Nikolay Yusupov
The greatest art collector of Russia, prince Nikolai Yusupov of Tatar origin, in charge of the Hermitage museums at the time, impressed by the stage decorations for the performance of Amor and Psyche at La Scala during his "grand tour" in Europe, invited the Italian stage designer Pietro Gonzaga to be assigned as the chief painter of the Imperial Theaters in St. Petersburg in 1792.Thus, his observations about the peculiarities of imitation in painting and perception in fine arts found place in several theoretical treatises published between 1807-1811 in St Petersburg.[2] His main idea dwells on the point that the authentic creativity rises from inclinations that merit to be discovered and cultivated, rather than enslave it to the tastes and manners of other nations.[6] Pietro's request was turned down on the grounds that he had no architectural experience other than painting besides the fact that Paul's future tsar son, Alexander I, replaced immediately after his father's assassination the entire team of artists who worked under the reign of his father Paul I, including the prince Yusupov himself, but the prince witnessing Gonzaga's lively struggle to achieve this goal, gave him the opportunity to found a private theatre on his estate.In 1810 Yusupov bought Arkhangelskoye Estate, where he lived with his wife and family and which he turned into a luxurious palace, park and summer residence in Moscow.