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Portrait of Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna
Court Joseph,
Oil on canvas
178,5 х 141
State Russian Museum
Пост.: 1929 из Музея Города (Ленинград); ранее – собр. герцога Г.Г.Мекленбург-Стрелицкого; герцогини Е.М.Мекленбург-Стрелицкой; собр. великой княгини Елены Павловны; великого князя Михаила Павловича (Михайловский дворец)
Annotation
Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna (1806–1873), born Princess Friederike Charlotte Marie of Württemberg, became the wife of Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich in 1824. She was educated in Paris at a private boarding school. She was famous for her charity work. During the Crimean War, she organised the Holy Cross Fellowship of Sisters of Mercy, which would become the prototype for the Red Cross. She was a patroness of composers, musicians, writers, and scientists. In 1858, she began the first conservatory classes led by composer and conductor Anton Rubinstein at her home in the Mikhailovsky Palace. She was one of the founders of the Russian Musical Society (1859). She was a strong supporter of liberal reforms and contributed to the liberation of peasants from serfdom.
Author's Biography
Court Joseph
Court, Joseph Désiré
1797, Rouen – 1865, Paris
French painter, portraitist, history painter. Studied at the School of Fine Arts in Paris with Antoine-Jean Gros (from 1817). Awarded the Grand Prix de Rome (1821) and the right to travel to Italy. Exhibited at the Paris Salon (1824–1865). Worked twice in Russia. Director of the Art Museum in Rouen (from 1853).