Peter the Great is depicted in the uniform of the Preobrazhensky Guards and an Imperial mantle. He is wearing the chain and star of the Order of St Andrew. The Russian Imperial crown stands on the table. The Emperor is pointing to an open book displaying the text of the Manifesto of 1721 with which he established the Synod, a collegiate body that would administer the Church in place of the traditional Patriarchate. The portrait was painted by Alexei Antropov, who served as a painter at the Synod from 1761.

Antropov Alexei

Antropov, Alexei Petrovich
1716, St Petersburg - 1795, St Petersburg
Painter, portraitist, icon-painter. Studied under Louis Caravaque, Andrei Matveyev and Alexander Zakharov, took lessons from Pietro de Rotari (from 1732). Joined the painting department of the Ministry of Construction (1739), foreman (1749). Helped to decorate the interiors of palaces in and around St Petersburg and Moscow. Painted the interior decor of the Si Petersburg Opera House (1750). Created murals and icons for St Andrew’s Cathedral in Kiev (1750-55). Lived in St Petersburg (from 1758). Worked for the Holy Synod and supervised the work of painters (from 1761), Taught Dmitry Levitsky and Pyotr Drozhdin.