Metternich - Tumblr Posts

Soooo in the next couple of days I would love to speak about how I got to the point where I am right now in the fandom! And first of all - about few historical characters who have been figuring in my drawings for almost a year and a half. :)

I guess that the most accurate way of describing my preferences would be

✨The squad of yearly 19th-century military men with huge sideburns✨

And here they are - from left to right (or should I say from top to bottom, ehem):

First and foremost, I should say couple of words about the man who had been my main inspiration for almost three year in a row - prince Pyotr Ivanovich Bagration, famous infantry general of the Russian Empire. 🇷🇺

Well… I love him with all of my heart! As a Russian who suddenly got into history of Napoleonic wars (and, actually, history in general even though it was not my cup of tea for the major part of my life) thanks to Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” which I read for our literature class in high school and was completely enchanted by it I had plenty of choices with whom I could start my journey.

And I chose… Alexander I.

Yep, I find it rather logical and still appreciate the role that he had played in getting me into the Napoleonic wars shenanigans (even though now I know so much about all of his downsides and unpleasant features of his character) but in the end Bagration means much more to me. 🌹

He was a wonderful warrior with a heart of a lion, a bit too hotheaded but righteous and fair till the very end. I find it fascinating how gracefully he managed to combine his own skills concerning the art of war with the habits of Russian imperial court. Even though he didn’t manage to maintain good relationships with tzar Alexander (oops, here goes Alexander’s pride and arrogance when it came to the military affairs) because of his own sense of right and wrong and his stubbornness (which, in my opinion, was completely justified by the situation in the battlefield) and was acting rather obstinately in the begging of the War of 1812, he got the glory and honour he deserved from his fellow generals and even the enemies of the empire. His unfortunate death is a real tragedy as many sources show that he could have been saved even with the poor medical sources of the time… But oh well. What happened, happened. 😔

Long story short, I think that Bagration was quite wholesome person and I’m happy to see that nowadays he still gets much recognition! 🎉

And the next one we haaaaaave… oh my, who could it be if not the one and only Joachim Murat, maréchal de France, Roi de Naples, in all of his shining glory! 🇫🇷✨

Won’t say much about him here (because it’s far too much for this poor post already 😅) only that this man fascinates me to the bottom of my heart! It’s always such a pleasure to learn something new about his adventures and the adventures of Napoleon’s maréchaux in general. Love them all very much!

Vive la France, vive la Révolution française et vive le Premier Empire surtout!~

…Okay, but also, like, Murat’s attitude to different things and events, his flamboyancy in clothing and his overall, er, sensibility helped me a lot with some deep struggles about my own identity and I will always be grateful to him for who he was. ❤️

The last but not the least is long-forgotten (even though now I find more than enough information about his life, character and deeds) but utterly sweet Fürst Karl Philipp zu Schwarzenberg, field marshal and experienced diplomat in service of the Holly Roman and then Austrian Empire. 🇦🇹

I’m certainly going to make a specific post about how did I end up with him, that one bloody devil Metternich (definitely heard about that guy somewhere) and my overall sudden boiling passion for the austrian history which grows stronger every day so I’m DEFINITELY not going to get into details this time, I swear!

…I only want to express my frustration: I was not smart enough few years ago and now have to study German language frantically. Mein Gott, it was a love from the first sight but that’s pretty tough nonetheless. One year of express self studying has passed and I hope it’s only a beginning!

P. S.

To sum it all up, I would like to state one last question.

On a scale from one to ten how ✨cringe✨ is it to aggressively simp for someone like Metternich? Because it must have been over half of a year by now and my concern is growing. 😂

Almost a year and a half ago I’ve started drawing again after an enormous break - three or four years of inactivity with few exceptions. Back then it was some kind of coping mechanism as the world was slowly going more and more insane; now I simply can’t stop because drawing historical characters bring me so much fun and joy. 🥂

Since my very first attempts to get back on the “art train” I decided to devote myself entirely to the craft of digital art. In the beginning everything was… pretty bad, actually. But things got better eventually and that’s the reason why I’m not ashamed of my old works (okay, a l m o s t not ashamed)! I still have a lot of techniques to learn but acknowledging your own progress from time to time is quite pleasant, may I say so myself as an idle amateur.

