Maria Feodorovna, Empress

Exhibition: ‘Fans of Empress Maria Feodorovna. 1860s–1910s’

PHOTO: cover of the Fans of Empress Maria Feodorovna exhibition catalogue
– see below

On 29th April 2026, the exhibition “Fans of Empress Maria Feodorovna. 1860s–1910s” from the collection of the State Hermitage Museum[1] opened in the Small Church[2] of the Winter Palace. The exhibition presents a range of fans which belonged to Maria Feodorovna, the wife of Emperor Alexander III and mother of Emperor Nicholas II, are superb examples of the fan-maker’s art.

These items, made between the 1860s and the early 1910s, entered the Hermitage from the Anichkov Palace, the Empress’s favourite St. Petersburg residence, where she lived after her marriage to the Tsesarevich Alexander Alexandrovich, and also after his death, as the Dowager Empress.

Maria Feodorovna (1847–1928), born Princess Dagmar of Denmark, came to Russia in 1866 as the bride of the Tsesarevich (heir to the throne). The earliest fans on display are ones she brought with her from Denmark. After becoming a member of one of Europe’s wealthiest imperial houses, Maria Feodorovna was able to order accessories from leading fan producers such as Duvelleroy and Alexandre.

The exhibition features fans of foreign and Russian manufacture. Since such accessories sometimes reflected important events in Maria Feodorovna’s person’s life, the glass showcases depict different types of fans – wedding, mourning and souvenir. Maria Feodorovna’s souvenir fans were mainly keepsakes connected with events in the life of the Imperial Court – notable anniversaries, weddings, christenings, balls and masquerades (for example, in memory of a costume ball held in 1883 at the palace of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich). A separate group is formed by fans that were diplomatic gifts from the time of the friendly Franco-Russian visits of 1891–93.

The theme of the fan as a costume accessory is complemented in the exhibition by some of the Empress’s evening gowns – which are also on display.

The exhibition curator is Yulia Valeryevna Plotnikova, Candidate of Art History, Leading Researcher in the State Hermitage’s Department of the History of Russian Culture.

The exhibition “Fans of Empress Maria Feodorovna. 1860s–1910s” runs until 28th March 2027

NOTES:

[1] A large number of Empress Maria Feodorovna’s fans are currently in the Collection of Pavlovsk Palace, where they are now on permanent display in their Museum of Costumes. Given that the Dowager Empress never lived at Pavlovsk, how did they end up there?

[2] Church of the Saviour Not Made by Hands – the home church of the Imperial family in the Winter Palace.

Empress Maria Feodorovna’s fan collection

The items on display accompanied their owner through various periods of her life, from her youth until her departure from Saint Petersburg on the eve of revolutionary events. Among these works of decorative and figurative art are some of the finest examples of one of the most feminine costume accessories, made in France and the Russian Empire by famous fan artists and easel painters, including Ivan Kramskoi and Alexei Bogoliubov.

Maria Feodorovna used many fans with a wide variety of decoration: lighter coloured ones were more suitable for balls, while darker ones, of lace with sequins, were for evening parties, social gatherings and the theatre. The leaves of fans from the 1880s–90s often have a flowering branch or bouquet painted on them, with a romantic landscape in the background. Among the “brighter” fans are two made of iridescent mother-of-pearl. The silk leaf of one of them depicts views of Seville in Spain.

Of great interest is a folding brisé fan with blades shaped like lily-of-the-valley flowers and leaves. In the 1860s–70s, there was a vogue for simple fans of smooth wooden or ivory blades, painted with flowers or decorated with photographic portraits set in a floral bouquet. Fans of this type were produced by the Austrian firm Gebrüder Rodeck, supplier to the royal courts of Austria and Great Britain, that in 1872 was also awarded the title of Supplier to the Russian Imperial Court. The young Maria Feodorovna is depicted with this fan in one of the earliest photographs taken soon after her arrival in Saint Petersburg.

By the late 1880s, fan-making began to be considered a separate form of decorative art. Producers tried to devise new shapes and saw the object itself as not just a fashion accessory but a work of art requiring special creative techniques. It was at that time that fan-making flourished anew: famous artists, whose easel works were shown at the annual Paris Salons, worked on the painting of the leaves and the carving of the frames of the finest examples. The leading fan-producing firms at this time were the Maisons Faucon and Duvelleroy, who had France’s leading decorative artists working with them.

