The War Gallery of 1812 by Carlo Rossi in the Winter Palace glorifies the military power of Russia.
Grigory Grigoryevich Chernetsov
Interiors of the Winter Palace. The War Gallery of 1812
Russia. 1827
Oil on canvas
The Military Gallery of 1812 was created by Carlo Rossi in 1826 in commemoration of Russian arms in the Napoleonic Wars. The Gallery is divided by doubled columns into three sections; the middle section forms the threshold to the St George Hall (the throne room), and is lit by skylights in the painted vaults. 332 portraits of the generals who were heroes of the 1812 War were hung on the walls in five rows. These portraits were created by the British artist George Dawe with the participation of Russian artists Alexander Polyakov and Wilhelm Golike. Among the works on display are formal portraits of General-Fieldmarshals Mikhail Kutuzov, Mikhail Barclay de Tolly, Grand Prince Constantine Pavlovich and Arthur, Duke of Wellington, who was promoted to the rank of General-Fieldmarshal of the Russian army after the victory over Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815. At the short ends of the Gallery hang equestrian portraits of Emperor Alexander I and his ally in the war with Napoleon, Frederick-William III of Prussia (both by Franz Kruger), and of the Austrian Emperor Francis I (Peter Krafft).
The ceremonial opening of the Gallery on 25 December 1826 coincided with the anniversary of the expulsion of Napoleon's army from Russia and the occasion was marked by a march-past of Cavalry and Infantry Regiments before portraits of their commanders during the War of 1812.
