Carl Kronnowetter

Adolfo Augustowitsch de Bethancourt et Molina (1805-1875)

This miniature was purchased under the title "Alphonse de Bethancourt" and originally belonged to a pair of miniatures representing Bethancourt and his mistress Lady Craven. In all probability the sitter is Adolfo Augustowitsch de Bethancourt et Molina (1805-1875), son of a famous imperial Russian field marshal and his wife who was of noble Spanish descent. Bethancourt was brought up in England and entered the imperial Russian cavalry guards in 1823; this portrait painted in 1826 shows him in his uniform. In 1849 he became major general and in 1855 lieutenant general and general's aide-de-camp of Czar Nicholas I of Russia. In 1875 he died unmarried in Paris. ¹ In the tradition of Isabey Kronowetter presents the young man in front of a cloudy evening sky; the upper part of his body is slightly turned to the right. The artist lived in St. Petersburg from 1821 onwards and was highly esteemed among members of the aristocracy and in courtly circles.

¹ Information on the sitter taken from: Russian biographical archive A-L fiche no. 51. Bayerische Staatsbibliothek München.