ALEXANDER ROSLIN (1718-1793)

Prince Vladimir Golitsyn (1762)

Oil on canvas (60 x 50 cm)

Malmö Art Museum, Sweden

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Vladimir Borisovich Golitsyn (1731-1798) was a high-ranking Russian nobleman. His family was very rich and influential. His father was the grandson of Prince Boris Alekseyevich Golitsyn, the uncle of Emperor Peter I. His great-uncle was Prince Vasily Lukich Dolgorukov. His mother was the granddaughter and sole heir of the first Governor General of Moscow, Tikhon Streshnev.

But Vladimir turned out to be a man without ambition or character, dominated by his entourage. He was considered a simple-minded man who mismanaged his fortune. After his marriage, his wife began to look after their household, quickly putting it in order and increasing it significantly. She also put her husband in his place; according to a contemporary courtier: “Golitsyn was a rich landowner, but a simple-minded person. His wife easily got the better of him, putting him in the rank of a lowly brigadier, and reorganised the estates. Natalya Petrovna, a clever woman by nature and a great organiser, arranged things, taking management of the estates in her own hands and solely disposing affairs to increase her wealth. She kept all of her household in strict obedience; as the children grew up, they did not dare to sit in her presence.” (1). Natalya Petrovna Golitsyna was also portrayed by Roslin, but 15 years after her husband.

In 1783, the Golitsyns left for France and travelled extensively in Europe. From 1786 to 1790, their sons attended the prestigious École Militaire in Paris. After the outbreak of the French Revolution, they travelled from London to their large mansion in the Rue Saint-Florentin in Paris, before returning to Russia in the autumn of 1790 at the insistence of the Empress. On their return, the family settled in St Petersburg, and their house became a renowned shelter for French emigrants.

The portrait was painted in 1762 during a visit of the prince to Paris. Like almost all members of the Russian aristocracy, Vladimir was a great admirer of French civilisation. Some people have inscrutable faces that make us wonder what is behind them, which was not the case with Vladimir Golitsyn. His face suggests a lack of purpose that his contemporaries noticed and criticised. The best proof of this was his life, devoid of any distinction or accomplishments. Roslin has not only captured his kind nature and, at the same time, his rather weak character, but he also, as usual, brilliantly depicted the gold embroidery on the prince’s beautiful velvet jacket and the exquisite quality of the Prince´s splendid cravat.

NOTES

1 = Aleksander Popov: Two St Petersburgs: A Mystical Guide (2018)