Portrait of N. A. Frelich

Taras Shevchenko. Portrait of Nicholas Adamovich Frelich (?). Stained paper, an Italian and a white pencil (30 × 23.5 cm). [Nizhny Novgorod]. [12.II – 7.III] 1858. Taras Shevchenko National Museum, inv. g – 896.

Bottom right in Italian pencil – the author's signature and date: 1858 Shevchenko.

Portrait pasted on cardboard on the back of which a pencil inscription: Frelich (?).

Portrait of N. A. Frelich – Nizhny Novgorod architect together with portraits of C. A. Schreiders and A. K. Kadnytsky, was performed instead of a group portrait. February 12, after finishing portrait of Kadnytsky, Shevchenko recorded to the diary: "Today, painted a portrait of Kadinsky. It remains to draw Frelich and quits".

In Nizhny Novgorod in 1858 except previous set of portraits, Shevchenko drawn portraits of Oleinikov, Babkin and Frelich. Of the three portrayed Babkin must be shown in a military uniform. Therefore, we can assume that this portrait can be shown only Frelich or Oleinikov.

In the literature, this portrait entitled "Portrait of an unknown" ["In remembrance of the 50th anniversary of the death of Taras Shevchenko", Moscow, 1911, between p. 112 – 113] and mistakenly dated November 1857 [A. Rodin, Shevchenko in the way from exile, "Dawn", 1896, № 9, p. 175]

Storage areas: property of I. Ostroukhov, D. Ja. Cherkes, Taras Shevchenko Central Museum, Kyiv.

In 1911 exposed on Shevchenko's exhibition in Moscow (Product, № 1) and 1939 – on the Republican Shevchenko Jubilee Exhibition in Kyiv (Product, № 277) exhibited under the title "Portrait of an unknown".

N. P. Prokopenko

After publication: Taras Shevchenko Complete Works in 10 volumes. – Kyiv: ed. Academy of sciences of UkrSSR, 1963, v. 10, № 22 (image), p. 16 (note).