Portrait of Emperor Alexander I

Executed in oil, Dawe employs the Romantic sensibility prevalent in British portraiture, using soft chiaroscuro to model the figure and a delicate handling of the sky to create atmospheric depth. The crisp rendering of the uniform’s red and white accents against the dark fabric demonstrates meticulous brushwork, while the subtle gradations of light convey a sense of immediacy and presence.

An English artist who settled in Saint Petersburg in 1819, Dawe quickly attracted the patronage of Russian elites and literary figures such as Pushkin. The portrait entered the State Hermitage Museum’s collection, where it remains a representative example of Dawe’s extensive series of Russian military portraits produced during his decades of activity in the imperial capital.