The artist is Borovikovsky
Murtaza Kuli Khan (1750–1800)-Prince of the Persian Kajar dynasty, the third brother of Yeah Muhammad Khan, who proclaimed himself in 1795 Shah. In the struggle for the throne with his older brother, he was defeated, he was deprived of his possessions, fled to Russia and at the end of 1795 arrived in St. Petersburg, where Catherine II took him under her protection. In July 1796 he went to his homeland, but was soon forced to return to Russia again, settled in Astrakhan, where he died.
The ceremonial portrait representing Murtaza Kuli Khan in a magnificent oriental robe is written by Catherine II. Here, as in other ceremonial portraits created by Borovikovsky, representativeness is combined with truthful observations. A striking objective illusionism with which oriental clothes are written speaks of the amazing talent of the transmission of the material beauty of the world.
Sketches for the portrait are stored in the Russian Museum, in the Tretyakov Gallery and in the Tver Regional Picture Gallery.
