At the beginning of the 18th century, from his trip abroad Peter the Great brought a small-format album with drawings by the Dutch marine painter Adriaen van Salm.
Based on it, in 1718, the St. Petersburg Printing House released an album titled “To the Most Illustrious and Most Powerful Sovereign, Peter the First, Emperor of All of Russia. From the Handwritten art depicted here, the wise Admiralty”. This edition is better known as “Pictures of Ships” or “Admiralty”.
The album opens with a portrait of Peter the Great in an oval medallion by Alexey Zubov. Next to the sovereign, the artist placed the goddess of Glory blowing a horn — a frequent companion of Peter in representative portraits. The lower part of the sheet is reserved for dedications — a commendable word to the autocrat and the Russian flotilla, indicating its importance in the prosperity and well-being of the Russian state.
The next ten numbered sheets contain engravings of warships made by Pieter Pickaert and Alexey Rostovtsev. There are both Russian models and ones from van Salm’s album.
The narratives were selected not just on artistic merit alone but with the state ideology in mind. Heroic pathos prevailed in the art of the Peter the Great era — even peaceful scenes were not treated as pictures of everyday life. The purpose of the publication was to commemorate the first Russian ships that distinguished themselves in battle, and the triumph of Russian troops. All this was important for Peter’s foreign and domestic policy.
The “Pictures” also included images of ships from Peter’s fleet. Pickaert engraved “Poltava” himself and “Predestination” together with Rostovtsev. The latter was based on the original engraving by Adriaan Schoonebeek: a view of the ship from the stern and another one from the side — both on the same sheet.
The very name of the album — “Admiralty” — indicates the monumental significance of the collection. Ships are not only thought of as existing objects but are identified with home, Homeland, and the fortress guarding the peace of the empire.
