Barbara Radziwiłł and Princess Tarakanova at the Exposition Universelle of 1867: Meanings Lost and Found in Cross-National Perceptions

• In Event: Art Exhibitions and Their Audiences, 1860–1930

Abstract

At the Russian department of the Paris International Exhibition of 1867, The Death of Princess Tarakanova (1864) by Konstantin Flavitsky and The Death of Barbara Radziwiłł (1860) by Józef Simmler became the favorite paintings among critics and the public. Flavitsky worked in Saint Petersburg, while Simmler was a Polish artist and lived in Warsaw. At that time, Poland remained partially under the control of the Russian Empire. Shortly before the Exhibition, the imperial authorities brutally suppressed the Polish uprising for national independence. This paper examines the process, criteria, and results of selecting paintings for the Russian department at the Exhibition. Why did the Petersburg commission initially reject Flavitsky's painting and immediately accept Simmler's one? How did the perception of these paintings evolve in various national contexts (Russia, Poland, and France)?

Author

• Maria Chernysheva, Independent Scholar