Vasily Sheremetev
Russia- Biography of Vasily Sheremetev
- Early Life
- Life in the Convent Tower
- The Tower's Interior
- Life in the Convent
- A Noble Spirit
- War and Return
- Loss and Life After the War
- Art and Recognition
Biography of Vasily Sheremetev
A Forgotten FigureVasily Pavlovich Sheremetev, the great-grandson of Count Dmitry Nikolaevich Sheremetev, is a relatively unknown artist. What little is known about him is often overshadowed by the harsh reality of the times. Many believe that he was a failure, unable to achieve anything in life and unable to provide for his wife and daughter. He was a lover of his homeland, which seemed to mock him and deny him a proper existence. The exact date of his birth and death are unknown, but his life remains a forgotten, obscure, semi-forgotten page in the history books.
Early Life
Vasily Pavlovich was born in 1922, in the midst of the "iron" Stalinist era. He was the beloved child of a "late marriage." His father, Pavel Sergeevich Sheremetev, married his distant relative Praskovya Vasilyevna Obolenskaya, after going through many hardships and losing dear loved ones. Both of them were almost forty years old when their son was born. Unfortunately, Vasily's family was evicted from their ancestral estate in Ostafevo, where his father worked as a museum caretaker, in the year of his birth. As the grandson of Count Sheremetev, Vasily quietly relocated his family to the walls of the Novodevichy Convent, closer to his ancestors' neglected graves. They were joined by their devoted nanny, Feodosiya Nikitichna Makarova, who never left the family until her death.
Life in the Convent Tower
The Novodevichy Convent, after undergoing the "mass revolutionary resettlement," resembled a giant ant hill. Students, pharmaceutical college students, and course attendees were everywhere. Every day, the crowds of strange, noisy, untidy, impolite people grew larger. One day, Pavel Sergeevich overheard a conversation about himself: "some count" lived in the bright Nadvratnaya Tower, while their children huddled in cells! Immediately, he requested to be moved to another tower to avoid being a thorn in anyone's side.
The Tower's Interior
The living quarters of the Sheremetevs were located in a tall, eight-meter-high room. Birds flew freely, and the wind howled. In winter, it was cold, and in summer, it was sweltering. Ancient folios and scrolls were scattered about, and a painting covered in silk hung on the wall, a family relic by Rembrandt.
Life in the Convent
Pavel Sergeevich left home every morning for work. Restoration work began in Ostankino, and he was actively involved in advising. Life was tense, restless, and financially challenging. To support the family, Pavel Sergeevich even made mounts for museums as a way to earn money. He dabbled in painting, and one of his successful works was a portrait of Sergey Lvovich Tolstoy, with whom they often met and had long conversations. In the jubilee Pushkin year, 1937, Pavel Sergeevich thoroughly reviewed the family collection and donated several items related to Pushkin and the Vyazemsky family to museums.
A Noble Spirit
Vasily Pavlovich inherited his ancestors' artistic nature and passion for beauty and painting. He enrolled in a pedagogical institute's art and graphic department shortly before the war. He was close friends with Pavel Korin, who mentored him and critiqued his early artistic endeavors. Vasily often visited Korin's studio with his father, where they observed the master creating majestic portraits of priests, monks, and beggars. Despite the difficult subject matter, the Sheremetevs' home gradually filled with these paintings, as no exhibition hall would accept them during that time.
War and Return
On the tenth day of the war, Vasily Pavlovich Sheremetev, the descendant of Field Marshal Boris Petrovich Sheremetev, took the military oath and volunteered for the front. He served as an infantryman in the Third Rifle Regiment. He suffered two severe injuries and spent over two years in captivity before being liberated. He returned to Prague with his unit. Vasily Pavlovich considered his survival and return from captivity a miracle. He believed that he was protected and carried through the years of war and imprisonment by a small incense box with the image of his great-grandmother, Countess Praskovya Ivanovna Sheremeteva, which he carried with him at all times.
Loss and Life After the War
Vasily's parents did not live to see his return. They passed away during the war due to hunger and exacerbated illnesses. Vasily carried a sense of guilt throughout his life, feeling that he had survived while his parents had not. There were no graves to pay respects to, no memorials to honor their memory. Vasily Pavlovich faced the post-war "circumstances" of his life, which would have confounded anyone. He lived in the unheated Novodevichy Convent tower, without water or electricity. He took care of the neglected graves and relied on the kindness of others to survive and safeguard the remaining valuable documents, family archives, books, and relics of the Sheremetev family. He had no money or practical means to obtain any. Pavel Korin and Igor Grabar came to his aid.
Art and Recognition
Korin bought a Florentine mosaic from Sheremetev, "The Temple of Vesta," paying in installments. These payments provided enough money for the aspiring student to study and sustain himself in the institute, buy books and clothing. Later, Korin invited Sheremetev to join his group of artists as a decorator, and he worked on the mosaics for the Komsomolskaya and Kievskaya metro stations.
Igor Grabar recognized Sheremetev's exceptional talent in painting and attempted to arrange exhibitions for him. However, during his lifetime, only two genuine paintings by Sheremetev were sold. No exhibitions were organized, and Sheremetev's work was met with curiosity and lack of recognition.
Sheremetev did not compromise, adapt, or fear the authorities. Society, in its peculiar way, repaid him with curiosity and... disregard. The famous "Sheremetev Tower" in Moscow constantly attracted people who discussed art, perused ancient folios from the family library, and admired the paintings. Collectors and antique dealers, some unscrupulous, frequented the tower. Due to Vasily Pavlovich's trusting nature, he often gave away priceless items for free or exchanged them for food.
Many people tried to buy the family's Rembrandt, but Sheremetev always responded with a resolute "The Rembrandt is not for sale!" In 1956, when the world celebrated the 350th anniversary of the Dutch painter Rembrandt, Vasily Pavlovich gifted the museum a painting by Rembrandt titled "Christ, Mary, and Martha" from his private collection. The back of the canvas modestly read in small letters, "From a private collection. A gift from V.P. Sheremetev." It was a truly noble gesture.
For nearly thirty years, Vasily Pavlovich lived in his tower, never asking for anything from the authorities. When his wife, Irina Vladimirovna, began to worry about their living conditions, citing the impossibility of raising a small child in an unheated space, she reminded the officials of the Sheremetev family's contributions to history and Russian culture. Their response was callous and cynical: "Count Sheremetev? That one? Well, put him in a cage and exhibit him as a curiosity!" Devastated by this cynical response, Irina Vladimirovna, a reserved and resilient woman, burst into tears and stormed out of the office, slamming the door. Despite the initial setback, the Sheremetevs were eventually granted a small apartment. It was tiny and could barely accommodate their vast archive, Sheremetev family records, and books. Vasily Pavlovich meticulously organized and sorted through them.
