In the State Russian Museum - in the Garden Lobby of the Mikhailovsky Palace - an exhibition of one painting was opened. It is devoted to the completion of the attribution of one of the most interesting portraits of Karl Brullov. For a long time it was simply referred to as the "Woman's Portrait", then it was identified as a portrait of a certain Ulyana Smirnova. And only now the museum confidently declares that this is a portrait of Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna, the youngest daughter of Emperor Nicholas I.

"This is a wonderful curiosity that makes it possible to disclose another page in the study of the legacy of Karl Bryullov," said curator Grigory Goldovsky, the head of the painting department of the 18th - first half of the 19th century, at the opening of the exhibition. - In the last decades of the last century, the most important expert on the work of Bryullov, Esther Atsarkina, compared this portrait with a drawing kept in the collection of the Russian Museum, which says "Smirnov". And completely ignoring the fact that after the letter "y" there is no point, decided that this is the name of the character in the portrait ".

This art curiosity, according to Gregory Goldovsky, continued to develop and strengthen the position. In one of her last publications on the work of Bryullov, Esther Azzarkina wrote that the character in the portrait is a certain Uliana M. Smirnov, in the marriage of Spiridonov, that this is her portrait of the late 1830s. The basis for such a statement by a respected art historian was only a short inscription on one of the sketches for the portrait, on which Atsarkina built her theory.

With this attribution, the portrait appeared in all the catalogs: in the catalog to the anniversary exhibition of Karl Bryullov, dedicated to the 200th anniversary of his birth, in the catalog of paintings of the first half of the XIX century, in other publications of the last decades on the skills of Bryullov the portraitist. And only recently, an employee of the Russian Museum, art critic Sergei Alekseev drew attention to a significant detail: in the inscription "at Smirnov" after the letter "y" there is no point. He picked up the documents and found out that before this portrait was considered to be the image of the famous Alexandra Smirnova-Rosset, but this attribution was rejected because of the age mismatch and the appearance of the character.

Alexeyev continued his search - other facts. For example, the husband of Alexandra Osipovna was a collector, he also collected Bryullov's works, and in his collection, according to the available documents, there was a portrait of Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna. Comparing the portrait from the museum with the already confirmed images of the Grand Duchess, Sergey Alekseev was convinced that this is the same person.

In the documents about Bryullov, he also found records that the only portrait of the representative of the royal family, which the artist had finished, was the portrait of Alexandra Nikolaevna. Then there was a lithograph from this portrait, under which it is written: "Portrait of Alexandra Nikolaevna". And all the images of the Grand Duchess that were signed during their lifetime only confirmed their complete similarity to the image of Brullov's brush.

From the artist's biography the fact is known that in 1837 Nicholas I invited him to write a group portrait of the imperial family. Briullov, although without much enthusiasm, as can be seen from his letters, accepts the monarch's proposal and begins preliminary work. He made a large number of sketches and sketches - the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, the Grand Duchesses.

But soon, as was often the case with Bryullov, he cooled to the idea, and because of the freedom-loving nature he did not consider himself bound by any obligations, he could also shirk the imperial orders, so he soon abandoned this work. This behavior was even respected by the emperor to some extent. There is a history when Nicholas I was late for the appointed hour to Bryullov's workshop for a posing session, and the artist left home. At the same time he ordered the servant to tell the emperor that he could not imagine the delay of the sovereign, decided that he would not come, and he went on his own business. The Emperor took this from Bryullov as a matter of course.

Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna was very fond of her family, she was called an angel for her wonderful character and talents. Unfortunately, she died when she was not even 19 years old. Subsequently, Bryullov wrote an icon of the holy Queen Alexandra, giving her the features of the Grand Duchess. This icon is presented at the exhibition in the State Russian Museum, as well as sketches and watercolors with pictures of Alexandra Nikolaevna and her relatives.

The portrait of the Grand Duchess remained with Bryullov, since formally the order of the emperor was not decorated, the artist considered himself entitled to dispose of the finished work, even if by a portrait of one of the members of the royal family. The painting remained in the artist's studio and after his departure from Russia in 1849, and then passed to Bryullov's heirs, in particular to his brother.

My brother sold a portrait to Nikolai Smirnov. And the inscription on the picture only confirms that the portrait was owned by Smirnov: "Smirnov".

Sergei Alekseev made his discovery in 2017. After his message on the attribution board, the museum's management decided to amend the academic documents and the register of the State Museum Fund of the Russian Federation. Almost a year was preparing for the exhibition, which presents items from Tsarskoe Selo and the Hermitage.