Original lithograph by Wilhelm Wieger (1890-1964), famous German painter and graphic artist depicts portrait Maria Alexandrovna Wassiltchikoff, the Maid of Honor ( in Russian: frejlena) to Their Majesties the Empresses of Russia. There is unter title the original autogram of depicting person.
Maria Wassiltchikov (1859 St.Petresburg - 1934 Paris) comes from a famous noble family, the guardian of the heir to the throne, Alexei Romanov. She was friends with Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich and Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna. She was made of honor by the Grand Duchess in the mid-1880s. She owned the Gloggnitz estate near Vienna, at the Klein-Wartenstein station, where she was detained by the Austrian authorities after the outbreak of World War I.
In the spring of 1915, at the initiative of the Austrian authorities, she sent a letter to the Empress and then personally to Nicholas II with the aim of starting peace negotiations. The letters remained unanswered. After this, in May 1915, Vasilchikova was invited to Berlin, where she met with German diplomats, in particular with Foreign Minister von Jagow. In December 1915, representatives of the German and Austrian authorities suggested that Vasilchikova go to Russia to convey the contents of the peace proposals to Emperor Nicholas II personally. While already in St. Petersburg, the maid of honor never received a response from the Tsar, and was received by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Despite Maria Feodorovna's participation in persuading the Tsar about peace with Germany, Vasilchikova did not receive any response from the royal house, and was sent out of St. Petersburg to the estate of her sister Iloradovich in the Sernigov province, where she lived until the revolution. She was undeservedly declared a spy by St. Petersburg society.
After the revolution, she emigrated to Germany.
Literature: in German: in German: image of postcard after this lithograph; in Russian: history of Maria Wassiltchikov in Wikipedia and under link:
https://yerdnavokrats.livejournal.com/35303.html?
Inscription: signed and dated 1915 by the author in the plate; titled under the image in French ( English translation: Maid of Honor to Their Majesties the Empresses of Russia); under Title is Original autogram of Wassiltchikoff.
Technique: lithograph on paper, passpartout, unframed.
Measurements: w 14 1/3" x h 17 1/2" (36,5 x 44,5 cm), with passpartout 18 1/8" x 22" (46 x 56 cm).
Condition: good. |