Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 453 030 Artwork Purchase for Solovyov's New Home

It's okay to play with Maria. If she was still a child, it would be fine if she was kissed or kissed first, but the situation is different now.

Now she is married to Saxe-Weimar. When Solovyov and Louisa went to bed, they were more or less in love, and they both knew that some things had to be done quietly. But Maria, after all, was the emperor's sister, so there was nothing wrong with a little ambiguity. If it went a step further, it was obvious that she had some intentions.

Especially when leaning in his arms like this, although Maria's appearance is relatively lower among the sisters, she does have a good figure, which can be felt because the two of them are so close.

Overall, it's pretty big.
Solovyov's data needs to be updated. Even though Maria is already a mother, she is still that little child in his mind. It's just that because of genetic factors and habits, her butt is a little bigger than her sisters.

This may be a good body shape for having a baby. Although little Katya has a good figure, he cannot be "checked" because of the age difference.

If a young lady like this takes the initiative, it would be hard to resist.

In Europe, it's just that troublesome sometimes.

And Maria is also very young, she is just over 21 years old, and she is even full of youthfulness.

But don't tell her about those damn Austrian painters who made her face look very old.

In addition, there is also a very dangerous thing that Solovyov has always tended to overlook. Although corsets have been eliminated in most parts of Russia under the advocacy of the Empress Dowager and the popularity of empire skirts, women's clothes are still very convenient for doing those things.

After being here for so long, it is easy to forget that he even imported silk and finished products from Italy and sold nightgowns and various petticoats with linings to ladies in St. Petersburg. He also had a business partner in this business, who was Maria's aunt.

However, Maria did not want to go further. She was not as lustful as Silvia and Paulina. Kissing was just ambiguous at most. Among the sisters, she was unexpectedly the most proactive one.

But considering that she sometimes has a carefree tomboyish personality, if it weren't for the fact that she put more effort into music and dance in order to make her appear more ladylike, it would have allowed her to hide some of her "nature".

"Okay, Mishka, that's it. We'll each go quietly to our rooms. I'll go back to take care of the children, and what are you going to do?"

"sleep."

She was too proactive, which made Solovyov feel a little difficult.

After all, Louisa is more gentle and considerate, and we have to be more careful now.

From now on, if you are not careful, a car accident will be a small matter.

Fortunately, although Maria is difficult to deal with, she is easy to serve. Pulling and kissing can satisfy her.
It would take some time to stay in the Jelgava Palace, and after I knew he was here, I did receive letters from St. Petersburg.

Belzoni, whom he recently hired, returned to St. Petersburg from Ryazan, and his main responsibility was the construction of his manor.

Before going to the expedition, Solovyov had some ideas about the decoration plan, and he told his family about it.

Although the Rococo style is more girly, this manor is used to marry a wife, so naturally the woman's requirements must also be taken into consideration.

Little Katya's requirements in this regard were surprisingly not high. Although she came from a prominent family, her personal requirements for life were very simple. Since her brother Mishka arranged the decoration of the new house in this way before getting married, it was not easy for her to raise any opinions.

Speaking of which, this child is really suitable to be a housewife at home, and she is also keen on charity.

She had a small wish, which was to build an orphanage after getting married to take care of helpless women and adopt orphans or children whose parents were unable to raise them.

This is easier to satisfy if it is to restore history.
She was eventually buried in the crypt of her own workhouse, but as times changed in Petrograd-Leningrad and St. Petersburg, the site of the former workhouse had become a warehouse.

In this letter, Belzoni mentioned that his future wife was more concerned about the affairs of the orphanage. Apart from that, he did not make any requirements for the decoration of the house. However, the Italian was now troubled by the issue of decorative artworks.

When he was in the monastery, he had some ability to identify works of art. Now that he wanted to purchase some paintings and statues, he naturally had to seek advice.

Belzoni only knew his boss's business acumen and was not aware of his interest in art. He only knew that he was very interested in Madame Le Brun's paintings of her children.

In addition, some men always have some special needs, such as Rubens, who was admired by Mrs. Le Brun. Even when he painted girls, his paintings were full of power.

As for mythological themes, there will always be content that some people want to read. And unlike Page 3 of The Sun, this can be considered art, and artistic issues are not that big of a problem.

Solovyov had heard many strange stories from Julie, such as a Polish prince who had to dress up as Cupid to be a model, but he still had to wear underwear.
Of course, Julie was her mother's favorite model, and even the picture of her taking a bath was drawn.

However, in Madame Le Brun's paintings, Julie was also portrayed as very smart.

This kind of art is not easy to acquire in Italy and France. After all, wherever Napoleon passed by, although he was not an old soldier like Massena who robbed money, food and women, he had a high ability to identify art.

Many of Italy’s precious artworks have been “collected” to France, many of which have become private collections, while others have been sold publicly to raise funds.

Napoleon knew the secret of getting something for free. He forced Spain to be the scapegoat and gave Louisiana to France, and then sold it to the Americans.

To be honest, this transaction is not legal. If you look into it, if the Vienna system really takes it into account.
In other words, the Americans are too far away, and there is nothing valuable to be seen on the plains.

However, I don’t know whether European countries will regret selling to the Americans, and the local Indians are probably in trouble.

But the free gift from Spain made Solovyov think that there must be a lot of works of art there.

If war breaks out on the peninsula, a large number of fine works of art will surely be lost there.

