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Collectors in St. Petersburg
Title: Head of a Young Girl
Artist: François Boucher (French 1703-1770)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 36 x 28 cm
From the collection of Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov
Permanent Collection: State Museum the Hermitage, St. Petersburg.
Image Courtesy: Hermitage, Amsterdam
Leaving their legacy of good taste and an eye for contemporary talent is an
unspoken dream of most art collectors.
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On display at the Hermitage, Amsterdam is some of the works amassed during the 19th Century in St. Petersburg, focusing on
four collectors of paintings.
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Title: Tobias saying Goodbye to his Father, 1860
Artist: William-Adolphe Bouguereau (French 1825-1905)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 153 x 119 cm
From the collection of Nikolai Alexandrovich Kushelev-Bezborodko
Permanent Collection: State Museum the Hermitage, St. Petersburg.
Image Courtesy: Hermitage, Amsterdam
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Each had different preferences for
certain movements, schools and countries. As noble and rich inhabitants of a
wealthy city such as St. Petersburg they played an important role in the
international art trade in their time.
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Title: Angel of Death, 185
Artist: Emile-Jean-Horace Vernet (French 1789-1863)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 146 x 113 cm
From the Collection of Nikolai Alexandrovich Kushelev-Bezborodko
Permanent Collection: State Museum the Hermitage, St. Petersburg.
Image Courtesy: Hermitage, Amsterdam
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Peter the Great founded his city in 1703 and subsequently ordered the wealthiest families to build palaces as
a place to showcase their wealth. The beautiful
residences of the Orlovs, the Shuvalovs, the Shermetevs, the Yusupovs and the Stroganovs
were quickly built.
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The Yusupovs are among the best known noble families of Russia. Part of their notoriety will come from their
involvement in the murder of Rasputin.
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Title: Moroccan Saddling his Horse, 1855
Artist: Eugène Delacroix (French 1798-1863)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 56 x 47 cm
From the collection of Nikolai Alexandrovich Kushelev-Bezborodko
Permanent Collection: State Museum the Hermitage, St. Petersburg.
Image Courtesy: Hermitage, Amsterdam
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Nikolai Borisovich was the first and greatest collector in the family. His collection
was helped through his journeys to Western Europe, especially his time in Italy.
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Title: Arrest, Scene from a Musketeer’s Life, 1847
Artist: Florent Willems (Flemish 1785-1841)
Medium: Oil on Panel
Dimensions: 116 x 91 cm
From the collection of Alexander Mikhailovich Gorchakov
Permanent Collection: State Museum the Hermitage, St. Petersburg.
Image Courtesy: Hermitage, Amsterdam
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Dimitri Tatishchyev, a former bugle player in the Imperial Cavalry, had a highly successful
diplomatic career. While living in Vienna for twenty years he filled his residence in the palace of the Prince of
Liechtenstein, with art treasures.
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His passion for collecting often brought him
close to financial ruin, yet the Russian Tsars, aware of his diplomatic skills, usually came to his rescue.
Title: Ruins at the Mouth of a River
Artist: Claude Joseph Vernet (French 1714-1789)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 75 x 92 cm
From the collection of Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov
Permanent Collection: State Museum the Hermitage, St. Petersburg.
Image Courtesy: Hermitage, Amsterdam
Prince Alexander Mikhailovich Gorchakov and his family were descended from the first Tsars and related to all the
important noble families of Russia. Alexander Gorchakov was Minister of Foreign
Affairs for Tsar Alexander II.
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Count Nikolai Alexandrovich Kushelev-Bezborodko was a worthy successor to one of his ancestors, the
‘irreplaceable’ secretary to Catherine the Great, Alexander Bezborodko.
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Title: Young Girl in a Lilac Tunic
Artist: Jean-Baptiste Greuze (French 1725-1805)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 40 x 32 cm;
From the collection of Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov.
Permanent Collection: State Museum the Hermitage, St. Petersburg.
Image Courtesy: Hermitage, Amsterdam
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Nikolai built a splendid palace in St. Petersburg and assembled an extensive collection
that rivaled the leading art patrons in the city had amassed.
These four noble Russian families helped to create one of the most impressive art collections in the world
which is now housed at the Hermitage. A portion is currently on loan to their sister
museum in Amsterdam.
Collectors in St. Petersburg
Hermitage, Amsterdam:
October 7, 2006 - March 11, 2007
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