Peter the Great presumed that Saardam was the centre of shipbuilding in Holland, and he therefore travelled there in 1697 to study the art of the shipwright, and took a job as a workman in a ship-yard. However, within a week Peter realised that Saardam was unimportant, and he was also annoyed by the bothersome attention of the local inhabitants, so he left for Amsterdam. This small work by Grigory Chernetsov is probably a study for a painting for a competition announced by the art patron Anatoly Demidov in 1837 of works based on subjects from the history of Peter the Great.

Chernetsov Grigory

Chernetsov, Grigory Grigoryevich
1802, Lukh (Kostroma Province) – 1865, St Petersburg
Painter, draughtsman, lithographer, landscapist and portraitist. Son of an icon painter. Moved to St Petersburg where he studied drawing at the Imperial Academy of Arts under StepanGalaktionov (from 1819). Pupil of the Society for the Encouragement of Artists (from 1822), studied under Alexander Warnek and Maxim Vorobyov (from 1824). On 14 April 1829, he was made a “Painter of His Majesty” in the Cabinet Staff of the Emperor. Contributed to the exhibitions of the Imperial Academy of Arts (from 1830). Academician (1831). Actively travelled: along the Volga (1838), Italy (1840–1843, 1846–1849), Middle East (1842–1843). Lived in St Petersburg (from 1849). During his travels made numerous sketches turning them later into easel paintings. Painted St Petersburg views.