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Josef August Schoefft "Two Important Wallachian
(Romanian) Oil Portraits", 1834/35 Click here for images
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We are dealing here with painted by Hungarian artist Josef
August Schoefft (made, according to dress and hairstyle of
the woman, in 1830s) two small oil portraits of a relatively
1
young married couple. The husband (he appears to be ca.
30-year-old) wears a uniform of a staff-officer (senior
officers: major, lieutenant-major, lieutenant-colonel,
colonel) of the (as we thought initially) Russian Guards
cavalry. Moreover, the absence of stars on his epaulettes
(distinctive badges of officers and generals introduced in
Russia in 1827) points to his exact rank, namely that of a
colonel. His aiguillettes indicate that he is an adjutant
2
(possibly even of the Tsar Nikolai's train (so we thought)).
The problem why his belt buckle (introduced in Russia in
1834) has an one-headed instead a two-headed (Russian
Imperial) eagle we explained through the possibility that
the artist first captured the sitter in a quick sketch, which
he later completed in his studio in oils, and erroneously
painted an one-headed eagle on his buckle).

ART DETECTIVE In reality, we were wrong: our colonel served (at the time 3
as he was portrayed) not in the Russian but in the
Themes Wallachian (Romanian) Army (that is the explanation of
one-headed (Wallachian!) eagle; see also our image nr.23;
Categories
absence of distinctive stars (introduced in Wallachia in
PORTRAIT 1834) also indicates his rank of a colonel). The officer
MINIATURES uniforms in Russian protectorates Principalities of Wallachia
an Moldova in that period were practically copies of Russian
WORKS OF ART
uniforms (this information we received from Mr. Sorin Iftimi 4
from the National Museum "Moldova" in the Romanian town
RUSSIAN ART Iasi).

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This Wallachian colonel bears three Russian (!) awards: the

chest cross of the Order of St. Anna of the 3rd class, as
well as two medals - the silver medal "For Persian War of
1826/28" (detail providing sitter's indisputable Russian
origin - this war took place in Southern Caucasus, far from
Wallachia) and the bronze medal "For Turkish War of
1828/29" (operation field included Wallachia).
5
One must add, however, that virtually all Russian officers
and soldiers, who participated in aforementioned wars,
were awarded these medals. In other words, only the
sitter's Russian order of St. Anna of the 3rd class indicates
a specific distinction. This detail reveals the sitter's
apparent lack of heroism and tells us that he likely spent
majority of his war time at the headquarters. Most possibly
his golden aiguilllettes indicate that he was portrayed as
one of the aide-de-camps (adjutants) of ruling (between 6

1834-1842 ) Prince Alexandru II Ghica (see image nr.23

and CLICK HERE).

And now an unexpected turn:

We came to the identities of both depicted persons!
We are dealing here with portraits of Wallachian
Prince Alexandru II Ghica's sister, Princess Pulcheria
(Profirita) Ghica (1800-1879; compare our portrait 7
with her (a couple of years older) portrait from 1836
- see image nr.24) and her husband, former Russian
(sic!) colonel and now aide-de-camp of his brother-
in-law, Vladimir Moret de Blaramberg (1803-1846;
some sources give this name as Blaremberg or even 8
Blarenberg; compare our portrait with his portrait
from 1836 (image nr.25); we see besides "our" three
Russian awards a new one - first badge from the left
on his chest is the cross of Russian Order of
St.Vladimir of 4th class; he received it obviously
shortly before 1836, for his mediation between
Wallachian and Russian authorities). 9
We add that both portraits from 1836 are works not by our
Josef August Schoefft (as they are erroneously presented in
Art Museum of Targoviste, Romania), but by his (much
more skilled!) son, Theodor August Schoefft (1809-1888).
Both artists signed identicaly, but one can distinguish their
works - works of father (our case) are more naive as that
of his son (academical (!) artist). Modern Romanian art
historians say Josef August Schoefft appeared in Wallachia
10
earliest in 1835. As we see now (on base of our portraits)
he came to this region one-two years before (sitter's aide's
aiguillettes were introduced in Wallachia only in 1834, and
we suppose these portraits were made just thereafter). And
1835 (as we are convinced) is the date of first appearance
in Wallachia of his son, Theodor August.

