Introductory article.

N.I. Ponomareva

The name of Maria Klavdievna Tenisheva (1867?-1928) is one of the names undeservedly forgotten. It, like some others, seemed to “drop out” from the history of Russian culture. Even the memory of her was not preserved. A street in Smolensk, named after Tenisheva in 1911, when Maria Klavdievna became an honorary citizen of the city, was renamed after her death. The “Russian Antiquity” museum, a unique collection of Russian antiquities, which she donated to Smolensk in 1911, does not preserve her memory; The museum's collection, shuffled many times and hidden from our eyes, is dying in storage.

What about Talashkino - the estate of M.K. Tenisheva near Smolensk? Talashkino is a world-famous center of Russian culture at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, which today should be no less famous than Mamontov’s Abramtsevo. And spiritual life froze there, and the last, miraculously surviving architectural monuments are threatened with death from destructive restoration...

But the manuscripts, according to Bulgakov, fortunately, do not burn. And those 35 notebooks that were preserved after Tenisheva’s death by her friend Princess Ekaterina Konstantinovna Svyatopolk-Chetvertinskaya, and then published by the Russian Historical and Genealogical Society in France in 1933, now - almost 60 years later - have seen the light of day in Maria Klavdievna’s homeland.

And this is an event of great importance, not only because we are fulfilling our duty to the memory of Tenisheva and thereby restoring historical justice, but also because we are returning at least a particle of what she did to national culture. Unfortunately, due to many years of undeserved oblivion in her homeland, a lot of “research” time was lost and a significant part of the facts of Tenisheva’s biography is no longer replaceable. Almost everyone who knew Maria Klavdievna passed away, all the students of her agricultural school, her archive was lost in France; So far it has not been possible to find her relatives, who lived with her in Paris in the 20s. And every day these losses multiply...

Why does it seem necessary to us now to restore, bit by bit, all the creative activity of M.K. Tenisheva? First of all, because all Tenishev’s undertakings of a hundred years ago have not lost their relevance at the present time. And the main thing depends on our understanding of the meaning of the activities of outstanding Russian educators and philanthropists, such as M.K. Tenisheva, whom contemporaries called “the pride of all Russia” - the possibility of continuing the work they started, but, alas, interrupted at takeoff, like Tenisheva’s case in Talashkin.

The book has long become a bibliographic rarity, and it was possible to get acquainted with it only through photocopies or microfilms. This reissue of Tenisheva’s memoirs, conceived by the Leningrad branch of the publishing house “Iskusstvo,” was also prepared from a photocopy he made from a copy stored in the State Public Library. M.E. Saltykova-Shchedrin. At the very end of the work, Alexander Alexandrovich Lyapin, who lives in Paris, came to Leningrad - the grandson of the wonderful Russian artist Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov - and brought two copies of Tenisheva’s book, one of which he donated to the Teremok Museum in Talashkino, and the other to the author of these lines.

It must be said that A.A. Lyapin and other representatives of the Russian emigration in Paris, who preserve the memory of M.K. Tenisheva and her deeds for the benefit of the fatherland, provided us with all possible assistance in searching for archives and materials related to Maria Klavdievna. Frankly, it was painful to realize that there, in Paris, the memory of Tenisheva was preserved better than in her homeland. Unwittingly, M.K. Tenisheva herself predicted such a turn of fate: “My country was my stepmother, while in the West I was greeted with open arms.”

“Impressions of my life” is a book of confession. It is unique in terms of genre. According to E.K. Svyatopolk-Chetvertinskaya, Tenisheva’s notes were not intended for publication. These were diary entries. But we will be immediately surprised by one of their non-diary features - the absence of dates. It cannot be assumed that this is a coincidence. There is not a single letter from Maria Klavdievna or a note written by her that does not contain a date. But in the book, dates begin to appear only in the second half of the story. The ending of the book is focused on the date, and not only on the date, but also on the hour (these lines were written at seven o’clock in the evening on December 31, 1916). “Now there are only 5 hours left until the end of this ill-fated year. What does 1917 promise us?

The image of time in the book is an image of the flow of life. The farther from the first phrase: “Early childhood is a foggy vision,” the closer to the “shore”, to the final point, the more clearly visible are the time milestones... I think it’s true that it was not a poetic image that forced Tenisheva to deliberately not indicate a single exact date, which would suggest the year of her birth, because the facts stated in her notes - a meeting with I. S. Turgenev (no later than 1883), an implausibly early first marriage and the birth of her daughter, departure to Paris in 1881 - do not in any way correspond to the indicated year birth - 1867.

Larisa Sergeevna Zhuravleva, one of the few researchers of the life and work of M.K. Tenisheva, found in the documents another date of her birth - 1864 - but this date probably requires clarification. Thus, in John Boult’s article “Two Russian philanthropists Savva Morozov and Maria Tenisheva,” the dates under Tenisheva’s photographs are: 1857-1928.

We touched upon this issue only because research that strives for truth must be based on reliable data, and in order to restore the picture of the life of M.K. Tenisheva, we still have to finally establish the date of her birth, which is still hidden from us.

The origin of M.K. Tenisheva also remains a mystery. The girl did not know her father. “It’s strange...” Tenisheva writes in her diary. “I grew up under the name Maria Moritsovna, and then, as if in a dream, I remembered that a long time ago, in a foggy childhood, my name was Maria Georgievna.”

In the memoirs of Olga de Clapier, Tenisheva’s student during the years of emigration, we read the following: “Mani’s father was killed when she was 8 years old. She clearly remembered the extraordinary excitement that began in the afternoon in the large mansion on the Promenade des Anglais. When they sang “Rest With the Saints” and Manya knelt down, among the women’s sobs behind her the words were often heard: “My God. My God! The king was killed...” We are talking about the murder of Alexander II, according to de Clapier, the father of M.K. Tenisheva...

“Impressions of my life” are diaries and memories at the same time. The diary entry was supplemented by memories, which, in turn, corrected the diary. You will undoubtedly feel the powerful energy intensity of some episodes of the book. These “fiery” notes were clearly written under the strong impression of the event that had just occurred. There are quite a few recordings of a different nature - carefully thought out, “cooled down”, clearly structured.

