Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia (1819-1876)
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| Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaievna of Russia | |
 Portrait by Franz Xaver Winterhalter,1857, Hermitage Museum
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| Born | August 18, 1819 Tsarskoye Selo |
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| Died | February 21, 1876 (aged 56) St Petersburg |
| Parents | Nicholas I of Russia (father) Charlotte of Prussia (mother) |
Maria Nikolaievna (Russian: Мария Николаевна) (August 18, 1819 - February 21, 1876) was a daughter of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia and sister of Alexander II. She was Duchess of Leuchtenberg and President of the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg.
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[edit] Duchess of Leuchtenberg
Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaievna was born on August 18, 1819 in Pavlovsk. She was the second of seven surviving children and the eldest daughter. Her parents, Tsar Nicholas I of Russia and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, born Princess Charlotte of Prussia, were devoted to each other and to their children, providing an excellent education for them.
Unusually for her position and time, she married for love. She met her future husband, Maximilian, Duke of Leuchtenberg, the eldest surviving son of Eugène de Beauharnais and grandson of Empress Josephine, when he came to Saint Petersburg during cavalry maneuvers in 1837. A year later he made a second visit to the city, as noted by the Grand Duchess Olga in her diary: “In four days it has become quite clear that Max and Maria were made for each other."[1]
It was not a desirable match for a daughter of a Russian Emperor. Maximilian was below the rank of royalty, only entitled to the style of Serene Highness as member of a secondary branch of the House of Bavaria. He was also Roman Catholic, not Orthodox, and his own family, his mother Princess Augusta of Bavaria in particular, was against this marriage.
Furthermore the Bonaparte family had been bitter enemies of Russia. Nevertheless the Tsar granted his permission for the marriage on condition that his daughter did not leave Russia to live abroad. Since the Duke of Leuchtenberg was not a member of a reigning family, it was easy for him to take up residence in Saint Petersburg.
The wedding took place on July 2, 1839 in the chapel of the Winter Palace. The Tsar created Maximilian an Imperial Highness. The couple remained in Russia, where their seven children grew up in the circle of the imperial family.
[edit] President of the Academy of Arts
On her engagement Tsar Nicholas I decided to present Maria with her own palace. He chose a site in the centre of St. Petersburg strategically positioned opposite St. Isaac's cathedral, on the banks of the Moika river.[2] No expense was spared in fitting it out for the young couple, specially commissioned from the architect Andrei Stackensneider and, close enough to the Winter Palace for the Tsar to pay daily visits to his daughter.[3]. The palace was finished by the end of 1844 and was named as the Mariinsky Palace, after Maria Nikolaievna. Up until this point, Maria, her husband and three children had lived in the Vorontzov Palace, waiting for the completion of their own residence.[4].
Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaievna and her husband had artistic inclinations and were active in charitable and artistic causes. Maria's husband became well-known as a scientist throughout Russia.[5]. In 1843 he was appointed President of the Academy of Arts. The Grand Duchess was an avid art collector, and after the death of her husband in 1852, she replaced him as President of the Academy of Arts. From then on, Maria Nikolaievana devoted herself to her collection even with greater ardor [6].
[edit] Second marriage
Maria Nikolaievna made a second marriage in 1854, to Count Grigori Stroganov (16 June 1824 – 13 March 1879). It was a morganatic union and was kept secret while her father lived. Officially the marriage did not take place until November 16, 1856, after Nicholas I's death. Her sister Olga described her as more talented than all her brothers and sisters put together, but lacking a sense of duty.
In 1862, Maria Nikolaievna installed herself in Florence in the Villa Quarto, which had belonged to Jerome Bonaparte, and appointed the painter and collector Karl Liphard as her advisor. They went almost daily to visit museums, private collection and antique dealers.[7]. In Italy, the Grand Duchess was zealous in her purchases of painting, sculptures and furniture for the complete refurbishing of her residence.[8]
Duchess Maria probably suffered either from varicose veins or from some sort of bone disease, and by the end of her life she had become an invalid.[9] She died on February 21, 1876 in Saint Petersburg at age 56.
