prince paul troubetzkoy (1864-1936), after the ball

This portrait  was modelled as a prize for the best costume at the Lyric Theatre Fancy Dress Ball held during Carnival in February of 1897.  The sitter was Mme. Adelaide Hoernheimer, née Rätzsch, from Dresden, a well-known society hostess in Milanese society at the time. Her sumptuous gown was based on the the eighteenth century character of Manon Lescaut featured in Puccini's immensely successful opera of the same name which opened on February 1st, 1893 at Turin's Teatro Regio. Other casts of this subject are preserved in the collections of many museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and the State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. Sotheby's thanks John S. Grioni for his kind assistance in the cataloguing of this sculpture and others by Troubetzkoy offered in this catalogue. These subjects will be included in his forthcoming Prince Paul Troubetzkoy catalogue raisonné.