(St. Petersburg 1810-1893 Chatellerault)
Woman in the courtyard of an Ottoman harem, inscribed "Dessin du P(rince) Grégorie Gagarin, secrétaire de la légation de Russie à Munich “, 1839, monogrammed, oil sketch on paper, fixed to support and mounted in a gilded frame, 23,5 x 17 cm, mounted, framed, (Hu)

We are grateful to Dr. Olga Sugrobova-Roth for the scientific support.

Compare:
Catalogue, Grigory Gagarin in the collection of the Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, Palace Editions 2010 (in Russian language, see pp. 90-91.

Duke Grigory Grigorievich Gagarin belonged to one of the oldest aristocratic families which left some significant trace in Russian history. He was an artist, illustrator, art researcher, architect, Royal Court attendant of Her Imperial Majesty, Vice President of the Fine Arts Academy since 1859 and Privy Councillor. Karl Brüllow was one of his teachers. Gagarin spent most of his childhood and youth in Rome and Paris. In 1832 he came to Saint Petersburg and entered the service of the Asian Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He met the famous Russian poets Alexander Pushkin und Michail Lermentow. Gagarin serious passion for the orient began when he sailed on the brig “Themistokles” from Athens to Constantinople between 1834 and 1836. Two sojourns to the orient followed: In 1840 Gagarin served in the army and sojourned in the Caucasus and in 1848 was appointed deputy of the governor of the Caucasus Duke Michail Vorontsov in Tiflis.

Григорий Григорьевич Гагарин
(С.-Петербург, 1810 – 1893, Шательро)
В дворике гарема. Слева внизу монограмма художника. Надпись по-французски: Dessin du P(rince) Grégorie Gagarin, secrétaire de la légation de Russie à Munich, 1839 [Рисунок кн. Григория Гагарина, секретаря русского посольства в Мюнхене, 1939 ]. Б., масло. Картон, золотое обрамление, паспарту, рама.

Произведения для сравнения см. в каталоге: Григорий Гагарин из собрания Русского музея. СПб: Palace Editions, 2010, особенно с. 90 – 91.