Pietro Rotari, an Italian painter, was born in Verona on September 30, 1707. Until 1734 he studied in the art studios of Venice, Rome and Naples, in particular with D.B. Piazzetta in Venice, after which he returned to his hometown, where he set up a private academy in his house. From 1750 he worked in Vienna at the court of Maria Theresa (he met J.-E. Liotard here, experiencing his significant influence), and then in Dresden. He painted historical, religious and mythological subjects. In 1756, at the invitation of Elizabeth Petrovna, he arrived in St. Petersburg. He was mainly engaged in portrait painting and always had great success. Elizabeth Petrovna, Peter III, Catherine II were equally favorably disposed towards him. The canvas “Alexander and Roxana” was created for Catherine Alexeyevna during her time as Grand Duchess for her palace in Oranienbaum.

During the period of rapid growth of Russian culture, Rotari had no shortage of orders. Most often, representatives of the fair sex posed for him – their graceful, idealized images by the Italian became the decoration of noble mansions. On the contrary, the artist’s male portraits, often depicting people active in social and state activities, more specifically revealed the personal qualities of the model. Among his works is the portrait of F. B. Rastrelli.

However, he went down in history primarily for his typical images of young girls. He painted quickly and created hundreds of chamber portraits, almost of the same format; many of them were bought by Catherine II and placed in suburban palaces. (The “Cabinet of Fashion and Graces” in the Grand Palace in Peterhof-Petrodvorets, the “Rotary Cabinets” in the Chinese Palace in Oranienbaum-Lomonosov and the Gatchina Palace, the “Rotary Salon” in the Yusupov estate in Arkhangelskoye). The elements of Rococo art expressively shine through the impersonal prettiness of these paintings.

The “Heads” also had great pedagogical significance, since Russian apprentices of the Italian artist took an active part in their creation (Rotary organized a private art school in Russia). Among his students was A. P. Antropov; I. P. Argunov and F. S. Rokotov were undoubtedly influenced by Rotary. He died in St. Petersburg in 1762.