Field Marshal Barclay De Tolly 1829

This painting of Field Marshal Barclay De Tolly was made by George Dawe using oil paint, a traditional medium valued for its capacity to render form, texture, and color. Looking at the figure’s crisp uniform, it is clear that the painting's material reality is deeply entwined with class and labor. Creating this image would have taken an enormous amount of work. Beyond the artist's skilled brushstrokes, the vibrant colors resulted from grinding and mixing pigments, often by workshop assistants. The detailed rendering of De Tolly’s uniform and medals speaks to the labour of tailors, seamstresses, and metalworkers who created these symbols of status. The very material of the painting, therefore, is indicative of the complex social machinery that sustained aristocratic power in 19th-century Russia. By considering the making and the materials of this painting, we can move beyond a simple reading of its subject, and begin to appreciate the wider network of skills and processes involved in its production.