OTTO GOTTLIEB SCHWARZ | Manoeuvres near Pavlovskoe, 3 August 1846

Collection of Tsar Nicholas I, Krasnoe Selo
Acquired in Russia before 1917
A gift to the grandmother of the present owner

Structural Condition The canvas is lined and is securely attached to a keyed wooden stretcher. This is providing a stable structural support. Paint surface The paint surface has an even varnish layer. The paint surface displays an overall pattern of craquelure within the foreground and some further small localised areas within the sky. This is entirely stable and is attributable to the natural drying processes of the artist's materials. There are slightly raised lines within the paint layers running vertically through the centre of the composition. These are also stable. Inspection under ultraviolet light shows vestiges of discoloured varnish within the foreground. Inspection under ultraviolet light also shows scattered retouchings, including: 1) an area of retouching in the extreme upper right corner of the composition, 2) small scattered retouchings within the foreground including running intermittently along the lower edge, 3) fine lines of retouching within the foreground corresponding to the craquelure pattern, and 4) other very small scattered spots within the centre of the sky and on the left part of the upper edge. Summary The painting would therefore appear to be in good and stable condition.
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A Prussian artist who specialized in battle scenes and portraiture, Schwarz studied at the Royal Academy of Arts in Berlin and later under Franz Krüger. In 1843 he was invited to Russia as an Imperial court painter and produced works depicting Nicholas I on manoeuvres. He stayed in Russia after Nicholas’ death and received a commission to paint a series of nine works on the subject of the coronation of Alexander II in 1856. Schwarz remained in St Petersburg until the end of his life. His paintings can be found in the palace collections at Pavlovsk, Gatchina and Tsarskoe Selo and in the State Russian Museum. The original canvas is numbered 559 on the reverse which corresponds to the Imperial label on the frame. The canvas has since been lined.