Count Nikolai Zubov looks at the viewer somewhat arrogantly from the canvas. An unknown painter depicted him in his ceremonial dress uniform, and carefully delineated the awards and orders that the count had received for his service during the reigns of Catherine II and Paul I. The author of the picture thus emphasized the idea that Count Nikolai was a respectable man and a worthy representative of his family.
Count Zubov was the brother to Platon Zubov, Catherine the Great’s last favorite. He began his military career in the Horse Guards Regiment, and during his service there he took part in the Russo-Turkish War of 1787—1791. Once Zubov had to take the place of a courier to deliver an important message to the court in St. Petersburg, which reported the Russian army’s victory in the Battle of Rymnik. For that feat, he was promoted to the rank of colonel.
The empress was benevolent to the Zubov family, so she elevated both brothers to the title of count in 1793. They were both active courtiers. It was Nikolai Zubov who delivered the news of Catherine the Great’s death to Paul I who was in Gatchina at the time. Later, he was involved in a conspiracy to assassinate Paul himself, and, according to evidence of a few eye-witnesses, it was he who dealt the fatal blow on the emperor’s temple with a gold snuffbox in the night of March 24, 1801, ‘from which the monarch fell unconscious’ and died.
Zubov was married to Natalya, the only daughter of the famous military commander Alexander Suvorov. Her portrait, alongside portraits of the Zubovs’ daughters Lyubov and Olga, is also on display at the museum.
His declining years approaching, Zubov retired in the rank of lieutenant-general. He spent the rest of his life at Fetinino, Vladimir Governorate, his family estate, and also resided in Moscow. The portrait on display was transferred to the museum in 1920, during the nationalization of noble estates of the Vladimir Governorate.
Count Zubov was the brother to Platon Zubov, Catherine the Great’s last favorite. He began his military career in the Horse Guards Regiment, and during his service there he took part in the Russo-Turkish War of 1787—1791. Once Zubov had to take the place of a courier to deliver an important message to the court in St. Petersburg, which reported the Russian army’s victory in the Battle of Rymnik. For that feat, he was promoted to the rank of colonel.
The empress was benevolent to the Zubov family, so she elevated both brothers to the title of count in 1793. They were both active courtiers. It was Nikolai Zubov who delivered the news of Catherine the Great’s death to Paul I who was in Gatchina at the time. Later, he was involved in a conspiracy to assassinate Paul himself, and, according to evidence of a few eye-witnesses, it was he who dealt the fatal blow on the emperor’s temple with a gold snuffbox in the night of March 24, 1801, ‘from which the monarch fell unconscious’ and died.
Zubov was married to Natalya, the only daughter of the famous military commander Alexander Suvorov. Her portrait, alongside portraits of the Zubovs’ daughters Lyubov and Olga, is also on display at the museum.
His declining years approaching, Zubov retired in the rank of lieutenant-general. He spent the rest of his life at Fetinino, Vladimir Governorate, his family estate, and also resided in Moscow. The portrait on display was transferred to the museum in 1920, during the nationalization of noble estates of the Vladimir Governorate.
