Russian School of the 19th century
Portrait of Tsar Alexander III of Russia
Oil on canvas (relined). 129 x 92.5 cm.
Signed lower right in cyrillic..
Alexander III was born in St. Petersburg in 1845 as son of the heir to the throne and later Tsar Alexander II of Russia and his wife Marie of Hessen-Darmstadt. As the second son, Alexander III was destined for a military career, and only rose to the rank of Tsarevich upon the sudden and unexpected death of his elder brother. The following year he married Princess Dagmar of Denmark who had previously been engaged to his brother. Despite this, their marriage is thought to have been unusually happy and the couple were blessed with six children. These included the later Nicholas II, last Tsar of Russia who was murdered in 1918, and two daughters who lived until 1960.
After his father was murdered, Alexander III became his successor in 1881. During his reign as Tsar, he was particularly concerned with the avoidance of major military conflict, and followed a policy of political allegiance with France. This eventually led to a cooling off of relations with the German empire, culminating in Emperor William II's refusal to renew the Reinsurance Treaty in 1890 and the formation of an open Russian-French alliance.
Alexander III died in Livadia Palace on 1st November 1894 and was interred in the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg citadel. His son and heir Nicholas II was to be the last Tsar of Russia.