‘The Chief of the Bashkirs’ from Travelling Sketches in Russia and Sweden during the years 1805, 1806, 1807, 1808. Volume II, second edition

1813

Private Collection

London: Printed for John Stockdale

Jane’s younger brother, Robert Ker Porter (1777-1842), studied at the Royal Academy under Benjamin West. He counted among his classmates J.M.W. Turner and Thomas Girtin. Robert was best known for his large-scale military panoramas (all now lost), but he also wrote several travelogues that featured engravings after his drawings. This image was created during his travels in Russia and, like Jane Porter’s The Scottish Chiefs, highlights the family’s fascination with military heroism.