PORTRAIT OF STEPAN BORISOVICH KURAKIN

Creator(s): Unknown (Painter)

Currently in storage

About this object

Prince Stepan Kurakin (1754-1805), wearing the Order of St. Ann (founded in 1797), was an army major general during the reign of Catherine II, a courtier, a philanthropist, and a son of one of the oldest noble families in Russia. This painting was discovered in a brochure advertising a small auction house in North Carolina. Its subject was originally identified as a nineteenth-century gentleman, possibly even George III of England. A Hillwood curator theorized that the sitter was Stepan Kurakin based on the order and the uniform that he wears. An identical portrait at a museum in Tver, Russia confirmed the sitter's identity.

The painting is a bust-length portrait of Stepan Borisovich Kurakin (1754-1805) facing to the right. He wears a navy blue uniform with a high red collar, heavily embroidered with gold, and gold embroidery line the lapels of his coat. He wears the red ribbon of the Order of St. Anne over his proper left shoulder and the Star of the Order of St. Anne on his coat. His powdered hair is arranged in the style of the 1790s, gathered with a ribbon at the back of the neck and curled over the ears.

Object name:

PORTRAIT OF STEPAN BORISOVICH KURAKIN

Made from:

Oil on canvas

Made in:

Russia

Date made:

after 1797

Size:

Framed: 33 1/4 × 28 3/4 in. (84.5 × 73 cm) Unframed: 26 3/8 × 21 7/8 in. (67 × 55.6 cm)

Detailed information for this item

Catalog number:

51.240

Signature marks:

Credit line:

Museum Purchase, 2004