If it fell into the hands of the British, they really didn't know how to appreciate it and were accustomed to plundering.

If we talk about the French, although they are also cultural relic thieves, the French are more knowledgeable and can be considered elegant thieves, better than the British who do not distinguish between good and bad and even shape the appearance of buildings according to their own ideas, as well as plunder reliefs and various cultural relics.

That would be a real waste of resources. Even Russia would at least want to get to the bottom of things, so even if they stole the materials, they still did some research on them.

When it comes to the Germans, there are even some "thieves" with great integrity who advise their companions not to steal those precious murals. As for the looters of the Temple of Athena, the arsonists of the Old Summer Palace, the founders of the Bengal Great Feast, and Lord Elgin and his family, they are the insects among the insects of Britain.

The British people today are more or less concerned about their reputation. The local gentlemen are not willing to be thieves and they also have complaints about the plundering of old Elgin.

But as for Solovyov, France can no longer be relied upon when it comes to art transactions.

He calculated his property and found that although he was not very rich in St. Petersburg under his father's management, after some comparison, at least in the countryside of Ryazan, the Solovyov family was still considered a well-off aristocratic family.

Although these people with titles are not as wealthy as many families, they do own a lot of property.

Anya of the Orlov family, her father is still alive, and the property left to this only daughter in marriage is 300 million rubles. The will has been notarized and has the endorsement and seal of Alexander himself.

Considering that among Orlov's tangible assets, the most valuable one is undoubtedly the breeding of the Orlov trotter horse breed, her family's collection makes the cultural items look inconspicuous.

Besides, the five brothers of the Orlov family did not have any advantage in culture. Their wealth depended on the favor and trust of the empress, and the by-products were huge wealth and Maria's uncle Alexei.

The Soloviev family's property is currently estimated to be worth 200 million rubles.
Back then, my grandfather earned 40 rubles through smuggling and corruption, which almost cost Peter the Great his head. This time, my father relied on patents, operating rights and equity to increase the family fortune to five times of its peak.

Although times have changed, it is still possible to purchase some artworks, and Belzoni is really more suitable for this.

You know, Belzoni is famous in history for his expedition to Egypt. Although he destroyed more things, he found a lot of things in the temples and valleys, and he also discovered a huge temple.
Having him purchase art collections for his employer has finally turned a negative effect into a positive one.

After all, Solovyov always did things in a fair manner and also took payment into consideration.

It would be very troublesome when Napoleon fell into chaos across Spain because of the intervention of the Spanish Bourbon idiots.

However, Solovyov also had good taste and could easily buy a lot of artworks that would become very famous in the future at relatively low prices.

For example, "Dressing Venus" has been hidden from the world for a long time after the painting was completed, but it is also a famous collection of the Spanish royal family.

Besides this, there are other precious works of art.

This was probably just a hobby for him, and when he bought those statues from Peter the Great, the Orthodox nobles and common people at that time were quite resistant to it.

Now, more than 80 years have passed and French culture has been accepted. Those paintings that were unacceptable in the past are now works of art. Can it be considered as a violation of moral standards when it comes to works of art?

Solovyov also did some research. Madame Le Brun once explained to him some typical characteristics of painters from the 17th century to the early 18th century.

In fact, it is difficult to hear Mrs. Lebrun’s personal lectures even at art academies, let alone private courses.

It can be regarded as a kind of repayment for saving Julie's marriage, and some paintings of great value are indeed mentioned here.

After all, Julie's father was a famous art connoisseur and buyer in the Bourbon dynasty, and he was quite familiar with the situation in Paris and Madrid.

In this respect, Soloviev also felt the need to teach Belzoni.

On the one hand, he would go to London. If there were some artworks to be sold in London, Belzoni would buy them there.

In addition, when you go to Madrid, you can also ask around through some connections.

Although Russia and France were at war, diplomats from both sides were still able to come into contact in Spain, and their relations were not bad.

From Madrid we can get in touch with Mr. Lebrun's friends and make requests in this regard.

Solovyov knew very well that although Alexander agreed with his strategy in principle, the Prussian king's move caused the plan, which still had a chance of winning, to fail, and the war would almost be over in the summer.

At this time, since we are in winter camp, we can still do some private business.

Before the Bayonne conspiracy, there was an unimpeded route from Madrid to Moscow, a distance long enough to build three lines of defense in the Kursk salient.

As for some paintings and sculptures, he also decided to give Belzoni such instructions.

In addition to the Rococo style decoration, Solovyov also wanted to dress his wife with exquisite jewelry when they got married.

However, he looked disdainful of diamonds and instead proposed purchasing some gemstone necklaces.

After completing his reply, he attached the list.

In addition to these, if possible, you can also go to France and deliver the letters to Paulina and Sylvia.

However, considering the bad relationship between Paulina and Aunt Josephine, they only talked about some problems and expressed their greetings to their lovers and children.

His personal problems were now almost over, and he needed to focus more on military affairs.

It's not for any other reason. The Russian army's logistics routes still need to be improved. In addition to the Baltic coast, there is also the route from Smolensk to Brest.

The Russian army’s warehousing is no longer a problem and it can accumulate large amounts of supplies.

However, dispatching personnel to the front line has always been a difficult problem.

In addition to being the Quartermaster General, as the Chief of Staff, he also needs to make good allocations.

The Guards also have to go to the battlefield. In addition, there will be reinforcements and legions. This is no small task.

(End of this chapter)