If I do not succeed it will not be because I have left any stone unturned.[10] [10]Letter in NGA curatorial files. Her son inherited her stunning looks, even as a toddler, with big, dark blue eyes, and delicate Byzantine features. An article in. She gave him advice and attempted to develop his spiritual side. Thought to have been made in France, the pieces are said to have belonged to Princess Eugenia Maximilianovna of Leuchtenberg. In turn, in 1928, he sold the jewels to Marjorie Merriweather Post. Since Felix was the only one to live to tell the tale it is his account that has survived. This stunning ring is set with a spectacular 21-carat Colombian emerald. There seems little question that these works were conceived as companion portraits. Thus, he received the right for himself and his wife from December 1891 to be called Princes Yusupov, Counts Sumarokov-Elston, and in the future, the princely title and surname of the Yusupovs should be transferred only to the eldest male heir in the descending line and only after the death of the titleholder. Famed for her beauty and the lavishness of her hospitality, she was a leading figure in pre-Revolutionary Russian society. [citation needed] The losses at the Eastern Front were enormous, and so Felix converted a wing/floor of the Liteyny House into a hospital for wounded soldiers. I. H. van Eeghen that they represent Jacob Louysz Trip (16361664) and his wife, Margarita Hendricksdr Trip (16371711), is doubtful. [b][c], The Yusupov family, one of the richest families in Imperial Russia, had acquired their wealth generations earlier. [2] On the formation and history of the Yusupov collection see: Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, A Scholar's Whim: Collection of Prince Nicolai Borisovich Yusupov, 2 vols., Moscow, 2001; Oleg Yakovlevich Neverov, Great Private Collections of Imperial Russia, New York and St. Petersburg, 2004: 89-102; State Hermitage Museum, Collectors in St. Petersburg, exh. Ver ms ideas sobre joyas reales, joyas, joyas de la corona. See also Samuel N. Behrman, Duveen (New York, 1952), 2224 (also 1972 ed., 20); John Walker, Self-Portrait with Donors: Confessions of an Art Collector (Boston and Toronto, 1974), 244. Felix and Dmitri were exiled by the Emperor for their deed. C1477, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. . Prince Felix Youssoupov and Princess Irina of Russia - 1914. Though Portrait of a Lady with an Ostrich-Feather Fan was not treated by the De Wilds, it was probably treated by the person who completed the treatment of its companion. A herringbone pattern in the background paint probably indicates the original canvas weave. It is also not clear if it was Purishkevich who shot him point-blank into the forehead. 08-dic-2013 - Federica Capocchi descrubri este Pin. Cartier added new triangular studs to the earrings, and Harry Winston later made a lighter platinum replica of the original silver setting. Pendants. Theyre said to have originally belonged to Queen Marie Antoinette, and they later also apparently adorned Empress Eugenie. [33] [33]I. H. van Eeghen, De familie Trip en het Trippenhuis, in Het Trippenhuis te Amsterdam (Amsterdam, Oxford, and New York, 1983), 7173, 121 note 105. 76.12; see The Toledo Museum of Art: European Paintings (Toledo, Ohio, 1976), 247, no. The hunting lodge at Sokolyne Felix led a flamboyant life. At a ball given in the palace to the Imperial Court, Czar Alexander III wished to see the Rembrandts. In 1956, Prince Felix won back the Chteau de Keriolet, which used to belong to the family. Maximilians reign was disastrous, and he was executed in 1867. This image is in the public domain. According to both Yusupov and Purishkevich, a gramophone in the study played interminably the Yankee Doodle when Rasputin came in. Felix's father appealed to the Spanish ambassador in Germany and won permission for them to return to Russia via neutral Denmark to the Grand Duchy of Finland and from there to Saint Petersburg. The artist who painted over the two Rembrandt paintings was a friend of Yusupov, Gleb W. Derujinsky, who later immigrated to the United States and became a successful sculptor. Early history It was a gift to her from Napoleon in 1811 to mark the birth of their son. Presumably, this painting was transferred in Russia in the nineteenth century at the same time as Portrait of a Gentleman with a Tall Hat and Gloves. He smoked hashish,[7] danced tango and became friendly with Luigi Franchetti, a piano player, and Jacques de Beistegui, who both moved in. Particularly close in these two portraits are the techniques used to model the nose, where strokes from the flesh tones are drawn over a darker color that defines the shadowed edge of the nostril. II, Chapter I. None of these possible identities can, however, be verified, which is particularly unfortunate because so little is known about Rembrandts patrons at this stage of his career. [28] Yusupov mentions in his unreliable