Figure 1.--This 1852 portrait by Vladimir Hau is the children of Duke of Leuchtenberg, a Bavarian noble house reserected by Napoleon. Duke Eugène de Beauharnais was French, in fact his mother was non eother than the Emperess Josephine. He had a storied military career, one of Napoleon's great marshals, but survived the fall of Napoleon (1815), probably because he had married into the Bavarian royal family. The six children include four boys and two girls which can be inferred by the hair cuts and the color of the waist sashes. Asvnth child born aout the time the portrait was taken did not survive. The children look to be about 2-14 years old. The children are all close in age, except the oldest daughter is somewhat separated from her youngr siblings. The younger boys wear white dresses with blue satin sashes with back bows, but no colored flourishes. The girls wear similar white dresses with pink sashes, colored flourishes, and back bows. The dresses all have low necklines and are worewith prndent necklaces. The older boys boys wear black cut-away jackets an we think white vests with white pants. The children are depicted playing with building blocks.

Vladimir Ivanovich Hau/Woldemar Hau was a Baltic German watercolor painter best known for his portraits of Russian Imperial family and German and Russian nobility working in the Biedermeier style. He was born in Tallinn, Estonia. Estonia was part of the Russian Empire. But cities in the Baltics had German communities. In fact German culture was still very important. When the Russians seized the Baltics, most of the Russians remained. Vladimir's family were relatively recent arrivals from northern Germany. Thus determining his nationality is a little complicated. His father was artist Johannes Hau, who had emigrated from Northern Germany (1795). Vladimir grew up in the German community of Tallinn. His half-brother was the painter Eduard Hau. His father began began his training in painting. He then studied with the court painter Karl von Kügelgen. Which provided an entry into court circles. He then studied as a 'guest student' at the prestigious Imperial Academy of Arts. He raveled in Italy and Germany for two years. Returning to Russia, he was named Court Painter, spending the next three decades painting the Russian Imperail family and aristocratic court. He also executed works of German nobility as we see here (figure 1). He was elected into the Imperial Academy (1849). Most of his work was individual portraits. He did a few family portraits, including the children of Duke of Leuchtenberg, a Bavarian noble. We also note a portrair of the children of Duke Peter of Oldenberg (1852). He had a long career and died in St. Petersburg (1895).

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Created: 12:43 AM 5/31/2025
Last updated: 6:47 PM 9/4/2025