Portrait of S. M. Rayevskaya is a 1907 portrait by the Russian artist Victor Stember.
This painting can be found in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia The Hermitage identifies the artist by one of the alternative spellings: 'Shtemberg'.
The American descendants of the artist traveled to Russia in 2006 to visit their homeland and to find, identify and enjoy paintings of their Great Grandfather. A curator of the Hermitage escorted the family to a Gallery that was a replica of the Czars private family quarters where they were thrilled to find three of Stember's paintings on display.
The reference number for this painting in The Hermitage is #1395. Provenance: from the Gagarin collection. Entered the Hermitage in 1946 from the Museum of Ethnography of the Peoples of the USSR. Inventory ЭРЖ-1395, 143 x 115 cm.
Previous Exhibition: St. Petersburg, 1994, Cat. 36
In 1998 an Exhibition of 'Nicholas and Alexandra The Last Imperial Family of Tsarist Russia' toured several cities in America. 3 of Stembers paintings, including this one were featured in the Exhibit. 2 were in the 'Court Life ' tableau Rayevskaya and # 123: Baroness D.E. Grevenits and one in ' The Military' # 191: Count D.A. Sheremetev of the Chevalier Guard Regiment.
The biography of this person is given as:
Sophia Mikhailovna Raevskaya was the daughter of Major-General M.N. Raevsky; she was a lady-in-waiting to the empress and sister of P.M. Raevsky
As recounted to the family by the curator we spoke to at the Hermitage, this painting was from the collection of the family of Gagarin, from which the Russian astronaut was descended.
This Work Appears In
- Studio photograph 71 : This is a portrait done by Stember of S.M. Rayevskaya and hangs in the Imperial family liv
- Studio photograph 65 : This is the cover of the book 'Nicholas and Alexandra The last Imperial Family of Tsarist
Do you have information about this portrait, such as its location, provenance, or a better photograph? Please contact the family.