Speaking about the city of St. Petersburg, it is impossible not to remember the person thanks to whom our glorious St. Petersburg appeared on the map. Today we tell you where the eight main monuments to the reformer emperor are located in the Northern capital.

Bronze Horseman

The most famous (but not the first) monument to the first Russian emperor was erected under Catherine II, who considered him the main Russian ruler. The pedestal was made from the Thunder Stone, found by the state-owned peasant Semyon Vishnyakov. There is a belief that as long as the monument to Peter is in its place, everything will be fine with the city.

Monument to Peter I by Shemyakin

A sculpture installed in the Peter and Paul Fortress in front of the former guardhouse building in the early 80s of the 20th century. It is the work of St. Petersburg artist Mikhail Shemyakin. The author managed to achieve an incredible resemblance to the real face of the emperor thanks to the use of an authentic wax mask made by Rastrelli himself when creating the monument.

Monument to Peter I the Carpenter

On the Admiralteyskaya Embankment you can find a monument to Peter the Great, who was busy building a new ship. It is known that you should not come to the creator of the city on the Neva in the hope of fulfilling ordinary desires. But if you are busy looking for a job, the emperor will be happy to help you with this. By the way, they say that he will also help with requests for career growth.

Peter I at the Engineering Castle

The sculptor Rastrelli (father of the famous architect) began creating this monument during the life of the first Russian Emperor. But due to various circumstances, it was completed only by 1747. After which, for a long time, the ownerless monument sought refuge. As a result, Paul I installed it in front of his Mikhailovsky Castle in 1801. On the pedestal he ordered to write “Great-grandfather - great-grandson.”

Peter I in Pulkovo

You can catch the founder of the Northern capital in the domestic flights area. The creator of the sculpture was Mikhail Dronov. He presented Peter I in the image of a modern airport passenger setting off on a trip to Russia. The two-meter tall emperor, created from clay, is dressed in his typical clothes, pulling a suitcase on wheels.

Bust of Peter I at the Moscow railway station

Everyone who comes to St. Petersburg can be proud that they are greeted by the emperor himself. In the hall of the Moscow railway station you can find a majestic bust of Peter I. Despite the fact that historically the station building has nothing to do with the founder, the monument was erected here in honor of the return of its historical name to St. Petersburg.

Bust of Peter I near the house of Peter I

How would we be without a monument to the emperor near his house on Petrovskaya embankment. The monument is installed on a red granite pedestal, so it is difficult to miss. The bust was erected back in 1875 on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the death of Peter I.

Bust of Peter I in the Botanical Garden

The bronze bust, created by sculptor Oleg Satin, was placed on an unusual pedestal in the shape of a tree growing from the ground, which was designed by architect Alexandra Bocharova.

The opening of a new monument in the Botanical Garden took place in 2014 as part of the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the V. L. Komarov Botanical Institute.

Muscovites greeted one of the tallest monuments in Russia with some criticism. In 1997, after its installation, a series of publications appeared in the Moscow media calling on city residents to write letters in support of collecting signatures for the demolition of the monument. There were about 5 thousand of them, most of whom criticized two points - the excessive height of the monument and its location.

However, as we can observe at the moment, the monument to Peter I in Moscow has received the right to life. The work of Zurab Tsereteli was erected by order of the Moscow Government on an artificial island poured at the separation of the Moscow River and the Vodootvodny Canal. Officially announced by the creator and customers as a gift to sailors for the 300th anniversary of the Russian Navy. The total height of the monument is 98 meters, the height of the figure of Peter is 18 meters.

Some Russian newspapermen called this monument a recycled statue of Columbus, which Tsereteli planned to sell in 1992 for the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America by Europeans, but never sold.

In 2014, architectural critic Revzin expressed his opinion regarding the overly active protests against the new monument. Thus, he pointed out that publications and posters “You weren’t here” began to appear too suddenly in Moscow, which must first be agreed upon, the budget reduced and received. Thus, this process was most likely started by someone, and then picked up by the townspeople.

The height of the monument is comparable to the height of the Statue of Liberty, which stands in New York.