Aaaand I have a suitable example to prove this! Example in a form of notorious Austrian chancellor and his military “partner in crime”. ✨

So, that’s how it all started:

And that’s how it’s going:

The moral of the story? The same old one, I guess - never give up on the things you love with all of your heart, since it’s definitely going to look much better after all the trials and efforts! 👍

(But backgrounds are the Devil’s toys obviously, I don’t make the rules over here…)

By now Clemens von Metternich has been constantly present in my life for quite a long period of time, so I am actively manifesting love for him and his incredible family, as most of his children and grandchildren lived extraordinary lives as well!

Same notion goes for Richard and Pauline, Metternich’s own son and granddaughter who married each other due to Clemens approval. They were actual sweethearts and true successors of his former fame (pretty scandalous, may I say so myself) which he earned serving as an Austrian ambassador in Paris. 🇦🇹🇫🇷

And here are some pictures of them together:

In the last photograph Pauline sits with their eldest daughter Sophie on her lap. ❤️

Princess de Metternich, whom I have just mentioned, was one of the most prominent of the women at the Court of the Second Empire. Her husband, Prince Richard de Metternich, was First Secretary to the Austrian Embassy, in all the glory of youth and social success an amiable companion, a graceful dancer, a delightful causeur de salon. Later on, he had come to Paris as Ambassador with this ugliest jo lie laide for wife the daughter of the renowned Johannesberg wine, Comtesse Pauline Sandor whom he married in June 1856. Young, clever, witty, ambitious, with a daring, reckless spirit and a sharp tongue, she carried all before her. She made the brilliancy of Metternich’s diplomatic career. A great favourite at the Tuileries, she held her influence with the Empress even after the downfall of the Empire. 

Princess Metternich was   very amusing and entertaining. Therasa’s songs and Rogolbosche’s kicks  were equally familiar to her, and her burlesque imita- tions of both were so clever that they became a huge advertisement of the originals, sending people flocking in night disguise to the Mabille gardens and the Petit Moulin-Rouge. But with all her recklessness, her love of adventure and her knowledge of the world, she was herself a model of propriety, and her name was never coupled with any love intrigue. She was a woman of refined taste, a fervent partisan of Wagner long before his music became accept- able to the Parisians generally, and it is well known that it was she who prevailed upon Walewski to allow the performance of Tann- hauser at the Opera in 1861. She introduced Liszt to the Tuileries.

She was the first to recognize the genius of the English costumier Worth, who made most of the brilliant and original costumes in which she appeared, and caused admiring astonishment at the Court entertainments. Her love of private theatricals added to the pleasures of the time, and she fre- quently appeared in the tableaux, short comedies and charades that were performed in the long Gallery of Maps at Compiegne - My memoir: Murat,Murat, Caroline Laetitia.

Feeling a little bit lazy for writing that promised post about my first “meeting” with Schwarzenberg but hoping to finish it soon enough…

Until then I want to share another piece of my historical artwork. 🤲

Here comes young and flamboyant Clemens von Metternich, a future menace to all the rebellious European societies and an enemy of many of his own state’s politicians. ✨

Now he only gets ready to call to a barrier half of Europe with his anti-revolutionary pamphlets since fame comes in any form. It doesn’t matter if it is love or hatred… Because he wants to claim it all~

The session of plenipotentiaries that never happened,

Or The tale of how I rediscovered that one lithography of Isabey’s famous painting in extremely high resolution and went through a total recall, so that everybody could suffer (myself including) ⭐️

The arrival of the Duke of Wellington had not only affected Vienna's diplomatic activity and social calendar; it was also posing a problem to the painter Jean-Baptiste Isabey, who was trying to capture the congress on canvas. He had been working for some time, and he had finally found a way to balance all the strong personalities, many of them patrons, into one single painting, and yet not offend national sensibilities or fragile egos.

