General Mikhail Kutuzov is best known for his role as commanding general of the Russian armies during the Napoleonic invasion. He is heralded as a hero for defeating the French armies and forcing their retreat from Russian soil. To this day, there are many monuments to Kutuzov, and his name graces many landmarks and structures.
After a brief hiatus following defeat to the French at Austerlitz, Kutuzov again became the Russian army commander at the age of sixty-seven. He has generally been described as a corpulent, lethargic and yet shrewd and intelligent general. Whereas Napoleon generally sought major engagements, Kutuzov's strategy was to wear down the French by continuous minor engagements while retreating and preserving his own troops. Kutuzov pursued the French into Poland and Prussia, where he died of disease in January 1813. He was later buried in the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg.
Kutuzov's strategy of wearing down his enemy by planned withdrawal, forcing the opponent to lengthen his lines of supply while falling back on his own, is the beginning of a strategic style that was to be perceived by later times as quintessentially Russian. A direct descendant of this style of combat is the Soviet defense against the German invaders during WWII. This may have also influenced the Soviet government of the time to officially recognize Kutuzov's stature when it created in his honor the Order of Kutuzov, a high military decoration.
Feelings of patriotism and military pride were running high in Russia in 1945 at the end of the terrible war that plagued the land. Compositions such as this one by Dmitriy Turin became common, to inspire and enlarge national pride. This portrait of General Kutuzov is actually painted after an original by Turin from 1944, which is pictured on page 97 of Ludmila Pirogova's book
PALEKH HISTORY AND MODERN TIME. Here, Kutuzov is depicted in his full military uniform, complete with sash, epaulets, and medals. The painting is designed as a vignette, which depicts the subject's head, shoulders and chest, but then fades away at the edges in an oval shape.
Each of the corners are then decorated with ornamental foliage in gold and silver, with gold beading running the length of the edge of the lid. Gold scrollwork then decorates the sides of the box. The lid is hinged from the left side of the composition, and the box rests flat. The composition is signed, titled, and dated by Turin.
The piece has fared well against the test of time. The lid has long horizontal cracks in the lacquer, but unlike the crazing of many older boxes, the composition is not distorted. The bottom of the box is light scuffed, which is common, but the interior has many scratches and small dings. The hinge is beginning to separate from the paper-mache but careful handling will preserve this piece of Russian heritage for years to come.
Materials: paper-mache, black and red lacquer, egg-tempera paint, gold.
Additional web resources:
--http://www.gslis.utexas.edu/~cflin/Napoleon/Kutuzov.htm contains a short biography of Kutuzov.
--http://dorit.ihi.ku.dk/~peterr/persons/kutusov.html offers another viewpoint of Kutuzov's life
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About Artist Turin, Dmitriy Mikhailovich:
Dmitri Mikhailovich was born in 1899 in the village of Palekh. As a young boy he became an assistant artist at the famous Safonov studio (1900-1906). Later he joined the Artel of Ancient Painting in 1930.
Turin enjoyed painting scenes of folklore, hunting, and contemporary subjects. Here are some of the titles of his works:
"Airplane", "Count Nulin", "Uncle Pakhomov", "Eugine Onegin", "An argument", "Squirrel hunting", "Princess Frog".
This artist participated in various exhibitions around the USSR.
Works by this artist are held in SMPA, ARMDAA, IRAM and All-Union Pushkin Museums and in several private collections abroad.
References:
Pirogova L., 1994. PALEKH HISTORY AND MODERN
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read about Turin, Dmitriy Mikhailovich
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Item Specifications:
- Title: "Portrait of Kutuzov 1945"
- Price: $1500.00
- Status: SOLD
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