According to V. Lakshin’s figurative definition, the “hell” and “honey” of memories collide in the book. “Hell” occupies most of the diary, which gives us reason to judge the degree of loneliness and secrecy of Maria Klavdievna, when she only confided in paper the conflicts that had happened. There is much less “honey”.

An interesting assumption about the origin of “Impressions...” was made by O. de Clapier: “I would like to say how much these “impressions” do not correspond to her personality. This wonderful woman, with the stamp of genius, had many talents, but - may her shadow forgive me this statement - not a writer's! She had a notebook in which for many years in a row she wrote several pages occasionally, only annoyed by some failure, upset by deception: it has been known from time immemorial that very rich people are often victims of clever and unscrupulous seekers of easy money, intriguers and petitioners. This causes bitterness and frustration among victims of deception...

Princess Maria, having written two or three pages of bitter lamentations, calmed down and cheerful, went downstairs, joked, ate something forbidden by the doctor, quietly from Kitu (Ekaterina Konstantinovna Svyatopolk-Chetvertinskaya. - N.P.), walked on the wet grass and no longer thought about the people who deceived her. She has already gotten rid of the “obsessive thought.”

Throughout her life, Maria Tenisheva was engaged in self-education: she learned to sing, draw, studied ancient enamel, and even defended her dissertation on this topic. She also devoted a lot of time to charity and philanthropy. The princess opened schools and colleges, museums and hospitals, collected works of art and helped young painters enter the Academy of Arts. And wherever she lived - in Paris, St. Petersburg, the Russian estate of Talashkino - Tenisheva created cultural centers where artists gathered.

Student at the Paris Vocal School

Maria Tenisheva (née Pyatkovskaya) was born in St. Petersburg in 1858. Her mother married only after the birth of the girl, so she was not recognized in the family of her stepfather Moritz von Desen. According to rumors, her natural father could be Emperor Alexander II.

The position of an “illegitimate” affected the life of Maria Tenisheva from childhood. She was educated at home, not feeling the need for practically anything, but she was lonely and abandoned. The girl “talked” with paintings that hung in her stepfather’s house. She called them “picture friends” and “noble creatures.”

In 1869, Maria Tenisheva entered the private women's gymnasium of Marya Speshneva - the first gymnasium in Russia in which education was conducted according to the programs of men's real schools. At first, having gotten rid of her mother’s pressure, she studied absent-mindedly, constantly playing pranks, but later she became interested in Russian history, natural sciences and foreign languages.

In 1876, Tenisheva graduated from high school and married lawyer Rafail Nikolaev. A year later, her daughter was born. However, the marriage was not happy - Tenisheva called it a “stuffy shell.” After five years of unhappy family life, she secretly left for Paris with her daughter and faithful maid Lisa Grabkina. Maria Tenisheva had a beautiful voice, and she dreamed of special education. In Paris, the fugitive enrolled in the vocal school of Mathilde Merkezi. Intoxicated by the freedom and cultural life of the French capital, she attended singing and Italian lessons. Tenisheva met famous cultural figures of that time - Maria Savina, Ivan Turgenev, Anton Rubinstein and Konstantin Makovsky, who painted her first portrait.

A year later, Maria Tenisheva had to return to Russia. During this period, her husband took her daughter away from her, and Tenisheva herself began to have financial problems. She settled on the Talashkino estate in Smolensk province with her childhood friend Ekaterina Svyatopolk-Chetvertinskaya. This “typically Russian corner,” as she would later write, returned Maria Tenisheva’s “hope and love for life.” However, in the fall of the same year, she again left for Paris to continue her studies with Merkezi.

In the capital of France, Maria Tenisheva was offered a tour of Europe, but she refused: "Singing? This is fun... This is not what my destiny wants.". She spent all her free time with Ekaterina Svyatopolk-Chetvertinskaya. The friends walked and visited museums. Maria Tenisheva became interested in the ancient art of enamel and began taking drawing lessons at the Louvre from the artist Gabriel Gilbert.

In the spring of 1885, she returned to Russia again. After several years of an ambiguous position in society, her husband gave her a divorce. He sent his daughter to a boarding school. Tenisheva again settled in Talashkino - here she and Ekaterina Svyatopolk-Chetvertinskaya opened a literacy school for peasant children.

Ilya Repin. Portrait of Princess M.K. Tenisheva. 1896. Smolensk State Museum-Reserve

Ilya Repin. Portrait of M.K. Tenisheva. 1898. State Tretyakov Gallery

Mikhail Vrubel. Valkyrie. Princess M.K. Tenisheva. 1899. Odessa Art Museum, Ukraine

St. Petersburg studio-workshop and provincial “Russian Athens”

Three years later, Maria Tenisheva left for Moscow to study Russian opera under Fyodor Komissarzhevsky. She met Konstantin Stanislavsky and played in his charity performance. And later she went to St. Petersburg, where she continued her self-education, attending drawing classes.

In the capital, at one of the social receptions, Maria met Prince Vyacheslav Tenishev. Having started his career as a railway technician, he became a major entrepreneur, who was nicknamed the “Russian American” for his energy and efficiency. By that time, he was not only a wealthy industrialist, but also a major philanthropist, the author of books on agronomy and ethnography.

In 1892, Maria Tenisheva married the prince. From that moment on, she began active educational activities. At the Bryansk Rail Rolling Plant, which was headed by Vyacheslav Tenishev, the princess opened vocational schools for the children of workers, evening courses, and a club. In 1894, Maria Tenisheva and Svyatopolk-Chetvertinskaya bought the Flenovo farmstead, not far from Talashkino, from a bankrupt landowner. An agricultural school was opened on the united estate.

For the winter, the couple moved to St. Petersburg. Famous cultural figures gathered in their house on the Promenade des Anglais - Ilya Repin, Viktor Vasnetsov, Mikhail Vrubel, Pyotr Tchaikovsky. In 1895, the princess opened a studio-workshop at her home. In it, young people prepared to enter the Academy of Arts, which was headed by Repin at that time. Two years later, Maria Tenisheva organized an exhibition of works of Western European art in St. Petersburg. She collected a valuable collection while traveling around Europe. Pavel Tretyakov wanted to buy several paintings, but Tenisheva refused to violate the integrity of the collection, and later she transferred the paintings to the Russian Museum. In March 1898, Maria Tenisheva co-founded the World of Art magazine, sponsoring the first exhibitions of World of Art artists. The princess devoted all her free time to studying the art of ancient enamel and even tried to create enamels herself.

