The Historical Museum begins the process of restoring two of the most valuable portraits of Peter the Great

The collection of the Historical Museum contains a rare collection of historical paintings. The pride of the museum's collection is the collection of paintings from the 18th century. Unfortunately, many canvases are in poor condition, requiring a thorough restoration. A number of paintings have been in a state of temporary conservation for more than 50 years and are not used in the museum's exposition and educational work.

In December 2024, specialists from the Historical Museum and the Federal State Budgetary Research University GOSNIIR conducted an examination of two of the most valuable paintings:

Egidius Karel Gustav Wappers. "Peter I in Saardam", Western Europe, Belgium, Antwerp, 1843. Oil on canvas, size 152.5x199cm., GIM 68816 And I 2700 GC 5010005

1. Unknown artist. "Portrait of Peter I", The first quarter of the XVIII century, oil on canvas, size 225x168 cm. GIM 55411 II 2704 GK 5012216.

The painting "Peter the Great in Saardam" shows one of the main episodes of Peter the Great's early history – working in shipyards in Holland to teach ship building during the Great Embassy of 1697-1698. The author of the painting, Egidius Karel Gustav Wappers, is a famous European painter of the mid-19th century, one of the founders of the Belgian School of painting. This painting became widely known back in the 19th century, thanks to the lithographs made from it. The painting entered the museum in 1927, having serious preservation problems (canvas tears, etc.), only conservation measures were carried out in the museum. Therefore, the painting has not been exhibited for more than a century.

The portrait of Emperor Peter I by an unknown artist entered the collection of the Historical Museum in 1924. The canvas is torn in ten places, there are seven patches on the back of the portrait, three vertical seams; the portrait is in small cracks.

"Thanks to the support of the Transsoyuz Charitable Foundation, which has been helping the Historical Museum for more than 10 years to carry out large-scale restoration of particularly valuable monuments of the collection, two of the most valuable works of historical painting will find a new life and will be included in the museum's exposition and publishing activities. After the restoration, which will take about a year and a half, the paintings will be placed in the permanent exhibition of the Historical Museum," says Alexey Levykin, General Director of the State Historical Museum.

The portraits are being restored as part of the Historical Museum's long-term "Restoring the Lost" program, during which, thanks to the support of patrons and sponsors, there is a chance to save museum masterpieces that require expensive restoration. In recent years, this program has included the restoration of a number of ancient Russian paintings located in the Pokrovsky Cathedral, valuable items from the sacristy of the Novodevichy Monastery, a portrait of Emperor Nicholas I by George Doe, a collection of Russian headdresses, wooden wedding crowns from the collection of the Historical Museum.