NICOLAS SORET | Portrait of Count Alexander Sergeevich Stroganoff (1733-1811)

David David-Weill (1871-1952), inv. no. 3173;
with Wildenstein, Paris;
Sir Charles Clore (1905-1979), London;
his executor's sale, London, Sotheby's, 10 November 1986, lot 170

London, Garrard, An Exhibition of Important 18^th Century & Early 19^th Century Miniatures and Enamels, 1961, no. 360;
Lausanne, Musée Historique, 100 Ans de Miniatures Suisses 1780-1880, 1999-2000, no. 22

L. Gillet, C. Jeannerat, H. Clouzot, Miniatures and Enamels from the D. David-Weill Collection, Paris, 1957, p. 500, no. 360, illust. p. 501;
G. Komelova, Russian Miniatures and Enamels XVIII XIX Centuries, Leningrad, 1995, pp. 274-275, pl. 101;
M. Friesen (ed.), Französische Miniaturen 1770-1880, Darmstadt, 2001, p. 427, illust. p. 342 

Very minor fillet chips at edge at 4, 6 and 9 o'clock.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The sitter is seen wearing an olive green coat, a yellow waistcoat, a purple cloak and the sash of the Imperial Order of Saint Andrew.

Count Alexander Stroganoff became the head of his celebrated family upon the death of his father in 1756. In his youth he received a thorough classical education and, as well as studying at the universities of Geneva, Bologna and Paris, he also travelled extensively throughout Europe. On his return to St Petersburg in 1756 he installed himself in the Stroganoff Palace on the Nevsky Prospect and married Countess Anna Mikhailovna Vorontsova (1743-1769), the daughter of the Vice-Chancellor. Shortly after her early death, aged twenty-six, Stroganoff  married Princess Ekaterina Petrovna Trubetskaya (1744-1815), who bore him a son, Pavel, whilst they were living in Paris. In 1779, the family returned home whereupon the Countess entered into an affair with Catherine the Great's favourite, Ivan Nikolaevich Korsakov. The Empress banished Korsakov to Moscow and Countess Stroganoff was to follow. Despite this scandal, the Count remained an intimate friend of Catherine, who admired him for his wit, his independence and for the fact that he did not interfere in politics. Highly cultured, he assembled an important art collection and between 1800 and the end of his life he held the post of President of the Imperial Academy of Arts. Nicolas Soret was born in Geneva and was apprenticed to a clockmaker. After time spent in England and Ireland, he travelled to St Petersburg in 1785 and was to remain there, attached to Catherine’s court, until he returned to Switzerland in 1800.

This enamel portrait is dated 1793 and it appears that Soret used Johann-Baptist Lampi’s portrait of Stroganoff as a starting point.¹ There are subtle differences between the painting and this miniature, for instance, in the oil the Count is depicted wearing the star of the Order of St Andrew, whereas in the enamel he wears only the ribbon.

^{1. Lampi’s portrait also dates to 1793 and is now in the collection of the State Art Gallery, Perm.}