Anna Pavlova in 'The Pharaoh's Daughter' ballet
Public domain, color by Klimbim
Archive black and white photos taken even before the 1917 Revolution are now experiencing a rebirth after an artist painted them in colors.
Artist Olga Shirnina nicknamed ‘Klimbim’ on the Russian Internet adds color all kinds of different archive photos: Romanov family members portraits, tsar’s last ball, black&white portraits of great Russian writers, early Soviet photos and portraits of World War II heroes. In her works, these people seem to revive, become incredibly alive - and sometimes look directly into a viewer’s eyes.
Here are a few select portraits of the most beautiful women of the Russian Empire.
1. Ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya
![](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/rbthmedia/images/2020.12/original/5feb0f8885600a52f32e47d7.jpg)
Public domain, color by Klimbim
2. Matilda Kshesinskaya
![](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/rbthmedia/images/2020.12/original/5feb0f8885600a52f32e47d8.jpg)
Public domain, color by Klimbim
3. Ballerina Anna Pavlova and her pets
![](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/rbthmedia/images/2020.12/original/5feb0f8885600a52f32e47d9.jpg)
Public domain, color by Klimbim
4. Anna Pavlova in the costume of Swan Lake ballet
![](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/rbthmedia/images/2020.12/original/5feb0f8885600a52f32e47da.jpg)
Public domain, color by Klimbim
5. Revolutionary Alexandra Kollontai
![](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/rbthmedia/images/2020.12/original/5feb0f8885600a52f32e47db.jpg)
Public domain, color by Klimbim
6. Singer Anastasia Vyaltseva
![](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/rbthmedia/images/2020.12/original/5feb0f8985600a52f32e47dc.jpg)
Public domain, color by Klimbim
7. Ballerina Agrippina Vaganova
![](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/rbthmedia/images/2020.12/original/5feb0f8985600a52f32e47dd.jpg)
Public domain, color by Klimbim
8. Countess Sofya Vyazemskaya
![](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/rbthmedia/images/2020.12/original/5feb0f8985600a52f32e47de.jpg)
Public domain, color by Klimbim
9. Writer and translator Elizaveta Kologrivova
![](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/rbthmedia/images/2020.12/original/5feb0f8985600a52f32e47df.jpg)
Public domain, color by Klimbim
10. Ballerina Tamara Karsavina
![](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/rbthmedia/images/2020.12/original/5feb0f8985600a52f32e47e0.jpg)
Public domain, color by Klimbim
11. Actress Vera Komissarzhevskaya
![](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/rbthmedia/images/2020.12/original/5feb0f8a85600a52f32e47e1.jpg)
Sputnik; Public domain, color by Klimbim
12. Revolutionary, journalist and poet Larissa Reissner
![](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/rbthmedia/images/2020.12/original/5feb0f8a85600a52f32e47e2.jpg)
Public domain, color by Klimbim
13. Silent movie star Vera Kholodnaya
![](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/rbthmedia/images/2020.12/original/5feb0f8a85600a52f32e47e3.jpg)
Public domain, color by Klimbim
14. A fashionable lady from Tver Region, 1900s
![](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/rbthmedia/images/2020.12/original/5feb0f8a85600a52f32e47e4.jpg)
Public domain, color by Klimbim
15. A student of the Institute of Noble Maidens in St. Petersburg
![](https://mf.b37mrtl.ru/rbthmedia/images/2020.12/original/5feb0f8a85600a52f32e47e5.jpg)
Public domain, color by Klimbim
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