The portrait depicts Ivan Bazhenin. He is a descendant of the Bazhenin merchants, who funded the creation of the first private shipyard in Russia at the beginning of the 18th century in the village of Vavchuga near Kholmogory. Peter I, with his highest will, granted Osip and Fyodor Bazhenin the privilege of “building ships and yachts by foreign and Russian craftsmen freely, without any restriction and interference from the governor”. And already in 1702, they launched their first “European-style” ships. The ceremony was attended by Peter I himself. The ships built here were bought by the British and the Dutch.
Fyodor and Osip Bazhenin can be considered not only the first builders of merchant ships in Russia but also the founders of regular trade relations between the Russian North and the foreign one. Emperor Peter I visited the merchants three times. After Peter’s visits, the Bazhenin family received an exemption from trade duties on the import and export of materials for shipbuilding, as well as the right to hire foreign specialists and use forest lands.
Ivan, the grandson of Osip Bazhenin, received an education in Holland, continued the family dynasty and became one of the most influential merchants of Arkhangelsk.
The portrait was painted in 1784. Researchers note that the painting is rather restrained, however, the colors are well balanced. The merchants of the second half of the 18th century were not yet interested in art, so it is quite unusual that Bazhenin commissioned a portrait of himself. Most likely, he brought this idea from his trips to European countries. In the picture, the merchant is dressed in a fashionable suit with a lace starched collar.
On the back of the canvas, there is an inscription “Pisal saldat Fedor Bezborodoff” (Painted by soldier Fyodor Bezborodov). It is not known where the soldier Fyodor Bezborodov learned the skills of painting, but it is obvious that he was guided by the laws of icon painting and parsuna — the earliest portrait genre in Russian art. Even during the reign of Peter I, fugitive soldiers came to the Bazhenin shipyards to learn shipbuilding and build ships. A whole soldiers’ settlement was gradually formed near Vavchuga. Fyodor Bezborodov was probably one of its inhabitants.
Fyodor and Osip Bazhenin can be considered not only the first builders of merchant ships in Russia but also the founders of regular trade relations between the Russian North and the foreign one. Emperor Peter I visited the merchants three times. After Peter’s visits, the Bazhenin family received an exemption from trade duties on the import and export of materials for shipbuilding, as well as the right to hire foreign specialists and use forest lands.
Ivan, the grandson of Osip Bazhenin, received an education in Holland, continued the family dynasty and became one of the most influential merchants of Arkhangelsk.
The portrait was painted in 1784. Researchers note that the painting is rather restrained, however, the colors are well balanced. The merchants of the second half of the 18th century were not yet interested in art, so it is quite unusual that Bazhenin commissioned a portrait of himself. Most likely, he brought this idea from his trips to European countries. In the picture, the merchant is dressed in a fashionable suit with a lace starched collar.
On the back of the canvas, there is an inscription “Pisal saldat Fedor Bezborodoff” (Painted by soldier Fyodor Bezborodov). It is not known where the soldier Fyodor Bezborodov learned the skills of painting, but it is obvious that he was guided by the laws of icon painting and parsuna — the earliest portrait genre in Russian art. Even during the reign of Peter I, fugitive soldiers came to the Bazhenin shipyards to learn shipbuilding and build ships. A whole soldiers’ settlement was gradually formed near Vavchuga. Fyodor Bezborodov was probably one of its inhabitants.
