Lot 32: Georg Christoph Grooth (1716-1749)

Portrait of the Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich with a baton
oil on canvas
50 1/2 x 39 5/8 in. (128.2 x 100.6 cm.)
Executed circa 1748

L. A. Markina, 'Works produced by G. C. Grooth without doubt', Portretist Georg Khristof Groot, Moscow, 1999, no. 33, p. 243.

Collection of V. R. Mikova-Rakovska, California.
Christie's, New York, 13 January 1987, lot 172.

This historic portrait depicts Peter Fedorovich (Karl Peter Ul'rich, 1728-1762), subsequently Emperor Peter III (1761-1762). The son of Duke Karl Friedrich von Holstein-Gottorp and Tsarina Anna Petrovna, Petr Fedorovich married princess Sofia Augusta zu Anhalt-Zerbst, the future Empress Catherine II. As a result of palace revolution he was dethroned in 1762 and killed.
Georg Christoph Grooth became a prominent portraitist at the Imperial Court during the years 1741-49. He was one of many German artists whose reputations were established in Russia during the 1740s. Known as 'Little Grooth' due to his diminutive stature, Grooth painted more than 30 portraits of members of the Imperial family, which are now in various State and private collections in Russia.
Grooth's works represent German Rococco portraiture at its best, with its accuracy of the depiction and the finely tuned use of colour. The artist soon became a favourite at the court of Empress Elisaveta Petrovna, whose coronation festivities he successfully designed.

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium, which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.