Another portrait of Adam Mickiewicz by Ivan Khrutsky has been discovered in Polotsk

May 6, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. In the year of the 200th anniversary of the birth of the famous painter Ivan Khrutsky, his work was discovered in Polotsk, reported to BELTA correspondent Larisa Lysenko, head of the art gallery of the National Polotsk Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve. The portrait of Adam Mickiewicz was found during the preparation of an exhibition of works by the artist's great-granddaughter, Yadviga Matseevskaya. Among more than 700 works by the artist, bequeathed to the gallery and stored in the archives, the attention of art historians was drawn to an old canvas, on which a man in 19th-century attire was depicted in a manner uncharacteristic of Matseevskaya. This work bore a strong resemblance to the famous portrait of Mickiewicz by Khrutsky, currently held at the Pushkin House in St. Petersburg. Upon detailed analysis, the similarity of the portraits astonished the gallery staff, and it was decided to conduct a laser materials science examination at the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. Experts determined the approximate date to be the 1850s. Interestingly, the St. Petersburg portrait is also dated to the mid-19th century. Despite the fact that the discovered work is yet to undergo art historical expertise, Polotsk gallery staff have no doubt that they have found an authentic Khrutsky original. Furthermore, there is a sketch of a still life on the reverse side of the canvas. Thus, the artistic treasury of the homeland of the famous artist, declared the cultural capital of Belarus this year, and which until recently did not have a single work by its glorious son, may be replenished with two works at once. -0-