Elizabeth Alexeevna – Елизавета Алексеевна, Empress of Russia

Description

Oval, 6cm x 4.5cm, in a paste set frame

Elizabeth Alexeevna (1779-1826) was born Princess Louise of Baden, a daughter of Charles Louis, Hereditary Prince of Baden, and his wife, Landgravine Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt. Princess Louise came to Russia in November 1792, when she was chosen by Empress Catherine II as the bride for her eldest grandson, Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich of Russia, the future Tsar Alexander I.

After a portrait by Jean-Laurent Mosnier (Paris 1743 – Saint Petersburg 1808). Mosnier trained as a miniature painter in Paris. In 1776 he became Court Painter to Marie Antoinette, the consort of Louis XVI. After the French Revolution Mosnier fled to London in 1790, where he adapted his style to the English fashion. From there he moved to Hamburg and in 1801 to St. Petersburg. He became a member of the St. Petersburg Academy in 1802, a professor in 1806. He portrayed numerous members of the Russian Imperial family and of the aristocracy in miniatures as well as in larger oils.