Keywords: Maria Demidova (Mescherskaja) detail.jpg Maria Demidova Mescherskaja Π Π°Ρ ΠΈΡ ΠΠ»ΠΈΠΌΠΎΠ²Π½Π° ΠΠ΅ΠΌΠΈΠ΄ΠΎΠ²Π° ΡΡ ΠΎΠΆΠ΄ Π Π΅ΡΠ΅Ρ ΡΠΊΠ°Ρ Franz Xaver Winterhalter and the Other Demidov Portrait Further patronage by the Demidov family is suggested by a portrait in the Museum of Fine Arts Tashkent Uzbekistan The painting is known as a Portrait of a Lady but it has also been suggested that this is a portrait of another woman from the Demidov family illustrated on the left In this entry I would like to firmly establish the identity of this sitter and the date of the painting The research into the Demidov family history suggests that the woman in the portrait is no other than Princess Maria Elimovna Meshcherskaia ΠΠ½ΡΠΆΠ½Π° Π Π°Ρ ΠΈΡ ΠΠ»ΠΈΠΌΠΎΠ²Π½Π° Π Π΅ΡΠ΅Ρ ΡΠΊΠ°Ρ 1844-1868 who married in June 1867 Pavel Pavlovich Demidov 2nd Prince di San Donato 1839-1885 son of the sitter discussed in the previous post Avrova Karlovna Demidova-Karamzina nΓ©e Stjernvall 1808-1902 Her identity is confirmed by contemporary photographs of Princess Maria just before her marriage which show the same distinctive almost Oriental beauty elongated oval of the face large soulful eyes and the prominent nose Winterhalter s portrait of the ill-fated Princess was most likely painted within a space of fourteen months between June 1867 and August 1868 The existence of Winterhalter s portrait of Princess Marie s mother-in-law Avrova Karlovna Demidova-Karamzina which also dates from around c 1868 oil on canvas 60 0 x 50 0 cm Private Collection FXW cat no 842 illustrated left suggests a possibility that both portraits were commissioned from Winterhalter simultaneously and there are numerous precedents in Winterhalter s practice to paint various members of the same family within a short period of time more often than not within a space of a few months The date of the portrait can be further confirmed by its comparison with the recently-surfaced portrait of Sophie Duchesse de Morny nΓ©e Princess Troubetzkaia; 1838-1896 also from c 1868 oil on canvas present location unknown no 846 illustrated lower right Both portraits bear striking compositional similarities and show both sitters within an oval portrait format standing at three-quarter-length enveloped in a fur-edged wrap https //artsdiary365 wordpress com/tag/european-art/ http //www indf ru/demidoff asp page 25 t 1 m 1 19 c Franz Xaver Winterhalter Maria Demidova Mescherskaja Files uploaded by Shakko from various sources Russian nobility by Winterhalter Sheepskin clothing PD-old |