Paolo Troubetzkoy

Paolo Troubetzkoy (February 15, 1866, Intra, Italy – February 12, 1938 Italy) was a sculptor and artist who worked in Italy, the United States, England, Russia, and France.

Having received no systematic education, neither general nor artistic, as a boy, Paolo Trubetskoy began to engage in sculpture and painting. In this initial period of his work he created portrait busts, works of fine art, participated in competitions for large sculptures. He mastered the culture of “bocetti” – a sketch from nature, which was used by his first teacher, the Italian sculptor Giuseppe Grandi.

Trubetskoy adopted the ideas of Impressionism and created his own plastic language: the surface of his works vibrates, “breathes” and is modeled by juicy, temperamental, spectacular strokes.

The first exhibition of works by Paolo Trubetskoy took place in the United States in 1886.

In 1897 Trubetskoy came to Russia. The sculptor soon began teaching at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. In St. Petersburg, Paolo Trubetskoy participated in exhibitions of the art association “World of Art”. Where he showed, in particular, sculptural portraits of the artist Isaac Levitan. After the First Revolution in Russia, Trubetskoy took part in a competition to create a monument to Alexander III, where he received the first prize.

In 1913 Trubetskoy exhibited his works at the Roman Secession. Critics wrote that Trubetskoy works in the spirit of “outdated impressionism.”

In 1914 the sculptor went to the United States. Trubetskoy intended to spend several months in America, but because of the war remained until 1921. The artist has organized solo exhibitions in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco.

“In these crazy years, he remains a sculptor of beautiful women,” – writes Zh.S. Grioni. In the United States, Trubetskoy lives in Hollywood, where he builds a studio and buys a small house. In 1919, a monument to Dante was erected in San Francisco, designed by Trubetskoy, and in 1920, a monument to General Harrison Gray Otis was erected in Los Angeles.

From 1921 to 1932 the artist lived in Paris. Here in 1927 his wife, the Swede Elin Sundström, died.

In 1932 Trubetskoy returned to Italy.

On February 12, 1938, Trubetskoy died at Villa Kabianka.