Pieter Picart. The Entry of the Troops into Moscow after the Victory at Poltava

The engraving is devoted to one of the great celebrations of Peter the Great's time: the entry of the Russian troops into Moscow after the victory at Poltava. The battle took place on 27 June (8 July) 1709, and on 21 December 1709 (1 January 1710, New Style) Peter I made a ceremonial entry into Moscow. Thousands of prisoners taken during nine years of war, mostly Swedes, Finns and Germans, were then led through the city streets.

The author of the print, Pieter Picart, was born in Amsterdam around 1668. Peter I hired him in 1698, during the Grand Embassy. From 1702 Picart worked in Moscow at the Armoury Chamber, from 1705 he headed its engraving workshop, and later he worked at the St Petersburg printing house and taught Russian engravers. His works include "The Battle of Poltava" of 1710.

The engraving shows long columns of infantry, horsemen, carriages and baggage trains moving past triumphal gates. The foreground is taken up by a stone parapet bearing images of maps and plans; in the centre is a portrait medallion, flanked by seated and fallen figures. The catalogue dates the print to the first half of the 18th century.