memoirs, he then offered Rasputin tea and petit fours laced with a large amount of potassium cyanide. He was not given the title Prince Yusupov until 1914. The couple are buried in Paris. [3] The princess was the wife of Felix Felixovich, count Sumarokov-Elston (1856-1928), but she was the last surviving representative of the Yusupov family, and her husband was given the right to take his wife's surname and title. Pallasart Web Design Firm - Austin, Texas, Boy who Dreamed of a Palace - Bob Atchison, 1923 American Interview with Patriarch Tikhon, Aurochs! They had entered the Yusupov collection by 1803, when the German traveler Heinrich von Reimers saw them during his visit to the familys palace in Saint Petersburg, then located on the Fontanka River. Yusupov became renowned in the Russian migr community for his financial generosity. In no painting of his from the mid-1660s does one find the careful modeling of the womans hands and face, the suggestions of texture as seen in her features, jewelry, and lace, or the broad planar way in which forms are illuminated by the light. His wife, Alexandra Feodorovna was extremely hostile to cheerful, lively, and beautiful men, especially when they expressed independent opinions. [citation needed], When World War I broke out in August 1914, both were briefly detained in Berlin. According to Dr. Moe and Dr. Idris R. Traylor (who, before his death, was researching the Yusupov family for a planned book), the Yusupov family sailed from Yalta in the Crimea on the British warship. B. Widener before the war sent an emissary to Russia and arranged for their purchase, the price being $500,000. XVI - Prince of Jerusalem. When Nicolais great-great-grandson, Prince Felix Yusupov (18871967), escaped Russia at the start of the Revolution in 1917, he brought the family jewels and these two Rembrandt paintings with him to London. Art World In Monaco, an Exhibition of Chaumet's Historic Jewels Weaves a Tale of Powerful Women, Royal Intrigue, and Unsolved Mystery "Chaumet in Majesty: Jewels of Sovereigns Since 1780" examines jewelry's role in the power games of the past. Her palace interiors were laid out by the best decorators following her personal direction regarding overall style. The husband and wife were buried together in a very simple cemetery on the outskirts of Paris. [17] [17]Transcripts from the trial (kindly provided by Frederick Andresen) and copies of the newspaper coverage of it by the New York Times are in NGA curatorial files. There is little doubt that these two portraits by Rembrandt van Rijn (see also NGA 1942.9.67) were conceived as pendants, or companion pieces. Born in Moika Palace in Petrograd, the second son of Count Felix Felixovich Sumarokov-Elston, and Zinaida Nikolayevna Yusupova, the sole heir to Russia's largest private fortune. In the late 16th century, during the reign of Ivan the Terrible, they joined Russia and converted to Orthodoxy. V. "December 25, 1910 January 8, 1917", "The Russian diary of an Englishman, Petrograd, 19151917", " , ", "Russian label Irfe rises from its ashes in Paris", "The Last Tsar: Emperor Michael II" Crawford Donald - RuLIT.Net - 26, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Felix_Yusupov&oldid=1170813998, 2. Costume styles are usually only a rough measurement of date because old styles were frequently worn after new ones were introduced, particularly by older and more conservative people. While many other aristocratic families tried to give their children 'normal' childhoods, limiting - as far as possible - their early exposure to the luxury and potential corruption of enormous wealth, Zinaida did not. Zinaida, Felix' mother, was a great beauty. Export from an artist page includes image if available, biography, notes, and bibliography. Theyre on display today at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. As a teenager he looked stunning in women's attire and officers of the Imperial Guard made passes at him, but this kind of adventure was risky business and seemed bound to get him in trouble eventually. The high quality of the reproductions in Bodes publication was remarked upon by Roger Fry in 1921 when he had the occasion to publish photographs of the paintings in his article, Two Rembrandt Portraits, The Burlington Magazine 38 (May 1921): 210. Valentiners hypothesis that they represented Rembrandts son Titus and his wife, Magdalena van Loo, has long since been rejected. This probably saved Dmitri's life, since he was far from the center of the revolution and survived to become a champagne salesman in the USA. (The Hague, 2008), 1:303. The man and woman interact with reserved yet poignant warmth; he gestures toward her while looking at the viewer, and she glances in his direction while holding her feather fan so that it inclines toward him. They lived an charmed life until the outbreak of WWI, which put a damper on the whirl of high-society life in St. Petersburg. [30] [30]See inventory nos. The