Just don’t forget that the difference of 5 meters is due to the fact that the Statue of Liberty, as a solid monument, is only 46 meters, but it stands on a pedestal 47 meters high. From here the total height is considered to be 93 meters.

The monument to Peter I, a bronze monument of a rider on a rearing horse flying to the top of a cliff, better known thanks to the poem by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin as “The Bronze Horseman” is an integral part architectural ensemble and one of the most striking symbols of St. Petersburg...

The location of the monument to Peter I was not chosen by chance. Nearby are the Admiralty, founded by the emperor, and the building of the main legislative body of Tsarist Russia - the Senate.

Catherine II insisted on placing the monument in the center of Senate Square. The author of the sculpture, Etienne-Maurice Falconet, did his own thing by installing the “Bronze Horseman” closer to the Neva.
By order of Catherine II, Falcone was invited to St. Petersburg by Prince Golitsyn. Professors of the Paris Academy of Painting Diderot and Voltaire, whose taste Catherine II trusted, advised to turn to this master.

Falcone was already fifty years old. He worked at a porcelain factory, but dreamed of great and monumental art. When an invitation was received to erect a monument in Russia, Falcone, without hesitation, signed the contract on September 6, 1766. Its conditions determined: the monument to Peter should consist of “mainly equestrian statue of colossal size." The sculptor was offered a rather modest fee (200 thousand livres), other masters asked twice as much.

Falconet arrived in St. Petersburg with his seventeen-year-old assistant Marie-Anne Collot. The vision of the monument to Peter I by the author of the sculpture was strikingly different from the desire of the empress and the majority of the Russian nobility. Catherine II expected to see Peter I with a rod or scepter in his hand, sitting on a horse like a Roman emperor.

State Councilor Shtelin saw the figure of Peter surrounded by allegories of Prudence, Diligence, Justice and Victory. I.I. Betskoy, who supervised the construction of the monument, imagined it as a full-length figure, holding a commander’s staff in his hand.

Falconet was advised to direct the emperor's right eye to the Admiralty, and his left to the building of the Twelve Colleges. Diderot, who visited St. Petersburg in 1773, conceived a monument in the form of a fountain decorated with allegorical figures.
Falcone had something completely different in mind. He turned out to be stubborn and persistent.

The sculptor wrote:

“I will limit myself only to the statue of this hero, whom I do not interpret either as a great commander or as a winner, although he, of course, was both. The personality of the creator, legislator, benefactor of his country is much higher, and this is what needs to be shown to people. My king does not hold any rod, he extends his beneficent right hand over the country he travels around. He climbs to the top of the rock, which serves as his pedestal - this is an emblem of the difficulties he has overcome.”

Defending the right to his opinion regarding the appearance of the Falcone monument, I.I. wrote. Betsky:

“Could you imagine that the sculptor chosen to create such a significant monument would be deprived of the ability to think and that the movements of his hands would be controlled by someone else’s head, and not his own?”

Disputes also arose around the clothes of Peter I. The sculptor wrote to Diderot:
“You know that I will not dress him in Roman style, just as I would not dress Julius Caesar or Scipio in Russian.”

Falcone worked on a life-size model of the monument for three years. Work on “The Bronze Horseman” was carried out on the site of the former temporary Winter Palace of Elizabeth Petrovna. In 1769, passers-by could watch here as a guards officer took off on a horse onto a wooden platform and reared it. This went on for several hours a day.

Falcone sat at the window in front of the platform and carefully sketched what he saw. The horses for work on the monument were taken from the imperial stables: the horses Brilliant and Caprice. The sculptor chose the Russian “Oryol” breed for the monument.

Falconet's student Marie-Anne Collot sculpted the head of the Bronze Horseman. The sculptor himself took on this work three times, but each time Catherine II advised to remake the model. Marie herself proposed her sketch, which was accepted by the empress. For her work, the girl was accepted as a member of the Russian Academy of Arts, Catherine II assigned her a lifelong pension of 10,000 livres.

The snake under the horse’s foot was sculpted by the Russian sculptor F.G. Gordeev.

Preparing a life-size plaster model of the monument took twelve years; it was ready by 1778.

