Count Robert de Montesqiou-Fezensac (Conte Robert de Montequiou-Fezensac)

Robert de Montesqiou-Fezensac descended from one of the major noble French families. An antiques collector, he was described by his contemporaries as eccentric and was a great friend of Mallarme’ and D’Annunzio. Robert de Montesqiou met Troubetzkoy in Paris after his participation at the Universal Exhibition of 1900. De Montesqiou was impressed by Troubetzkoy’s innovation in sculpture, dedicating him a letter (Lettre Ouverte au prince Paul Troubetzkoy, in Altesses serenissimes 1907, pp. 125-131). Troubetzkoy completed around 1907 three portraits of the Count: the first is a full length portrait of the count with his greyhound (the plasters are located at the Museo del paesaggio in Verbania inv. T n. 144), the bronze at the Musee’ d’Orsay in Paris (dated 1907) and the present plaster with his walking stick. Another life-size bronze of the present subject is found at the Toronto Art Gallery, Canada (Frezzotti, 2017).

Paul Troubetzkoy (1866-1938), Italy, until 1938;
By descent to the heirs, Rhoda Muriel Marie Somerwell and Luigi Troubetzkoy;
Donated to the Museo del Paesaggio, 1938-1939

Le Cinquante expositions des gravures originales, Gallery Georges Petit, Paris, 1908;
Salon de la Societé Nationale des Beaux Arts, Paris 1921 (april-june),XIII Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte, Venice, 1922, n.10 ;
Museo del Paesaggio, Verbania, 1990, n.114

G. Bal,"Exposition des oeuvres du prince Troubetzkoy" in The New York Herald, 27 maggio 1908;
P. Fortuny, "Deux Petites Salons"in Le Matin, 29 maggio 1908;
R. Giolli, 1913, p. 24 ripr.;
J. Grioni,"Le sculpteur Paul Troubetzkoy, parisien d'election" in Gazette des Beaux-Arts, n. 1396-97, 1985, p. 208, p. 209 (bronze);
R. Bossaglia, P. Castagnoli, L. Troubetzkoy, Paolo Troubetzkoy scultore, Intra, 1988pp. 108-109 (gesso);
S.Frezzotti, in exh. cat., Paolo Troubetzkoy, 1990 pp. 166-167 n. 114;
Paolo Troubetzkoy, La Collezione del Museo del Paesaggio, Palazzo Viani Dugnani, Verbania, 2017, p. 130