Portrait of Prince Viacheslav Tenishev

By the 1870s, he became well-known as a portraitist often sought after by the establishment in both Europe and America. His portraits emphasized the sitter’s dignity, and cultivated the importance of the individual.

Prince Viacheslav Tenishev was a major Russian industrialist. He was active in the fields of ethnography and archeology, and contributed significantly to Russian culture. His estate of Talashino became a centre of the Russian Modern style. Bonnat’s work occupied a place of honour in the St. Petersburg school founded by the prince.