Drawings, paintings, and works of decorative art from the Museum-Palace of Peterhof document the life of the wife of Nikolai I and evoke the panoply of the mid nineteenth-century court of the Russian Empire. St. Petersburg and the places frequented by the court shimmer in the works of art created in an age when Western European artists flourished in the imperial capital. Aleksandra was the daughter of the Prussian king Frederick Wilhelm III and Queen Louise, and her taste shaped architectural projects, some of which are gems of eclectic architecture, such as the Pink Pavilion, Olga Pavilion, and the Cottage. Watercolors by E. Gau, I. Meyer, L. Premazzi reveal the design and taste of the palace interiors at Peterhof when it was a residence. V. Sadovnikov's and S. Vorob'ev's watercolors of the palace and outbuildings give a more emotional impression of the ensemble than is possible from photography. -- Summary written by John W. Emerich, Bronze Horseman Literary Agency.