Museums of Russia: The opening of the permanent exhibitions “The Ceremonial Portrait” at the State Russian Museum

The Russian Museum (St. Petersburg) is preparing the “Faces of Russia” large-scaled exposition in St. Michael’s Castle that will be finally opened in October 2012. Since May 28, 2012 its first part will be presented.

This section will be devoted to the ceremonial portrait in Russian art of the 18th – early 20th century. The exposition will include 36 paintings by the Russian and foreign artists (V. Borovikovsky, G. Dowe, P. Drozhdin, L. Karavak, V. Makovsky, S. Torelli and the others), with the works by till nowadays unknown authors among them. This spacious gallery will put together mostly large-scaled ceremonial portraits of the Tsar Aleksey Mikhailovich, Tsarevna Sofia, Peter the Great, Catherine the Second, Alexander the First, Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich, Nicolai the First, Alexander the Third and other rulers of Russia and members of Emperor’s Family from Ivan the Terrible to Nicolai the Second.