The Sheremetevs and the Argunovs: Art, Serfdom, and Enlightenment in Eighteenth- Century Russia Alexandra Helprin Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2017 © 2017 Alexandra Helprin All rights reserved ABSTRACT The Sheremetevs and the Argunovs: Art, Serfdom, and Enlightenment in Eighteenth- Century Russia Alexandra Helprin This dissertation studies a case of Enlightenment art created in feudal conditions of servitude. The Sheremetevs, one of the richest and most powerful families in eighteenth-century Russia, had some of their hundreds of thousands of serfs trained as painters, architects, opera singers, and musicians. Two of these serfs, Ivan and Nikolai Argunov, became successful portraitists who painted a range of sitters from Empresses to fellow serfs. Tensions between social rank and individuality, already a preoccupation for eighteenth-century portrait painters, became particularly pronounced in this situation. While recent scholarship has focused on the Argunovs' cosmopolitan influences, their paintings of fellow serfs and others of low rank are sometimes visually and iconographically distinct from their usual output. This category of portrait, this dissertation argues, should be considered within the context of the other artistic projects of the Sheremetev household. Despite strong Western European influences on the Argunovs, the painters were also exposed to extremely personal and local precedents. These include earlier portraits, garden prints, an atlas project, the Sheremetevs' many collections, and operas staged by the family's renowned serf theater. Working within this visual environment, Ivan and Nikolai Argunov painted their subjects in intricately allusive ways. Their portraits represented and negotiated the complications of serfdom in a setting where unusual social change was possible. Table of Contents List of Illustrations .............................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... vii Introduction ..........................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1: Family Portraits: The Argunovs' Paintings of the Sheremetevs' Circle ........................................................28 Chapter 2: Through a Little Window: Theatrical Portraits and Performances ...............................................................................80 Chapter 3: The Shabby Camera Obscura: Space and Serfdom ..........................................................................................................120 Chapter 4: The Fight in Kitai Gorod: Collecting, Ownership, and Enlightenment .....................................................................161 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................193 Bibliography ....................................................................................................................205 Illustrations ......................................................................................................................220 i List of Illustrations Note: All paintings are located in the Russian Federation unless otherwise specified. 0.1 Ivan Argunov (after Karl Schurmann), Feldmarshal Count Boris Petrovich Sheremetev, 1753. Oil on canvas, 88 x 71 cm. Kuskovo, Moscow .................................220 0.2 Ivan Argunov, Wife of Cosma Khripunov, 1757. Oil on canvas, 73 x 57.5 cm. Ostankino, Moscow .........................................................................................................221 0.3 Nikolai Argunov, Praskovia Ivanovna Sheremeteva (In a Red Shawl), 1803-1804. Oil on canvas, 134 x 98 cm. Kuskovo, Moscow ....................................................................222 0.4 Nikolai Argunov, Praskovia Ivanovna Sheremeteva (In a Striped Coat), 1803. Oil on canvas, 251 x 188 cm. Kuskovo, Moscow .......................................................................223 0.5 Nikolai Argunov, Praskovia Ivanovna Sheremeteva (In a Coffin), 1803. Oil on canvas, 54.5 x 68 cm. Ostankino, Moscow ......................................................................224 0.6 Ivan Argunov, Portrait of an Unknown Artist (Self-Portrait?), late 1750s — early 1760s. Oil on canvas, 83 x 64 cm. State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg .....................225 0.7 Karl Blank, Charles de Wailly, et al., Kuskovo palace, c. 1769-1775. Moscow .......226 0.8 Pavel Argunov, Vincenzo Brenna, Francesco Camporesi, Andrei Mironov, Ivan Starov, et al., Ostankino palace, completed 1798. Moscow ............................................226 1.1 Ivan Argunov, Anna Nikolaevna Kalmykova (called Annushka), 1767. Oil on canvas, 62 x 50 cm. Kuskovo, Moscow .......................................................................................227 1.2 Anna Rosina Lisiewska, Peter III and Catherine II of Russia, 1756. Oil on canvas, 207 x 143 centimeters. National Museum, Stockholm, Sweden .....................................228 1.3 Ivan Argunov, Varvara Petrovna Sheremeteva, 1766. Oil on canvas, 81 x 64 cm. Kuskovo, Moscow ...........................................................................................................229 1.4 Ivan Argunov, Anna Petrovna Sheremeteva (the Younger), late 1760s. Oil on canvas, 72.5 x 56.7 cm. Kuskovo, Moscow .................................................................................230 1.5 Georg Grooth, Varvara Alekseevna Sheremeteva, 1746. Oil on canvas, 132.2 x 105.5 cm. State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow ............................................................................231 1.6 Ivan Argunov, Anna Nikolaevna Kalmykova (called Annushka), detail ...................231 1.7 Nicolas Delapierre, Anna Nikolaevna Kalmykova (Ekaterina Borisovna?), 1772. Oil on canvas, 61.5 x 50 cm. Kuskovo, Moscow ...................................................................232 ii 1.8 Johann Bardou (?), Praskovia Ivanovna Sheremeteva in the Role of Eliane in Grétry's Mariages Samnites, late 1780s — early 1790s. Pastel on parchment, 73 x 59 cm. Kuskovo, Moscow ...........................................................................................................233 1.9 Alexander Roslin, Grand Duchess Natalia Alekseevna, 1776. Oil on canvas, 82.5 x 62 cm. State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg ............................................................234 1.10 Jean-Jacques Avril (after Ferdinand de Meys), Catherine II voyageant dans ses états en 1787, 1790. Engraving, 49.2 x 68 cm .........................................................................235 1.11 Letter from Nikolai Sheremetev to his son Dmitri (excerpt), after 1803. RGIA fond 1088, opis 1, delo 72, list 1ob. Russian State Historical Archive, St. Petersburg ...........236 1.12 Anonymous, Praskovia Ivanovna Sheremeteva, 1802-1803. Dimensions unknown. Ostankino, Moscow .........................................................................................................237 1.13 Nikolai Argunov, Praskovia Ivanovna Sheremeteva (In a Striped Coat) (detail) ...237 1.14 Nikolai Argunov, Alexander Matveevich Dmitriev-Mamonov, 1812. Oil on canvas, 151.5 x 125.6 cm. State Treyakov Gallery, Moscow .......................................................238 1.15 Nikolai Argunov, Nikolai Petrovich Sheremetev, c. 1798-1800. Oil on canvas, 67 x 54 cm. State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg ............................................................239 1.16 Anonymous, Black-Eyed Sweetheart, Give Me a Kiss, mid 1700s. Copperplate, 34.5 x 27.5 cm ..........................................................................................................................240 1.17 Anonymous, The Pancake Vendor, second half of the 18th century. Copperplate, dimensions unknown .......................................................................................................241 1.18 Paintings from the Sheremetev "Portrait Gallery," installation in Kuskovo orangerie (2016) ...............................................................................................................................242 1.19 Anonymous (after Louis Carravaque), Empress Anna Ioannovna, second half of the eighteenth century. Oil on canvas, 85 x 70 cm. Kuskovo, Moscow ................................243 1.20 Ivan Nikitin, Peter I On His Deathbed, 1725. Oil on canvas, 82 x 60.5 cm. State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg .....................................................................................244 1.21 Johann Tannauer, Peter I On His Deathbed, 1725. Oil on canvas, 48.5 x 63 cm. State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg ........................................................................245 2.1 Anonymous, Anna Sheremeteva in Carousel Costume, after 1766. Oil on canvas, 138 x 87 cm. State Hermitage, St. Petersburg ........................................................................246 iii 2.2 Ivan Argunov, Portrait of an Unknown Woman (Anna Buyanova?), 1784. Oil on canvas, 67 x 53.6 cm. State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow ................................................247 2.3 Anton Losenko, The Actor Fyodor Gregorievich Volkov, 1763. Oil on canvas, 67.2 x 54.3 cm. State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow ....................................................................248 2.4