Prince Paul Troubetzkoy Russian, 1864-1936

This vivid image of the world acclaimed composer, aged 54, was made in 1912 at the peak of his fame.  An inveterate smoker, as the statuette shows, he is caught outdoors in his typical wintry outfit.  Born in Lucca, Tuscany, in 1858, the celebrated musician died in Brussels in 1924.  The following year, requested by Arturo Toscanini, Troubetzkoy drew from this model the two metre statue for the La Scala theatre in Milan, which now stands at Torre del Lago, near Viareggio, facing on to Puccini's residence.  A further edition of the present sculpture, specially cast for the occasion, is dated 1925.  ('Paolo' for 'Paul' appears in the artist's signature on some Italian subjects.)

An early exemple of this model is in Kirov's (Viatka) Museum of Art, Russia, and a later one is in the San Diego Opera Guild, U.S.A.