The Romanovs: A Family Portrait

Before the revolution in Russia, a popular genre was the family portrait. Parents usually sat in the center surrounded by their children, and the photographer took a number of photos. Many families had such photographs, and so now we can observe those families—peasant families, nobility, and priests' families. How greatly these photos differ from our momentary snapshots taken at holidays or outings, not always including every family member. These old photographs reflect a traditional relationship to the home and hearth, and to our close ones as a world of intrinsic value. Some of these photos taken of the Royal Romanov family have been preserved to our day. In them we can trace the history of love—Nicholas and Alexandra as betrothed, then as husband and wife, and then with their firstborn child. Finally we see them all—as we see them depicted on icons.