Portrait of Tsar St Nikolai, Tsaritsa St Aleksandra, and Grand Princess St Yelizaveta (Dmitri Belyukin, 1993)
As we saw in White Russia in Exile, Dmitri Belyukin is very interested in the theme of the White Guards. This work is in that mould. Tsaritsa St Aleksandra and Grand Princess St Yelizaveta were sisters, born in the minor German state of Hesse-Darmstadt. This picture is obviously set in the period before 1905, as the Tsaritsa became prematurely aged after the birth of Tsarevich St Aleksei due to the stress that his haemophilia placed upon her. In addition, at around the same time, St Yelizaveta lost her husband, Grand Prince Sergei Aleksandrovich, who was killed by a revolutionist assassin. After the period of mourning, she became a nun and founded the Martha and Mary Convent in Moscow.
In short, this is a painting of the short summer of the early years of Tsar St Nikolai’s reign. That is well symbolised in the summer clothing and the fact that the tsar is sitting in a outdoor wicker chair. The winter was approaching, only they did not know it yet…
Art and Faith 
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