This portrait was painted by Natalya Alexandrovna, the daughter of Alexander Herzen. On December 14, 1844, the writer made an entry in his diary about the birth of his daughter, “Yesterday, at ten past eleven, our baby was born. Now, we have a daughter! I have always wanted a daughter. I wish her to be like her mother, with all the qualities of des Weiblichen (German for ‘femininity’), tenderness, and gentleness.”

Natalya was nicknamed Tata and was the writer’s beloved daughter. He called her “the brightest and most beautiful creature in the whole family.” She studied painting professionally and created several portraits of her father in the 1860s.

The history of this portrait is closely linked with the painting by Nikolai Nikolaevich Ge. In 1867, Nikolai Ge met Alexander Herzen in Florence. The artist later recalled,

Alexander Herzen agreed to Ge painting his portrait. The decision to paint Herzen was quite risky, as the writer was known as a “state criminal, ” a political exile, and a fierce opponent of serfdom and autocracy. Nikolai Ge completed the painting in five sessions, during which Tata was present. Soon, she also painted a portrait of her father.

Natalya Herzen went on to live a long life, dying at the age of 96. She dedicated a significant part of her life to collecting and maintaining her father’s archives and belongings, preserving his memory. She never married. Olga Herzen, the writer’s younger daughter, lived to the old age of 103, happily married to the renowned French historian Gabriel Monod.