The model was open for public viewing in the workshop on the corner of Brick Lane and Bolshaya Morskaya Street. Various opinions were expressed. The Chief Prosecutor of the Synod resolutely did not accept the project. Diderot was pleased with what he saw. Catherine II turned out to be indifferent to the model of the monument - she did not like Falcone’s arbitrariness in choosing the appearance of the monument.

For a long time, no one wanted to take on the task of casting the statue. Foreign masters demanded too much a large amount, and local craftsmen were frightened by its size and complexity of work. According to the sculptor’s calculations, in order to maintain the balance of the monument, the front walls of the monument had to be made very thin - no more than a centimeter. Even a specially invited foundry worker from France refused such work. He called Falcone crazy and said that there was no such example of casting in the world, that it would not succeed.

Finally, a foundry worker was found - cannon master Emelyan Khailov. Together with him, Falcone selected the alloy and made samples. In three years, the sculptor mastered casting to perfection. They began casting the Bronze Horseman in 1774.

The technology was very complex. The thickness of the front walls had to be less than the thickness of the rear ones. At the same time, the back part became heavier, which gave stability to the statue, which rested on only three points of support.

Filling the statue alone was not enough. During the first, the pipe through which hot bronze was supplied to the mold burst. The upper part of the sculpture was damaged. I had to cut it down and prepare for the second filling for another three years. This time the job was a success. In memory of her, on one of the folds of Peter I’s cloak, the sculptor left the inscription “Sculpted and cast by Etienne Falconet, a Parisian of 1778.”

The St. Petersburg Gazette wrote about these events:

“On August 24, 1775, Falconet cast a statue of Peter the Great on horseback here. The casting was successful except in places two feet by two at the top. This regrettable failure occurred through an incident that was completely impossible to foresee, and therefore impossible to prevent.

The above-mentioned incident seemed so terrible that they feared that the entire building would catch fire, and, consequently, the whole business would fail. Khailov remained motionless and carried the molten metal into the mold, without losing his vigor in the least in the face of danger to his life.

Falcone, touched by such courage at the end of the case, rushed to him and kissed him with all his heart and gave him money from himself.”

According to the sculptor’s plan, the base of the monument is a natural rock in the shape of a wave. The shape of the wave serves as a reminder that it was Peter I who led Russia to the sea. The Academy of Arts began searching for the monolith stone when the model of the monument was not yet ready. A stone was needed whose height would be 11.2 meters.

The granite monolith was found in the Lakhta area, twelve miles from St. Petersburg. Once upon a time, according to local legends, lightning struck the rock, forming a crack in it. Among local residents The rock was called "Thunder Stone". That’s what they later began to call it when they installed it on the banks of the Neva under the famous monument.

Split boulder - suspected fragment of Thunder Stone

The initial weight of the monolith is about 2000 tons. Catherine II announced a reward of 7,000 rubles to the one who comes up with the most effective method deliver the rock to Senate Square. From many projects, the method proposed by a certain Carbury was chosen. There were rumors that he had bought this project from some Russian merchant.

A clearing was cut from the location of the stone to the shore of the bay and the soil was strengthened. The rock was freed from excess layers, and it immediately became lighter by 600 tons. The thunder-stone was hoisted with levers onto a wooden platform resting on copper balls. These balls moved on grooved wooden rails lined with copper. The clearing was winding. Work on transporting the rock continued in both cold and hot weather.

Hundreds of people worked. Many St. Petersburg residents came to watch this action. Some of the observers collected fragments of stone and used them to make cane knobs or cufflinks. In honor of the extraordinary transport operation, Catherine II ordered the minting of a medal on which it was written “Like daring. January 20, 1770.”

The rock was dragged overland for almost a year. Further along the Gulf of Finland it was transported on a barge. During transportation, dozens of stonemasons gave it the necessary shape. The rock arrived at Senate Square on September 23, 1770.

The poet Vasily Rubin wrote in the same year:

The Russian Mountain, not made by hands, is here,
Hearing the voice of God from the lips of Catherine,
Came to the city of Petrov through the Neva abyss
And she fell under the feet of the Great Peter.

