Count Nikolai Nikitich Demidov (9 October / November 1773 Chirkovitsi village near Saint Petersburg – 22 April 1828) was a Russian industrialist, collector and arts patron of the Demidov family.

Life

The son of Nikita Akinfiyevich Demidov (1724–1786) and his third wife Alexandra Evtikhievna Safonova (1745-1778), Nikolai Demidov inherited his father's industrial empire aged only 15 and began to spend so recklessly that the government had to send in the receivers. He inherited the iron and coppersmelting plants of Nizhny Tagil, Nizhny Saldinsky, Verkhne-Saldinsky, Tšerno Istochensky, Visimo Utkinsky, Visimo Shaitansky, Laisky and Vyisky and with them also 11,550 serfs (souls). In September 1795 in Saint Petersburg he married Baroness Elisabeta Alexandrovna Stroganova (

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, 5 February 1779 –

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

, 27 March 1818). By marrying her, Demidov further increased his already enormous wealth. They had four children: * Aleksandra Nikolaievna Demidova (19 October 1796 – 24 August 1800), died as a child * Pavel Nikolaievich Demidov (1798–1840) * Nikolai Nikolaievich Demidov (17 February 1799 – 24 August 1800), died as a child *

Anatoly Nikolaievich Demidov, 1st Prince of San Donato Count Anatoly Nikolaievich Demidov, 1st Prince of San Donato (russian: link=no, Анатолий Николаевич Демидов; 5 April OS: 24 March 1813 – 29 April 1870) was a Russian industrialist, diplomat and arts patron of th ...

(1812/1813–1870). He also had one illegimite daughter Natalie Wodimov (19 February 1819 - 6 April 1876 Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg).

Career

Nikolai entered the diplomatic service and the young couple moved to Paris, becoming ardent supporters of

Napoleon I of France Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

and setting up home in the Hôtel de Brancas-Lauragais, at the corner of Rue Taitbout and

Boulevard des Italiens The boulevard des Italiens is a boulevard in Paris. It is one of the 'Boulevards of Paris#The grands boulevards, Grands Boulevards' in Paris, a chain of boulevards built through the former course of the Wall of Charles V and the City walls of Par ...

. However, rising Franco-Russian tensions forced his recall and they moved back to Russia via Italy, arriving in Russia in 1812. He fought with distinction in the Russo-Turkish War (1806–1812) and at the start of the

French invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental block ...

he financed the creation of an infantry regiment, including his son

Pavel Pavel ( Bulgarian, Russian, Serbian and Macedonian: Павел, Czech, Slovene, Romanian: Pavel, Polish: Paweł, Ukrainian: Павло, Pavlo) is a male given name. It is a Slavic cognate of the name Paul (derived from the Greek Pavlos). ...

as one of its officers, which he then commanded against Napoleon's forces, fighting at Oravais and Borodino.

Patron of Sciences and Arts

Returning to Russia in 1806, Demidov, wanting to introduce all the latest improvements in terms of technology at his factories, ordered Professor Ferry, then a famous expert in mining, from France, and put him 15,000 rubles a salary a year, a very significant amount for that time. Wishing to train experienced craftsmen for his factories, Demidov, at his own expense, sent more than a hundred serfs abroad to England, Sweden and Austria to study special branches of mining. In 1813 he gave his important collections to the mineralogical museum of Moscow founded by his uncle Pavel Grigoryevich to replace those lost in the fire of the city, giving art collections to Moscow University in the same vein. He also financed the construction of four cast iron bridges in

. With age, he also became a wiser industrialist, modernising his factories' infrastructure and doubling his fortune. He gave his home over to many industries and public utility services, perfecting the exploitation of mines and raising his income to 5 million. At the Nizhny Tagil plant he founded a school in which, in addition to general education subjects, they also taught "the general principles of mechanics and practical mining art." This school, which gave the best craftsmen for the factories of Demidov and others, was transformed into a district school in 1839 and subordinated to the department of the Ministry of Public Education. He also acclimatised

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture ...

and Champagne vines and

Lucca Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as ...

olive trees to the

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a p ...

, imported horses from England, Merino sheep from Switzerland, ordered Kholmogory cattle, Orenburg goats and Caucasian mountain horses, in addition, he made experiments in the cultivation of cotton and

saffron Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of ''Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma (botany), stigma and stigma (botany)#style, styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly ...

. Nikolai Demidov served as chamberlain to the Emperor, a

Hereditary Commander A Hereditary Commander is a (Knight) Commander whose family holds that title by hereditary right. Hereditary Commanders of the Russian tradition Russian tradition of the Knights Hospitaller was officially launched by Paul I of Russia in January ...

of the

Order of Saint John of Jerusalem The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headqu ...

, and member of the privy council. Nicolas Demidoff

In 1819 he was made Russian ambassador to the court of

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

. After divorcing his wife, who moved back to France, he lived his last years in France and Italy among scholars, financing the creation of schools, hospitals and other charitable institutions in Tuscany. He bought of marshland north of Florence from the Catholic Church and there built the Villa San Donato from 1827 to 1831, where he set up richly-decorated private rooms, a suite of 14 rooms housing his enormous art collection, a theatre and a foreign languages academy. That collection, reputed among the most lavish private collections in Europe, was divided between his residences in San Donato, Saint Petersburg, Paris and Moscow, included works by Flemish and Italian masters, decorative art objects and a famous collection of weapons now in the

Wallace Collection The Wallace Collection is a museum in London occupying Hertford House in Manchester Square, the former townhouse of the Seymour family, Marquesses of Hertford. It is named after Sir Richard Wallace, who built the extensive collection, along ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. His collection of ancient Greek and Roman sculptures is now at the Hermitage Museum. By decree of Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany, on 23 February 1827 Demidov was made "Count of San Donato" for the services he had rendered to Tuscany by setting up a silk factory. He had built a home for the elderly and orphans and donated a special capital for its maintenance. The grateful citizens of Florence in honour of the donor named one of the squares, near the Demidov Charity House, Demidovskaya and placed on this square a statue of Nikolai Nikitich. A public Monument to Nicola Demidoff designed by Lorenzo Bartolini is located on "Piazza Demidoff" overlooking the

river Arno The Arno is a river in the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the most important river of central Italy after the Tiber. Source and route The river originates on Monte Falterona in the Casentino area of the Apennines, and initially takes a sou ...

in Oltrarno.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demidoff 1773 births 1828 deaths Diplomats of the Russian Empire 19th-century businesspeople from the Russian Empire Russian art collectors Philanthropists from the Russian Empire Russian commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Nikolay Russian nobility Privy Councillor (Russian Empire)