A significant role in the development of the Art Nouveau style was played by Western artists’ fascination with the Orient, initially manifesting itself as the direct borrowing of decorative art objects – screens, tables, fans; robes and cushions embroidered with magnificent patterns; prints depicting flowers, birds, and animals – the “Chinoiserie of the second half of the 19th century”. The finest artists of the era reworked the decorative techniques that they admired with such talent and creativity that the Oriental style, having passed through Western culture and art, acquired its own unique character – asymmetrical composition, exquisite colour combinations.

At the turn of the 1890s, the rather bold creations of Charles Worth’s house came into fashion. The couturier was not afraid to combine in them contrasting colours – pink and pale green, black and yellow. Empress Maria Feodorovna also had outfits from Worth in her wardrobe. Like any work of high fashion, each such a toilette required a suitable accessory. That might be a fan of black gauze painted by Felix Gardon, with yellow dahlias and flowers seemingly emerging from the darkness.

At the same time, fans with gallant or classical subjects continued to be used. These were now described as being in the Louis XV and Louis XVI style, and includes the Watteau fan featuring shepherdesses breakfasting on the grass under a blue sky. The Empress is holding a similar fan in one of her official photographs from the early 1890s.

A separate group comprises the so-called wedding fans. For her own wedding Maria Feodorovna received two fans as gifts, both striking examples of the style known as the “Rococo Revival”. At the time, this trend bore the name of the favourite of the French king Louis XV, Madame Pompadour. However, the “Pompadour” style actually meant a unique synthesis of the artistic manners of the entire 18th century. Another “Rococo Revival” fan presented for the Tsarevna’s wedding, came in a pearl-grey velvet-covered case with a mother-of-pearl crown on the lid.

One of the fans presented to the Empress was painted by the famous Russian portraitist Ivan Kramskoi. Executed in oils on the smooth wooden blades of the fan are likenesses of Alexander III and all the imperial couple’s children. At the bottom, a basket of flowers and a pair of flying doves are depicted. Based on the ages of the children in the portraits, the fan can be dated to 1886, suggesting that it was made for the Emperor and Empress’s twentieth wedding anniversary.

Fans were also a form of diplomatic gift presented during friendly visits. A whole set of items belonging to Empress Maria Feodorovna has survived, including such ceremonial tokens. Most of them date from the Franco-Russian exchanges of 1891–93. For those occasions, the French government commissioned several fans for the Empress from the best firm of the day – Duvelleroy.

The exhibits shown, many of which are on display for the first time, reflect the taste and preferences of their former owner and also give an idea of the artistic development of that most feminine accessory – the fan – in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries, representing a rare example of a synthesis of the arts.

Source: State Hermitage Museum

Exhibition catalogue

NOTE: this catalogue is ONLY available in Russian, there is NO English language edition. Sadly, due to the current Western economic sanctions, it is not possible to order this catalogue from the State Hermitage’s online shop – PG

The State Hermitage Publishing House has prepared a scholarly illustrated catalogue entitled Fans of Empress Maria Feodorovna. 1860–1910s” (St. Petersburg, 2026). The author of the catalogue is Yulia Valerievna Plotnikova, Leading Researcher of the Department of the History of Russian Culture of the State Hermitage, curator of the exhibition.

The publication prepared for the exhibition “Fans of Empress Maria Feodorovna. The 1860s–1910s” from the collection of the State Hermitage, offers the reader the items that accompanied their owner in different periods of her life from her youth to her departure from St. Petersburg on the eve of the revolutionary events. Among these works of applied and fine art, you can see the best examples of one of the most feminine costume accessories, made in France and the Russian Empire by famous fan artists and easel painters, including I. N. Kramskoy and A. P. Bogolyubov. A special place is occupied by the so-called souvenir fans, which served as a reminder of certain events in both private life (wedding, birth of a child) and public (balls, masquerades, concerts, coronation celebrations). Among them, a set of items stands out, which are diplomatic gifts presented to the Empress during the Franco-Russian visits of 1891-1893.

The exhibits shown at the exhibition, many of which are shown for the first time, reflect the taste and preferences of their former owner, and also give an idea of the artistic development in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries of the most elegant accessory – the fan, which is a rare example of the synthesis of arts.

The catalogue is intended for lovers of Russian and Western European art.

The catalogue can only be purchased in the main gift shop and at the book stalls of the State Hermitage Museum.