In the provincial cultural center of the Tenishevs - “Russian Athens”, as contemporaries called the estate - life was in full swing. There was its own orchestra of Russian folk instruments and even a theater. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Maria Tenisheva decided to build a temple in Flenovo. The competition for the best project was won by the plan of Sergei Malyutin and Ivan Barshchevsky. Work began in 1901, and by 1903, a close family friend, Nicholas Roerich, began to work on the interior decoration and painting of the rebuilt Church of the Holy Spirit.

“All her life she did not know deathly peace. She wanted to know and create and move forward.”

Nicholas Roerich, “In Memory of Tenisheva”

In 1903, Maria Tenisheva’s husband became seriously ill and soon died. Together with Svyatopolk-Chetvertinskaya, the princess went on a trip to the cities of Russia - Vladimir, Suzdal, Kostroma, Uglich, Novgorod. During the trip, the ladies bought antique works of art. For the exhibition of collected works in Smolensk, the foundation of the Russian Antiquity Museum was laid.

Valentin Serov. Portrait of M.K. Tenisheva. 1898. Smolensk State Museum-Reserve

Museum "Russian Antiquity" of Princess Tenisheva in Smolensk. Pre-revolutionary postcard. Photo: wikipedia.org

Konstantin Korovin. Portrait of M.K. Tenisheva. 1899. Smolensk State Museum-Reserve

"Mini-Talashkino" near Paris

Tenisheva's activities were interrupted by the 1905 revolution. Unrest began in its schools and strikes in workers' workshops. Entire villages were burning.

“There is no doubt that it was a natural storm that flew over Russia. Blind, unscrupulous people... These are those who stand up for the people, shout about the good of the people - and with a light heart they destroy that little, those rare centers of culture that are created by the individual hard efforts of individuals.”

From the book “Impressions of my life” by Maria Tenisheva

The princess made a difficult decision - to close the school, suspend all work and move from Svyatopolk-Chetvertinskaya to Paris. Over the next two years, in order to preserve Tenisheva’s collections, they were gradually removed from Russia. The haven in Paris began to be called “mini-Talashkino”. As before, Maria Tenisheva studied the enamel and began to write down her observations in the form of a research paper.

In 1906–1907, Paris was captured by the fashion for Russian. In addition to the Sergei Diaghilev exhibition and the upcoming Russian Seasons, Tenisheva introduced traditional Russian art to Parisians in a special exhibition. The exhibition became so popular that the collections were exhibited for almost six months in four halls of the Louvre, and Russian motifs appeared in French fashion and jewelry of that time.

In 1908, the friends, homesick, returned to Russia. For two and a half years, Talashkino fell into disrepair. In the book “Impressions of My Life” Maria Tenisheva wrote: “Now I live in a cemetery. Wherever you look: to the right is a former workshop, to the left is a silent, stalled theater, a witness of former animation and fun, there behind the forest is a former school...” The princess tried to revive her estate, and at the same time sponsored the opening of higher educational institutions in Smolensk. Friends gathered in Talashkino again: Igor Stravinsky and Nicholas Roerich worked there on the ballet “The Rite of Spring”. In 1912, Nicholas II visited the Tenishevsky Museum in Smolensk.

With the outbreak of the First World War, work on the development of Talashkino stopped. In Smolensk, Maria Tenisheva opened a hospital for the wounded. The princess herself worked on her dissertation “Enamel and Inlay,” which she defended in 1916. However, the military situation affected her emotional state.

In 1918, princesses Tenisheva and Svyatopolk-Chetvertinskaya left for France through Crimea. A small villa in the town of Voskresson near Paris again became a Russian cultural center, which was visited by artists. The princess was still very upset by the separation from Russia. She began writing memoirs, which were later published by Ekaterina Svyatopolk-Chetvertinskaya.

Maria Tenisheva died in 1928. She was buried in the Saint-Cloud cemetery. The stone tombstone on her grave was made by Ivan Bilibin.

Tenisheva, Maria Klavdievna

Photo portrait of M. K. Tenisheva.

Princess Maria Klavdievna Tenisheva(nee Pyatkovskaya, by stepfather - Maria Moritsovna von Desen; in first marriage - Nikolaev; -) - Russian noblewoman, public figure, enamel artist, teacher, philanthropist and collector. Founder of an art studio in St. Petersburg, Drawing school And Museum of Russian Antiquity in Smolensk, a school for craft students in the city of Bezhitsa, as well as art and industrial workshops in its own estate Talashkino.

Biography

Tenisheva died on April 14, 1928 in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Cloud. In his obituary dedicated to Maria Klavdievna, I. Ya. Bilibin wrote: “She devoted her entire life to her native Russian art, for which she did an infinite amount.”.

Categories:

• Tenishevs
• Patrons of the Russian Empire
• World of Art
• Collectors of icons
• Personalities in alphabetical order
• Honorary citizens of Smolensk
• Women artists of Russia
• Princesses of the Russian Empire
• Russian emigrants of the first wave in France
• Born in 1858
• Deaths on April 14
• Died in 1928

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See what “Tenisheva, Maria Klavdievna” is in other dictionaries:

Activist in the field of Russian art, philanthropist, collector and artist. Wife of V. N. Tenishev. She studied art in St. Petersburg and Paris. She organized drawing schools at her own expense in... ...

