Portret van Nikolai Grigorjewitsch Repnin-Wolkonski 1813 - 1825

This is a print of Nikolai Grigoryevich Repnin-Volkonsky, made by Friedrich Wilhelm Bollinger, active in Berlin in the early 19th century. The image presents us with the portrait of a man laden with signifiers of power and status. Note the crisp uniform adorned with epaulettes, medals, and crosses. Below the image is an inscription in German which declares the sitter to be ‘His Majesty the Tsar's General Major, Governor of Berlin and Knight of several Orders.’ This portrait was made at a time when Berlin was occupied by Russian forces during the Napoleonic Wars. It presents us with a small piece of institutional history, a record of an individual embedded within a political structure, and the imperial ambitions of early 19th-century Russia. We can use sources such as military records and diplomatic correspondence to understand the sitter's role in the social and political events of the time, and to reflect on the meaning of art as a document of social and institutional history.