A refined French school mixed media on cardboard depicting Peter II, grandson of Peter the Great. Made around 1900 in France.
History
Peter II Alexeyevich reigned as Emperor of Russia from 1727 until his death in 1730. He was the only son of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich (son of Peter the Great by his first wife, Eudoxia Lopukhina) and of Charlotte Christine of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Peter was born in Saint Petersburg in 1715 and his mother died when he was only ten days old. His father was accused of treason by his own father, Peter the Great, and he died in prison in 1718 and three-year-old Peter became orphan.
Their grandfather (peter the great) was not interested in their upbringing or education. The young orphaned Peter was kept in the strictest seclusion. Peter the Great died in 1725 and was succeeded by his second wife, Catherine I, a woman of low birth. During the two year reign of Catherine I, young Peter was ignored; but it had become clear to those in power by the time she died in 1727, that the only male-line grandson of Peter the Great could not be ignored. He became the new emperor of Russia from 1727 until his death in 1730.
In December 1729 Peter II became ill after he had participated in a feast. In January 1730 doctors diagnosed smallpox. He died short after the diagnoses. The direct male line of the Romanov dynasty came abrupt to an end.
‘School’
French school, Dutch school, Italian school and so much more. The word ‘school’ is used with various meanings and often to describe a certain type of painting style.
In its narrowest sense, the word ‘school’ can denote a group of painters who worked under de influence of another artist. A great example is the ‘school of Leonardo da Vinci’ were a large group of artists worked in the studio of, or under the influence of, Leonardo da Vinci. They are also known as ‘The Leonardeschi’.
In its widest sense, the word ‘school’ can denote a whole country of painters and describe a typical style which reflects the painters of that country. An example is ‘Italian school’ or ‘French school’. In another sense, the word ‘school’ can also denote a certain region of a country. The ‘Venetian school’ applies to painters who worked under local influence or with general similarities in color or technique. Famous examples of ‘Venetian school’ artists are Lazzaro Bastiani (1430-1512), Giovanni Bellini (1430 – 1516) and Giulio Campi (1500-1572).
