The expression “to sculpt à la Trubetskoy”, that is, quickly, vivaciously, lively, and happily, entered into the use of speech of Muscovite sculptors at the start of the 20th century. For them, this artist, who styled himself as “Paolo”, spearheaded a new and creative approach to sculpture modelling.
In Saint Petersburg, Trubetskoy met the Swede Elin Sandstrom (Sundstrem), who became his wife. In his sculpture “Mother and Child” the artist captured his beloved wife with their only son on his knees. Alas, the boy died in 1908, at the age of two. But the master created works of Elin with their son even after the boy’s death.
This sculpture portrait of Trubetskoy shows his characteristic lyricism and warmth. Look at how carefully worked out the face of the portraitist is. With a dashing stroke of finger on clay, he creates dynamic folds of women’s clothing. Live, impressionistic work can be attributed to a specific genre, invented by Trubetskoy, that French critics called “portrait-statuette.”