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VARVARA IVANOVNA LANSKAYA, NÉE ODOEVSKAYA, FROM THE MIDDLETON WATERCOLOR ALBUM

Creator(s): Unknown

Currently in storage


About this object

The daughter of General Ivan Ivanovich Odoevsky (1742-1806) and Anastasia Ivanovna Izmailova (1769-1807), Varvara Ivanovna Lanskaya, née Odoevskaya (1790-1845), was born into a Russian noble family. She lived in Moscow until the family moved to St. Peterburg in 1811. In 1813 she married Sergey Stepanovich Lanskoy (1787-1862), a member of a prominent Russian noble family whose ancestor, Alexander Lanskoy (1758-1784), was one of Catherine the Great’s favorites. Sergey had a successful career as a statesman and was Russia’s Minister of the Interior from 1855 to 1861. During the reign of Alexander II, he was a great supporter of peasant reforms. In her Petersburg home, Varvara hosted a famous literature salon attended by A. S. Pushkin, V. F. Odoevsky, and S.A. Soboloevsky, among others. Well educated, she spoke fluent French and was also known as a loving mother, talented artist, and gardener.

The bust-length portrait portrays Varvara Ivanovna Lanskaya facing partly left, with eyes looking slightly left, against a neutral background. She wears a light yellow dress with a corresponding belt. Her dark hair ringlets peek out from beneath a blue, red, and yellow patterned turban.

Object name:
VARVARA IVANOVNA LANSKAYA, NÉE ODOEVSKAYA, FROM THE MIDDLETON WATERCOLOR ALBUM
Made from:
Watercolor on paper
Made in:
Place made unknown
Date made:
1825-1835
Size:
H. 7 in., W. 5 1/2 in.

Detailed information for this item

Catalog number:
52.39.10
Signature marks:
inscription Madame de Lanskoy, née Adouievsky Bottom of page In cursive
Credit line:
Museum Purchase, 2004