Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Worth a Thousand Words: Empress Maria Feodorovna

Ivan N. Kramskoi, Portrait of Empress Maria Feodorovna, 1880s
I found the painting via Through an Artist's Eyes where there is a lot more information, including:
According to Robert K. Massie, author of Nicholas and Alexandra:

Russia loved this small, gay woman who became their Empress, and Marie gloried in the life of the Russian court. She delighted in parties and balls…..Seated at dinner, she was an intelligent, witty conversationalist and, with her dark eyes flashing, her husky voice filled with warmth and humor, she dominated as much by charm as by rank.
I am sharing this because I love the look on the Empress's face. I want to be friends with her.

The post, however, is mainly about the Faberge eggs which her husband, Alexander III, gave her every year, a custom which her son carried on when he ascended to the throne. Go read it all.

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