Empress Catherine II served as an example of a wise enlightened monarch. That is how she is portrayed in the painting by DmItry LevItsky — one of the best artists of his time, a master of grand and intimate portraits. He painted the most prominent states officials of the Russian Empire.

‘Portrait of Catherine II as Legislator in the Temple of the Goddess of Justice’ is a brilliant example of an 18th-century grand portrait. The most conspicuous features of the painting are the Empress’s expressive pose and gesture. Levitsky managed to add an element of spontaneity and authenticity, which were inherent to the Empress herself, to the strict classical genre.

Though the painting looks monumental, Catherine II is depicted on quite a conventional background with drapery and a column. The majestic figure of the empress is in the middle of the artwork, surrounded by numerous regalia. The artist always cared about the personality of the person portrayed, which allowed him to significantly influence the language of the official grand portrait.

Grand Chancellor Alexander Bezborodko, a statesman, a big connoisseur of art, collector, and art patron commissioned the portrait from Levitsky for his mansion in Saint Petersburg. Archive documents contain no information on whether the empress had posed for the artist or not. It is likely that Levitsky used a canonical portrait of the empress created by Fyodor Rokotov in the late 1770s for his artwork.

Portrait by Levitsky gained popularity as well. Viewers were struck by the portrait’s depth and picturesqueness. Poet Ippolit Bogdanovich left an exalted review saying that the artist managed to give praise to ‘the beauty of the immortal and the triumph of the mortal’. Such success prompted Levitsky to recreate his artwork multiple times. One of the recreations is a part of the Novosibirsk State Art Museum collection.