The Home of the Last Tsar - Romanov and Russian History

Nesterov was one of Empress Alexandra's favorite painters, his picture of the Annuciation hung in the Mauve Room.  He worked for Grand Duchess Elizabeth in her Martha and Mary convent in Moscow.  Here's a bio.

Here's a page dedicated to this famous mosaic in the apse sem-dome of the great cathedral church of old Byzantium.  It dates from the original redecoration of the church after iconoclasm ended.