This
portrait is hypothetically attributed to Rokotov. Even though the artist
painted one of the first formal portraits of Catherine, the work was later
copied by Rokotov himself and by other painters. In this variant of Rokotov's
painting the scepter appears to be crowned with the Orlov diamond and the
Empress' gray hair indicates her advanced age. Since she died in 1796, the
updated version of the portrait was probably painted in the late 1780s.
Perhaps the symbolic inscription in the left upper corner -- "Finishes what
was begun" (nachatoe sovershaet) -- can give us an additional clue as to
the more precise date of the portrait. However, it is also possible that
the words relate to Catherine's belief that she continued and finished the
reforming of Russia started by Peter the Great; perhaps the statue under
the inscription portrays the reformer. This idea would connect Rokotov's
portrait with the famous statue of Peter the Great by Falconet, which bears
the inscription "To Peter I--Catherine II" (Petru pervomu Ekaterina vtoraia).
The comparison of these three portraits reveals some amazing similarities in details (notice the presence of the regalia, the ermine mantle, and the double-headed eagle in all three paintings). At the same time, the portraits differ in "formality," Levitskii's work being the most formal and the most "royal," reminiscent of the royal portraits of Hyacinthe Rigaud. Antropov's portrait is the most decorative and whimsical, while Rokotov's work contains an interesting inscription linking Catherine to her idol Peter the Great. [S.H. and A.B.]
© Alexander Boguslawski
Information provided by: http://www.rollins.edu