BTW, with all the magnificent backdrops these - and other aristocrats & royalty - had at their disposal in any of their palaces, I'm always surprised to see a studio shot like this one. Could it be that, while out and about, they happened upon a photography shop and, on a whim, popped in to have their photo taken?
I too have been surprised to discover that since the early days of photography in the 1850s-60s the Imperial family went to a photographer's studio. There is a humorous memoir excerpt of an aristocratic prince encountering Emperor Alexander II in the stairway of Levitsky's studio on the Nevsky and having to stand aside for the Emperor to pass. The majority of the photos of AII's family, including the ailing Empress Marie A., were taken in the studios. A rare photo of the Empress in her boudoir in the Winter Palace was taken by Levitsky only because he was there to photograph her rooms.
It was the same during Nicholas II's time. Numerous diary entries bemoan the time wasted having to change, pose for a couple of hours, in the photographic studio at the Lamskoy Pavilion in Tsarskoe Selo.
A loss to us for identifying details of various palace interiors rather than the standard studio backdrops.
Joanna
