Olga's Gallery
Dmitry Levitzky.
Portrait of I. I. Shuvalov.
1790s. Oil on canvas. The Pavlovsk Palace. Pavlovsk, Russia. More. 
Shuvalov, Ivan Ivanovich (1727-1797), favorite of the Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, already during the first years of her reign, he was given the ranks of Lieutenant General, then Major General and was awarded the order of Alexander Nevsky. Patron of sciences and arts, he participated in the founding of the first Russian University in Moscow (1755), the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg (1757) and a gymnasium in Kazan (1758). After the death of Elizaveta, he left Russia for 14 years, traveling through Italy and France. In 1777, he returned to Russia and was heartily welcomed back by the court. He was granted the position of Chief Chamberlain and decorated with the Orders of Vladimir and St. Andrew