Photo by Grand Duchess Olga Fyodorovna

The original photo is in excellent collector's condition. A gelatin print. Portrait cabinet. The photo shows Grand Duchess Olga Feodorovna– the wife of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich. The photo was taken in the studio of the elite metropolitan photographer Carl Bergamasco. Guarantee of authenticity. Provenance – from the archive of Colonel L-Guard. V. Svechin's Preobrazhensky Regiment (1871-1944).

Karla Ivanovich Bergamasco (ital. Carlo Bergamasco; 1830, Turin, Kingdom of Sardinia — May 1896, St. Petersburg), who arrived from Italy to St. Petersburg in 1848, where, working as a chorister, he became seriously interested in photography, which was just becoming fashionable in Russia. Having mastered the basics of this unusual craft, Karl quite consciously made plans to make photography his life's work and a means to a comfortable existence. In 1850, while still serving in the theater, Bergamasco opened one of the first "daguerreotype establishments" in St. Petersburg, not far from the Bolshoi Theater. Soon he moved with his establishment to Bolshaya Italiyskaya. Bergamasco visited Paris to study the work of special photography at the Paris Opera. In 1858, Carl Bergamasco was awarded the title of "non-class artist in watercolor landscape painting." The photographer focuses on working with actors and the theater audience. Bergamasco was able to make all his models attractive, skillfully emphasizing the advantages in his works and hiding the shortcomings in the appearance of the customer. He was soon rewarded for his art: already in 1863, Karl received the right to be called the "photographer of the Imperial Theaters" on the condition that "Bergamasco undertook to make an archive and reference album for the directorate free of charge from portraits of artists in all costumes from new ballets and operas staged on the local stage." In 1865, the magazine Fotograf informed its readers that "Bergamasco had been appointed photographer to His Imperial Highness Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich" (the elder). This fact was immediately reflected on the letterheads of Carl Bergamasco. Since that moment, his fame has been constantly growing, Karl Ivanovich has become one of the leading portrait photographers of the capital, a fashionable and expensive craftsman. His works have consistently won prizes at European exhibitions. He becomes a member of the French Photographic Society. At this time, his studio "Bergamasco" is located in the most prestigious area of the city, on Nevsky Prospekt, 12.

Olga Fyodorovna (born Cecilia Augusta, Princess and Margravine of Baden; September 20, 1839, Karlsruhe, Baden — April 12, 1891, Kharkov, Russian Empire) was a Russian Grand Duchess, wife of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich. The youngest daughter of Grand Duke Leopold of Baden and Sophia Wilhelmina of Sweden, the great-niece of Empress Elizabeth Alekseevna. Princess Cecilia grew up in Spartan conditions, which she has never regretted. Her father was strict with his children, but gentle with his subjects. He was considered the first German ruler to carry out liberal reforms in his state. All this left a definite imprint on the worldview of the future Grand Duchess. Grand Duchess Olga Fyodorovna had a strong temperamental character and possessed a sharp mind. With her sharp tongue, she caused many unpleasant moments for Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna. She was particularly outraged by the emperor's decision to limit the circle of grand dukes, which did not include her own grandchildren. Alexander III once said about her with annoyance: "Everyone recognizes Olga Fyodorovna as an intelligent woman. What is the expression of this mind? He gossips and reads the most empty novels, but he doesn't want to engage in any serious business."

Olga Fyodorovna, the only one from the whole family, had no state or public duties, devoting herself to her children and her husband. She became not only a loving wife to her husband, but also a faithful and wise companion. The family has lived in the Caucasus for almost 20 years. In addition to her official duties as the wife of the imperial governor, Olga Fyodorovna provided all possible support to Mikhail Nikolaevich, who led the reforms of Emperor Alexander II in Georgia. The mother strictly supervised the upbringing and education of the children, demanding complete subordination. Anastasia's only daughter, by her parents' decision, was married off to the heir to the Grand ducal throne of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, without asking her opinion. The Grand Duchess failed to influence her grown-up sons. They arranged their fate according to their own discretion. The marriage of Mikhail's son to Countess Sofia Merenberg in February 1891 was a great blow to Olga Fyodorovna. In March of the same year, the Grand Duchess obeyed the doctors and went to Crimea to improve her poor health. The telegram announcing the marriage was handed to Olga Fyodorovna at the railway station in Kharkov, where the train was making a short stop. The news of the marriage shocked the Grand Duchess so much that she had a heart attack. Olga Fyodorovna died in Kharkov on April 12, 1891 at the age of 51. She was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.