Serf art collectors of the Stroganov family: the Teploukhovs’ case

Abstract

The art collections of the Stroganov family’s serfs signify a unique situation when the representatives of the dependent class inherit the practices of their lords. Vasiliy Volegov started to collect antiquities to emulate his patrons and to follow the orders given by the Stroganovs. The cases of Alexander and Fyodor Teploukhovs show the way art collecting helped to express one’s selfness and demand for self-realization in different ways. The life of Alexander Teploukhov had a definitive influence of his serf status, but in spite of it he got European education and made significant professional success. Teploukhov used Sergey Stroganov’s life as a model and practiced collecting of antiques that became his personal fascination in free time and finally grew into a part of his family’s everyday life. Fyodor Teploukhov became conscious of himself as of professional academic while being a student, but his responsibility to the Stroganovs and Alexander Teploukhov’s authority forced him to move from the capital. Nevertheless, he did not give up on his aspirations and used his father’s personal collection to improve his own personal position as an academic and art collector. All of that helped Teploukhov to forge himself into a recognized scholar, educator and art collector by fulfilling his dreams of an academic career.