- (née Pyatkovskaya) (1867 1929), princess, public figure, collector, philanthropist, enamel artist. She founded an art studio in St. Petersburg (1894), a Drawing School (1896) and the Museum of Russian Antiquity (1898) in Smolensk,... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary

TENISHEVA (née Pyatkovskaya) Maria Klavdievna (1867 1929) princess, Russian public figure, collector, philanthropist, enamel artist. She founded an art studio in St. Petersburg (1894), a drawing school (1896) and the Museum of Russian... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

- ... Wikipedia

- (Pyatkovskaya). Genus. 1867, d. 1929. Patron of arts, enamel artist, collector, public figure. Using her own funds, she created an art studio in St. Petersburg (1894), a drawing school (1896), the Museum of Russian Antiquity (1898) in Smolensk... Large biographical encyclopedia

Tenisheva, Maria Klavdievna Photo portrait of M. K. Tenisheva. Maria Klavdievna Tenisheva (nee ... Wikipedia

- (née Pyatkovskaya) Maria Klavdievna (1861 1929), princess, collector, philanthropist, enamel artist. She founded an art studio in St. Petersburg (1894), a drawing school (1896) and the Museum of Russian Antiquity (1898) in Smolensk, artistically ... ... Russian history

Maria Klavdievna, figure in the field of Russian art, philanthropist, collector and artist. Wife of V.N. Tenishev. She studied art in St. Petersburg and Paris. Organized on my own... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Photo portrait of M. K. Tenisheva. Maria Klavdievna Tenisheva (née Pyatkovskaya, by stepfather Maria Moritsovna von Desen; in Nikolaeva’s first marriage; 1858 1928) Russian noblewoman (princess), public figure, enamel artist, teacher, philanthropist and... ... Wikipedia

When she was young and not yet known to anyone, she once told her story to Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev. He, thoughtfully, replied: “Oh, it’s a pity that I’m sick and didn’t know you before. What an interesting story I would write..."

Maria Klavdievna Tenisheva (nee Pyatkovskaya, according to her stepfather - Maria Moritsovna von Desen) was born on May 20, 1858, in St. Petersburg.
The girl was illegitimate and grew up in her stepfather’s rich house as a complete wild child, despite the abundance of governesses, nannies and teachers. They demanded complete obedience and restraint from her. The mother was cold towards her, obviously associating with this child those moments of her life that she wanted to forget.

“I was lonely, abandoned. When everything was quiet in the house, I quietly tiptoed into the living room, leaving my shoes outside the door. There are my painting friends... These good, smart people are called artists. They must be better, kinder than other people, they probably have a purer heart, a nobler soul?...”

When Maria turned 16 years old, after graduating from a private gymnasium, a young lawyer R. Nikolaev proposed to her. Of course, the thought that marriage would give her freedom pushed her to agree. Early marriage, birth of a daughter. And my husband turned out to be an avid gambler. “Everything was so gray, ordinary, meaningless”– she wrote later.

A trifling incident gave her hope: she was told that her strong “operatic” voice had a beautiful timbre. You need to go to study in Italy or France.

Easy to say! How is this possible? Where's the money? Where's the passport? After all, at that time the wife entered into her husband’s passport. The mother refused to help with money. But Maria collected as much money as she could by selling the furnishings of her room. It was much more difficult to wrest permission to leave from my husband. But this too turned out to be overcome.

...A lonely woman with a small daughter in her arms and with meager luggage boarded a train that promised not Paris - a new life.

“It’s hard to describe what I experienced when I finally felt free... Choking from the influx of uncontrollable feelings, I fell in love with the universe, fell in love with life, grabbed hold of it.”

Sokolov A.P. Portrait of Maria Klavdievna Tenisheva (1898)

Maria begins to learn singing from the famous Matilde Marchesi. He also begins to take art lessons from the famous graphic artist J.G. Victor, later in St. Petersburg attends the classes of Baron Stieglitz, showing bright abilities in this field. He begins to deeply study the history of art, spending hours reading books and visiting museums.

Another passion that clearly manifested itself in her youth and played an important role in her future fate was love for antiquity, a craving for everything ancient. “Modern exhibitions left me indifferent; I was drawn to antiquity. I could spend hours standing in front of display cases of antique objects.”

Her mezzo-soprano of rare beauty charmed the Parisians. Marchesi was sure that her Russian student would become famous as an opera singer. She was offered a tour of France and Spain. But the entrepreneur, as it turned out, believed that in addition to the interest due to him, the young and beautiful woman had something to thank him for the profitable engagement. The arbitrariness in the talent market, the dependence on money bags, the grip of which Maria immediately felt, affected her like a cold shower.

“A woman... can only advance by miracle or in ways that have nothing to do with art; every step is given to her with incredible effort.”

There, in Paris, she will feel that the theater and the stage are not for her. "Singing? This is fun... This is not what my destiny wants.”

M.K. Tenisheva. Portrait by I. Repin (1896)

In the meantime - return to Russia, lack of money, ambiguous position in society. The husband actually took away his daughter, sending her to a closed educational institution. He said about his wife’s artistic plans: “I don’t want my name to be scattered over fences on posters!” But the long, grueling divorce still took place. As a result, the daughter became very distant from her mother, not forgiving her even in adulthood for her desire for self-realization to the detriment of caring for the family and her.

At a critical moment in her life, Maria Klavdievna is searched for by her best childhood friend Ekaterina Konstantinovna Svyatopolk-Chetvertinskaya. Chetvertinskaya will play a very important role in the life of Maria Klavdievna. A friend invites her to her family estate Talashkino.

Ekaterina Konstantinovna Svyatopolk-Chetvertinskaya

At some friendly party she was asked to sing. A man undertook to accompany him, in whose appearance, if not for the frock coat, which betrayed the hand of an expensive Parisian tailor, there was something peasant, stocky, almost bearish. The cello sounded wonderful in his hands! This is how she met Prince Vyacheslav Nikolaevich Tenishev.

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Prince V.N. Tenishev. Leon Bonnat (1896)

He started out as a railroad technician with a pittance salary. By the time he met Maria, he had a huge fortune, growing steadily thanks to his fantastic energy, enterprise, and excellent knowledge of the commercial and financial world. He managed to become famous as the author of several serious books on agronomy, ethnography, and psychology. He was known as a generous philanthropist and a serious figure in the field of education. And he was divorced.

In the spring of 1892, Maria and Prince Tenishev got married. Their marriage was not simple and cloudless. She was thirty-four years old, he was forty-eight years old. Two strong independent natures, similar in many ways and at the same time very different, with already established principles and views on life. It was not enough for her to be loved only as a woman: she always wanted to be seen as an individual, to be taken into account with her opinions and principles.