[edit] Art collections
On her death in 1876, Maria Nikolaievna's art collections were divided among her surviving children: Prince Nicholas of Leuchtenberg, his brothers Eugene and George, their sisters Princess Maria of Baden and Princess Eugenia of Oldenburg and their half-sister countess Elena Strogonova. In 1884, her son, Nicholas Duke of Leuchtenberg, mounted an exhibition at the St. Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts with the Grand Duchess former collection. In 1913 another exhibitions was organized at the Hermitage Museum entitled the Heritage of Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaievna. After the revolution the collection was dispersed and now can be enjoyed in museums in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Vienna and the United States [10]. Three of Maria's sons by the Duke of Leuchtenberg lived in her former residence the Mariinsky Palace until 1884, when it was sold to the treasury to pay for the family's mounting debts [11]. Today the Palace house the Saint Petersburg Legislative Assembly.
[edit] Children
Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaievna had seven children from her marriage to the Duke of Leuchtenberg:
- Alexandra, Princess Romanovskaja (9 April 1840 - 12 August 1843)
- Princess Maria Maximilianovna of Leuchtenberg (16 October 1841 - 16 February 1914) m. William of Baden (1829-1897), younger son of Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden
- Nicholas Maximilianovich, 4th Duke of Leuchtenberg (4 August 1843 - 6 January 1891)
- Eugenia Maximilianovna, Princess Romanovskaja (1 April 1845 - 4 May 1925) m. Alexander of Oldenburg (1844-1932)
- Eugen Maximilianovich, 5th Duke of Leuchtenberg (8 February 1847 - 31 August 1901) m. Daria Opotchinina (1845-1870) m. Zinaida Skobeleva (1856-1899)
- Sergei Maximilianovich, Duke of Leuchtenberg (20 December 1849 - 24 October 1877) Killed in the Russo-Turkish war
- George Maximilianovich, 6th Duke of Leuchtenberg (29 February 1852 - 16 May 1912) m.(1) Theresa of Oldenburg (30 March 1852-19 April 1883) m.(2) Anastasia of Montenegro (1868-1935)
Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaievna had two children in her second marriage:
- Grigori Grigorievich, Count Stroganov (b. May 9, 1857) died in childhood
- Elena Grigorievna, Countess Stroganova (11 February 1861 - 12 February 1908) m. Grigori Nikitich Milashevich (1861-1908)
[edit] Ancestry
[edit] Notes
- ^ “Great Private Collections of Imperial Russia ”: Neverov, Oleg , p 109
- ^ The Romanov Legacy, The Palaces of St Petersburg” : Belyakova, Zoia , p 118
- ^ “Great Private Collections of Imperial Russia : Neverov, Oleg , p 110
- ^ The Romanov Legacy, The Palaces of St Petersburg” : Belyakova, Zoia , p 136
- ^ The Romanov Legacy, The Palaces of St Petersburg” : Belyakova, Zoia , p 130
- ^ “Great Private Collections of Imperial Russia : Neverov, Oleg , p 110
- ^ “Great Private Collections of Imperial Russia : Neverov, Oleg , p 110
- ^ “Great Private Collections of Imperial Russia : Neverov, Oleg , p 114
- ^ The Romanov Legacy, The Palaces of St Petersburg” : Belyakova, Zoia , p 135
- ^ “Great Private Collections of Imperial Russia : Neverov, Oleg , p 114
- ^ The Romanov Legacy, The Palaces of St Petersburg” : Belyakova, Zoia , p 138
[edit] Bibliography
- Belyakova, Zoia, The Romanov Legacy, The Palaces of St Petersburg, Studio, ISBN 0-670-86339-4
- Neverov, Oleg, Great Private Collections of Imperial Russia, Vendome Press, ISBN 0-86565-225-2
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