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Stepan Filippovich Galaktionov (1779–1854)
Lithograph depicting Emperor Alexander I
[Russia], 1827
NYPL, Slavic and Baltic Division
This lithograph, rich in imagery, shows Emperor Alexander
I (r. 1801–25) slightly bowed by the weight of
his responsibilities, particularly the defeat of Napoleon’s
armies. He walks toward the west, into the stiff winds
blowing off the Gulf of Finland. In the background rises
the Peter and Paul Fortress, whose spired cathedral contains
the crypts of his predecessors. Stepan Galaktionov was
one of the principal Russian artists and lithographers
of the early 19th century.
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