By the time the monument to Peter I was erected, the relationship between the sculptor and the imperial court had completely deteriorated. It got to the point that Falcone was credited with only a technical attitude towards the monument. The offended master did not wait for the opening of the monument; in September 1778, together with Marie-Anne Collot, he left for Paris.

The installation of the “Bronze Horseman” on the pedestal was supervised by the architect F.G. Gordeev. The grand opening of the monument to Peter I took place on August 7, 1782 (old style). The sculpture was hidden from the eyes of observers by a canvas fence depicting mountain landscapes. It had been raining since the morning, but it did not stop a significant number of people from gathering on Senate Square. By noon the clouds had cleared. The guards entered the square.

The military parade was led by Prince A.M. Golitsyn. At four o'clock, Empress Catherine II herself arrived on the boat. She climbed onto the balcony of the Senate building in a crown and purple and gave a sign for the opening of the monument. The fence fell under drum roll The regiments moved along the Neva embankment.

By order of Catherine II, the following is inscribed on the pedestal: “Catherine II to Peter I.” Thus, the Empress emphasized her commitment to Peter's reforms. Immediately after the appearance of the Bronze Horseman on Senate Square, the square was named Petrovskaya.

Opening of the monument to Peter I on Senate Square. Engraving by A. Melnikov based on a drawing by A. Davydov. 1782.

A.S. called the sculpture “Bronze Horseman” in his poem of the same name. Pushkin, although in fact it is made of bronze. This expression has become so popular that it has become almost official. And the monument to Peter I itself became one of the symbols of St. Petersburg.

The weight of the “Bronze Horseman” is 8 tons, the height is more than 5 meters.

Legend of the Bronze Horseman

Since its installation, it has become the subject of many myths and legends. Opponents of Peter himself and his reforms warned that the monument depicts the “horseman of the Apocalypse,” bringing death and suffering to the city and all of Russia.

Peter's supporters said that the monument symbolizes the greatness and glory of the Russian Empire, and that Russia will remain so until the horseman leaves his pedestal.

By the way, there are also legends about the pedestal of the Bronze Horseman. According to the sculptor Falcone, it was supposed to be made in the shape of a wave. Suitable stone was found near the village of Lakhta: supposedly a local holy fool pointed out the stone.

Some historians find it possible that this is exactly the stone that Peter climbed more than once during the Northern War in order to better see the location of the troops.

The fame of the Bronze Horseman spread far beyond the borders of St. Petersburg. One of the remote settlements had its own version of the origin of the monument. The version was that one day Peter the Great amused himself by jumping on his horse from one bank of the Neva to the other.

For the first time he exclaimed: " Everything is God's and mine!" and jumped over the river. The second time he repeated: “Everything is God’s and mine!”, and again the jump was successful. However, the third time the emperor mixed up the words and said: " Everything is mine and God's!" At that moment, God's punishment overtook him: he became petrified and forever remained a monument to himself.

The Legend of Major Baturin

During the Patriotic War of 1812, as a result of the retreat of Russian troops, there was a threat of the capture of St. Petersburg by French troops. Concerned about this prospect, Alexander I ordered special valuable works art.

In particular, State Secretary Molchanov was instructed to take the monument to Peter I to the Vologda province, and several thousand rubles were allocated for this. At this time, a certain Major Baturin secured a meeting with the Tsar’s personal friend, Prince Golitsyn, and told him that he and Baturin were haunted by the same dream.

He sees himself on Senate Square. Peter's face turns. The horseman rides off his cliff and heads through the streets of St. Petersburg to Kamenny Island, where Alexander I then lived.

The horseman enters the courtyard of the Kamenoostrovsky Palace, from which the sovereign comes out to meet him. “Young man, what have you brought my Russia to,” Peter the Great tells him, “but as long as I’m in place, my city has nothing to fear!” Then the rider turns back, and the “heavy, ringing gallop” is heard again.

Struck by Baturin’s story, Prince Golitsyn conveyed the dream to the sovereign. As a result, Alexander I reversed his decision to evacuate the monument. The monument remained in place.

