The collection of the Chelyabinsk Museum of Fine Arts contains the ‘Portrait of Empress Elizabeth Alexeievna’. Mosnier was the court painter of Louis XVI. A number of portraits of Queen Marie Antoinette were also created by him.

The German princess Louise Maria Augusta of Baden was married to the young Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich, the future Emperor Alexander I of Russia. ‘Cupid and Psyche’ — as the Russian poet Derzhavin called the couple — found understanding and warmth in their relationshhip only towards the end of Alexander’s life. Elizabeth did not live long after the death of her husband and, according to the legend, she spent the rest of her days in a convent. The mind, beauty, kindness of the Empress and the patronage of the artists were the reason for admiration for her. Pushkin enthusiastically spoke of her, 

In this portrait by Monier, Elizabeth is dressed in a high-waisted satin Empire-style dress, which was fashionable at that time. Elizabeth’s dress is not just a ceremonial, but also a Dame one — outfits like that dress were worn by the owners of a special award — the Order of St. Catherine. In Russia, a ceremonial dress for Dames was described as following,

Together with this portrait, the portrait of Alexander I was also painted. The paintings were commissioned by the patron of the arts Stroganov, to whom the emperor granted the title of count. The portraits were intended for the ceremonial hall of the Stroganovs’palace in St. Petersburg located at the corner of Nevsky Prospekt and the Moyka river, designed by the architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli. The portrait from the arch depicts the spit of Vasilievsky Island with the stock exchange building. At the time of the creation of the picture, that building had not yet been completed, the construction being finished only six years later. Moreover, it could not be seen from the windows of the Stroganov Palace from that perspective. Nowadays, the Stroganov Palace houses the exhibition of the State Russian Museum.