This life-sized pastel portrait of Tsar Alexander III, drawn from photographs provided by General Annenkov, is one of Paul Nadar's crowning achievements. Acquired by the tsar when it was presented at the 1891 Moscow World's Fair, it was then reproduced by rotogravure and given as a souvenir to the 2,200 guests at the gala organized in Paris in honor of the Russian squadron's visit on October 24, 1893. Three years later, Nikolai II was presented with a new copy of the portrait during his state visit to France.