Baron Ernst Friedrich von Liphart (1847–1932), Russified as Ernst Karlovich Lipgart and also referred to in English as Earnest Lipgart, was a painter, a noted art expert and art collector from what is now

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...

in Estonia. After living for a time in Florence, he moved to France and then to Russia, where he was a curator at the

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the list of ...

Life

Liphart was born in

Kambja Parish Kambja Parish is a rural municipality in Tartu County, Estonia. Settlements ;Small boroughs: Kambja - Külitse - Räni - Tõrvandi - Ülenurme ;Villages: Aakaru - Ivaste - Kaatsi - Kammeri - Kavandu - Kodijärve - Kõrkküla - Kullaga - ...

Tartu County Tartu County ( et, Tartu maakond or ''Tartumaa'') is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is located in eastern Estonia bordering Põlva County, Valga County, Viljandi County and Jõgeva County. The area of Tartu County is , which covers 6.9% of t ...

in 1847. His father,

Karl Eduard von Liphart Baron Karl Eduard von Liphart or Carl Eduard von Liphart (16 May 1808 – 15 February 1891) was a noted art expert and collector from Estonia. The family manor was near Dorpat (now Tartu). Life Liphart was born in Kambja Parish in the Kreis Dorp ...

, came from a

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Great B ...

Baltic German Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...

family that was based at

Raadi Manor Raadi Manor (german: link=no, Ratshof) was in the area known as Raadi-Kruusamäe, on the outskirts of Tartu in Estonia. The manor and Raadi Manor Park were the home to the Liphart noble family who were significant art collectors. The family ...

in what is now Estonia. His family were members of the national intelligentsia and owned a significant art collection.History of Manor
, Eesti. Rahva Muuseum, retrieved 30 December 2013 Liphart von ernest friedrich-portrait of tsar nicholas ii

Liphart von ernest friedrich-portrait of tsar nicholas ii

Travels in Spain and Italy

Liphart accompanied his father on his travels, starting in 1860. In 1862, they moved to Florence because of Liphart's weak health. His father continued his interest in art, which was financed and supported by Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna, the daughter of

Tsar Nicholas I , house = Romanov-Holstein-Gottorp , father = Paul I of Russia , mother = Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg) , birth_date = , birth_place = Gatchina Palace, Gatchina, Russian Empire , death_date = ...

. Ernst studied painting under

Franz von Lenbach Franz Seraph Lenbach, after 1882, Ritter von Lenbach (13 December 1836 – 6 May 1904), was a German painter known primarily for his portraits of prominent personalities from the nobility, the arts, and industry. Because of his standing in society ...

before travelling to Spain with him to study paintings from 1866 to 1868. This trip was funded by Lenbach's patron Count Schack.

Paris

Liphart was disinherited by his father in 1873 after he converted to Roman Catholicism to marry Luisa Juan, a Florentine, before they moved to Paris. He studied under

Gustave Boulanger Gustave Clarence Rodolphe Boulanger (25 April 1824 – 22 September 1888) was a French figurative painter and academic artist and teacher known for his Classical and Orientalist subjects. Education and career The Néo-Grecs and the Prix de Rom ...

and

Jules Joseph Lefebvre Jules Joseph Lefebvre (; 14 March 183624 February 1911) was a French figure painter, educator and theorist. Early life Lefebvre was born in Tournan-en-Brie, Seine-et-Marne, on 14 March 1836. He entered the École nationale supérieure des Bea ...

at the

Académie Julian The Académie Julian () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907) that was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number a ...

whilst illustrating the leading magazines ''La vie élégante'' and ''La vie moderne''.

Saint Petersburg

Menu for Nicholas II coronation by Lipgart

In 1886 Liphart moved to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, where he was a successful artist, painting a portrait of

Tsar Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Polan ...

