The artist is Kivhenko
The plot of the picture reflects an important event in Russian history of the beginning of the 19th century – a meeting of military leaders convened by Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov 1 (13), 1812. The great Russian commander, given the heavy losses in the battle of Borodino, at the military council in the village of Fili supported the proposal of Moscow expressed by Barclai without a fight for the sake of preserving the army. He said: “Having left Moscow, we will save the army, having lost the army, we will lose Moscow and Russia”. M.And.Kutuzov found the strength to courageously make this decision for the sake of preserving the army, foreseeing that, thanks to his chosen strategy, in the future the army of Napoleon was waiting for the inevitable defeat. According to Kutuzov’s plan, the army moved along the Ryazan road, and then secretly moved to the Kaluga road, making a Tarutinsky march-maneuver. For 20 days of stay in the fortified Tarutinsky camp, 84 kilometers south of Moscow, the Russian army was replenished with people, weapons and equipment, military partisan detachments and “flying corps” were sent to the rear of the enemy. All this decided the outcome of the war and confirmed the insight and talent of the great Russian commander.
On the canvas, the artist depicted the moment of the dispute between m.And.Kutuzov and near the generals, led by the chief of staff of L.L.Benigsen who spoke out for the battle of Moscow. The picture depicts (from left to right): P.With.Kaisarov, m.And.Kutuzov, p.P.Konovnitsyn, n.N.Raevsky, a.And.Osterman-Tolstoy, l.L.Bennigsen, m.B.Barclay de Tolly, f.P.Uvarov, K.F.Tola, d.With.Dokhturov, a.P.Ermolov. The author of this work A.D.Kivhenko was not a participant in famous events, but the master’s description given.N.Tolstoy in the novel “War and Peace”, served as the reason for him to use the plot from the military events of 1812 for his thesis. The artist created a deeply psychological work, captivating the veracity and emotionality of expressive means, which makes the picture one of the best paintings of Russian historical painting of the second half of the 19th century.