Youschkov, Joseph

Biography

oseph Youschkov made his victorious way to Paris. For military merits in the war against the French Joseph Ivanovich was awarded a gold sabre with the inscription "For bravery", which equated him to the Cavaliers of St George, the Victorious. He was also decorated with the Orders of St. Anna of the 2nd class, and St. Vladimir of the 4th class. The campaign abroad played a great role in life life of Joseph Youschkov. After spending nearly two years in Western Europe, he became well acquainted with the Prussian cavalry, with the French school of riding. The Hussar regiment left its quarters near Paris on May 20, 1814, and returned home through Nancy, Friedland, and Tilsit. On October 19, the regiment was stationed at its permanent quarters in Tsarskoye Selo. The Lyceum student Alexander Pushkin frequently visited this regiment and wrote several poems: "The Hussar," "The Tear," "The Moustache," and "The Riders". He was personally acquainted and became friends with many hussars. Young Pushkin passionately wanted to be on the battlefield, where, in hussar uniforms served the Fatherland his friends. In the satirical verse "Noel on the Life Hussar Regiment" (1816) by Alexander Sergeyevich, the squadron commander of the "flying hussars" Youschkov appears as Father Joseph. Joseph retired with the rank of colonel in 1821. He lived in St. Petersburg. As an active state councilor, the imperial court stall master, he was in charge of the stable staff (stables and carriages). He was well versed in horse breeds, had a thorough knowledge of their habits and exterior. He perfected his skills in dressage and participated in organization of all sorts of parades. Hence, it was not the only occupation the retired colonel devoted his time to. He also attended the sculpture class of Academician Pyotr Karlovich Clodt, the founder of Russian animalism at the Imperial Academy of Arts. A fine equestrian himself, Youschkov chose the horse as the protagonist of his compositions.

The sculptures he made were remarkable not only for the precise reproduction of the horse's breed and movements, but also for their great expressiveness. Joseph Youschkov, an Honorary Member of the Academy of Arts, was known at the time as a talented animalist and author of small statuettes of horses belonging to the Russian emperors. He owned a small bronze foundry that produced busts, candlesticks and small statuary. In Peterhof, in one of the living rooms of the Cottage, there was a figurine of the horse of Emperor Nicholas I cast in bronze. This piece was presented to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna in 1845 on her birthday. Four works by Youschkov are stored in the Museum of Horse-breeding of the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences named after K.A. Timiryazev. Joseph Ivanovich was married to Varvara Ivanovna Golubtsova, with whom he was buried in the Tikhvin Cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St Petersburg. Shortly before his death, the famous artist Nikolai Egorovich Sverchkov painted a picture "Sculptor I.I. Youschkov in his sleigh on the Neva embankment". The canvas reproduced an episode in which Youschkov rode a light harness horse pulling a gilded sledge and took part in the racing for “The Hunters’ prize" on March 8, 1847.

The son of Joseph Ivanovich - Fyodor also chose a military career. After graduating from St. Petersburg University, he graduated from the Naval Corps with the rank of warrant officer and joined the Baltic Fleet. During the Crimean War, he was wounded while defending Sevastopol. He defended Kronstadt from the attack of the Anglo-French fleet, as a flag officer on the frigate "Rurik". It is symbolic that in 1858 the son of Joseph Ivanovich was awarded with the French Order of the Legion of Honour. In 1863, Fyodor Youschkov finished his military service with the rank of rear admiral. The State Russian Museum stores two of his paintings. The son of a sculptor-animalist, the naval officer reached a high level of skill as a painter.

Source: https://rt-online.ru/p-rubr-obsh-49068/
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Exhibits in the Museum Collection