Lot 34: Julian Boncza Tomaszewski (Polish, 1834-1920) Peter the Great visiting Cardinal Richelieu's tomb in the Sorbonne, 1717 33 1/2 x 52 1/2in (85 x 133.5cm)

Julian Boncza Tomaszewski (Polish, 1834-1920)
Peter the Great visiting Cardinal Richelieu's tomb in the Sorbonne, 1717
signed 'J. BONCZA./ J. Tomaszewski' (in Latin and Cyrillic, lower right); inscribed in French and German with title and artist's name on old exhibition labels (on the stretcher)
oil on canvas
33 1/2 x 52 1/2in (85 x 133.5cm)
Footnotes

Born in St. Petersburg in 1834, Julian Boncza Tomaszewski (Бонча-Томашевский Юлий Осипович) trained at the St. Petersburg Academy of Art with Feodor Antonov Bruni and was first mentioned in 1856 for medals received for paintings based on the New Testament. In 1860 he left for Italy to complete his training and from 1861 until 1877 he lived in Paris, participating at the yearly Salons.

Boncza Tomaszewski considered himself Polish and adopted early on a Latin signature. Nevertheless, he was patronized by the Russian Imperial family, and his painting 'The Three Rulers of Russia' was acquired by the Emperor Alexander III and was part of the Imperial collection in the Winter Palace.

The present work depicts a historical scene of 3 June 1717, when the Russian Emperor Peter I, later known as Peter the Great, visited the Sorbonne as part of his extended European voyage. Legend has it that upon seeing the monument to Richelieu, whom the Emperor greatly admired, Peter embraced the statue and lamented that he would give half of his empire to the Cardinal, to instruct him on how to rule the remaining half.
The painting has been mentioned as having been exhibited in St. Petersburg but no concrete information is available.