Furniture from the Imperial Yacht ‘Polar Star’ gifted to State Hermitage Museum

Posted on July 15, 2024 by Paul Gilbert

PHOTO: Model of the Imperial Yachts Polar Star «Полярная звезда»
From the Collection of the Central Naval Museum, St. Petersburg

On 29th June 2024, an exhibition of furniture from Emperor Alexander III’s yacht Polar Star «Полярная звезда» opened in the Gothic Library of Emperor Nicholas II situated in the Winter Palace (State Hermitage Museum) in St. Petersburg. The pieces have been donated to the Hermitage by Mikhail Yuryevich Karisalov, a Russian industrialist, art patron and hereditary collector.

The set is made up of ten items: two tables, an armchair, two low cupboards, a dressing mirror, a cartonniere (filing cabinet), two doors and a mirror from a cupboard. They were all made at Nikolai Feodorovich Svirsky’s (1851-after 1915) factory to designs by the architect Nikolai Vasilyevich Nabokov (1838-after 1907) -who also designed the furniture for the Gothic Library.

Svirsky’s factory specialized in producing pieces decorated with marquetry using “our own method”. The distinctive feature of the craftsmen’s signature was extremely intricate, literally jeweller-like, detail work in the inlaid designs, making it possible to convey the subtlest nuances of colour.

In 1889 Svirsky put his creations on show at the 1889 Paris Exposition, where he was awarded the Grand Prix and a gold medal. In 1894 the Svirsky Factory was granted the honorary title of Supplier to the Imperial Court, and two years later his products were awarded a gold medal at the All-Russian exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod.

The manufacture of the furnishings for all the cabins aboard the Imperial Yacht Polar Star that was built for the Imperial amily’s long-distant voyages would be one of Svirsky’s most significant commissions. The correspondent of the Pravitelstvenny Vestnik (Government Messenger] newspaper wrote: “Regarding the interior finishing of the yacht, it must be said that this is something wholly exceptional and perfect in its elegance; there is not gaudy, eye-catching splendour here, but there is artistic splendour… On the right, from the Imperial Dining-Room, a door leads into Her Majesty the Empress’s [Maria Feodorovna] boudoir; there the walls and furniture are upholstered with English waxed cretonne; the cupboard, toilet table, writing desk and doors are covered with superb inlay work…”

PHOTO: 10 pieces of furniture from the Imperial Yacht Polar Star, on display in the Gothic Library of Emperor Nicholas II in the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

The exhibition includes two items that the journalist mentioned – the Empress’s “toilet table” and a low cupboard inlaid with Maria Feodorovna’s monogram МФ (MF).

Emperor Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna are known to have sailed all around Europe on the Polar Star. On arrival in different countries, they would happily show off the exquisite interiors of their floating home. Following the death of A;exander III in 1894, the Polar Star became the personal yacht of the Dowager Empress, which she used for her visits to Denmark and Great Britain.

After the October Revolution, the yacht became the headquarters of the Bolsheviks’ Central Committee of the Baltic Fleet (Tsentrobalt), then in the 1930s it was refitted to serve as a floating base for submarines. Later, a cable was run from the yacht, which was moored on the Neva River in front of the Hermitage, to provide electricity to the museum halls. Click HERE to learn about the fate of the Imperial Yacht Polar Star.

For the Hermitage, the items of furniture from the Polar Star are of especial value – from artistic, historical and memorial points of view. After the temporary exhibition in the Gothic Library, the set will find a place within the display devoted to the Art Nouveau era in the General Staff Building, where a separate room showcasing Svirsky’s works will be go on permanent display.

The exhibition curator is Natalia Yuryevna Guseva, Candidate of Art Studies, Deputy Head of the State Hermitage’s Department of the History of Russian Culture, keeper of the Russian furniture collection.

DAGMAR: Empress Marie Feodorovna and Her Family

Posted on March 14, 2024 by Paul Gilbert

*This title is available from AMAZON in the USA, UK, Canada, Australia,
France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and Japan

CLICK HERE TO ORDER THE HARD COVER EDITION @ $25.00 USD

CLICK HERE TO ORDER THE PAPERBACK EDITION @ $20.00 USD

English. 204 pages, with notes and illustrations

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Little Mother of Russia: A Biography of Empress Marie Feodorovna by Coryne Hall. Since it’s publication in 1999, she has written a number of new articles about Empress Marie Feodorovna and her family based on new research.

