Count Michael Mikhailovich de Torby (8 October 1898 in Wiesbaden – 25 April 1959 in London) was the son of

Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia (Russian: Михаил Михайлович; 16 October 1861 – 26 April 1929) was a son of Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievich of Russia and a grandson of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia. He was raised in the C ...

(1861–1929) and his morganatic wife Countess Sophie of Merenberg (1868–1927). The great-grandson of Emperor

Nicholas I of Russia Nicholas I , group=pron ( – ) was List of Russian rulers, Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Congress Poland and Grand Duke of Finland. He was the third son of Paul I of Russia, Paul I and younger brother of his predecessor, Alexander I ...

and

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

Biography

Count Mikhail Mikhailovich de Torby was the youngest child and only son of Grand Duke Mikhail Mikhailovich and his morganatic wife Countess Sophie von

Merenberg Merenberg is a municipality in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Merenberg lies on the southern edge of the Westerwald between the district seat of Limburg and Weilburg. Neighbouring communities Merenberg borders in ...

. The marriage was not only morganatic but also illegal under the Imperial

house law House law or House laws (''Hausgesetze'') are rules that govern a royal family or dynasty in matters of eligibility for order of succession, succession to a throne, membership in a dynasty, exercise of a Regent, regency, or entitlement to dynastic ...

s and caused a scandal at the Russian court. The Grand Duke was forbidden to return to Russia for life so he moved to England. Mikhail was educated at Eton College. A gifted artist, his work is distinguished by "pleasant colours and free style." He had a special fondness for Chinese subjects and their works created mainly on rice paper in a thin Chinese-style. He was a collector of Chinese porcelain, which he often portrayed in his still lifes. He also served as a theatre artist. He took British citizenship in 1938, when he was forty years old. He died 25 April 1959 and did not leave offspring.

Ancestry

Links

"Chinese poet's dream" "Chinese poet's dream"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Torby, Michael Mikhailovich of 1898 births 1959 deaths People educated at Eton College Morganatic issue of Romanovs Counts of the Russian Empire Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United Kingdom Russian painters British painters Russian collectors British collectors