There is an assumption that the legend of Major Baturin formed the basis of the plot of A. S. Pushkin’s poem “The Bronze Horseman”. There is also an assumption that the legend of Major Baturin was the reason that during the Great Patriotic War the monument remained in place and was not hidden, like other sculptures.

During the siege of Leningrad, the Bronze Horseman was covered with bags of earth and sand, lined with logs and boards.

Restorations of the monument took place in 1909 and 1976. During the last of them, the sculpture was studied using gamma rays. To do this, the area around the monument was fenced off with sandbags and concrete blocks. The cobalt gun was controlled from a nearby bus.

Thanks to this research, it turned out that the frame of the monument can serve for many years to come. Inside the figure was a capsule with a note about the restoration and its participants, newspaper dated September 3, 1976.

Etienne-Maurice Falconet conceived The Bronze Horseman without a fence. But it was still created and has not survived to this day.

“Thanks to” the vandals who leave their autographs on the thunder stone and the sculpture itself, the idea of ​​restoring the fence may soon be realized.

"The Story of the Bronze Horseman"

Charity wall newspaper for schoolchildren, parents and teachers “Briefly and clearly about the most interesting things.” Issue 98, August 2016.

Catherine II, Denis Diderot, Dmitry Golitsyn, Etienne Falconet, Yuri Felten, Ivan Bakmeister, Alexander Radishchev, Ludwig Nikolai, Lewis Carroll and many others: quotes from correspondence and memoirs.

Wall newspapers of the charitable educational project “Briefly and clearly about the most interesting things” (site site) are intended for schoolchildren, parents and teachers of St. Petersburg. They ship free to most educational institutions, as well as to a number of hospitals, orphanages and other institutions in the city. The project's publications do not contain any advertising (only founders' logos), are politically and religiously neutral, written in easy language, and well illustrated. They are intended as informational “inhibition” of students, awakening cognitive activity and the desire to read. Authors and publishers, without pretending to provide academic completeness of the material, publish interesting facts, illustrations, interviews with famous figures of science and culture and thereby hope to increase the interest of schoolchildren in the educational process..ru. We thank the Education Department of the Kirovsky District Administration of St. Petersburg and everyone who selflessly helps in distributing our wall newspapers. Special thanks to Nadezhda Nikolaevna Efremova, Deputy Director for scientific work for the materials and consultations provided.

2016 marks the 300th anniversary of the birth of the French sculptor Etienne Maurice Falconet. His only monumental work– the world-famous monument to Peter I on Senate Square, known to everyone as the Bronze Horseman. Our wall newspaper contains the main stages of the creation of this, perhaps, the most striking symbol of St. Petersburg. In order to feel the atmosphere of the enlightened Catherine’s era together with the reader, we tried to give the floor to direct participants and eyewitnesses of the events described. We plan to discuss the secrets of the Bronze Horseman, revealed during the restoration, as well as the fascinating history of his pedestal - the “Thunder Stone” - in our next issues.

"Leading to Amazement"

Senate square. Drawing by an unknown author.

“The monument to Peter the Great in Leningrad is an outstanding work of Russian and world sculpture. Erected on the banks of the Neva almost two hundred years ago, it became a striking example of the triumph of educational ideas, - this is how Doctor of Art History, Professor Abraham Kaganovich begins his fundamental book “The Bronze Horseman” (1975). – Time turned out to have no power over the monument; it only further confirmed its imperishability historical meaning and aesthetic value. The monument not only glorifies a hero, an outstanding statesman, but in a vivid figurative form it captures the changes that took place in Russia in the first quarter of the 18th century, at the time of state reforms that radically changed the life of the country... Of great interest is not only the content of the monument, its plastic merits, but also the history of its creation.”

