January Suchodolski created the portrait of Adam Peresvit-Soltan in 1835. He painted it in oil on canvas. The master endeavored to convey not only the external resemblance, but also some traits of the hero’s character: dignity and calm confidence. The richness of the interior and clothing emphasize Peresvit-Soltan’s high status. The artist depicted various details with great precision: the table drawers with metal handles, the geographical map, the backs of the books, the fur trim on the suit, and the skillful drawing on the scarf.
The back of the canvas
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Portrait of Adam Peresvit-Soltan
Creation period
1835
Dimensions
29.3x22.2 cm
Technique
Oil on canvas
Collection
Exhibition
11
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January Suchodolski
Portrait of Adam Peresvit-Soltan
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Adam Peresvit-Soltan was the son of a marshal and a princess. He served in the troops of the Kingdom of Poland that at those times was under the rule of the Russian Empire. Later, he left the army due to disagreements with the Russian government. In the years 1830-1831, he joined the Polish Revolt. Peresvit-Soltan gathered a small army of local peasants and nobles; his group waged a guerrilla war in the forests of Belovezhskaya Pushcha. After the Russian Empire had crushed the uprising, he immigrated to Italy and lived in Rome for some time.
January Suchodolski, the artist, was a Polish officer who also participated in the Revolt that turned to a tragedy for his family: one of the painter’s brothers was killed, the other two were captured. The artist also lost those captive brothers: one of them returned home insane, the other one fled to Paris and died there in poverty. After the Polish uprising, Suchodolski remained in the country for the sake of his family. He decided to completely devote himself to painting.
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A little later, the artist went to Rome where he spent five years from 1832 to 1837. In Italy, he spent some time painting under the direction of Horace Vernet, a famous battle painter. Suchodolski was said to have been admiring Vernet’s work even before meeting him. Both authors often painted military battle scenes from the Napoleonic War. These two artists’ legacy includes the paintings with the same name. The paintings Battle of Somosierra are dedicated to the legendary Napoleonic battle, when a Polish squadron broke the Spanish defense consisting of sixteen guns.
Battle of Somosierra. Horace Vernet
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Battle of Somosierra. January Suchodolski.
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Russian Emperor Nicholas I highly appreciated Suchodolski’s battle paintings. It is said that the monarch wanted the artist to paint the scene of suppression of the Polish Revolt, but Suchodolski refused to do it.
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The artist painted the Portrait of Peresvit-Soltan in Rome, where the fellow compatriots’ difficult paths crossed for a while.
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Yaroslavl Museum of Fine Arts
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Portrait of Adam Peresvit-Soltan
Creation period
1835
Dimensions
29.3x22.2 cm
Technique
Oil on canvas
Collection
Exhibition
11
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