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Vladimir Moret de Blaramberg was born in 1803 in Moscow

(and not in 1811 in Sevastopol as erroneouly said in some
sources) as a son of a Belgian nobleman in Russian service,
Jean Moret de Blaramberg (1772-1831; in Russia called
Ivan Pavlovich Blaramberg). The father came to Russia in
1797, in 1798 he married in Moscow a French woman,
Caroline de Courtenay (Courtener; see our web #36986),
11
from 1804 he served in St.Petersburg and in 1807 retired
from service with a, for the Russian state hierarchy,
relatively high rank of "nadvorny sovetnik" (court
counsellor). Later he served again in Odessa (one of his
friends there was the exiled to that city poet Alexander
Pushkin - see our image nr.26) and in 1825 he was
appointed (in rank of "deistvitelny statski sovetnik")
assistant of General-Governor of Novorossia, Prince M. S.
Vorontsov. From then on he began his activity as an 12

archaeologist and in 1826 became director of new-founded

Museums of Antiquities in Odessa and Kerch. Besides that
he was author of many books concerning archaeology.
His son Vladimir made a meteoric military career (until he
was 25!), being in 1828 (as he came with Russian troops to
Wallachia (probably in train of Russian Commander-in-
Chief, General P. D. Kiselev)) already a colonel of Russian
13
Engineering Corps. In 1830 he married there Princess
Pulcheria Ghica, through this marriage he became a very
wealthy landowner in Wallachia, quit the Russian service
and became colonel of Wallachian Army and adjutant of
Prince Alexandru II Ghica (prince-regent of Wallachia in
1834-1842). He was also active as a Wallachian chief-
engineer and surveyor of roads. He projected and leaded
the construction of the bridge over the Giuresti Lalomita
River, on the main route between Wallachia and Moldova. 14

In 1840 he obtained the Romanian citizenship. He died

from tuberculosis in one of Austrian sanatoriums in 1846.
Together with his wife he had four children - all called in
honor of Romanovs: Alexandrina, Nicolae, Constantin,
Alexandru.
(CLICK HERE for interesting Russian article about
Blaramberg family).
15

Vladimir Moret de Blaramberg was the second husband of

Princess Ghica - as a young girl Pulcheria married 14 years
her senior Greek Nicolae Mavros (1786-1868; he came to
Wallachia in his youth and soon made a place for himself in
the political field, especially due his good connection to
Russia; besides that he became one of the richest estate
owners in Wallachia). They had daughter Elena (d.1870)
and son Dimitrie (Count (from 1887) Dmitri Nikolaevich 16
Mavros (1820-1896); he became Russian general), but in
1820s they got divorced.
Pulcheria outlived Vladimir by 33 years; she died on 28

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February 1879 in Bucharest.

It is necessary to say that Vladimir Moret de Blaramberg

was not then only Russian officer who married Wallachian
woman, quit Russian military service and entered
Wallachian Army where (in mid 1830s!) obtained a rank of 17
a colonel. Nevertheless, as we could prove, nobody of
these other officers was (in mid 1830s) in possession of the
same set of awards as our siiter and respectively Colonel
de Blaramberg.

The author of these two portraits, Josef August Schoefft

(ca. 1775 Budapest - 1850 ibidem), was a well-known
Hungarian artist who, during the 1830s has spent a few
years in Bucharest (then Wallachia, now Romania) and was 18

a very popular portraitist and church painter there. Back to

Hungary he was also active as an illustrator, collaborator of
magazines "Hebe" and "Aurora". Works of his are to see in
various Romanian and Hungarian museums.
Our images nr. 19-23 show several portraits painted by him
in his Wallachian period.

19
* We are very grateful to Mr. Sorin Iftimi for his generous
help. He obtained from us the exclusive right to publish
both portraits with own comments.

miaug04ap14

Condition: good; in original Biedermeier frames

Creation Year: 1834/35

20
Measurements: UNFRAMED:25,0x20,0cm/9,8x7,9in
FRAMED: 38,0x33,0cm/15,0x13,0in

Object Type: Framed oil paintings

Style: Biedermeier paintings

Technique: both: oil on tin

Inscription: both are signed: Schoefft 21

Creator: Josef August Schoefft

To see other works by this artist click on the name
above!

Creator Dates: ca. 1775 Budapest-1850 ibidem

Nationality: Hungarian/Romanian 22

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