The art collection of the Vladimir Arseniev Museum of Far East History includes a copy of the painting portrait of the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia, Count Nikolay Nikolayevich Muravyov-Amursky (1809–1881).

Count Nikolay Nikolayevich Muravyov-Amursky played a prominent role in the history of the expansion of Russian possessions in Siberia: he initiated the regaining of the Amur River, which had been ceded to China in 1689 under the Treaty of Nerchinsk. Blagoveshchensk, Khabarovsk and Vladivostok were also founded on his initiative. In 1858, Muravyov-Amursky concluded the Treaty of Aigun with China, recovering the Russian lands along the Amur, for which he received the title of Count Amursky from Emperor Alexander II.

The portraits of the Count were painted by various artists, including contemporary ones. However, the work by Konstantin Makovsky, created in 1863 at the request of Irkutsk residents, can rightly be considered the most famous portrait of Nikolay Muravyov-Amursky.

The Count is depicted on the deck of a ship sailing on the Amur River. He is dressed in a general’s uniform with awards bestowed upon him for his selfless labor for the benefit of the Fatherland. With his right hand he is leaning on the “Map of the Amur country joined to Russia”.

The ceremonial portrait by Makovsky shows a realistic image of a major statesman. Muravyov was depicted as a man who had lived a long and difficult life in Siberia. He displays a poise of a military man with a certain fatigue, which indicates the artist’s desire to create a psychologically truthful image.

The portrait of Muravyov-Amursky became Konstantin Makovsky’s first major work and was a resounding success at the annual exhibition at the Academy of Arts. There was a consensus of opinion: another great portraitist was born in Russia. After the exhibition the painting was sent to the commissioners in Irkutsk, it was on display for a long time in the Irkutsk Public Assembly, from where in the 1920s it joined the collection of the Irkutsk Regional Art Museum named after Vladimir Sukachev, where it has been housed to this day. At the request of the management of the Vladimir Arseniev Museum of Far East History, an exact copy of Makovsky’s portrait was created by famous Vladivostok artists, remarkable portrait painters Yevgeny and Oksana Osipov.