DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.45642#0106
102
Надежда Усова
Nadezhda Usova
Henryk Siemiradzki. Alexander of Macedon Trust's the Doctor Philip
(1870) from the Collection of the National Art Museum of the Re-
public of Belarus: the way to triumph. The history of its origin
The article tells the story of the first independent painting of Henryk Siemiradzki - a competitive aca-
demic painting dating back to 1870, for which he received a gold medal and a scholarship to Italy for
a period of 5 years. The article covers the history of the painting: the choice of the theme, the Russian art
tradition of portraying Alexander of Macedon, the posing models, the plot and the compositional pecu-
liarities of the painting. A comparison of this picture with a similar work by rival Mitrofan Vereshchagin
shows the unconditional superiority of Henryk Siemiradzki.
The article also highlights the history of the painting, which belonged to four museums in the course of
the last century: the Museum of the Academy of Arts, the State Russian Museum, the State Tretyakov Gal-
lery, the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus. The picture was transferred to the Belarusian
museum in 1957 as an inter-museum exchange for a competitive academic painting by Vasily Surikov. The
presence of the only painting by Siemiradzki in the collection of the Belarusian museum was stimulated
by the study of the biography of the artist and the lineage of his ancestors, who belonged to the minor
gentry of Mińsk and Novogrudok.
The victory in the academic competition in 1870 gave a lift to the young artist s further career - opened
his way to Italy, where he spent his most fruitful Creative years, his favourite ancient subject-matter was
determined and where he received recognition.
Надежда Усова
Nadezhda Usova
Henryk Siemiradzki. Alexander of Macedon Trust's the Doctor Philip
(1870) from the Collection of the National Art Museum of the Re-
public of Belarus: the way to triumph. The history of its origin
The article tells the story of the first independent painting of Henryk Siemiradzki - a competitive aca-
demic painting dating back to 1870, for which he received a gold medal and a scholarship to Italy for
a period of 5 years. The article covers the history of the painting: the choice of the theme, the Russian art
tradition of portraying Alexander of Macedon, the posing models, the plot and the compositional pecu-
liarities of the painting. A comparison of this picture with a similar work by rival Mitrofan Vereshchagin
shows the unconditional superiority of Henryk Siemiradzki.
The article also highlights the history of the painting, which belonged to four museums in the course of
the last century: the Museum of the Academy of Arts, the State Russian Museum, the State Tretyakov Gal-
lery, the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus. The picture was transferred to the Belarusian
museum in 1957 as an inter-museum exchange for a competitive academic painting by Vasily Surikov. The
presence of the only painting by Siemiradzki in the collection of the Belarusian museum was stimulated
by the study of the biography of the artist and the lineage of his ancestors, who belonged to the minor
gentry of Mińsk and Novogrudok.
The victory in the academic competition in 1870 gave a lift to the young artist s further career - opened
his way to Italy, where he spent his most fruitful Creative years, his favourite ancient subject-matter was
determined and where he received recognition.