The painting, which depicted the delegates gathered in a conference room, turned out to be a compromise in the best spirit of Vienna diplomacy.

Metternich, the president of the Congress, draws the eye, as the only standing figure in the foreground.

Castlereagh, though, commands the center, sitting with his legs gracefully crossed and elbow resting on the table.

The light shining through the window, however, falls onto Talleyrand, sitting across the table with his dress sword at his side. An empty chair on both his right and left make him further stand out, as do the nearby figures who look to him, just as many of the smaller powers had sought his leadership the last few months.

As Isabey was putting the finishing touches to his composition, he had to figure out what to do about the fact that the Duke of Wellington was now also in town. Starting over was out of the question. Omitting a man of his stature was equally impossible. Yet it was not easy to incorporate him into a canvas on which all the best places had already been taken. The painter's solution was simple and elegant: why not make the painting commemorate the Duke of Wellington's arrival in Vienna?

That way, the duke could simply be inserted on the far left side of the painting, without any insult to his position. As for the duke's reluctance to be painted from a side angle (he was self-conscious about his nose), Isabey had overcome that with a well-targeted compliment: didn't Wellington look like the handsome and chivalric Henry IV? Pleased with this comparison, Wellington accepted, joking that Isabey was a "good enough diplomat to take part in the Congress".

The painter also had to apply his finesse to convince Humboldt to enter the studio. The Prussian ambassador hated to have his portrait made, and, sure enough, he first declined, claiming that he had "too ugly a face ever to spend a penny" on a portrait. With this statement, Isabey saw his opportunity and emphasized that he would not "ask the slightest recompense for the pleasant trouble I am going to take". Isabey only wanted "the favor of a few sittings".

"Oh, is that all?" Humboldt quickly came around when he realized it would not cost him anything. "You can have as many sittings as you like".

Later, many congratulated Isabey on his portrait, particularly the fine job with Humboldt. The Prussian did not pay anything, as agreed, and Isabey got his revenge, Humboldt joked, by painting "an excellent likeness of me".

Few could complain of the treatment received from Isabey's flattering brush. This famous painting of the Congress of Vienna was pleasing to all, though typical of this peace conference, the scene was purely imaginary. The group of twenty-three delegates had never met in exactly this way before. Isabey had painted the portraits of each figure individually, and then later assembled the whole group together.

And so, symbolically, this simulated image would commemorate a congress that never was.

After that spectacular depiction of historical context surrounding Isabey’s magnificent canvas by David King few things are left to be added. I would simply love to highlight some other figures of utmost importance for the diplomatic life of that illustrious historical period - there are

Karl August von Hardenberg, Prime Minister of Prussia at the time;

Herren Wacken and Friedrich von Gentz, two Secretaries who were responsible for the protocols of the most important Congress' meetings;

count Karl Vasilyevich Nesselrode, a Russian-German diplomat, who became state chancellor of the Russian Empire in 1816;

prince Andrey (Andrew) Kirillovich Razumovsky, an extremely wealthy Russian aristocrat and diplomat, for whom Vienna was like his second home;

and we shouldn’t (or rather can’t) forget about general Charles Stewart-Vane, Castlereagh’s younger brother who definitely knew how to throw an unforgettable party, so refined aristocratic society could discuss his wild adventures at their fashionable salon meetings day and night. ✨

P.S.

Perhaps, there should be more posts with other details of the lithograph as well as Isabey’s original canvas, I’ll just need some time and motivation for that. 👌

Oh, I wanted to read this book one day, naturally, but it seems I’m good without it for now! 😂

I’ve still got plenty of other sources and materials to go through (besides, right now I’m more focused on reading classical literature, since I haven’t had an urge this strong in a long time), so yeeeeah.

However, it would be fun to make full-length reviews on some history books in the future, if I’m able to!

Especially books of that kind. ;)

My newest read. @count-lero, are you familiar with this one?