Artwork

Portrait of Field Marshal Prince Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov

Portrait of Field Marshal Prince Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov is an oil painting by the Neoclassicist artist Pyotr Basin. It dates from 1834 and is held in the collection of the Hermitage Museum.

About this work

Overview

In 1834, Russian artist Pyotr Basin painted an oil portrait of Field Marshal Prince Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov. Executed in a Neoclassical style, the work now belongs to the collection of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.

Subject & Meaning

The composition shows Kutuzov standing in a wintry setting, dressed in a dark green military coat trimmed with gold, a blue sash, white trousers and black boots. He holds a telescope in his left hand, rests his right hand on a sword hilt, and looks outward, suggesting a moment of strategic contemplation amid a snowy battlefield.

Technique & Style

Basin employed the precise brushwork and restrained palette typical of early‑19th‑century Neoclassicism. The rendering of the uniform’s texture, the crisp snow, and the distant evergreen trees demonstrates his skill in balancing detailed realism with a calm, idealized atmosphere.

History & Provenance

Trained at the Imperial Academy of Arts, where he later taught, Basin was known for religious, historical, and portrait commissions. After its completion, the portrait entered the Hermitage’s holdings, where it has remained as part of the museum’s Russian art collection.

Artist & collection

Artist

Pyotr Basin

Pyotr Vasilievich Basin (Russian: Пётр Васи́льевич Ба́син; 1793, Saint Petersburg – 1877, Saint Petersburg) was a Russian religious, history and portrait painter during the Romantic period.