Vigée Le Brun's Home Page | Index to Art Pages | Vigée Le Brun's Gallery ART PAGE 117 Count Orlov-Tchesmensky - 1795-1801 oil on canvas, oval Count Alexey Grigorievich Orlov-Tchesmensky (1734-1808). From Lada Nikolenko's List of Russian portraits (entry 47) - "Famous champion of Catherine the Great. Painted in St. Petersburg (or Moscow),between 1795 and 1801. Not listed by the artist, but mentioned in the Memoirs as "the notorious Count Orloff, one of Peter the Third's assassins." He came to see the young, but already famous artist in Paris in 1770s, and amazed her by his stature of a giant ." The portrait was presented at the so-called Blue Cross Exhibition of Russian Portraits which was shown in St. Petersburg in 1902, under number 33. Bust-length, 13 1/2 x 11 inches. Formerly in the Olive Collection, St. Petersburg. Present whereabouts unknown.There is also a copy of it." From Lada Nikolenko's paper - "Despite the marked predominance of portraits of beautiful women, handsome men and sweet children. Mme Vigee Le Brun left some excellent studies of elderly men painted in Russia. One of the most characteristic among them is the portrait of the old Count Alexey Orlov Tchemensky, the famous champion of Catherine the Great in her fight for power and her wars. Mme Vigee Le Brun painted him without any paraphernalia of a hero, simply as an old man in a red house robe with a large fur collar, and a white kerchief around his neck. Nothing diverts attention from his crafty face. This portrait existed before the revolution in Russia in two variations, full length and bust length painted in an oval." The other "variation" or "copy" referred to above replaced Count Orlov's house robe with a more formal court attire. View another framed image of this painting. Countess de Verdun - 1779 oil on canvas, oval 72 x 58 cm, 23 3/8 x 22 7/8 in Photo of image from Witt Library Countess Apraxina - 1796 oil on canvas, 112 x 94 cm, 44 x 37 inches unlocated Countess Ecaterina Vladimirovna Apraxine, nee Princess Galitzine (1768 - 1854) was the sister in law of another famous sitter of Vigée Le Brun, Princess Eudocina Ivanovna Galitsin and (Art Page 9). Les Portraits Russes, by Grand Duke Nicolas Michailovich, 1905, vol. 1, fig. 155 shows a three-quarter length portrait, seated on a divan. Color image from Witt Library. Neil Jeffares, Dictionary of Pastellists Before 1800 (Unicorn Press 2006), lists a pastel bust of this sitter by Vigee LeBrun. Vigée Le Brun's Home Page | Index to Art Pages | Vigée Le Brun's Gallery