danger excited and intrigued Felix and he was egged on in this behavior by his brother and his girl friend, Polia. . , she an ostrich-feather fan (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam). In Rembrandts portraits the subtle interaction of the two, he gesturing toward her while looking at the viewer and she glancing in his direction and holding the fan so that it inclines toward him, is restrained yet poignant. The Yusupovs were an aristocratic Russian family whose most famous member was Prince Felix Yusupov II (thanks to his murder of Grigori Rasputin). Felix and Irina . Princess Irina died three years later. Recent authorities have cast doubt on Yusupov's account (see Grigori Rasputin). When Felix died in 1967, Irina was stricken by grief and she died three years later, on 26 February 1970. Joseph Widener arrived in London during the summer of 1921 and examined the paintings in a bank vault where they were being kept as collateral for a loan to the prince. The painting is in excellent condition. 32, repro., 161, no. The boldness of Rembrandts touch originally must have been even more pronounced, for X-radiographs demonstrate that both of the mans cuffs and hands were more abstractly rendered than they now appear. She married Duke Alexander of Oldenburg in 1868. One day Felix would inherit the Yussupov family fortune and the couple could expect never to have to want for anything. During the unrest of 1917, many of these jewels and objets were hidden by Felix in both the Moika Palace and the Moscow house, only to be later discovered by the Bolsheviks. Although these observations are not elaborated upon, the suggestion for an earlier dating than traditionally suggested is a valid one. And from there the story gets very interesting, involving an assassination, a war, a whole lot of financial trouble, a Hollywood film, and an American court case. Eventually, Harry Winston acquired the necklace, and he sold it to Marjorie Merriweather Post in 1960. His biography will be told below. However, as we can see, a rare exception was made for them. It remained there until sometime after the Russian Revolution of 1917, when much of the collection was seized by the Bolshevik government. [f] The bride was wearing a veil that had belonged to Marie Antoinette. He was born in the Moika Palace in Saint Petersburg, the capital of the Russian Empire. Please send your comments on this page and the Time Machine to boba@pallasweb.com, Learn more about the history of Pallasart Web Design - Creating Innovative Website Designs since 1996, Find all of the Website Design Services Provided by Pallasart, Copyright 2023 Bob Atchison. [e], Felix led a flamboyant life. Prince Felix Yusupov was the sole heir to one of the richest families in imperial Russia. Felix, the master manipulator, lead Aleksandra to believe that he heeded her advice and appreciated her spiritual guidance. Nicholas was extremely conceited and haughty. The money he received from the sale, plus a hefty settlement from MGM for libel in the 1930's (Felix found his depiction in the movie "Rasputin and the Empress" libelous), kept Felix and Irina in reasonable comfort until their deaths in 1967 and 1970 respectively. Consulting with family members about how best to administer the money and property, he decided to devote time and money to charitable works to help the poor. Yusupov and his wife disembarked in Malta and traveled via Brindisi and Paris to London. Hartley indicated that the prince preferred to sell to an approved buyer rather than to a dealer, and also mentioned that the Prince considers both paintings far superior to The Mill and of greater value.[13] [13]Letter, October 20, 1920, in NGA curatorial files. West Building The incessant retreat in Galicia and the rumours of heavy losses gave rise to a lot of swearing and gossip, according to Alexander Spiridovich. [10] The Yusupovs went on honeymoon to the Crimea, Italy, Egypt, Jerusalem, London, and Bad Kissingen in Germany, where his parents were staying. Revolution forced the Prince's family to leave Russia, his son, Prince Felix Felixovich Yusupov (1887-1967), took with him, among other personal possessions and family jewels, the two Rembrandt paintings. On 16th December 1916, Prince Felix Yusupov and other members of Russian high society conspired to murder Grigory Rasputin. 