Osip Frantsevich Dolon, Russian Major General 

George Dawe painted this portrait of Osip Frantsevich Dolon, a Russian Major General, sometime in the early 19th century. Dawe was commissioned to paint portraits of the Russian generals who participated in the Napoleonic Wars. Dolon’s gaze, though forward, has a distant quality. He is pictured in his military uniform, adorned with medals, which speak to his valor and service to the Russian Empire. But what do these symbols of honor truly represent? Whose stories are left untold in these grand depictions of military might? Dawe's portraits are a testament to an era of empire and its cost. While these portraits immortalize military figures, they also reflect the complex relationships between identity, power, and representation in a time of significant political and social upheaval. They capture a moment in history and ask us to consider whose stories are remembered and how.