The Russian School of Painting
Archives of the Foreign Office—have come down to us; the work of the second is represented only by a single portrait of doubtful authenticity. The portrait of Kozlov stands comparison with the best works of Levitzky and justifies the kind of fame which the artist enjoyed among his contemporaries. The portrait of the "animal painter" Grot, by Komezhenkov, is weaker in tone and less perfect in painting, yet it is a work of decidedly European merits. The work of other renowned artists of the times, such as Golovachevsky (1734–1823) and Sablukov (1735–1778) is represented only by copies.
Let us mention here also the portrait of the young Prince Shcherbatov in a hunter's dress, by P. I. Sokolov, who died prematurely (he is better known as an historical painter), an admirable pastel portrait of Count Rumyantzev, executed by Sazonov in the style of the eighteenth century; finally, an energetic oil self-portrait of the engraver Chemesov (property of Mme. Myatlev), and two excellent miniatures by Cherepanov (1765). These are the scattered particles and crumbs, left of the most brilliant period of Russian portrait painting, which developed owing to the influx of first-rate foreign masters, but was not duly appreciated by a society indifferent to art.
The luckiest of these masters was another serf-artist,
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