It is believed that Orest Kiprensky was an illegitimate son of the landowner Alexey Dyakonov and one of his serfs. Orest was born on the 24th of March, 1782, in the village Koporye, near St. Petersburg on a grange, owned by his father. He was raised in the family of Adam Shvalber, a serf. Although Kiprensky was born a serf, he was released from the bondage upon his birth and his father helped him to be admitted to the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg in 1788.
In the Academy of Arts Orest was trained to become a historical painter, which was considered to be the highest achievement for an artist. After graduating from the Academy in 1803, he was left there as a pensioner for three more years to help him to fulfill the necessary requirements to win the Major Gold medal. Winning the first prize enabled the young artist to go abroad to study art in Europe. Orest was to create a big historical picture to achieved the goal. Prince Dimity Donskoy after the Kulikov Battle (1805) became the picture, for which the Academy awarded him the Major Gold medal. A year before, in 1804, at the Academy's exhibition he showed the Portrait of A. K. Shvalber (1804), which was a great success. The portrait so impressed his contemporaries, that later a group of experts, members of the Naples Academy of Arts, expressed an opinion that the picture was a production of one of the great masters of the past - Rubens, Rembrandt or Van Dyke. Kiprensky had to ask for letters from the members of the St.Petersburg Academy of Arts supporting his authorship.
During the following years Kiprensky created a lot of portraits, among the best are Portrait of the Princess A. V. Scherbatova and the Prince P. P. Scherbatov (c.1808), Portrait of A. A. Chelischev (c. 1809), Portrait of Count V. A. Perovsky (1809), Portrait of Countess Ye. P. Rostopchina (1809), Portrait of Denis Davydov (1809).
During Napoleon's invasion of 1812, he created several graphic portraits of people who fought with the French. Portrait of Peter Olenin (1792-1868) was finished just before 18-year-old Peter with his 19-year-old brother Nicholas went to fight the Battle of Borodino, where Nicholas was killed and Peter severely wounded.
In the post-war period Kiprensky created masterpieces of portraiture such as Portraits of D. K. Khvostova and V. S. Khvostov (1814), Portrait of A. I. Molchanova with Daughter (1814), Portrait of Count S. S. Uvarov (1815-1816), Portrait of the Poet V. A. Zhukovsky (1815) and others.
Only in 1816, Orest Kiprensky managed go to Europe to study the art of old masters. He spent seven years in Italy and created historical pictures there: Tomb of Anacreon (1821), several genre pictures Young Gardener (1817), Girl Wearing the Poppy Wreath, also known as Portrait of Mariucci (1819) , Gypsy Girl with a Twig of Myrtle (1819) and others. And of course he kept painting portraits in various techniques, among the best are Portrait of the Princess S. S. Scherbatova (1819), Portrait of the Prince A. M. Golitzin (c.1819), Portrait of E. C. Avdulina (1821 - 1823). In Italy he met a little girl Anne Maria Falcucci (Mariucci), to whom he became attached. He bought her from her dissolute mother and made her his ward. On leaving Italy, he gave her to a Catholic convent.
After his return from Italy Kiprensky continued to paint portraits, his favorite genre. The most notable were Portrait of Count D. N. Sheremetyev (1824), Portrait of O. A. Ryumina (1826), Portrait of the Prince N. P. Trubetzkoy (1826), Portrait of A. F. Shishmarev (1827), Self-portrait (1828), Sibyl of Delphi (Portrait of N. S. Semenova.) (1828), Portrait of A. A. Olenina (1828), Portrait of Alexander Pushkin (1827).
In 1828, Kiprensky came back
to Italy. The reason for his second trip was the letter from his friend
in Italy S. Galberg, which informed him that he lost track of Mariucci.
Kiprensky found Mariucci, she had been transferred to another convent.
In Italy he went on working. He created The Sibyl of Tibur (1830),
a big canvas in the historical genre, but the painting was not successful.
There were several remarkable genre pictures: Naples Boys
(1829), Naples Girl with a Bowl of Fruits (1831), Readers
of the Newspaper in Naples (1831) and portraits: Portrait
of F. A. Golitzin (1833) and Portrait
of the Sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen (1833). In July 1836, Kiprensky
was able at last to take Mariucci from the convent and marry her. He died
from pneumonia three months later on the 5th of October 1836 and was buried
in Rome. His daughter Constance was born after his death.
Notes
Adam Shvalber (1742-1807) was a serf of Alexey Dyakonov, to whom Orest Kiprensky was given after his birth. It is known that he was a good father to Orest. He also had a son, Alexander, and four daughters. He was released from bondage with his family in 1800 after the death of his lord.
Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy (1350-1389) - was the ruler of Moscow after 1359. He united the armed forces of the Russians to rebel against Tatars' rule. On August 17, 1380, 100,000 Russians gave battle on the Kulikovo field to a Tatar army almost as big. Dmitry Donskoy fought as an ordinairy soldier to encourage his people and was severely wounded. The battle was won, though the loses were immense. The picture shows Dmitry Donskoy when he was found by his people, who thought he had been killed.
Count Vasily Perovsky (1795-1852) was the forth illegitimate son of Count Alexey Razumovsky, brother of writer Alexey Perovsky (Anton Pogorelsky). He was in military service during the war with Napoleon, was wounded and taken a prisoner. Later he was an aide de camp to Grand Duke Nicholas Pavlovich, future Tzar Nicholas I. Participated in the Russian-Turkish War of 1828-1829; was the Governor of Orenburg 1833-1842 and 1851-1857 and played an important role in the colonization of the region. He is 15 years old in the picture.
Countess Catherine Rostopchina wife of Count Fedor Rostopchin, who being the governor of Moscow in 1812 was responsible for setting fire to Moscow when it was occupied by Napoleon and which led to the French leaving the city.
Denis Davydov (1784-1839) general, poet and writer. He entered the army at the age of 17; during the war with Napoleon organized partisan regiments, which attacked the retreating French army. In poetry he created a new genre, his poems and verses were dedicated to the daring adventurous life of dragoons. Actually, the attribution of this portrait is not yet decided. Some art historians believe it to be a portrait of Denis Davydov's cousin, Evgraf Davydov. However, a copy of the portrait was kept in the country estate of Denis Davydov, and his descendants always considered it the portrait of their famous ancestor. See also his portrait by Alexander Orlowski.
Count Sergey Uvarov (1786-1855) was in diplomatic service in 1806-1809, through the advantageous marriage to Countess Catherine Razumovskaya acquired wealth and connections. He was the Secretary of Education in 1834-1849, the President of the Academy of Science in 1818-1855. Uvarov was a well educated man, who took an interest in literature, he was a member of the literary society "Arzamas", was in correspondence with Goethe, M-me De Stael et al.
Vasily Zhukovsky (1783-1852) - Russian poet and translator, regarded as the founder of Russian romantic poetry; was the most popular poet in Russia in 1800-1820. His poems "Ludmila" and "Svetlana" were based on German medieval folklore, and gave rise to a fashion for the ballad. His elegies and ballads were a source of inspiration for many Russian poets. Zhukovsky served in the army, and later was the tutor of the heir for the Russian throne, future Tzar Alexander II. Zhukovsky was a close friend of Alexander Pushkin. He translated Byron, Schiller, Goethe and Walter Scott, among others, into Russian. Academician (1841) of the St. Petersburg Acamedy.
Princess Sofia Scherbatova (1798-1886), née Apraksina, wife of Prince Alexey Scherbatov (1776-1848), Governor of Moscow was a well educated, wealthy woman, acknowledged Moscow hostess, who dedicated a lot of time and money to charity.
Count Dmitry Sheremetyev (1803-1871) was the son of Count Nicholas Sheremetyev (1751-1809) and his father's serf, actress of his home theater Praskovya Kovaleva-Zhemchugova (1768-1803), whom he loved for 20 years, until finally married her in 1801. His mother died from consumption, in 1803, three weeks after she had given birth to their only son, Dmitry. His father was devastated by the loss and devoted the rest of his life to his son and charity, dedicated to the memory of his late wife: he built a hospital and a shelter for poor and founded funds for other projects.
Alexander Shishkov (1754-1841) Russian statesman, vice admiral, philologist. In 1772-1798, was in the Navy. In 1796, he was elected an academician of the St. Peterburg Academy, since 1813, was the president of the Academy, in 1821-1828 was the Secretary of Education. During his office in the Academy he studied the origins and development of the Russian language.
Nimfodora Semenova (1788-1876) Russian actress, a younger sister of famous Russian tragic actress Catherine Semenova. She was born as a serf, educated in the Theater School and after 1808 worked in Alexandrov Theater in St. Petersburg. She had a good voice and, though she was not an outstanding singer, she used to get the leading parts in all operas thanks to her beauty. She was mistress of the count V.V. Musin-Pushkin and had three daughters with him; the elder daughter, Praskovya, was married to prince Gagarin.
