HEINRICH FRIEDRICH FÜGER (AUSTRO-GERMAN, 1751-1818)

Prospective purchasers are advised that several co… Read more

Details

HEINRICH FRIEDRICH FÜGER (AUSTRO-GERMAN, 1751-1818)
A young gentleman, probably Prince Platon Zubov (1767-1822), in red cloak, white frilled cravat; sky background
on ivory
3 ¼ in. (83 mm.) diam., silver frame

Literature

N. Rothschild, Notizen über einige meiner Kunstgegenstände, Vienna, 1903, no. 293 (as a portrait of Prince Zubov).
E. Leisching, Die Bildnis-Miniatur in Oesterreich von 1750-1850, Vienna, 1907, p. 117, no. 66, illustrated pl. XV.
M. von Boehn, Miniaturen und Silhouetten, Munich, 1925 (4th edition), illustrated colour plate 23 opp. p. 112, as 'Graf Platon Subow (?)'.
L. R. Schidlof, The Miniature in Europe, Graz, 1964, I, p. 274 (as 'presumably of Count Platon Subow', praised as 'excellent').
S. Lillie, Was einmal war. Handbuch der enteigneten Kunstsammlungen Wiens, Vienna, 2003, p. 1040, no. 1135 (artist and sitter unidentified).
R. Keil, Heinrich Friedrich Füger 1751-1818, Vienna, 2009, p. 295, no. 301.

Special notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country.

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Lot Essay

The sitter bears a strong resemblance to Prince Platon Zubov, the last of Empress Catherine the Great's favourites and arguably the most powerful man in the Russian Empire during the final years of her reign. The Empress, then in her sixties, made Zubov, then in his early twenties, her lover and she lavished him with titles, estates and even tens of thousands of serfs and he heavily influenced decisions made by the Empress. Arrogant and capricious, he was insubordinate to the Empress's heir, Tsarevich Paul. On Catherine the Great's death Zubov was stripped of his estates and relieved of his posts and advised to leave the country.
For a likeness of Prince Zubov, see the oil on canvas portrait of 1793 by Johann Baptist Lampi in the State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.

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