Bidspirit auction | [Academician and Professor of the

[Academician and Professor of the Imperial Russian Academy of Arts]. Rizzoni, Alexander Antonovich. Portrait of a Cardinal. Rome. 1900. Canvas on stretcher, oil. Expert examination: the work “has antique and museum‑collection value”; expert report of the Grabar All‑Russian Art Research and Restoration Centre No. 102 EK‑122‑26 dated 2 April 2026, minutes of the Expert Council No. 11 dated 26 March 2026. Signature: to the right of the sitter’s shoulder are the signature and date: “A. Rizzoni / Rymb. 1900(г)”. Size: 45.9 × 36.1 cm. Condition: very good; original paint layer with natural craquelure, without losses, minor retouching; canvas and stretcher structurally sound. The motif and stylistic treatment are highly characteristic of Rizzoni’s work at the turn of the century: a concentrated half‑length image of an Italian curial cardinal, built on subtle nuances of red and black, with a refined rendering of fabric textures and a noble, restrained colour palette. Alexander Antonovich Rizzoni (1836, Riga – 1902, Rome) was a painter, watercolourist and genre artist, known for miniature portraits and female “heads”. In 1866, for eight genre miniatures brought to St Petersburg, he was awarded the title of Academician of the Imperial Academy of Arts. In 1868, for further works of the same kind, the Academy elevated him to Professor of Painting. He received his first artistic training from his brother P.A. Rizzoni; from 1852 to 1863 he studied at the Imperial Academy of Arts in the battle‑painting class of B.P. Willewalde. In 1862 he was awarded a large gold medal and the title of class artist of the 1st degree with the right to an Academy stipend abroad; from 1863 to 1866 he was a stipend‑holder of the Academy, travelling through Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal, later living mainly in France and Italy. He took part in the 1867 Exposition Universelle in Paris and exhibited repeatedly in St Petersburg, Moscow, at exhibitions of the Society for Travelling Art Exhibitions and in Paris. His works are held in: The State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow; The State Russian Museum, St Petersburg; The Rybinsk State Historical‑Architectural and Art Museum‑Reserve; The Mordovian Republican Museum of Fine Arts named after S.D. Erzia; The Rostov‑Yaroslavl State Architectural and Art Museum‑Reserve; The Victoria and Albert Museum, London; as well as in other museum and private collections.