Princess Zinaida Yusupova

Valentin Serov always worked quickly, and sometimes very quickly. He painted in the manner of the Impressionists even when he was not familiar with their work, all his creative searches were completely independent. Each of the portraits he painted expressed not only the psychological characteristics of the person he painted, but also the spirit of the era.

Creating portraits of aristocrats - Yusupova, Akimova, Orlova, Valentin Serov never forgot who the ancestors of these noble women were. Their portraits glorified Serov, although it was these masterpieces of his work that turned out to be a painful matter for him, as he himself said, similar to an illness.

Princess Zinaida Yusupova painting by Serov

Yusupova's portrait was probably especially complex. 80 sessions, and he didn't like everything. At this time, he wrote to his wife: "It's a pity, the princess and I don't agree very much in tastes ... The gentlemen will come and see what we have written, I am sure they will not like it - well, what to do - we are also a little stubborn ..." When he painted the portrait it seemed to him that the princess was too good, then some kind of rigidity was visible, then the light in the picture did not find its place in any way, as if it could not calm down ...

What could be the reason? Maybe really irreconcilability in tastes, or maybe something else. As a person with a subtle sense of spirituality, Valentin Alexandrovich probably felt in the guise of Zinaida Nikolaevna a state of anxiety, a premonition of tragedy ...

The origins of the Yusupov family can be traced back to ancient times. Their ancestors ruled in the Muslim world and combined government and spiritual power in their person. From Damascus, Antioch, Iraq, Persia, Egypt and to the very shores of the Azov and Caspian Seas, many Muslim tribes migrated, forming the Nogai Horde, between the Volga and the Urals, then the Crimean Horde.

The descendants of the emirs considered it necessary to make friends with the Russian sovereigns. For faithful service, they were awarded by cities and villages. Among them were the descendants of the Khan of the Nogai Horde, Yusuf-Murza. “The sons of Yusuf, arriving in Moscow, were granted by many villages and hamlets in the Romanov district…”. They accepted the Orthodox faith, and Russia became their fatherland.

Princess Zinaida Yusupova at the 1903 Costume Ball

The fact that a curse was imposed on the clan was passed on from descendants to the descendants of the entire Yusupov clan. And this curse, as the Yusupovs themselves saw, acted rigorously - according to it - of all the Yusupovs born in one generation, only one will live up to twenty-six years, and this will continue until the complete destruction of the family.

The Yusupovs were not only rich and noble, they had an extraordinary mind, were talented in art and music. Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov (1750-1831) was the Russian envoy to Italy, the first director of the Hermitage, the chief manager of the Kremlin expedition and the Armory, as well as theaters in Russia. He created the Arkhangelskoye estate - "Versailles near Moscow", the beauty and wealth of which delighted all his contemporaries.

Boris Nikolayevich Yusupov - chamberlain, the son of Nikolai B. Yusupov, also left his only heir - Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov, who later became vice-director of the St. Petersburg Public Library. He was a talented musician and writer. It was on it that the male line of the Yusupov family was cut off.

Two daughters, Zinaida and Tatiana, grew up in his family. At the age of 22, Tatiana died of typhus.

The only heiress remained - one of the most beautiful women in Russia and the richest bride - Princess Yusupova Zinaida Nikolaevna.

The Yusupovs were the second richest after the Romanovs. The luxury of the Yusupov palaces could compete with the luxury of the royal family.The jewelry of Zinaida Nikolaevna previously belonged to almost all the royal courts of Europe.

In 1882, Zinaida Nikolaevna married Count Felix Feliksovich Sumarokov-Elston, in the future Lieutenant General and Governor of Moscow. A year later, they had a son, Nikolai, named after his grandfather. And Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov himself, shortly before his death, turned to Emperor Alexander III with a request - so that the surname would not be suppressed, to allow Count Sumarokov-Elston to be called Prince Yusupov, and so that this title would pass from clan to clan to the eldest son.

Two sons grew up in a happy marriage. Nikolai was educated as a lawyer, had a penchant for art, showed great promise, and the only thing left was to get married. But having fallen in love with a woman who was engaged to another, he could not cope with his passion. On the eve of Nikolai's 26th birthday, the curse of the Yusupov family took effect again - Nikolai died in a duel. The title of Prince Yusupov passed to Felix.

Felix Yusupov, known for all his inclinations for a cheerful life, as well as the fact that he became one of the accomplices with the murderers of Rasputin, looked like his mother, but did not share her inclinations for art.

Princess Zinaida Yusupova - painting by Makovsky

The two richest and most famous surnames became related - Felix Yusupov, at the convincing requests of his mother, marries the most beautiful and richest girl in Russia - Irina Alexandrovna Romanova, daughter of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich. The wedding took place in February 1914, and a year later their daughter Irina was born.

In 1919, the Yusupov family emigrated, like many other aristocratic families. The Yusupovs have never been able to return the enormous wealth left in Russia, but they were not the poorest in emigration either. Abroad, they had a part of the property and the most valuable jewelry of the princess, which they managed to take with them.

Felix Yusupov and Irina Alexandrovna

Irina and Felix tried, like many Russian émigrés, to get involved in an income-generating business - they created the Irfe fashion house - Irina and Felix. But, apparently, there was not enough of the knowledge of doing business that Felix possessed, who in the past did not think about where the money came from, and soon the fashion house had to be closed. They bought a house in the Bois de Boulogne, where they lived for many years.

Prince Felix Feliksovich Sumarokov-Elston died in 1928, and Zinaida Nikolaevna in 1939.

Felix Yusupov gradually squandered all the property he had, he could not give up his idle life.

He himself, his wife and daughter Irina were buried in his mother's grave at the Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois cemetery near Paris.

But back to the portrait of Z.N. Yusupova, painted with the brush of the great master of painting. Serov in the 1900s was already a recognized master, "fashionable artist", and earned commissioned portraits. He never hid his personal relationship to the model, and it is clearly reflected on the canvas. The Yusupovs did not like the portrait, they even wanted to cut an oval out of it, but did not dare, to our delight. Now we can admire this masterpiece of art in the Russian Museum of St. Petersburg.

"Serov's art is like a rare gem, the more you look into it, the deeper it pulls you into the depths of its charm ..." - IE Repin.