“View of the Palace Embankment from the Peter and Paul Fortress”, Alekseev – description of the painting

Description of the picture:

View of the Palace Embankment from the Peter and Paul Fortress – Fedor Yakovlevich Alekseev. Canvas, oil. 70×108

The largest representative of landscape painting at the beginning of the 19th century F. Ya. Alekseev was called the “Russian Canaletto” in honor of the Italian artist, a master of urban landscape of the 17th century.

“View of the Palace Embankment from the Peter and Paul Fortress” – one of the most recognizable works of the painter. The panorama of the Palace Embankment of St. Petersburg is majestic and monumental. Structures rise above the Neva chained in granite, reflected in the mirror surface of the water, above the boat gliding along the river – the highest sky.

In the frontal plan on the left is the wall of the Peter and Paul Fortress, in the far plan on the right, on the banks of the Neva, there is the Marble Palace with a service building. To his left is the house of the princes Baryatinsky and the palace of Rear Admiral X. de Ribas, then the Summer Garden, known for its own wrought-iron fence.

For the work “View of the Palace Embankment from the Peter and Paul Fortress” Alekseev received the title of academician."