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# Portrait of General Yermolov by Pyotr Zakharov in a hall of an art project about memory
- URL: https://theparnassian.com/en/khochu-obratit-vnimanie-na-portret-generala-ermolova-v-potainom-zale/
- Published: 2020-09-10T08:19:49.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-02T19:06:27.000Z
- Author: Alexandr Radayev
- Tags: The East, Art, Museums, Observations

I should like to draw attention to the portrait of General Yermolov in the secret hall. The work is of interest because it is from the brush of Pyotr Zakharov, carried off as a child from a village destroyed by the war, baptised and adopted by the general's uncle, Pyotr Yermolov. I had somehow not heard of Yermolov in general for a long time, so to see his portrait, and moreover with such a grotesque history, yet one so comprehensible to the imperial commoner of the nineteenth century, was unusual for me, especially amid the bright works of contemporary artists. But a large art project about memory is on show in this hall, so the general's peculiar place in the whole story becomes clear. As for the adopted child of war, this is a characteristic trait of conquering generals: they brought back from subjugated lands not only trophies but living witnesses to their valour and nobility, as if to demonstrate the magnanimity of the Russian sovereign too, bestowing enlightenment, prosperity and protection upon conquered peoples. On the whole, a routine manipulation for an empire. Skobelev too had a daughter rescued from the battlefield, and he was not the only one.