DOI issue:
No. 202 (January, 1910)
DOI article:Segard, Achille: The sculpture of Prince Paul Troubetzkoi
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.20968#0291
Prhtce Paul Troubetzkoi
instinctive and spontaneous, is, moreover, un- good sense and a logical comprehension of the
doubtedly accentuated by an ancestral association manner and customs of life most suited to his
with the land, for his family, as landed proprietors, physical temperament and his aesthetic activities,
have for centuries lived in close attachment to Without affectation or eccentricity, and as
their estates, and in touch with those who live by naturally as it comes to some to be meat-eaters,
the soil and with the domestic animals and the Paul Troubetzkoi is a vegetarian. He has deep
beasts of the woods and the fields. It is a remark- respect for all earthly existence to the point of
able fact that in our excited and turbulent Paris deeming it a grave fault to take life in any shape
Paul Troubetzkoi has successfully retained his in- or form, and even to participate, no matter how
dividuality as an almost primitive man. Extremely indirectly, in the act of killing. A passionate lover
simple in his dress and his mode of speech, charac- of all forms of life, he does not wish that death
terised by an affability which has in it, however, should overtake any animal on his account,
as much reserve of conscience as of natural sym- I draw attention to this peculiarity of habit and
pathy with all that is frank, sane, artistic and opinion because it is a trait of his character, and
human, he has laid down for himself and for his it helps to give us a more intimate knowledge of
family rules of life which are semi-monastic—rules the man, and consequently of his work. It is no
in which one may find a trace of Russian mysti- less useful to know also that Paul Troubetzkoi has
cism, much hereditary sentiment, and an unlimited taken a little house surrounded by a garden,
situated at the end of a
quiet street near the Bois
de Boulogne, an extra-
ordinarily peaceful haven
of refuge, to which but
few visitors are admitted,
where the servants, re-
spectful and sympathetic,
always go noiselessly
about their work, and
where the silence is only
broken at long intervals by
the noise of a passing train.
This little house, with
its sweet garden and its
large, well-lit studio, forms
a perfect setting for the
works which strike us as
so admirable. The pres-
ence of domestic animals
—Russian dogs with beau-
tiful coats, which at one
time had for companions
some bears and a young
tame wolf—serves but to
emphasise the aspect of
contemplation and the
patriarchal life of the
place. Here one breathes
an atmosphere of peace
and order and of tranquil
labour, and it is not in
the least surprising that
the character of the artist's
work partakes in some
MfeKE" by prince paul troubetzkoi measure of this serenity.
269
instinctive and spontaneous, is, moreover, un- good sense and a logical comprehension of the
doubtedly accentuated by an ancestral association manner and customs of life most suited to his
with the land, for his family, as landed proprietors, physical temperament and his aesthetic activities,
have for centuries lived in close attachment to Without affectation or eccentricity, and as
their estates, and in touch with those who live by naturally as it comes to some to be meat-eaters,
the soil and with the domestic animals and the Paul Troubetzkoi is a vegetarian. He has deep
beasts of the woods and the fields. It is a remark- respect for all earthly existence to the point of
able fact that in our excited and turbulent Paris deeming it a grave fault to take life in any shape
Paul Troubetzkoi has successfully retained his in- or form, and even to participate, no matter how
dividuality as an almost primitive man. Extremely indirectly, in the act of killing. A passionate lover
simple in his dress and his mode of speech, charac- of all forms of life, he does not wish that death
terised by an affability which has in it, however, should overtake any animal on his account,
as much reserve of conscience as of natural sym- I draw attention to this peculiarity of habit and
pathy with all that is frank, sane, artistic and opinion because it is a trait of his character, and
human, he has laid down for himself and for his it helps to give us a more intimate knowledge of
family rules of life which are semi-monastic—rules the man, and consequently of his work. It is no
in which one may find a trace of Russian mysti- less useful to know also that Paul Troubetzkoi has
cism, much hereditary sentiment, and an unlimited taken a little house surrounded by a garden,
situated at the end of a
quiet street near the Bois
de Boulogne, an extra-
ordinarily peaceful haven
of refuge, to which but
few visitors are admitted,
where the servants, re-
spectful and sympathetic,
always go noiselessly
about their work, and
where the silence is only
broken at long intervals by
the noise of a passing train.
This little house, with
its sweet garden and its
large, well-lit studio, forms
a perfect setting for the
works which strike us as
so admirable. The pres-
ence of domestic animals
—Russian dogs with beau-
tiful coats, which at one
time had for companions
some bears and a young
tame wolf—serves but to
emphasise the aspect of
contemplation and the
patriarchal life of the
place. Here one breathes
an atmosphere of peace
and order and of tranquil
labour, and it is not in
the least surprising that
the character of the artist's
work partakes in some
MfeKE" by prince paul troubetzkoi measure of this serenity.
269