Alexandr Andreyevich Baranov

Two of the most historically significant portraits Mikhail Tikhanov produced are the twin paintings of Alexandr Baranov, head of the Russian North American Company, and Chief Katlain, his greatest rival. Both men fought an extended and bloody war against each other, and had even engaged in hand-to-hand melee during a Russian assault on Sitka Sound led personally by Baranov. The campaign had ended a stalemate, with neither side being able to gain significant ground and the Russians taking heavy casualties.

The portrait Alexandr Andreyevich Baranov is a notable break from Tikhanov’s usual style, and more in line with the conventions of European portraiture at the time. Rather than the colourful Pacific landscape which features in the rest of Tikhanov’s work, Baranov’s background is obscured in shadow. The composition of the painting is made for a rounded frame, and the usually jagged hands and features of Tikhanov’s other paintings have been rounded and softened to affect a greater photo-realism. Around his neck Baranov wears the medallion of knighthood, and on his face the crooked and wyly smile of a man who, through hard work and cunning, had risen from humble beginnings to the highest ranks of Russian society.

It was Alexandr Baranov who had singlehandedly brought the Russian North American Company from a failed commercial venture to a powerful and important branch of the Russian Empire; by buying pelts in North America and selling them on Chinese markets, Baranov was able to fund a series of forts and a fleet of ships which formed the backbone of commercial ventures in the area. Although a merchant, and not a sailor by trade, Baranov’s ability to manage the byzantine tribal politics of coast, his fruitful commercial investments, and his bravery in the face of danger and hardship earned him the respect of many.