Princess Helena (1784-1803) was the second daughter of Tsar Paul I. In 1799, she married Frederick Ludwig, Prince of Mecklenberg-Schwerin. This miniature is a copy of the full-size oil painting in the Museum of Russian Art in Kiev, one of a set of portraits by Dmitry Levitsky of the four daughters (Alexandra, Helena, Mary and Catherine) of Paul I. They were painted to commemorate the foundation in 1796 of the Seminary of St Catherine, the star of whose Order the princess is wearing.

The images are believed to be copies after bust length portraits by Dmitry Levitsky, Professor of Portrait Painting at the Academy of Arts. The miniatures may have been painted by one of the circle of Russian miniaturists Petr Zharkov, as several very similar autographed works depicting the eldest daughters can be seen at Pavlovsk Palace. The Grand Duchesses are all shown wearing the Order of St Catherine, bestowed on each daughter on the occasion of her christening. Unlike her elder sisters, Grand Duchess Ekaterina is depicted without a striped coat, her hair worn loose, demonstrating her immaturity. Grand Duchess Elena rests her elbow on a desk, a number of books visible at the left, perhaps illustrative of her grandmother Catherine the Great’s keen supervision of the Grand Duchess’s education.

The miniature is inscribed on the backing card in ink: Madame La Grande Duchesse Helene.

Text adapted from Russia: Art, Royalty and the Romanovs, London, 2018.