These works are presented in DAGMAR, and include chapters on Tsar Alexander III’s Imperial Fishing Lodge in Finland; the friendship of French tutor Ferdinand Thormeyer and Alexander III’s family; Marie’s relationship with her sister the British queen Alexandra; Marie’s fate following the Russian Revolution; her years of exile in Denmark; her death in 1928, and her reburial in Russia in 2006.

In addition is a chapter about her son Emperor Nicholas II’s close relationship with the Kingdom of Denmark and his Danish relatives.

Finally, Coryne Hall provides a fascinating study of Daniah efforts to help members of the Russian Imperial Family in Bolshevik Russia.

Also by Coryne Hall – Nicholas II and the British Monarchs (published in 2023).

Nicholas II’s little known third brother: Alexander (1869-1870)

Posted on May 6, 2023 by Paul Gilbert

PHOTO: The only photograph of the “Angel Alexander”, was taken by his parents posthumously

Up until the early 20th century infant mortality in Imperial Russia was among the highest in the world[1]. Many a family lost at least one child either during childbirth or disease. Infant mortality was something that did not discriminate, regardless of one’s position in life, including members of the Russian Imperial Family.

Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich was born on 7th June (O.S. 26th May) 1869. He was the second child, of the then Tsesarevich Alexander Alexandrovich (future Emperor Alexander III) and Tsesarevna Maria Feodorovna (future Empress Maria Feodorovna, née Princess Dagmar of Denmark).

Alexander was the younger brother of the future Emperor Nicholas II, and third in line to the Russian throne at the time of his birth. Had Alexander lived, he would have been next in line to the throne, following his brother Nicholas’s ascension to the throne in May 1896. This was followed by their brothers Mikhail and George until 1904, when Nicholas II’s only son Alexei was born.

Sadly, the “Angel Alexander” did not live a full year, he died of bacterial meningitis, one month before his first birthday, on 2nd May (O.S. 20th April) 1870, age 10 months and 26 days.

The doctors who observed the infant – obstetrician Jacob Schmidt, pediatrician Karl Rauchfus and surgeon Gustav Hirsch recorded the course of the disease in detail. They noted that on the night of 15/16 April, after the secondary flu which infected the child’s right lung, signs of acute damage to the meninges appeared. On 17th April, there was a “slight improvement in the patient’s condition”, on 18th April – “a feverish state of moderation”, on 19th April – “for the most part he was conscious”, but the next day there was a deterioration and sudden death.

PHOTO: the tiny white marble sarcophagus bearing the remains of Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich in the SS Peter and Paul Cathedral, St. Petersburg

Tsesarevich Alexander wrote in his diary: “God, what a day You sent us and what is this test that we shall never forget to the end of our lives? Be it Your Will Lord and we shall conciliate before You and Your Will.”

“The doctors maintain he did not suffer, but we suffered terribly to see and hear him,” Maria Feodorovna wrote to her mother, Queen Louise of Denmark.

Grand Duke Alexander was sketched on his deathbed by the famous Russian portrait artist Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoi (1837-1887). The only photograph of the “Angel Alexander”, was taken by his parents posthumously.

Sergei D. Sheremetev, the adjutant to Tsesarevich Alexander, accompanied the infant’s body on horseback to the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, where he was buried in the SS Peter and Paul Cathedral. The infant Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich was laid to rest in the northern nave of the Peter and Paul Cathedral in a tiny white marble sarcophagus. On the upper edge of the sarcophagus there is a gilded cross made of bronze, on the side there is a bronze plaque with an epitaph inscribed on it

Alexander’s death was the first of many personal losses which the Empress Maria Feodorovna would endure before her own death in 1928. She outlived her beloved husband “Sasha”, her parents, her sister Alexandra, all four of her sons, and five grandchildren.

Memory Eternal! Вечная Память!

NOTES:

[1] At the beginning of the twentieth century, Russia had the highest infant mortality in Europe – 250 out of 1000 newborns died before they reached one year of age.

Infant mortality under Nicholas II steadily declined. The downward trend in mortality (both children and adults) began before the revolution. According to statistics, the death rate during the reign of Nicholas II per 1000 people had been steadily decreasing.

In 1913, the All-Russian Guardianship for the Protection of Motherhood and Infancy was established by a personalized Imperial Decree, with the goal of reducing infant mortality in Russia, setting up shelters for mothers and children, Russia’s first dairy kitchens, children’s hospitals, maternity hospitals, etc.