The author of watercolor ‘Tulips’ is Grand Duchess Olga Aleksandrovna, the youngest daughter of Emperor Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna. In 1901 she married Prince Peter of Oldenburg. Olga Aleksandrovna is one of the few members of the imperial family who was able to survive the revolution. After leaving Russia, she first lived in Denmark, and then moved to Canada.
The center of the composition is a bouquet of red and yellow tulips, which stands on a windowsill in a wide ceramic vase of white color with a blue pattern. Judging by the color, it could be a product from the famous Delft porcelain, which was made in Holland. This material was invented when Europeans tried to copy the technology of making Chinese porcelain.
Frost-covered trees are visible on the background behind the glass. There is the artist’s signature “Olga” with a stroke below in the lower left corner of the painting.
In 1933, the watercolor was presented at the gallery of Prince Vladimir Galitzine, at the personal exhibition of Grand Duchess Olga Aleksandrovna. In the late 1920-s - 1930-s, that gallery hosted exhibitions where mainly works by artists of Russian origin were presented. For the opening days, Prince Galitzine issued small catalogs and invitations, attracted art critics who, on his order, wrote reviews of exhibitions in the English press. Exhibitions, on the one hand, raised the prestige of the store that worked at the gallery and attracted customers; on the other hand, they contributed to the promotion of Russian artists in the English art market, broadened the public’s understanding of Russian art.
The center of the composition is a bouquet of red and yellow tulips, which stands on a windowsill in a wide ceramic vase of white color with a blue pattern. Judging by the color, it could be a product from the famous Delft porcelain, which was made in Holland. This material was invented when Europeans tried to copy the technology of making Chinese porcelain.
Frost-covered trees are visible on the background behind the glass. There is the artist’s signature “Olga” with a stroke below in the lower left corner of the painting.
In 1933, the watercolor was presented at the gallery of Prince Vladimir Galitzine, at the personal exhibition of Grand Duchess Olga Aleksandrovna. In the late 1920-s - 1930-s, that gallery hosted exhibitions where mainly works by artists of Russian origin were presented. For the opening days, Prince Galitzine issued small catalogs and invitations, attracted art critics who, on his order, wrote reviews of exhibitions in the English press. Exhibitions, on the one hand, raised the prestige of the store that worked at the gallery and attracted customers; on the other hand, they contributed to the promotion of Russian artists in the English art market, broadened the public’s understanding of Russian art.