, as well as decorating the curtain and ceiling of the theatre of the

Moika Palace The Palace of the Yusupovs on the Moika (russian: Дворец Юсуповых на Мойке), known as the Moika Palace or Yusupov Palace, is a former residence of the Russian noble House of Yusupov in St. Petersburg, Russia, now a museum. ...

and several imperial palaces. Liphart also took on more unusual requests, including the menu for the Tsar's coronation in 1896 and then painting 100 figures on a piano, telling the story of

Orpheus Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with Jaso ...

. The piano was a present from the Tsar to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. Ernst's father died in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

in 1904. After his death his art collection was moved back to Estonia, where it was combined with his family's collection at

.The Environs of Plymouth
, rehs.com, retrieved 31 December 2013 Liphart's home was still in Russia, where he taught at the Drawing School of the

Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts The Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts (Russian: Императорское общество поощрения художеств (ОПХ)) was an organization devoted to promoting the arts that existed in Saint Petersburg from 182 ...

in Saint Petersburg in the 1890s, where his students included

Eugene Lanceray Yevgeny Yevgenyevich Lanceray (russian: Евгений Евгеньевич Лансере; 23 August 1875 – 13 September 1946), also often spelled Eugene Lansere, was a Russian graphic artist, painter, sculptor, mosaicist, and illustrator, a ...

.Bown, Matthew Cullerne. "Art Under Stalin", page 243. New York: Holmes & Meier, 1991. under

Jan Tsionglinsky Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numb ...

and Liphart. Liphart was appointed to several Russian learned societies and he became the curator of paintings at the

in 1906. He held the position until 1929. Liphart continued his father's interest in Leonardo da Vinci. Liphart arranged for the museum to purchase ''

Madonna and Child with Flowers The ''Benois Madonna'', otherwise known as the ''Madonna and Child with Flowers'', is a painting by the Italian Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci in the Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg. One of two Madonnas begun by Leonardo in October 1478, ...

'', which he had correctly attributed to da Vinci, from the Benois family. Liphart also notably identified the painting ''

Saint Peter and Saint Paul ''Saint Peter and Saint Paul'' is a painting by the Cretan-Spanish artist El Greco. The work was completed between 1590 and 1600. It is currently on display at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, who purchased the work in 1932. Description ...

'' to be by

El Greco Domḗnikos Theotokópoulos ( el, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco ("The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El G ...

.Directors of the Imperial Hermitage
, Hermitage Museum, retrieved 3 January 2014 The Liphart art collection that had been at the family residence was moved after the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

. The collection appeared first in a sale in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

in 1920. Raadi Manor was used by the

Estonian National Museum The Estonian National Museum ( et, Eesti Rahva Muuseum) founded 1909 in Tartu is a museum devoted to folklorist Jakob Hurt's heritage, to Estonian ethnography and folk art. The first items for the museum were originally collected in the latter ...

in 1922–1924 after the manor came under the management of the

University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...

. The graphic art collection created by the Liphart family came into the possession of

Tartu University The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...

in the 1920s. The university's art museum still has the collection, which includes examples of Japanese woodcuts as well as noted prints by

Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer (; ; hu, Ajtósi Adalbert; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer (without an umlaut) or Due ...

and

William Hogarth William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraver, pictorial satirist, social critic, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like s ...

.Graphic Art
, University of Tartu Art Museum, retrieved 31 December 2013 In 1921 he was evicted from his house and his daughter was executed for harbouring a

White Army The White Army (russian: Белая армия, Belaya armiya) or White Guard (russian: Бѣлая гвардія/Белая гвардия, Belaya gvardiya, label=none), also referred to as the Whites or White Guardsmen (russian: Бѣлогв� ...

officer. Before he died, Liphart wrote a novel and a play.Baron Ernst Friedrich von Liphart
RusArtNet.com, retrieved 31 December 2013

Notes

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liphart, Ernst Friedrich von Russian art historians Baltic-German people People from Kambja Parish 1847 births 1932 deaths 19th-century painters from the Russian Empire Russian male painters 20th-century Russian painters 19th-century male artists from the Russian Empire 20th-century Russian male artists