Together with her husband, the princess moved to the town of Bezhitsa, where Tenishev managed the affairs of a large factory.

School opened by Tenisheva in Bezhitsa

Tenisheva recalled: “Little by little, a whole picture of the true situation of the workers at the plant unfolded before me. I discovered that in addition to the jaded matrons and well-fed indifferent figures, there were also small, depressed people, scorched by the fire of foundry furnaces, deafened by the endless blows of the hammer, rightly perhaps embittered, coarse, but still touching, deserving at least a little attention and care for their needs. After all, these were people too. Who, if not they, gave these figures, and my husband and I, prosperity?..”

Repin I.E. Portrait of Princess M.K. Tenisheva (1896)

Maria Klavdievna becomes the trustee of the only school in Bezhitsa, then founds several more schools in the city and surrounding villages. All schools were created and maintained with the capital of the Tenishevs. Maria Klavdievna goes further: she organizes a people's canteen with high-quality lunches and for a reasonable fee. She also made it possible for workers’ families to be given empty lands for temporary use - resettlement began from cramped and stuffy barracks, breeding grounds for dirt and disease. But that's not all. Another important problem is the leisure of workers, which could become an alternative to drunkenness and idleness. Tenisheva is organizing a theater in Bezhitsk, where visiting artists will perform, evenings and concerts will be held.
When Tenishev resigns from the management of the Bryansk factories, the family leaves for St. Petersburg.

Tenishev House on the English Embankment in St. Petersburg

Famous composers and performers, Scriabin, Arsenyev, began to visit the music salon and the Tenishevs’ house. The voice of the salon owner will then delight Tchaikovsky.

M.K. Tenisheva. Portrait by Serov (painted in the living room of the princess’s house in St. Petersburg)

Maria Klavdievna creates a workshop for herself for serious painting, but is immediately inspired by I. E. Repin’s idea to organize a studio to prepare future students for admission to the Academy of Arts and gives her workshop to the studio. Repin himself undertakes to teach.

Soon this place became very popular among young people. There was no end to those interested, the workshop was packed to capacity, “they worked five hours a day, not paying attention to the cramped conditions and stuffiness.” Tenisheva tried to help students: training in the studio was free, everything needed for classes was purchased, free teas were arranged, and student works were purchased. Among the students of the Tenishev studio are I.Ya. Bilibin, M.V. Dobuzhinsky, Z.E. Serebryakova, E.V. Chestnyakov and many other future famous artists.
Maria Klavdievna becomes one of the founders of the World of Art magazine.

Cover of the magazine "World of Art"

Tenisheva’s gambling nature was captured by another passion - collecting. On trips with her husband to Europe, the princess, not limited in funds, bought Western European paintings, porcelain, marble sculpture, jewelry, things of historical value, and products by masters from China, Japan, and Iran. Artistic taste was given to her by nature. She learned and understood a lot from communicating with people of art. Readings, lectures, exhibitions completed the matter - Maria acquired the keen sense of a connoisseur and knew how to appreciate what she got into her hands. And so, when she and her husband traveled through the old Russian cities: Rostov, Rybinsk, Kostroma, through Volga villages and monasteries, the princess saw the hand-made beauty of unknown masters - original, unimaginable in the variety of shapes and colors and perfect in execution. Before our eyes, a new collection of utensils, clothing, furniture, jewelry, dishes and crafts was being born - things of amazing beauty, taken from a dim hut or an abandoned barn.

Portrait of Princess Tenisheva M.K. Korovin K.A. (1899)

In 1893, Maria Klavdievna persuades her friend to sell Talashkino to her. As in St. Petersburg, she very quickly creates a hospitable, creative atmosphere in the Talashkino house, which brings together many famous artists, musicians, and scientists. I.E. often come here. Repin, M.A. Vrubel, A.N. Bakst, Ya.F. Tsionglinsky, sculptor P.P. Trubetskoy and many others. By the way, in Maria Klavdievna’s circle there were always many people of art, but for some reason there was never an atmosphere of idleness and bohemianism.

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Vrubel M.A. Portrait of Princess M.K. Tenisheva as Valkyrie (1899).

But her most expensive creation was a school on the Flenovo farm near Talashkino, for village children. In September 1895, a new school building with bright classrooms, a dormitory, a dining room, and a kitchen opened its doors. There were a lot of people interested. Orphans had priority when entering school, and Tenisheva took them in for full support. Great attention is paid to the selection of teachers. According to her ideas, a rural teacher should not only know the subject well, but also be a mentor and friend for the child, an example in life.

Teremok in Flenov

Next to the school building, according to Malyutin’s sketch, a fairy-tale house was built, decorated with carvings and paintings; a library and a teacher's room were located here. The best books, textbooks, art albums, and magazines are brought here from the capital and foreign trips.

Door - portal in the interior decoration of Teremka

Another pearl of the Flenov school was the children's balalaika orchestra, which became famous throughout the Smolensk region.

Talashkino Balalaika Orchestra

A new school with the latest equipment for those times, a public library, and a number of educational and economic workshops also appeared in Talashkino, where local residents, mostly young people, were engaged in woodworking, metal chasing, ceramics, fabric dyeing, and embroidery. Practical work began on the revival of folk crafts. Many local residents were involved in this process. For example, women from fifty surrounding villages were engaged in the Russian national costume, weaving, knitting and dyeing of fabric.

Products of Talashkin craftsmen

All this went to the Rodnik store opened by Tenisheva in Moscow. There was no end to buyers. Orders also came from abroad. Even prim London became interested in the products of Talashka craftsmen. This success was not accidental. After all, Tenisheva invited those who at that time constituted the artistic elite of Russia to live, create, and work in Talashkino. In the workshops, a village boy could use the advice of M.A. Vrubel. Patterns for embroiderers were invented by V.A. Serov. M.V. Nesterov, A.N. Benoit, K.A. Korovin, N.K. Roerich, V.D. Polenov, sculptor P.P. Trubetskoy, singer F.I. Chaliapin, musicians, artists - this land became a studio, workshop, stage for many masters.

