This head of Peter the Great was created from a life mask of the Tsar that Rastrelli took in 1719. A document in the Russian State Archive of Ancient Documents indicates that the Italian sculptor produced the head in November 1721, within three days “from his own drawing and a model”, receiving 15 roubles for the cast and almost as much again for cleaning it up. The head then served as a working model for sculptural portraits of Peter the Great, including the celebrated waxwork figure of him.
Title:
Portrait of Emperor Peter the Great. Head
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Dimensions:
25,5x21x22 cm
Acquisition date:
Entered the Hermitage in 1947; handed over form the former Institute for the History of Science and Technology Museum of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Inventory Number:
ЭРСк-116
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