0325 "Barbara Radziwiłł" and "Princess Tarakanova" at the 1867 Exposition Universelle

Meanings Lost and Found in Cross-National Perceptions

Abstract

At the 1867 Exposition Universelle in Paris, a competition for public sympathy unfolded within the Russian section between two paintings – Józef Simmler’s The Death of Barbara Radziwiłł and Konstantin Flavitsky’s Princess Tarakanova. Flavitsky worked in Saint Petersburg, while Simmler was based in Warsaw, in the so-called Kingdom of Poland (commonly known as Congress Poland), then part of the Russian Empire. This paper examines how their depictions of beautiful, dying women reflected the collective memory and political concerns of the Polish and Russian nations. Additionally, by drawing on archival documents, it investigates the selection and censorship of paintings for the Russian section of the Exposition Universelle. It also analyzes French critics’ responses to Barbara Radziwiłł and Princess Tarakanova. In doing so, the paper traces how the reception of these works evolved across various national contexts.