Count Adolphus von Kielmansegge

Alfred, Count d' Orsay (1801 - 1852)

Pencil on paper

30 May 1845
  • About the work
    Location
    Country: Other
    City: stolen
  • About the artist
    Alfred, Count d’Orsay, dandy and amateur artist, was born in Paris, the son of one of Napoleon’s generals. He met Lord and Lady Blessington in 1822 and was romantically interested in Lady Blessington. Perhaps to divert D’Orsay’s attention from his wife, Lord Blessington wrote a will leaving his Irish property to one of his daughters, should either marry Count D’Orsay. D’Orsay chose 15 year old Lady Harriet Anne Gardiner and the couple married in Naples in 1827. It was not a happy union. Following the death of Lord Blessington and the breakdown of the Count’s marriage, D’Orsay and Lady Blessington became a prominent couple in fashionable society. D’Orsay died in Paris in 1852, having fled there with Lady Blessington to escape his debts.
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  • Details
    Title
    Count Adolphus von Kielmansegge
    Date
    30 May 1845
    Medium
    Pencil on paper
    Dimensions
    height: 27.50 cm, width: 20.00 cm
    Acquisition
    Purchased from Colnaghi, February 1955
    Inscription
    lr: d'Orsay fecit / 30 Mai 1845 ; bc: AVKielmansegge
    GAC number
    3058