Tenisheva wanted things created according to ancient principles of beauty to enter the lives and everyday life of city residents and change their taste, which was accustomed to cheap imitations of European style. And she really wanted local peasants to participate in the new artistic process. After all, in the Smolensk province from time immemorial there were many handicrafts, but the products of handicrafts had long since departed from the beauty of folk art, they were rough, clumsy, and stereotyped; the peasants tried to improve them, but, not seeing or knowing good examples, they worked primitively and sold their products at low prices. Tenisheva believed that with the right and loving approach, it is possible to revive the primordial craving of Russian people for beauty.

The princess was also fond of enamel - that branch of jewelry making that died out in the 18th century. She decided to revive it. Maria Klavdievna spent whole days in her Talashkino workshop, near the furnaces and galvanic baths.

It was thanks to the work of Tenisheva and her quest that the enamel business was revived, together with the artist Jacquin, more than 200 tones of opaque (opaque) enamel were developed and obtained, and the method of making “champleved” enamel was restored.

"Overseas Guests" The sketch for this enamel was made by N.K. Roerich at the request of M.K. Tenisheva. The plate was made in 1907, ended up abroad and was sold at Sotheby's auction in Geneva in 1981.

Her works have been exhibited in London, Prague, Brussels, and Paris. In Italy - the birthplace of this matter - she was elected an honorary member of the Roman Archaeological Society. European experts ranked Tenisheva in the field of enamel work “one of the first places among her contemporary masters.” And in her homeland, Maria Klavdievna defended her dissertation entitled “Enamel and Inlay.” She was offered a chair in the history of enamel work at the Moscow Archaeological Institute.

Princess Maria Klavdievna Tenisheva - philanthropist, collector, enamel artist, public figure

When she was young and not yet known to anyone, she once told her story to Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev. He, thoughtfully, replied: “Oh, it’s a pity that I’m sick and didn’t know you before. What an interesting story I would write..."

Maria Klavdievna Tenisheva (nee Pyatkovskaya, according to her stepfather - Maria Moritsovna von Desen) was born on May 20, 1858, in St. Petersburg.

The girl was illegitimate and grew up in her stepfather’s rich house as a complete wild child, despite the abundance of governesses, nannies and teachers. They demanded complete obedience and restraint from her. The mother was cold towards her, obviously associating with this child those moments of life that she wanted to forget.

“I was lonely, abandoned. When everything was quiet in the house, I quietly tiptoed into the living room, leaving my shoes outside the door. There are my painting friends... These good, smart people are called artists. They must be better, kinder than other people, they probably have a purer heart, a nobler soul?...”

When Maria turned 16 years old, after graduating from a private gymnasium, a young lawyer R. Nikolaev proposed to her. Of course, the thought that marriage would give her freedom pushed her to agree. Early marriage, birth of a daughter. And my husband turned out to be an avid gambler. “Everything was so gray, ordinary, meaningless,” she later wrote.

A trifling incident gave her hope: she was told that her strong “operatic” voice had a beautiful timbre. You need to go to study in Italy or France.

Easy to say! How is this possible? Where's the money? Where's the passport? After all, at that time the wife entered into her husband’s passport. The mother refused to help with money. But Maria collected as much money as she could by selling the furnishings of her room. It was much more difficult to wrest permission to leave from my husband. But this too turned out to be overcome. ...A lonely woman with a small daughter in her arms and with meager luggage boarded a train that promised not Paris - a new life.

“It’s hard to describe what I experienced when I finally felt free... Choked by the influx of uncontrollable feelings, I fell in love with the universe, fell in love with life, grabbed hold of it.”

Sokolov A.P. Portrait of Maria Klavdievna Tenisheva (1898)

Maria begins to learn singing from the famous Matilde Marchesi. He also begins to take art lessons from the famous graphic artist J.G. Victor, later in St. Petersburg attends the classes of Baron Stieglitz, showing bright abilities in this field. He begins to deeply study the history of art, spending hours reading books and visiting museums.

Another passion that clearly manifested itself in her youth and played an important role in her future fate was love for antiquity, a craving for everything ancient. “Modern exhibitions left me indifferent; I was drawn to antiquity. I could spend hours standing in front of display cases of antique objects.”

Her mezzo-soprano of rare beauty enchanted the Parisians. Marchesi was sure that her Russian student would become famous as an opera singer. She was offered a tour of France and Spain. But the entrepreneur, as it turned out, believed that in addition to the interest due to him, the young and beautiful woman had something to thank him for the profitable engagement. The arbitrariness in the talent market, the dependence on money bags, the grip of which Maria immediately felt, affected her like a cold shower. “A woman... can only advance by miracle or in ways that have nothing to do with art; every step is given to her with incredible effort.”

There, in Paris, she will feel that the theater and the stage are not for her. "Singing? This is fun... This is not what my destiny wants.”

M.K. Tenisheva. Portrait by I. Repin (1896)

In the meantime - return to Russia, lack of money, ambiguous position in society. The husband actually took away his daughter, sending her to a closed educational institution. He said about his wife’s artistic plans: “I don’t want my name to be scattered over fences on posters!” But the long, grueling divorce still took place. As a result, the daughter became very distant from her mother, not forgiving her even in adulthood for her desire for self-realization to the detriment of caring for the family and her.

At a critical moment in her life, Maria Klavdievna is searched for by her best childhood friend Ekaterina Konstantinovna Svyatopolk-Chetvertinskaya. Chetvertinskaya will play a very big role in her life. A friend calls her her family estate Talashkino.

Ekaterina Konstantinovna Svyatopolk-Chetvertinskaya

At some friendly party she was asked to sing. A man undertook to accompany him, in whose appearance, if not for the frock coat, which betrayed the hand of an expensive Parisian tailor, there was something peasant, stocky, almost bearish. The cello sounded wonderful in his hands! This is how she met Prince Vyacheslav Nikolaevich Tenishev.

TO Prince V.N. Tenishev. Leon Bonnat (1896)

He started out as a railroad technician with a pittance salary. By the time he met Maria, he had a huge fortune, growing steadily thanks to his fantastic energy, enterprise, and excellent knowledge of the commercial and financial world. He managed to become famous as the author of several serious books on agronomy, ethnography, and psychology. He was known as a generous philanthropist and a serious figure in the field of education. And he was divorced.