171172. He owned three horses, a macaw, and a bulldog called Punch. The first published descriptions of the pair, in 1864, already mention their "extraordinary energy," and the paintings made a tremendous impression at the great Rembrandt exhibition in Amsterdam in 1898. Soest, 1976, 3: 225, no. I. Sidorov. Translation kindly made by Dauphine Sloan. His widow, the Belgian princess Carlota, returned to Europe and lived as a reclusive widow, suffering from increasing mental difficulties, until her death in 1927. The Yusupovs lived in the following places in France: The Yusupovs founded a short-lived couture house, IRF, named after the first two letters of their first names. The womans hairstyle, costume, and use of ornate jewelry are all datable to the 1650s rather than to the late 1660s. Did the prince fear a request by the czar to transfer some of the paintings to the imperial collection at the Hermitage? Sign up for The Court Jeweller Newsletter, Glamorous Gold Celebration Jewels for Crown Princess Mary in Christiansfeld, Nobel Tiara Prize: Sofias Pearls vs Sofias Turquoises, Nobel Tiara Prize: Madeleines Fringe vs Madeleines Buttons, Nobel Tiara Prize: Victorias Connaught vs Victorias Steel, Nobel Tiara Prize: Silvias Sofia vs Silvias Cameos. It seems obvious something was being concealed. (You can read all about it here.) 1885 on June 11, by the most highly approved opinion of the State Council of the Guard, Lieutenant Count Felix Feliksovich Sumarokov-Elston was allowed to take the title and surname of his father-in-law, Chamberlain Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov and be called Prince Yusupov Count Sumarokov-Elston, so that the princely title and surname of the Yusupovs passed only to the eldest of his descendants. . The fact that the gloves held by the gentleman in his left hand are cut at the bottom edge of the composition suggests that the paintings were once slightly larger. "The clumsy way the assassination was carried out shows it was the work of an amateur. cat., Hermitage Amsterdam, Zwolle, 2006: 23, 37-47. [citation needed], Felix was able to avoid entering military service himself by taking advantage of a law exempting only-sons from serving. After the sale of the French crown jewels in 1887, they were supposedly purchased by members of the Yusupov family. For sale is a fine antique goache painting circa bearing a fading stamp possibly for the fashion firm of IRFE founded by Princess Irina Alexandrovna Yusupov of Russia (1895-1970), of portraits of her and her husband Prince Felix Felixovich Yusupov (1887-1967), with a bald head. Perhaps it involved Nicholas' first cousin and ward, Dmitri Pavlovich Romanov. See Heinrich Christoph von Reimers, St. Petersburg, am Ende seines Ersten Jahrhunderts, 2 vols., Saint Petersburg, 1805: 2:373. Yusupov sought to exploit his circumstances by offering the paintings for sale at extraordinary prices. Although Felix claimed he participated in the murder of Rasputin - which happened in the basement of the Moika palace on a dark, cold mid-December night in 1916 - out of political considerations and to 'save' Russia, his real motives remain elusive. Valentiner revised his dating to the first half of the 1660s in his 1931 publication. "The Oxford alumnus who helped to assassinate Rasputin", Prince Yusupoff Defended in Rasputin Case Fellow-Collegian at Oxford Tells of Nobleman's Career There, and Says It Is Impossible to Associate Him with a Murder, "Chapter XV Lost Splendor Felix Yussupov", "Maurice Palologue. [12] She was largely raised by her paternal grandparents until she was nine. The early history of Portrait of a Gentleman with a Tall Hat and Gloves [fig. The remodeled tiara was purchased by Marjorie Merriweather Post in the 1960s. Dragging the body to a remote canal they dumped it through a hole in the ice hoping it would drift away with the current. The Spanish word "La Peregrina" means "the Pilgrim or Wanderer." The word "La Pelegrina" had been translated by gem historians as "the Incomparable" but it appears that there is no such word in the Spanish Language which has this meaning. These efforts soon made them among the wealthiest and most influential families in Russia. Their philanthropy and their continued high living and poor financial management extinguished what remained of the family fortune. The bold manner with which Portrait of a Gentleman with a Tall Hat and Gloves is executed is related to Rembrandts painting technique in male portraits of the late 1650s. He rented an apartment in Curzon Street, Mayfair, and met several times with the ballerina Anna Pavlova, who lived in Hampstead. Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov was hoping that Zinaida would make an illustrious marriage, but at a reception organized to pair her with Alexander of Battenberg, Zinaida met and fell in love with Count Felix Felixovich Sumarokov-Elston (5 October 1856, Saint Petersburg, Russia - 10 . The alleged libel was not that the character based on Felix had committed murder but that the character based on Irina, called "Princess Natasha" in the film, was portrayed as having been seduced by the lecherous Rasputin. [32] [32]See inventory no. Eugenia was the daughter of the 3rd Duke of Leuchtenberg (a grandson of Josphine de Beauharnais) and Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna (a daughter of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia). Mini Bio (1) Prince Feliks Yusupov was a member of Russian nobility who became famous for killing Grigory Rasputin.
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