Even if the name Gagarin spontaneously makes you think of the first man in space, this is no less famous artist Prince Grigory Grigorievich Gagarin. He was born in 1810 as the illegitimate son of Prince Grigory Ivanovič Gagarin. The latter had a passionate romance with Maria Antonovna Naryškina, a mistress of Emperor Napoleon. This earned him and his family an exile abroad. As a result, Grigory grew up in Rome, Paris, and later Munich. This was fortunate for him as his father, himself very artistically inclined, patronized young Russian painters in Rome who were sent from Russia to Italy for training. His father knew of his son's talents and introduced him to the world-famous painters Orest Kriprensky and Karl Brjullov, who gave him private lessons in Siena. Bryullov gained international recognition for his portraits, watercolours and monumental works. Gagarin spent his school years at the Collegium Tolomei in Siena, a Jesuit-run seminary that catered to the education of offspring from noble families.
When the young Prince Grigory returned to Petersburg in 1832, he met the poet and writer Alexander Pushkin. Pushkin was so delighted with Grigory's work that he had him illustrate his story "Queen of Spades" and the "Tale of Tsar Saltan". His close friendship with Mikhail Lermontov, a Russian poet and the most important representative of Romanticism, led him to follow him to the Caucasian War. From this it can be seen that Gagarin not only lived for his art but, no doubt because it was also customary in aristocratic circles, did military service. However, despite the turmoil of war, which often appears as visually powerful scenes in Gagarin's works, he and Lermontov continued their artistic work during the war. A number of artworks entitled "Lermontov Drawn, Gagarin Painted" date from the period. The most famous work resulting from the collaboration is "The Battle of Valerik", which survives to this day.
Gagarin worked not only with brushes, but also with a pencil and proved to be an extremely talented graphic artist. His paintings, which he brought back from the Caucasus, showed his view, as artistic as it was gentle, of this region, which for him was so much more than a gloomy war zone. His skilful alternation between delicately coloured litographs and watercolours and intensely coloured oil paintings delighted the art world. During his military service he moved to Tbilisi, where he gave free rein to his artistic creativity. He created frescoes in the Sioni Cathedral, restored frescoes in various churches and built a theatre. Gagarin was married twice. With Princess Ekaterina Grigorievna Gagarina he had a daughter. His second marriage to Sofia Andreyevna Dashkova produced a total of nine children. Gagarin spent the rest of his life in France. There he lived in Châtellerault, in the house his father bought during his time as ambassador. Gagarin died in 1893.
Even if the name Gagarin spontaneously makes you think of the first man in space, this is no less famous artist Prince Grigory Grigorievich Gagarin. He was born in 1810 as the illegitimate son of Prince Grigory Ivanovič Gagarin. The latter had a passionate romance with Maria Antonovna Naryškina, a mistress of Emperor Napoleon. This earned him and his family an exile abroad. As a result, Grigory grew up in Rome, Paris, and later Munich. This was fortunate for him as his father, himself very artistically inclined, patronized young Russian painters in Rome who were sent from Russia to Italy for training. His father knew of his son's talents and introduced him to the world-famous painters Orest Kriprensky and Karl Brjullov, who gave him private lessons in Siena. Bryullov gained international recognition for his portraits, watercolours and monumental works. Gagarin spent his school years at the Collegium Tolomei in Siena, a Jesuit-run seminary that catered to the education of offspring from noble families.
When the young Prince Grigory returned to Petersburg in 1832, he met the poet and writer Alexander Pushkin. Pushkin was so delighted with Grigory's work that he had him illustrate his story "Queen of Spades" and the "Tale of Tsar Saltan". His close friendship with Mikhail Lermontov, a Russian poet and the most important representative of Romanticism, led him to follow him to the Caucasian War. From this it can be seen that Gagarin not only lived for his art but, no doubt because it was also customary in aristocratic circles, did military service. However, despite the turmoil of war, which often appears as visually powerful scenes in Gagarin's works, he and Lermontov continued their artistic work during the war. A number of artworks entitled "Lermontov Drawn, Gagarin Painted" date from the period. The most famous work resulting from the collaboration is "The Battle of Valerik", which survives to this day.
Gagarin worked not only with brushes, but also with a pencil and proved to be an extremely talented graphic artist. His paintings, which he brought back from the Caucasus, showed his view, as artistic as it was gentle, of this region, which for him was so much more than a gloomy war zone. His skilful alternation between delicately coloured litographs and watercolours and intensely coloured oil paintings delighted the art world. During his military service he moved to Tbilisi, where he gave free rein to his artistic creativity. He created frescoes in the Sioni Cathedral, restored frescoes in various churches and built a theatre. Gagarin was married twice. With Princess Ekaterina Grigorievna Gagarina he had a daughter. His second marriage to Sofia Andreyevna Dashkova produced a total of nine children. Gagarin spent the rest of his life in France. There he lived in Châtellerault, in the house his father bought during his time as ambassador. Gagarin died in 1893.
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