Maria Klavdievna Tenisheva (née Pyatkovskaya, in the first marriage – Nikolaeva, (20 May 1858 – 14 April 1928) was a Russian

Princess Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for ...

, artist, educator, philanthropist and collector. She was born on 20 May 1858 in St. Petersburg. Maria Tenisheva is famous as the founder of the Art studio in St. Petersburg, and the Drawing School at the Museum of Russian antiquity in

Smolensk Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...

, handicraft college in Bezhitsa town, as well as by artistic and industrial workshops held in her own estate of Talashkino.

Biography

Maria Pyatkovskaya was born on 20 May (1 June) 1858 in St. Petersburg. The girl was illegitimate, and grew up in her stepfather's wealthy house; she was quite a shy girl, despite many governesses, nurses and teachers present in the house. Little Maria was expected to be obedient and restraint. His mother was cold to her, apparently binding to this child the moments of her life which she was trying to forget. When 16-year-old Maria graduated from private school, Rafail Nikolaev, a young lawyer, proposed to her. The idea that the marriage would give her freedom pushed her to give her consent. The couple had a daughter, also named Maria, but the marriage did not work out, as the husband was a gambler. "Everything was so gray and ordinary, meaningless," she wrote later. Soon Maria Tenisheva went to Paris to study singing with the famous Marchesi. She had a beautiful soprano. Maria also took her little daughter to France. That was a really tough time for Maria, as her husband refused to grant her permit to leave and her mother also stopped her allowance. Maria took singing lessons with Mathilde Marchesi, and also graphics lessons. Marchesi was sure that her student was born to have the glory of Russian opera singer. Maria was offered to take a tour of France and Spain. But due to a conflict with the entrepreneur, Maria refused to go, moreover, she decided that singing and stage performance were not for her. Upon returning to St. Petersburg, she attended Baron von Stieglitz classes. At the time, Maria studied the history of art and spent time reading books and visiting museums. In 1892, Maria married Prince Vyacheslav Nikolayevich Tenishev, an outstanding Russian manufacturer. However, his relatives did not recognize Maria, and she was not inscribed into the Tenishev genealogy. The couple settled in the Khotylevo estate acquired by Prince Tenishev in Bryansky district, Orel province. The estate was situated on the banks of the

Desna river The Desna ( Russian and ) is a river in Russia and Ukraine, a major left-tributary of the Dnieper. Its name in means "right hand". It has a length of , and its drainage basin covers .Vasnetsov Vasnetsov () is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Apollinary Vasnetsov (1856–1933), Russian painter * Viktor Vasnetsov (1848–1926), Russian painter {{surname, Vasnetsov Russian-language surnames ...

, Vrubel, Roerich, Malyutin, Benois, the sculptor Paolo Troubetzkoy, and many others. She set up an art studio to prepare young people for higher arts education in St. Petersburg (1894–1904), where

Ilya Repin Ilya Yefimovich Repin ( – 29 September 1930) was a Russian painter, born in what is today Ukraine. He became one of the most renowned artists in Russian Empire, Russia in the 19th century. His major works include ''Barge Haulers on the Volga' ...

taught. Maria Tenisheva was also one of the founders of the Mir Iskusstva (World of Arts) magazine. When traveling with her husband to Europe, the princess had no financial restraints and bought Western European paintings, porcelain, marble sculptures, jewelry, and historic valuables of China, Japan and Iran. When she and her husband went traveling through the old Russian towns of Rostov,

Rybinsk Rybinsk (, ) is the second-largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Yaroslavl Oblast in Russia. It lies at the confluence of the Volga and Sheksna rivers, north-north-east of Moscow. Population: It was previously known as '' ...

Kostroma Kostroma (, ) is a historic city and the administrative center of Kostroma Oblast, Russia. A part of the Golden Ring of Russian cities, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Volga and Kostroma. In the 2021 census, the population is 267, ...

, and the Volga region villages and monasteries, the handmade beauty crafted by unknown masters made her start a collection of utensils, clothing, furniture, jewelry, and glassware. In 1893, Maria Tenisheva persuaded her friend, Princess Catherine Svyatopolk-Chetverinskaya, to sell her ancestral estate Talashkino, and there she quickly created a welcoming, creative atmosphere that attracted many famous artists, musicians, and scientists:

, Nicholas Roerich, Mikhail Vrubel, and many others. Talashkino became the princess' lifework.Tenishev family
In September 1895, thanks to the princess' efforts to erect a new building with dormitories, a dining room and a kitchen, a school opened for village children near Talashkino. Orphans had privileged entry, and Princess Tenisheva gave them full pension. In 1919, after the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

, Princess Maria Tenisheva, together with her friend, Princess Catherine Svyatopolk-Chetverinskaya, and her assistants, left Russia for France. During her exile in Paris, she wrote her memoir, called "Impressions of my life. Memories", that covered the period from the late 1860s to New Year's Eve 1917. The book was published only after her death. Princess Maria Tenisheva died on April 14, 1928, in her house "Iris Cottage", located in the Parisian suburb of La Celle Saint-Cloud. In the obituary, Ivan Bilibin wrote: "Her whole life was dedicated to native Russian art, and she has done infinitely much for it."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tenisheva, Princess Maria 1858 births 1928 deaths Painters from the Russian Empire 19th-century women artists from the Russian Empire Nobility from the Russian Empire Mir iskusstva artists