In the spring of 1892, Maria and Prince Tenishev got married. Their marriage was not simple and cloudless. She was thirty-four years old, he was forty-eight years old. Two strong independent natures, similar in many ways and at the same time very different, with already established principles and views on life. It was not enough for her to be loved only as a woman; she always wanted to be seen as an individual, to be taken into account with her opinions and principles.

Together with her husband, the princess moved to the town of Bezhetsk, where Tenishev managed the affairs of a large plant.

School opened by Tenisheva in Bezhetsk

Tenisheva recalled: “Little by little, a whole picture of the true situation of the workers at the plant unfolded before me. I discovered that in addition to the overworked matrons and well-fed indifferent figures, there were also small, depressed people, scorched by the fire of foundry furnaces, deafened by the endless blows of the hammer, rightly perhaps embittered, calloused, but still touching, deserving at least a little attention and care for their needs. After all, these were people too. Who, if not they, gave these figures, and my husband and I, prosperity?..”

Repin I.E. Portrait of Princess M.K. Tenisheva (1896)

Maria Klavdievna becomes the trustee of the only school in Bezhitsk, then founds several more schools in the city and surrounding villages. All schools were created and maintained with the capital of the Tenishevs. Maria Klavdievna goes further: she organizes a people's canteen with high-quality lunches and for a reasonable fee. She also made it possible for workers’ families to be given empty lands for temporary use - resettlement began from cramped and stuffy barracks, breeding grounds for dirt and disease. But that's not all. Another important problem is the leisure of workers, which could become an alternative to drunkenness and idleness. Tenisheva is organizing a theater in Bezhitsk, where visiting artists will perform, evenings and concerts will be held.

When Tenishev resigns from the management of the Bryansk factories, the family leaves for St. Petersburg.

Tenishev House on the English Embankment in St. Petersburg

Famous composers and performers, Scriabin, Arsenyev, began to visit the music salon and the Tenishevs’ house. The voice of the salon owner will then delight Tchaikovsky.

M.K. Tenisheva. Portrait by Serov. (written in the drawing room of the princess's house in St. Petersburg)

Maria Klavdievna creates a studio for herself for serious painting, but is immediately inspired by the idea of ​​I.E. Repin to organize a studio to prepare future students for admission to the Academy of Arts and gives his workshop to the studio. Repin himself undertakes to teach. Soon this place became very popular among young people. There was no end to those interested, the workshop was packed to capacity, “they worked five hours a day, not paying attention to the cramped conditions and stuffiness.” Tenisheva tried to help students: training in the studio was free, everything needed for classes was purchased, free teas were arranged, and student works were purchased. Among the students of the Tenishev studio are I.Ya. Bilibin, M.V. Dobuzhinsky, Z.E. Serebryakova, E.V. Chestnyakov and many other future famous artists.

Maria Klavdievna becomes one of the founders of the World of Art magazine.

Cover of the magazine "World of Art"

Tenisheva’s gambling nature was captured by another passion - collecting. On trips with her husband to Europe, the princess, not limited in funds, bought Western European paintings, porcelain, marble sculpture, jewelry, things of historical value, and products by masters from China, Japan, and Iran. Artistic taste was given to her by nature. She learned and understood a lot from communicating with people of art. Readings, lectures, exhibitions completed the matter - Maria acquired a keen sense of a connoisseur and knew how to appreciate what she got into her hands. And so, when she and her husband traveled through the old Russian cities: Rostov, Rybinsk, Kostroma, through Volga villages and monasteries, the princess saw the hand-made beauty of unknown masters - original, unimaginable in the variety of shapes and colors and perfect in execution. Before our eyes, a new collection of utensils, clothing, furniture, jewelry, dishes and crafts was being born - things of amazing beauty, taken from a darkened hut or an abandoned barn.

Portrait of Princess Tenisheva M.K. Korovin K.A. (1899)

In 1893, Maria Klavdievna persuades her friend to sell Talashkino to her. As in St. Petersburg, she very quickly creates a hospitable, creative atmosphere in the Talashkino house, which brings together many famous artists, musicians, and scientists. I.E. often come here. Repin, M.A. Vrubel, A.N. Bakst, Ya.F. Tsionglinsky, sculptor P.P. Trubetskoy and many others. By the way, in Maria Klavdievna’s circle there were always many people of art, but for some reason there was never an atmosphere of idleness and bohemianism.

Vrubel M.A. Portrait of Princess M.K. Tenisheva as Valkyrie (1899).

But her most expensive creation was a school on the Flenovo farm near Talashkino, for village children. In September 1895, a new school building with bright classrooms, a dormitory, a dining room, and a kitchen opened its doors. There were a lot of people interested. Orphans had priority when entering school, and Tenisheva took them in for full support. Great attention is paid to the selection of teachers. According to her ideas, a rural teacher should not only know the subject well, but also be a mentor and friend for the child, an example in life.

Teremok in Flenov

Next to the school building, according to Malyutin’s sketch, a fairy-tale house was built, decorated with carvings and paintings; a library and a teacher's room were located here. The best books, textbooks, art albums, and magazines are brought here from the capital and trips abroad.

Door - portal in the interior decoration of Teremka

Another pearl of the Flenov school was the children's balalaika orchestra, which became famous throughout the Smolensk region.

Talashkinsky Balalaika Orchestra.

A new school with the latest equipment for those times, a public library, and a number of educational and economic workshops also appeared in Talashkino, where local residents, mostly young people, were engaged in woodworking, metal chasing, ceramics, fabric dyeing, and embroidery. Practical work began on the revival of folk crafts. Many local residents were involved in this process. For example, women from fifty surrounding villages were engaged in the Russian national costume, weaving, knitting and dyeing of fabric.

