Lot Essay
The hitherto unpublished identification as General Nesselrode could be established by comparison with another miniature by Marszalkiewicz of the same sitter, slightly later (dated 1840) and painted on paper, in the Nationalmuseum, Warsaw. The supporting miniature is illustrated in the exhibition catalogue Portrety Stanislawa Marszalkiewicza (1789-1872), Cracow, Nationalmuseum, 1968, no. 29, pl. 28.
Count Fiodor Nesselrode (in Polish Fryderyk Karol Nesselrode, in German Friedrich Carl Reichsgraf von Nesselrode-Ereshoven) was born in St. Petersburg to the Russian diplomat Count Charles Francis Alexander Nesselrode and his wife Countess Josephine née Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg in 1789. General Nesselrode distinguished himself in the Napoleonic wars, eventually assuming the role of aide-de-camp to Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich of Russia in 1813. Nesselrode married Tekla Nalecz-Gorska (later known as Maria Kalergis) in 1822. His daughter, Marie (later Mukhanov), was born the same year. General Nesselrode's family life proved tempestuous, however, and he quickly divorced in 1823. As a result of the separation, Marie was raised in St. Petersburg by General Nesselrode's famous nephew Karl Robert Nesselrode, chancellor and minister of the Russian Empire's Foreign Affairs, who had four young children of his own. General Nesselrode was nominated Russian general of the brigade during the Polish November Uprising of 1830 and was arrested alongside other generals who were faithful to the Tsar. After the fall of the uprising, Nesselrode became Head of the Guards in the Kingdom of Poland and assumed the rank of Lieutenant General. In the years that followed, Nesselrode accrued a fortune by investing in real estate and the stock market. After retiring, General Nesselrode continued to live in Warsaw, where he eventually died in 1868.
Count Fiodor Nesselrode (in Polish Fryderyk Karol Nesselrode, in German Friedrich Carl Reichsgraf von Nesselrode-Ereshoven) was born in St. Petersburg to the Russian diplomat Count Charles Francis Alexander Nesselrode and his wife Countess Josephine née Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg in 1789. General Nesselrode distinguished himself in the Napoleonic wars, eventually assuming the role of aide-de-camp to Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich of Russia in 1813. Nesselrode married Tekla Nalecz-Gorska (later known as Maria Kalergis) in 1822. His daughter, Marie (later Mukhanov), was born the same year. General Nesselrode's family life proved tempestuous, however, and he quickly divorced in 1823. As a result of the separation, Marie was raised in St. Petersburg by General Nesselrode's famous nephew Karl Robert Nesselrode, chancellor and minister of the Russian Empire's Foreign Affairs, who had four young children of his own. General Nesselrode was nominated Russian general of the brigade during the Polish November Uprising of 1830 and was arrested alongside other generals who were faithful to the Tsar. After the fall of the uprising, Nesselrode became Head of the Guards in the Kingdom of Poland and assumed the rank of Lieutenant General. In the years that followed, Nesselrode accrued a fortune by investing in real estate and the stock market. After retiring, General Nesselrode continued to live in Warsaw, where he eventually died in 1868.