Johann Balthasar Jacob Rathgeber (1770-1845), Germany, circa 1810 Portrait of Tsar Alexander I of Russia (1777-1825) High relief in marble The emperor in profile, in military uniform, decorated with the blue ribbon and star of the Order of Saint Andrew; signed 'RATHGEBER F.'; set in a painted wooden frame Size: 38 × 30 cm (15 × 11 ¾ in.) H. (with frame) : 52 cm (20 ½ in.) Provenance: Private collection, England. Comparative bibliography : Steguweit, Vergessen und wiedergewonnen: Das 1824 errichtete Monument "Ara der Freundschaft" von Johann Balthasar Jacob Rathgeber (1770-1845), in, Gotha Illustre: Jahrbuch für Stadtgeschichte, no. 5, Gotha, 2022, pp. 115-127. A carved marble relief Portrait of Tsar Alexander I of Russia (1777-1825), Johann Balthasar Jacob Rathgeber (1770-1845), German, circa 1810 *Information for buyers: Lot from outside the EEC: to the commissions and taxes indicated in the general terms and conditions of purchase, import VAT (5.5% of the hammer price) must be added. *Information to the buyers : Lot from outside the EEC : an import tax (5,5 % of the hammer price) will be due, in addition to the commissions and taxes indicated in the general conditions of purchase. Grandson of Catherine the Great, Alexander Pavlovich Romanov ( ), future Tsar Alexander I of Russia, was born in Saint Petersburg in 1777 to Grand Duke Paul Petrovich (future Tsar Paul I) and Maria Feodorovna. After his father's assassination, he ascended the throne at the age of twenty-four. Admired in Russia for reversing many of the unpopular policies introduced by his father on his accession, he was celebrated and commemorated abroad for his role in defeating Napoleon. Johann Balthasar Jacob Rathgeber, born in 1770 in Gotha (Germany), the son of a master carpenter, joined the workshop of the court sculptor Freidrich Wilhelm Doell (1750 - 1816) at the age of fourteen. Thanks to the financial support of Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1745 - 1804), a great promoter of the arts, Rathgeber moved to Berlin, where he worked for a year in the studio of the famous sculptor Johann Gottfreid Schadow. During his stay in Berlin, he presented works at the Academy exhibition in 1794. In 1799, Rathgeber became court sculptor and throughout his career he received official commissions from the court, from Duke Freidrich IV of Saxe-Coburg, as well as private commissions from various noblemen, such as the portrait shown here. Between 1803 and 1805, he worked with Christian Friedrich Tieck (1776 - 1851) on a pictorial programme for the new construction of Weimar Castle and on sculptures for the Royal Theatre in Berlin. Our bas-relief is similar to an agate cameo depicting the emperor in profile, Alexander I, decorated with the blue ribbon and star of the Order of St Andrew, circa 1810, sold at Sotheby's on 04 June 2013 in London, lot 599. Founded by Peter the Great in 1698, the Order of St Andrew was one of the Russian Empire's highest military honours.