The French artist Hippolyte Robillard (1804 – c. 1884) was well known in Russia in the mid-nineteenth century, first as a master of pastel portraiture and later, in the first half of the 1860s, as the owner of one of the most popular photo studios in St Petersburg.

He stood out among the photographers of the capital due to his own distinctive style, most prominent in large portraits, notable for their exquisite arrangement of shades, finely honed compositional techniques and technical perfection. Artistic merits of Robillard’s photographic portraits were held in high esteem by the imperial family, Russian aristocracy and artistic elite of St Petersburg.

Staged in the Picket Hall of the Winter Palace, this exhibition for the first time showcases more than 50 best works by Robillard from St Petersburg and Moscow collections, including unique materials from his private archives, which reveal the master’s artistic method. This display is meant to bring to a close the trilogy of exhibitions concerned with the formation of fine-art photography in Russia.