Studio of Sir Peter Lely (Soest, Westphalia 1618-1680 London)

One of the greatest art collectors and patrons of the 19th Century, Anatole N. Demidoff, 1st Prince of San Donato (1813-1870) was born in Saint Petersburg. He inherited his family's vast wealth, amassed over the previous centuries by generations of Demidoff industrialists who supplied weapons to the armies of Peter the Great to Nicholas II. Educated in Europe, Demidoff settled permanently in Paris where he led the extravagant life of a dandy. His life-long interest in Napoleon eventually led to a tempestuous marriage in 1840 to Princess Mathilde Bonaparte (1820-1904), niece of Napoleon Bonaparte. On the occasion of his marriage, Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany granted Demidoff the title Prince of San Donato.
Demidoff was an avid art collector and he commissioned works from the leading artists of the Romantic movement, including 'The Execution of Lady Jane Grey' by Paul Delaroche and scenes from the life of Christopher Columbus by Eugène Delacroix. Demidoff's studied and careful artistic taste has made the Demidoff provenance signify the highest quality in the art world.