Portrait of Alexandr Mihailovich Golytsyn (1723-1807), vice-chancellor

Alexander Mikhailovich Golitsyn (1723–1807) served as Vice-Chancellor of Russia under Catherine II, a position of immense diplomatic influence that placed him at the center of Russia's European foreign policy during the Seven Years' War and its aftermath. Levitzky painted him in 1772 at the very beginning of his own most brilliant decade, capturing a statesman at the height of his powers. The Tretyakov Gallery's holding situates this canvas within the tradition of Russian official portraiture that paralleled similar traditions in France, Britain, and the Habsburg lands — everywhere that Enlightenment states required stable visual images of their administrators. Golitsyn's portrait belongs to a subgenre of Levitzky's work focused on the diplomat-intellectual: men who moved between Russian and European courts, who understood French and thought in both traditions, and who needed portraits that could be displayed in either context without embarrassment.

Oil on canvas in the grand-manner official style: large format, formal dress with full decorations, architectural or drapery background. Levitzky's treatment of the vice-chancellor's wig, lace, and official robes demonstrates his mastery of differentiated textile rendering, while the face receives the psychological attention that distinguishes his work from mere ceremonial production.