On 21st March 2024, the Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna. Life on a Canvas exhibition, opened in Mir Castle, situated in the village of Ramon[1], near Voronezh, Belarus.

According to the Oldenburg Palace Museum, the venue for the exhibition was chosen due to the close family ties between members of the Imperial Family and the Svyatopolk-Mirsky family, the last owners of Mir Castle. For example, the great-niece of Prince Nikolai Svyatopolk-Mirsky, was Princess Sofia Ivanovna Orbeliani (1874-1915), who served as a lady-in-waiting and close friend of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.

The exhibit presents the Russian years of Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna through letters to her brother Emperor Nicholas II, and her nieces: Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia Nikolaevna.

The exhibition is supplemented with items from the funds of the the personal archive of Her Imperial Highness, stored in the Oldenburg Palace: photographs from Olga’s albums, drawings and paintings created in subsequent years, entries from her private diaries, and watercolours.

These exhibits which reflect the heritage of the Grand Duchess before the 1917 Revolution, afford visitors with an opportunity to acquaint themselves with the events of her long and often difficult life.

The life of Olga Alexandrovna, the last Russian Grand Duchess, was filled with trials that rarely fall to the lot of man. But with her kindness, modesty, and courage, she managed to overcome the horrors prepared for her by the 20th century. She was a benefactor of numerous schools, hospitals, almshouses, societies, and during the First World War she became a simple Red Cross nurse.

Interested in painting from her early childhood, Olga Alexandrovna never stopped painting throughout her life. Her works are real and lively, reflecting the happy moments of happy times with family, and the beauty of landscapes, nature, and the elegance of floral compositions.

Never discouraged, Olga was able to see beauty in everything, she was grateful for every new day, simple, humble and bright – this is how she is reflected in her works. In emigration, Olga Alexandrovna’s house became a center for all those who shared the bitter fate of exile. The Grand Duchess continued her charitable activities: her watercolours were exhibited in several European capitals, and the proceeds from the sale went to help Russian emigrants who found themselves in difficult financial situations.

The more one learns about Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, her kindness, her charitably work, her piety, etc., one can truly understand why she remains one of the most beloved and respected members of the Russian Imperial Family and the Romanov Dynasty.

The Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna. Life on a Canvas exhibition runs at the Mir Castle until 2nd May 2024.

NOTES:

[1] On 27th July 1901, Grand Duchess Olga married Duke Peter Alexandrovich of Oldenburg (1868-1924). In 1906, the couple settled into ‘Olgino’, their home situated on the Oldenburg estate, in the village of Ramon, near, Voronezh.

In 1915, the couple separated; Olga had no children from her first marriage. On 27th August 1916, Emperor Nicholas II approved the definition of the Holy Synod, which recognized her marriage to Prince of Oldenburg dissolved

© Paul Gilbert. 3 April 2024