The portrait of Ivan Osterman was created by famous painter of the epoch of Catherine the Great, Fyodor Rokotov. He was the favorite artist of many representatives of the noble class, and today his works are kept in the Tretyakov Gallery, the State Hermitage Museum, and the Russian Museum.

Fyodor Rokotov was born in Moscow. When he was still a young artist, his works were noticed by philanthropist Ivan Shuvalov. He came from the capital on purpose in search of new talents, and returned to St. Petersburg not alone, but with Fyodor Rokotov.

In the capital, the future artist had to finish the First Cadet Corps. He combined military service with art. Rokotov became a student of European masters: French engraver Louis Le Lorrain and Italian artist Pietro Rotari. Soon he began working at the Academy of Arts that Shuvalov had established, and later became its academician. In the early 1760s, Fyodor Rokotov painted portraits of famous figures of the epoch: Count Ivan Orlov, Count Alexei Bobrinsky, Prince Grigory Orlov, Admiral Ivan-Golenishchev-Kutuzov and many others.

In 1763, the artist was invited to Moscow. There he created a coronation portrait of Catherine II, as well as many ceremonial and family portraits of famous families. The double portrait of Ivan Osterman and his sister Anna, kept in the collection of the Tambov Picture Gallery, was also created during that period.

Ivan Osterman was born to the family of Count Andrey Osterman and his wife Marfa Streshneva. At the age of 16, he became a captain of the Preobrazhensky Regiment of the Imperial Guard. When he was 32, his diplomatic career began: Osterman was a chevalier of the embassy in Paris, an emergency envoy and an authorized minister at the Stockholm royal court. His last post at the state service before he retired was that of State Chancellor. There are memories of contemporaries, according to which Count Ivan Osterman, for the rest of his days, ‘had the appearance of an extremely important person and wore Catherine-style uniform and clothes until his death’.

Here, Ivan Osterman is depicted at the age of no more than 30 years. Rokotov painted the Count at the start of his diplomatic career, so there are no awards on his camisole yet. But later, in different years, Osterman became holder of all Russian civil orders, including the most significant state awards: the Orders of St. Andrew the First-Called, St. Vladimir, St. Alexander Nevsky and St. Anna.