Born in sunny Italy, far from his native Russian expanses, the sculptor Pavel Trubetskoy gained fame in the creative field at the beginning of the 20th century. His work was highly appreciated by famous sculptors, artists and writers of that time. The style in which he works, concise and at the same time raging with energy, can be described as kind, perhaps even a little naive, but warm and somehow seeming native.
The very personality of a successful sculptor was contradictory, very contrasting. He basically did not read books, his good friend and part-time famous Russian writer Leo Tolstoy called him primitive and extraordinarily talented. Tall and handsome, but also rather modest and silent, Pavel saw a lot in his lifetime, his biography is dotted with interesting moments, which the reader will soon see for himself.
Parents Pavel Trubetskoy
Back in 1863, the father of the eminent sculptor Trubetskoy, Prince Peter Trubetskoy, who was at that time in the Russian royal court, was sent as a diplomat to Florence by order of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Here he meets his love and future wife, singer Adu Vinance, who came from the United States to Italy, to a city on the Arno River, to take singing lessons and to more develop her musical abilities.
Despite the fact that he was already married to a Russian girl, Peter decided at first to be in a civil marriage in Ada, gradually bothering about the divorce from his first wife, which he achieved only in 1870. When the information reached the tsar’s court, Alexander II became very angry, forbidding Trubetskoy to return to his homeland in order to prevent a “spirit of debauchery” in it. At this time, the family couple already lives in the north of Italy in the city of Intra under the name Stahl, where their children, 3 boys, were born. The middle one was Paolo, who was born in 1866.
Childhood and youth
The future sculptor P.P. Trubetskoy was born in a house on the shore of a quiet lake Lago Maggiore. From an early age, a mother, being a creative person, instilled in her son a love of music, literature and art in general. In the Trubetskoy house, the famous painter Daniele Rantsoni, who in fact was not Paul’s teacher, but was his spiritual mentor, moving him into a creative direction, was a frequent guest.
At the age of 8, he sculpts his first work from wax, and immediately after it the next one from marble called “Resting Deer”. His first works were appreciated by the sculptor J. Grandi, who immediately noticed a talented child.
From 1877 to 1878, Pavel studied at an elementary school in Milan, after its completion he entered a technical school, in which he was not at all interested in studying at it. Later he entered college in Intra, and in 1884 made the first, but short-term trip to Russia with his relatives. After returning from a short tour, Pavel begins to seriously engage in sculpture, taking professional lessons from such masters as J. Grandi, E. Bazarro. However, he never received a systematic education.
Carier start
In 1885, Pavel bought a studio in Milan, and a year later in the same city he participated in an exhibition during which the general public extremely positively commented on his work “The Horse”. Animalism, as a genre of fine art, at that time occupied a dominant position in the work of the budding sculptor Trubetskoy. After the exhibition in Milan, he slowly begins to travel the world, the first foreign exhibition was held in San Francisco, USA. His works are in demand, they are bought by the counts of Visconte and Durini.
In 1886, the Trubetskoy family went bankrupt, Paul begins an independent life. He wanders from place to place, interrupting inconsistent earnings, painting portraits to order. In 1890, the sculptor actively participated in various competitions. So, for example, Pavel receives the first prize in his life for the design of the Gribaldi monument. The second one he received a year later for the project of sculpture of Dante in the city of Trento. In the mid-1890s, the sculptor Trubetskoy took part in many European exhibitions and enlisted the support of the famous critic Vittorio Pika.
Russia. Fruitful 4 years
Only in 1896 did Trubetskoy come to Russia with serious intentions, as a well-known sculptor in wide circles. His visit did not go unnoticed: Prince Lvov, the director of the school of painting and architecture in Moscow, invites him to teach sculpture at school, which Paul eagerly agrees to. By 1898, he became a professor of sculpture at an educational institution, to which Pavel devoted 6 years of his life.
At school, the attention to his person was unprecedented: a separate huge workshop was specially built for him, in which there were even special furnaces and foundry machines. In this workshop, he creates the first serious work of bronze under the name "Moscow Carrier", which was distinguished by sincerity and smooth forms.
New acquaintances
The first 5 years of life in Russia were extremely fruitful for the sculptor Trubetskoy in terms of both the creative process and immersion in Russian realities, acquiring new connections. In 1898, acquaintance with the painters I. Repin, I. Levitan, opera singer F. Chaliapin.
