Portrait of Maxim F. Stavitsky (1778-1841)

Dawe employs a realistic, tightly rendered approach typical of early‑19th‑century Russian portraiture.

Dawe employs a realistic, tightly rendered approach typical of early‑19th‑century Russian portraiture. The oil medium allows subtle modeling of flesh tones and the reflective sheen of metal decorations. A limited color scheme—dark browns, blacks, and reds—focuses attention on the subject’s face and medals, while the smooth brushwork conveys both texture of fabric and the sitter’s dignified bearing.

After completing the work in Saint Petersburg, Dawe, an English artist who settled in Russia in 1819, added the portrait to a series of military commissions that secured his reputation among the Russian elite. The painting entered the State Hermitage Museum’s collection, where it remains part of the institution’s holdings of early nineteenth‑century portraiture.