FYODOR MOLLER (1812-1874) Kiss

signed in Cyrillic and dated ' F. Moller 1854' oil on panel, oval 29.2 x 32.4 cm (à vue) painted in 1854 Fyodor Antonovich Moller's fame began with his work 'The Kiss'. This work earned him the title of academician of painting at the Imperial Academy of Arts. The first original (whose whereabouts are unknown today) was bought by Emperor Nicholas I for his wife's private flats in the Winter Palace. The unprecedented success of the painting contributed to its widespread popularization. Throughout his life, Moller repeated the painting many times. One version is in the Russian National Museum in St. Petersburg.