Portrait of Empress Maria Fyodorovna 

This portrait of Empress Maria Fyodorovna was painted by Vladimir Borovikovsky using oil on canvas. The material of oil paint, applied in layers, gives the Empress a luminous quality, as if lit from within, that speaks to her status and power. Yet beyond the surface sheen, it’s important to consider the intensive labor involved in producing and acquiring the materials for this image. Think of the canvas itself, woven from flax, then primed and stretched. Consider the pigments, mined and processed into colors – the deep reds and blues would have been especially costly. Finally, the pearls and diamonds worn by Maria Fyodorovna symbolize wealth extracted from the earth and sea, transformed through skilled craftsmanship. The portrait captures the opulence of the Russian court, built on a foundation of both natural resources and human endeavor. By focusing on materials and making, we recognize the wider social and economic networks that enabled this portrait – and the Empress – to exist.