At this time, he sculpts sculptures of his new acquaintances, which were highly appreciated by them. Despite acquaintance with most of the Russian intelligentsia and representatives of culture, Trubetskoy spoke most closely with the famous Russian writer L. Tolstoy, with whom they became good friends.
Friendship with L. Tolstoy
From the very meeting in 1898 until the departure from Russia in 1910, the sculptor and writer communicated well. Pavel Petrovich immediately liked Tolstoy for his open big soul, love for animals and disrespect for secular conventions. As Lev Nikolayevich himself writes, Trubetskoy was a man of upbringing and extremely talented, but at the same time completely primitive and naive, interested only in his art.
The acquaintance itself and the first meeting of Trubetskoy and Tolstoy are full of funny moments. From the very threshold, the sculptor declares that he never read books, including Tolstoy’s books, to which the writer replied: “And they did it right.” Later Trubetskoy said that he had read the article by Lev Nikolaevich about the dangers of smoking. To the question of its author, “How?” the sculptor Paolo Trubetskoy replies that the article is good, but he did not quit smoking.
For the first two years of his acquaintance, Trubetskoy creates several bronze busts of his friend, of which the liveliness of the depicted mental process and the smoothness of the forms on which the writer's arms are crossed on his chest are particularly distinguished. Also at this time he creates a sculpture depicting Tolstoy on a horse, the idea for creating which Pavel Petrovich came up with during a horse ride with the writer.
Grandiose work
In 1900, the sculptor participated in the competition for the creation of a monument to Alexander III, in which the creator bypassed eminent rivals: Opekushin, Chizhov, Tomishko. It is worth noting here that the sculptor Paolo Trubetskoy and Alexander II, or rather his monument, are not connected with each other. The monument to Alexander II was erected in 1898 and is the work of the sculptor Opekushin.
The original version of the king, sitting on the throne, did not like Pavel Petrovich, so he proposed his idea, according to which the ruler was mounted on horseback. Later, the sculptor in a humorous manner said that his task in relation to this sculpture was to depict one animal on another, which, however, was more of a compliment, a reference to the brutal power of the king. Moreover, the sculptor was very fond of animals.
He performed a grandiose graphic task - to naturally convey the moment at which the horse stops abruptly, thereby transmitting the strength and weight of the action. It was also necessary to correctly maintain the proportions of the horse and the king sitting on it, to convey greatness in the sculpture.
Casting of the monument lasted almost 10 years. Only in 1909 did the author manage to take a picture with his brainchild on Uprising Square in St. Petersburg. The erection of the monument was perceived differently by the inhabitants of the city, creators and intelligentsia. Some spoke very positively about the work, calling it charming. Others spoke of her as a triumph of vulgarity. In any case, the monument to Alexander III is one of the most famous works of the sculptor Trubetskoy, in combination with his last work in Russia.
Life in Europe
In 1906, Trubetskoy moved to Paris, where he lived until 1914. At this time, he participates in many exhibitions, sculpts sculptures of the famous writer B. Shaw and sculptor O. Rodin. However, the excitement for his work decreases over time, the number of negative reviews increases. Some critics call his work light and immature.
During the outbreak of World War I, the sculptor moved to the United States, where he lives before moving back to Paris in 1921. In the United States, Trubetskoy travels to major cities, arranging displays of his works. In 1922, he creates a sculpture in honor of the fallen during the First World War, which was put in Pallanza, Italy. In Venice and Paris, Trubetskoy arranges personal exhibitions at which his last works were presented.
The last 6 years of his life, the sculptor spends in the villa of Kabianka in Italy, where he moved to permanent residence 5 years after the tragic death of his wife Elin Sundström in 1927. From 1932 until his death in 1938, Trubetskoy exhibited works in Spain, Egypt. His last work was the image of Christ, who mournes humanity.
General conclusion
"Russian Italian," Pavel Trubetskoy was a contrasting figure, on one side of his personality was talent and desire to create, and on the other - a kind of opposition to the norms and, as L. Tolstoy put it, primitiveness. In any case, he was a kind man, with an open soul, who loved animals.
During his life, the sculptor has created many works, the peak of his activity came at the time of life in Russia, here he is friends with many prominent writers, artists and other artists. His main work can be called a monument to Alexander III, who received a large number of positive reviews. It is also worth noting that the sculptor Paolo Trubetskoy and the monument to Alexander II have nothing in common. Not Paul created this work in 1898, but Opekushin.