4: History of the Museum. "The Cabinet of Exemplary Products" I

Tondo plaque bearing a copy of the painting Madonna and Child with St Joseph and John the Baptist

1861

Painted by Grigory Vasilyev

Imperial Glassworks

Glass, with polychrome painting

The St Petersburg Industrial Exhibition of 1861 and the World Exhibition held in London in 1862 showcased the works of Grigory Vasilyev, an artist belonging to the painting shop of the Imperial Glassworks with a superb mastery of painting on glass. The Porcelain Museum collection includes a tondo (round) plaque on which Vasilyev painted a copy of the Hermitage's Madonna and Child with St Joseph and John the Baptist. This work, executed on plate glass, was displayed at the London exhibition, where the pieces from the Russian Imperial Glassworks won an award. When the copy was made, the original painting was considered to be by Fra Bartolomeo (1472/75-1517), an artist of the Florentine school. Today it is attributed to another artist of the same school, Giuliano Bugiardini (1475-1554).