Russian Connections
26 Mar-26 Oct 2014
HouseThis trail highlights objects in the collections at Waddesdon Manor with Russian origins or connections to Russia.
Some of these works have close associations with Rothschild family members, from a monumental urn veneered in precious malachite given to Lionel de Rothschild by Tsar Alexander II, to a painting bought by Ferdinand de Rothschild on a trip to St Petersburg as a young man.
Other works give insights into Russian relations with Western Europe. A 17th-century Dutch painting depicts a mock battle staged in Amsterdam for Peter the Great during his Grand Embassy to Europe. Accounts by European writers recall their journeys, observations and experiences in Russia from the 17th to the 19th centuries. The trail features works of art produced both by Russian artists working in the West and European artists working in Russia.
Timed to coincide with the UK-Russia Year of Culture, the trail puts a new perspective on the collections housed at Waddesdon.