- 317
Karl Pavlovich Brullov
Estimate
35,000 - 45,000 USD
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Description
- Karl Pavlovich Brullov
- Portrait of Count Aleksandr Ribeaupierre (1781-1865)
- signed C. Bruloff, inscribed Napoli, and dated 7 April 1829 (lower right); dated 1829 and inscribed in Cyrillic on the reverse
- watercolor and colored pencil on paper
- 8 1/4 by 6 in.
- 21 by 15.2 cm
Provenance
Ribeaupierre family
Thence by descent
Thence by descent
Catalogue Note
Karl Brullov, hailed as Karl the Great, was the first Russian artist to achieve international fame, both for his colossal history paintings and his profoundly intimate portraits. He studied at the St. Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts under Andrei Ivanov, and thanks to the patronage of the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, he was soon sent to Europe for edification and inspiration. In 1823, Brullov settled amongst Russian nobility in Rome, where he lived with his older brother, architect Alexander Brullov. There he assumed the role of portraitist, making a living through Russian patronage.
Brullov immediately proved himself a virtuoso in the portrait genre, both in his official paintings as well as his intimate and chamber portraits, which are now represented in the collections of the State Russian Museum and State Tretyakov Gallery. Though his best known portraits were painted in oil, he also created a number of lovely watercolors. Such works were in vogue in Russia in the 1820s and 1830s; they adorned the apartments of the wealthy and served as family keepsakes (Yevgenia Petrova in Karl Brullov, 1999. p. 30). Unlike other watercolorists of his time, Brullov "assiduously modeled the faces, form and texture [of his subjects], almost to the point of illusion" (ibid). His watercolor portraits exhibit a reserved sense of freedom in compositional arrangement, as well as a marvelous complexity in their nuanced yet limited palette, and thus Brullov managed to infuse his subjects with life, import and emotion. It is said that through facial expressions and posture, he was able to capture with accuracy the realistic character of his subjects.
According to its inscription, the present lot was painted by Brullov in Naples in 1829, just one year before he began the final version of his masterpiece, The Last Day of Pompeii (1830-1833).
Alexander Ivanovich Ribeaupierre (1781-1865) was born to a Swiss family in St. Petersburg. Thanks to his father's friendship with Mamonov, a lover of Empress Catherine the Great, young Alexander became known to the Empress, and she helped him accelerate through the ranks of the Russian nobility. Throughout his illustrious career, he served as aid-de-camp to Emperor Paul I, ambassador to Prussia and Turkey, and manager of the State Commercial Bank. In 1856, on the day of the coronation of Alexander II, he was endowed with the title of count by imperial order. He also authored his own Memoires (published in the Archives Russes, 1877). He is now buried in the Lazarus Cemetery at the Alexander Nevsky Monastery in St. Petersburg.
Brullov immediately proved himself a virtuoso in the portrait genre, both in his official paintings as well as his intimate and chamber portraits, which are now represented in the collections of the State Russian Museum and State Tretyakov Gallery. Though his best known portraits were painted in oil, he also created a number of lovely watercolors. Such works were in vogue in Russia in the 1820s and 1830s; they adorned the apartments of the wealthy and served as family keepsakes (Yevgenia Petrova in Karl Brullov, 1999. p. 30). Unlike other watercolorists of his time, Brullov "assiduously modeled the faces, form and texture [of his subjects], almost to the point of illusion" (ibid). His watercolor portraits exhibit a reserved sense of freedom in compositional arrangement, as well as a marvelous complexity in their nuanced yet limited palette, and thus Brullov managed to infuse his subjects with life, import and emotion. It is said that through facial expressions and posture, he was able to capture with accuracy the realistic character of his subjects.
According to its inscription, the present lot was painted by Brullov in Naples in 1829, just one year before he began the final version of his masterpiece, The Last Day of Pompeii (1830-1833).
Alexander Ivanovich Ribeaupierre (1781-1865) was born to a Swiss family in St. Petersburg. Thanks to his father's friendship with Mamonov, a lover of Empress Catherine the Great, young Alexander became known to the Empress, and she helped him accelerate through the ranks of the Russian nobility. Throughout his illustrious career, he served as aid-de-camp to Emperor Paul I, ambassador to Prussia and Turkey, and manager of the State Commercial Bank. In 1856, on the day of the coronation of Alexander II, he was endowed with the title of count by imperial order. He also authored his own Memoires (published in the Archives Russes, 1877). He is now buried in the Lazarus Cemetery at the Alexander Nevsky Monastery in St. Petersburg.