From the Collection of Emperor Nicholas I
Adolphe Ladurner, The Life Guards Uhlan Regiment of Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich in Camp at Krasnoye Selo, 1843
Monaco — October 27
Lot 99 · Fine Art Auction · 27 October
Hermitage Fine Art will present a museum-quality painting by Adolphe Ladurner from the collection of Emperor Nicholas I (lot 99), estimated at €100,000 – €120,000, during its Fine Art auction on 27 October at the Hôtel Le Métropole Monte-Carlo. Painted in 1843, the canvas comes from the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoye Selo and depicts the Life Guards Uhlan Regiment of Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich in camp at Krasnoye Selo.
The Painting
The painting depicts ‘Warsaw’ Uhlans of the Guard quartered in a peasant courtyard: during the Krasnoye Selo manoeuvres, cavalrymen, unlike infantrymen, were generally billeted not under canvas but in village courtyards. With the exception of a Uhlan in a greatcoat by the well and a soldier in ‘undress’ uniform near the gateway, all the others are in parade uniform and appear to be preparing to form ranks: the junior officer standing on the steps, two non-commissioned officers, one of them leading a horse out from beneath the canopy, the squadron trumpeter speaking with an old man and children, and the rank-and-file soldiers.
Every detail is rendered with documentary precision. On the chest of the non-commissioned officer in the foreground are the Military Order decoration and the 5th Class Virtuti Militari Cross, awarded for the Polish campaign of 1830–1831; the same cross is visible on the trumpeter’s chest. Even the horses are true to the regiment, which traditionally rode bays.
The Regiment
Formed in 1817 for the Guards detachment in Warsaw, the Guard Uhlan Regiment of Tsarevich Konstantin Pavlovich passed, following Konstantin’s death in 1831, under the patronage of Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich. Upon the death of Mikhail Pavlovich in 1849, the regiment’s chief became the heir, Tsarevich Alexander Nikolaevich. Following his accession to the throne in 1855, the regiment was renamed the Guard Uhlan Regiment of His Majesty, a name it retained until 1917.
Imperial Provenance
The painting belonged to Emperor Nicholas I and was kept at the Alexander Palace, Tsarskoye Selo. It bears the inventory number ‘148.’ in the lower right corner.
It later appeared at Sotheby’s London, in The Russian Sale of 14 December 1995 (lot 135), and again on 28 May 2012 (lot 4), before entering a private collection.
Literature
S. A. Podstanitsky, O. G. Leonov and S. A. Popov, The Russian Guard in the Paintings of Adolf Ladurner. Moscow: Russkie Vityazi Publishing House, 2017, pp. 100–103, ill.
Adolphe Ladurner
1798 – 1855
Adolphe Ladurner was a French-born painter specialising in military and historical scenes. A pupil of Horace Vernet, he exhibited at the Paris Salon before settling in Saint Petersburg in 1830, where he enjoyed the patronage of Emperor Nicholas I and became known for his depictions of military parades, manoeuvres, camp scenes and Russian army uniforms.
In 1836 he was appointed an Academician of the Imperial Academy of Arts, and in 1840 a professor. His works are held in several Russian imperial collections, notably the Russian Museum in Saint Petersburg.
Fine Art Auction
27 October 2026, 14:30
Hôtel Métropole Monte-Carlo
Preview
23 October: 19:00 – 21:00
24–26 October: 11:00 – 18:00
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View lot 99