The portrait of Pavel Tolstoy is a copy of the lost work made by the granddaughter of the poet Yevgeniy Boratynskiy, Praskovya Kazem-Bek. She was a lady-in-waiting at the Imperial court, and since 1904 served as a sister of mercy, and then abbess of the Holy Trinity Community of the Sisters of Mercy. During World War One she was in Berlin and inspected the camps of prisoners of war. The results of the trip were published in the book ‘A Trip of the Russian Sister of Mercy to Germany during the War’.
Later, as a representative of the Red Cross, she worked in Stockholm and headed the St. George Red Cross Community. She also ran the Red Cross Office in Kazan.
As a child Praskovya already showed the ability to draw. In 1891, her mother noted in her diary: ‘Artist Novoskoltsev saw Praskovya’s drawings and studies with oil paints and praised them very much. According to him, she has great abilities to develop, and he has taken over her classes… Praskovya makes great advances successes; works a lot and diligently and a is great admirer of color’.
Unfortunately, the original drawings and paintings of Praskovya Kazem-Bek have not survived. For the family collection, she made copies of three portraits of her ancestors: her great-grandfather Pyotr Tolstoy, her grandfather Alexander Kazem-Bek and her great-grandmother Maria Tolstaya, née Buturlina.
Pavel Tolstoy, depicted in his portrait, was a graduate of the Page Corps, a participant of the Battle of Borodino and foreign campaigns of the Russian Army of 1813-1814. He was born in the family of Lev Vasilyevich Tolstoy and his wife Ekaterina Rimskaya-Korsakova.
According to the memoirs of his contemporaries, Tolstoy was a very colorful figure of Kazan society: “He was very intelligent but quite a character; he had a lot of habits and mannerisms, but he also had a beautiful, even temper. He gave everyone freedom of action, but also did what he wanted, what he liked and what he deemed necessary”.
He strictly adhered to the traditions in the manor that have developed over the decades: “Just like before every evening there played an orchestra of serfs in a large double-height hall, and grandfather, sitting in the armchair, listened and smoked his pipe with a long stem”, - remembered his granddaughter Maria Kazem-Bek.
Later, as a representative of the Red Cross, she worked in Stockholm and headed the St. George Red Cross Community. She also ran the Red Cross Office in Kazan.
As a child Praskovya already showed the ability to draw. In 1891, her mother noted in her diary: ‘Artist Novoskoltsev saw Praskovya’s drawings and studies with oil paints and praised them very much. According to him, she has great abilities to develop, and he has taken over her classes… Praskovya makes great advances successes; works a lot and diligently and a is great admirer of color’.
Unfortunately, the original drawings and paintings of Praskovya Kazem-Bek have not survived. For the family collection, she made copies of three portraits of her ancestors: her great-grandfather Pyotr Tolstoy, her grandfather Alexander Kazem-Bek and her great-grandmother Maria Tolstaya, née Buturlina.
Pavel Tolstoy, depicted in his portrait, was a graduate of the Page Corps, a participant of the Battle of Borodino and foreign campaigns of the Russian Army of 1813-1814. He was born in the family of Lev Vasilyevich Tolstoy and his wife Ekaterina Rimskaya-Korsakova.
According to the memoirs of his contemporaries, Tolstoy was a very colorful figure of Kazan society: “He was very intelligent but quite a character; he had a lot of habits and mannerisms, but he also had a beautiful, even temper. He gave everyone freedom of action, but also did what he wanted, what he liked and what he deemed necessary”.
He strictly adhered to the traditions in the manor that have developed over the decades: “Just like before every evening there played an orchestra of serfs in a large double-height hall, and grandfather, sitting in the armchair, listened and smoked his pipe with a long stem”, - remembered his granddaughter Maria Kazem-Bek.
