Pyotr Ivanovich Shchukin (1853 – 12 October 1912) was an art collector who built an important collection of Russian ancient art and artifacts and owned several

impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

masterpieces.

Early life and family

Pyotr Ivanovich Shchukin was born in 1853, one of ten children"The man who loved Monet: Russia's greatest art collector" by Nancy Durrant, ''Saturday Review'', ''The Times'', 15 October 2016, pp. 8-9. of

Ivan Vassilievitch Shchukin Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgar ...

, a self-made Moscow merchant in the textile trade from an Old Believer background who acquired a wealth of 4 million gold rubles, and his wife Ekaterina Shchukin, the daughter of Pyotr Konovich Botkin, a tea merchant and patron of the arts. I.V. Shchukin and Sons became one of the largest textile companies in Russia.

Art collecting

Shchukin built an important collection of Russian ancient art and artifacts and owned several impressionist masterpieces. His younger brother,

Sergei Shchukin Sergei Ivanovich Shchukin (russian: Серге́й Ива́нович Щу́кин; 10 January 1936) was a Russian businessman who became an art collector, mainly of French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art. Early life and family Sergei I ...

, was also a noted art collector while his brother

Dimitri Shchukin Dimitri may refer People * Dmitry, a male given name, Slavic version of Greek name Demetrios * Dimitri (clown) (1935–2016), Swiss clown and mime * Dimitri Atanasescu, Ottoman-born Aromanian teacher * Dimitri from Paris, French DJ * Dimitri Flower ...

assembled "Moscow's best collection of Old Masters" that eventually entered the

Pushkin Museum The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (russian: Музей изобразительных искусств имени А. С. Пушкина, abbreviated as ) is the largest museum of European art in Moscow, located in Volkhonka street, just oppo ...

. Another brother, Ivan, also collected art. He was a customer of French art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel and accompanied his brother Sergei on buying trips to Paris.House of modern masterpieces: Shchukin at Fondation Louis Vuitton.
Jackie Wullschlager, ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'', 21 October 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2016. When Shchukin was blackmailed by a former mistress and needed money to pay her off, he sold his Impressionist paintings to Sergei rather than sell them back to Durand-Ruel for less.

Death

Shchukin died on 12 October 1912.

References

External links

*http://www.artmaecenas.ru/schukin_family/schukin_pi/index.php *https://artinvestment.ru/en/news/artnews/20110212_collections.html *https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2011/aug/04/beverly-whitney-kean-obituary 1853 births 1912 deaths Russian businesspeople Russian art collectors Businesspeople in textiles {{Russia-bio-stub