Description of the picture:
Types of rooms of the Winter Palace. The cabinet of the Empress Alexandra Fedorovna – Eduard Gau. 1858. Watercolor on paper. 27×31.6
Eduard Gau (1814-1891) – Russian artist of the middle of the XIX century, a native of Revel, famous for his beautiful watercolor portraits of contemporaries of the middle of the XIX century. The Gau brushes also include numerous watercolor images of the interiors of the Hermitage and the Winter Palace, which are of great value for the history of Russian culture. Work “Types of halls of the Winter Palace. Cabinet of Empress Alexandra Fedorovna It impresses with its ease and clarity of transmission of all the details of a rich interior. Photographic accuracy depicts murals of a blue ceiling with female figures, walls covered in red silk with hanging copies of Raphael’s paintings on them, an intricate pattern of colorful carpet and upholstery. The Empress’s Cabinet is an example of a private residential interior of the mid-19th century, fully reflecting the taste of the crowned mistress and the fashion trends of the time. The artist’s work serves as a visual aid for the design of the space in the Biedermeier style.
Widely distributed in the second half of the 19th century, photography gradually supplanted such watercolor works."