Prince Paul Troubetzkoy – Portrait of a child with a doll (1912) – oil on canvas – 55x46cm

I hadn’t heard of this artist until I saw this painting. I’m not sure if the epithet “Prince” is actually significant but his father was Russian, also a “Prince”, and Paul was born in Italy where he lived until 1897 when he moved to Moscow and was successful as a sculptor. At some point, about 1900, he moved to Paris and continued success as a sculptor.

Although Paul is younger than the Impressionists, my first impression of this painting was of a 19th century painting of a sick or dying child.

However, the artist shows great skill and purpose with the brush, and from what I can see, more genuine emotion than in his sculptures.

The title does not indicate a sick child, but the painting certainly contains the emotion of love and concern for the child, even though the child is not the artist’s as his biography indicates he had no children.