Products of Talashkin craftsmen

All this went to the Rodnik store opened by Tenisheva in Moscow. There was no end to buyers. Orders also came from abroad. Even prim London became interested in the products of Talashka craftsmen. This success was not accidental. After all, Tenisheva invited those who at that time constituted the artistic elite of Russia to live, create, and work in Talashkino. In the workshops, a village boy could use the advice of M.A. Vrubel. Patterns for embroiderers were invented by V.A. Serov. M.V. Nesterov, A.N. Benoit, K.A. Korovin, N.K. Roerich, V.D. Polenov, sculptor P.P. Trubetskoy, singer F.I. Chaliapin, musicians, artists - this land became a studio, workshop, stage for many masters.

I wanted things created according to ancient principles of beauty to enter the lives and everyday life of city residents and change their taste, which was accustomed to cheap imitations of European style. And she really wanted local peasants to participate in the new artistic process. After all, in the Smolensk province from time immemorial there were many handicrafts, but the products of handicrafts had long since departed from the beauty of folk art, they were rough, clumsy, and stereotyped; the peasants tried to improve them, but, not seeing or knowing good examples, they worked primitively and sold their products at low prices. Tenisheva believed that with the right and loving approach, it is possible to revive the primordial craving of Russian people for beauty.

The princess was also interested in enamel, a branch of jewelry that died out in the 18th century. She decided to revive it. Maria Klavdievna spent whole days in her Talashkino workshop, near the furnaces and galvanic baths.

It was thanks to the work of Tenisheva and her quest that the enamel business was revived, together with the artist Jacquin, more than 200 tones of opaque (opaque) enamel were developed and obtained, and the method of making “champleved” enamel was restored.

"Overseas Guests" The sketch for this enamel was made by N.K. Roerich at the request of M.K. Tenisheva. The plate was made in 1907, ended up abroad and was sold at Sotheby's auction in Geneva in 1981.

Her works have been exhibited in London, Prague, Brussels, and Paris. In Italy - the birthplace of this matter - she was elected an honorary member of the Roman Archaeological Society. European experts ranked Tenisheva in the field of enamel work “one of the first places among her contemporary masters.” And in her homeland, Maria Klavdievna defended her dissertation entitled “Enamel and Inlay.” She was offered a chair in the history of enamel work at the Moscow Archaeological Institute.

A dish and salt shaker with a Siberian orlets stone, presented as a gift to Emperor Nicholas II

In 1903, her husband, Prince Tenishev, dies.

At this time N.K. arrives in Talashkino. Roerich. Friendship with him became an important page in the life of Maria Klavdievna: “Our relationship is a brotherhood, a affinity of souls, which I value so much and in which I believe so much. If people more often approached each other the way he and I did, then a lot of good, beautiful and honest things could be done in life.”

In 1905, she donated her colossal collection of art objects to the city of Smolensk. The authorities did not want to provide her with a room for her display. Moreover, they were in no hurry to accept the princess’s gift. Then Tenisheva bought a piece of land in the city center, built a museum building at her own expense and housed the collection there.

The building of the Museum "Russian Antiquity" in Smolensk.

But before it could open, the museum found itself in danger. Arsons began in the city and villages, proclamations were flying here and there, someone had already seen thrown away icons and people with a red flag in their hands. At meetings they shouted about “bloodsuckers” and called to “rob the bourgeoisie.” Secretly at night, having packed the collection, Tenisheva took it to Paris. And soon an exhibition opened in the Louvre, which was trumpeted by all European newspapers. Paris seemed to have gone crazy, flooding the five large halls. Here one could meet the entire intellectual elite of the capital: scientists, writers, politicians, collectors, guests who specially came to look at the incomparable spectacle. “And this is all from Smolensk? Where is this? Since the time of Napoleon, the French had not heard of such a city and could not imagine that all this abundant luxury “came” from a quiet province.

Bronze candlesticks

Tenisheva was very proud that the Russian folk dresses she showed in Paris “had a strong impact on the fashions and accessories of women’s toilet.” Receptive to all innovations from the world of clothing, French women adopted a lot from the Smolensk peasantry. “I noticed,” wrote Maria, “the obvious influence of our embroideries, our Russian dresses, sundresses, shirts, hats, zipuns... Even the name “Russe blouse”, etc. appeared. Our Russian creativity was also reflected in the jewelry business, which made me so happy and was a reward for all my work and expenses.

Wooden valley. According to Fig. book M.K. Tenisheva.

“What freshness of forms, richness of motifs! - the observers were stunned to introduce readers to the unprecedented opening day. “This is delight, a real revelation!” Behind the abundance of exclamation marks, one question delicately loomed: “Is all this really made in Russia?” Princess Tenisheva was the first to open the door to Europe into the original, unlike anything else, world of Russian artistic creativity.

Balalaika, painted by Vrubel.

For a collection of balalaikas painted by Golovin and Vrubel, Maria Klavdievna was offered an astronomical sum. The newspapers of those years wrote that the collection would never return home: its display in different countries of the world could become a real goldmine for the owners. But every single thing returned to Smolensk.

An exhibit from the “Russian Antiquity” collection

But with the revolution, life in “Russian Athens” (as Talashkino’s contemporaries called it) was interrupted. Arsons began, propaganda was carried out at the school, and Tenisheva could not understand why what she had created was being destroyed. Potatoes were stored in the Church of the Holy Spirit, built by Tenisheva and painted by N.K. Roerich. The tomb of V.N. Tenishev was destroyed, and his ashes were thrown out.

But the school in Talashkino lasted only ten years, the workshops even less - four and a half years!

On March 26, 1919, Tenisheva, together with her closest friend E.K. Svyatopolk-Chetvertinskaya and close friend and assistant V.A. Lidin, left Russia forever and went through the Crimea to France.

Chest and pendant inlaid with champlevé enamel. Work by M.K. Tenisheva.

Tenisheva spends the last ten years of her life in exile, in the small estate of Vaucresson, which her friends called “Little Talashkino”. Here, already seriously ill, in a small workshop on Duquesne Avenue, she continues to work on enamels, earning a living with her own labor.

Maria Klavdievna also gladly accepted the offer to design costumes for the opera “The Snow Maiden”.

“Her performance was amazing,” recalled E.K. Svyatopolk-Chetvertinskaya. “Until her last breath, she did not give up her brushes, pen and spatulas.”

Maria Klavdievna Tenisheva died in the spring of 1928. She was buried in the cemetery of Sainte-Genevieve des Bois.