Anna Olenina (1808-1888) - daughter of Alexey Olenin, the President of the Academy of Arts, sister of Peter Olenin. She was one of the beauties of her time.
Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844) Danish sculptor, was born and educated in Copenhagen, but lived most of his life in Rome. He revived the ancient classical tradition in sculpture. His most famous works are Triumphal Entry of Alexander into Babylon, Christ and the Twelve Apostles, Venus, Jason and others.
Ekaterina Sergeevna Avdulina (1788-1832), née Yakovleva, wife of General Major Alexei Nickolaevich Avdulin, member of the Society for Promotion Artists.
Trubetskoy, Nikita Petrovich (1804-1886), prince, Councilor of State, the only son of the prince Piotr Sergeevich (1760-1817) and his second wife, Marfa Petrovna, née Kromina. Started his career in army, but in 1826 entered the civil service; first served in the Ministry for foreign affairs, then in the Postal Ministry, and the Ministry for internal affairs. Since 1825 was married to Alexandra Alexandrovna, née Nelidova (died in 1886), niece and ward of maid of honor Catherine Ivanovna Nelidova; they had 2 sons: Peotr (1826-1880) and Sergey (ober-hof-marschal and director of Imperial Hermitage, 1829-1899) and two daughters: Catherine (1831 - ?), married to prince Pavel Vasilievich Golitsyn, and Alexandra (1836-1891), married to prince Ivan Mikhailovich Golitsyn.
Catherine Semenova (1786-1849), dramatic actress, illegitimate daughter of Zhdanov, teacher in a military school and a serf woman. She finished a theatrical school, and immediately attracted attention of theatre goers. Became the first actress of St. Petersburg. In 1826, left the theater and moved to Moscow. In 1828, married prince T.A.Gagarin, gave him a son and 3 daughters. Sister of N. Semeonova.
Catherine Teleshova, (Yekaterina Alexandrovna), (1805-1850) famous ballet-dancer of her time. After 1827, was appointed a court dancer. She was mistress of prince Afanasiy Fedorovich Shishmarev and gave birth to his 5 sons and daughter. All their children had the name of Teleshov. (Brulloff painted her in Italian woman by a fountain)
Rastopchin, Count Fedor Vasilievich. 1765-1826, General Adjutant, Privy Councilor, the first count in the old noble family of Rastopchins. Son of captain Vasiliy Fedorovich and his wife, née Kryukova. Started his career under Catherine the Great, but did not reach high positions; attracted attention of Paul I, who made him General Adjutant on the first day of his coming into power. Retired and lived in Moscow after 1801. In 1810 Alexander I appointed Rastopchin the military commander of Moscow. Historians very differently evaluate his part on the post: some stated that he did his best to organize militia and defense of Moscow, others blame him for bad organization of evacuation of citizens and for fires in Moscow. In 1814 Rastopchin retired, traveled and lived in Germany and France. Married to Catherine Petrovna, née Protasova, who adopted Catholicism, which brought disagreement between the spouses; they had 2 sons and 3 daughters.
Dmitriyev-Mamonov, Alexander Ivanovich (1788-1836), officer of the Moscow Archives of foreign affairs. In 1812 joined militia and participated in the Battle of Borodino. In 1813-14 participated in foreign campaigns of the Russian army. He was awarded with the orders of St.Vladimir (4th class), St. Anna (4th class). Retired from the military service in 1836. Gifted painter, he left many works with depiction of battles, and was made an honored member of the Academy of Arts. Died in Moscow.
Lanskoy, Mikhail Pavlovich (1787 - ?), military officer, participated in wars with Napoleon in 1806-07 and 1812. Nephew of A. R. Tomilov, he helped him to collect items of art. On the portrait he is wearing orders of St. George (4th class) and St. Vladimir (4th class). The elder brother of Lanskoy, Alexey Pavlovich (1789-1855), military officer, participated in the wars with Napoleon in 1806-1807, 1812-1813. On the portrait he is wearing the orders of St. George (4th class), St. Vladimir (4th class) and St. Anna.
Tomilov, Alexey Romanovich (1779-1848), artillery officer, commanded the fortification works in Kronstadt (1799), in 1808 retired. During Napoleon’s Russian campaign joined the militia and formed a fighting group of his serfs, was severely wounded. Collectioner, patron of arts, one of the founders of the Society for Promotion of artists, honored member of the Academy of Arts. His house in St. Petersburg always welcomed young artists. Tomilov was friend of many outstanding artists of his time.
Bibliography:
Orest Kiprensky. by V. Zimenko. Moscow. Iskusstvo. 1988.
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