| Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna |
Cabinet photo by Charles Bergamasco of St.Petersburg, original circa 1878,
in great condition, blind stamp in lower left corner of the antique image.
Born in Northern Italy, Charles Bergamasco moved to St Petersburg in the 1840s with his mother, a painter. He started as an actor at the French Theatre in St Petersburg but became interested in the daguerreotype process and went to Paris to study it. He returned to St Petersburg to open his own studio and after a few years became well known there and in Europe, winning prizes at exhibitions, photographing at many courts and receiving several decorations.
Princess Maria, Duchess of Edinburgh, was born Maria Alexandrovna, Grand Duchess of Russia, the only daughter of Tsar Alexander II and Maria of Hesse-Darmstadt. Princess Maria, Duchess of Edinburgh (1853-1920), daughter-in-law of Queen Victoria through her marriage to Prince Alfred.
In 1874 she married Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, 2-nd son of Queen Victoria. The Queen did not meet the Grand Duchess before the wedding, which took place in St Petersburg in 1874, the bridegroom appearing in the uniform of a Russian naval captain, much to the Queen's displeasure. However, when she eventually did meet her new daughter-in-law, she liked her very well, finding her good-natured, natural and intelligent, and not in the least shy or nervous in the presence of the Queen. The satisfaction was not mutual. Marie’s family in Russia heard that the Duchess found her visits to Windsor and Osborne 'boring beyond belief', that English food was 'abominable', and London, where the couple lived at Clarence House, 'hideous'. As for her husband, it was obvious that she found his heavy drinking and his evil temper exasperating. She was relieved when he went back to sea. Nevertheless, the couple had five children. Maria died in 1920 at Zurich.
ITEM NAME: Cabinet photo by Bergamasco
PRICE: $ 379.00. * SOLD * |
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