Godfried Schalcken. Portrait of Peter I

This portrait of Peter I is by the Dutch painter Godfried Schalcken and dates from 1703–1706. The tsar is shown in armour and a velvet cloak, with a blue order sash and star. The portrait is painted in oil on canvas.

Schalcken studied under Samuel van Hoogstraten and then under Gerrit Dou in Leiden, and like his teacher he became famous for small scenes lit by candlelight. From 1692 to 1697 he worked in England, he lived in The Hague, and in 1703 he became court painter to Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine, in Düsseldorf. The portrait of Peter belongs to the last years of the master's life: Schalcken died in The Hague in 1706.