fyodorovich Godunov (1598–1605) and Vasili IV Shuisky (1606–1610), created in 1742-1745 by the German engraver Johann Stenglin (1710–1776) and his students, thematically belong to this historical period.

Major attention is paid at the exhibition to the artistic images of the first Russian emperor Peter the Great, tsarina and autocrat Elizabeth Petrovna. Portraits of their contemporaries, prominent cultural figures of the Golden Age of Catherine II form a bizarre gallery of “history in figures”. One of the most interesting exhibits is a portrait of Burkhard Christoph Münnich (1683–1767). As an associate of Peter I, the director-general of fortifications of the entire Russian Empire, a field marshal of the Russian Army, a tireless worker, he left a noticeable mark in Russian history, urban development and literature. The sheet with his portrait was engraved by Yevgrav Petrovich Chemesov (1737–1765) in 1764 according to the original by Jean Louis de Veilly.

The fate of the engraving The Torture of Christ (1867) by Fyodor Ivanovich Iordan (1800–1883) is quite interesting. Its plot refers to a painting by Professor of Historical Painting Alexei Yegorovich Yegorov (1776–1851). The engraved inscription says: “To His Imperial Majesty Alexander II, Sovereign Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias. With the deepest reverence, dedicated by F. Iordan”, – the author’s dedication indicates that the sheet was created after the assassination attempt on Alexander II in April 1866.

The exhibition serves as an illustration of the cultural and historical context of the reign of the House of Romanov for three centuries, and will be of interest to a wide range of viewers.

The exhibition will run until March 19, 2023.