Earlier authors also spoke in the same enthusiastic tone (and emphasizing a special interest in the history of the creation of the monument). Thus, the librarian of the Imperial Public Library, writer and theologian Anton Ivanovsky in the book “Conversations about Peter the Great and His Colleagues” (1872) exclaimed: “Which of us, passing through Petrovskaya Square, did not stop in front of the monument to Peter I... which, in its beauty, , majesty and lofty idea has no equal on the entire globe... how much work and incredible effort did it take to build this marvelous monument, which amazes not only us, but also foreigners? The history of the construction of this monument is so interesting and at the same time instructive...” Whole volumes have been written about the creation of the Bronze Horseman (the most interesting books are listed at the end of the wall newspaper), so we will very briefly note here the key points of this “entertaining and instructive story,” trying to adhere to the memories of contemporaries and assessments of recognized experts.

“Not made by art like this”

Why did Catherine not like the statue by Rastrelli?

Monument to Peter I by B.K. Rastrelli in front of the Mikhailovsky Castle.

In 1762, Catherine II began to reign. The Senate immediately obsequiously proposed erecting a monument to herself. The young empress decided that she would act more wisely, perpetuating the memory not of herself, but of Peter the Great, the transformer of Russia, thereby emphasizing the continuity of her rule.

It is noteworthy that by the time the need arose to erect an equestrian monument to Peter I in St. Petersburg, an equestrian statue of Peter I in St. Petersburg... already existed. We are talking about a sculpture by the Italian sculptor Bartolomeo Carlo Rastrelli. He made a model of the monument during the life of Peter I, having previously made a wax mask-cast directly from the emperor’s face and thereby achieved the greatest portrait resemblance. In 1747, the sculpture was cast in bronze, but after that, forgotten by everyone, it was stored in a barn. Catherine, having examined the monument, came to the conclusion that “it was not made by art in such a way as it should represent such a great monarch and serve to decorate the capital city of St. Petersburg.” Why?

With the death of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, the Baroque era ended in Russia. It's amazing how quickly even the most beautiful creations can go out of style! Empress Catherine the Great and her associates were no longer attracted to lush “curls”; the time of classicism was coming. In art, the simplicity and clarity of the image, the rejection of decorative details, respect for the free personality of the enlightened hero, the motives for conquering wild prejudices and ascending from dense ignorance to bright reason began to be valued. It is natural that during this period architects appreciated the pristine beauty of natural stone. So, “the image created by Rastrelli, where the formidable emperor dominated,” Kaganovich concludes, “in many ways looked like an anachronism. The Age of Enlightenment could not accept such a limited interpretation of it. A new, deeper and more modern solution for the monument was needed.”

"An experienced and talented sculptor"

Why did you choose Falcon?

Sculptural portrait of Etienne Falconet, made by his student Marie-Anne Collot (1773). Museum of the city of Nancy, France.

As Mikhail Pylyaev reports in his famous book “Old Petersburg. Stories from the former life of the capital,” in 1765, Catherine ordered the Russian envoy in Paris, Prince Dmitry Golitsyn, to find her “an experienced and talented sculptor.” Famous French sculptors were considered as candidates for the role of creator of the monument to Peter the Great: Augustin Pazhu, Guillaume Coustou (younger), Louis-Claude Vasse and Etienne Falconet (emphasis on French tradition placed on the last syllable). The presence of Golitsyn’s impeccable artistic flair is confirmed, in particular, by one of his friends, the philosopher-educator Denis Diderot: “The prince... was incredibly successful in his knowledge of art... he has high thoughts and a beautiful soul. And a person with such a soul does not have bad taste.” Diderot recommended that Golitsyn (as well as Catherine herself, since they were in friendly correspondence) opt for Falcon: “Here is a man of genius, full of all sorts of qualities characteristic and unusual for a genius. There is an abyss in it delicate taste, intelligence, delicacy, charm and grace... he crushes clay, processes marble, and at the same time reads and reflects... this man thinks and feels with greatness.”

On August 27, 1766 (250 years ago), Falcone signed a contract for the production of an “equestrian statue of colossal size” in St. Petersburg. In September of the same year, accompanied by his student Marie-Anne Collot, he left Paris for St. Petersburg, where he arrived about a month later and immediately began work. The secretary of the Russian Historical Society, Alexander Polovtsov, in the preface to “Correspondence of Empress Catherine II with Falconet” (published in 1876) indicated: “Who undertook such a difficult task and such long journey the artist was not one of those foreigners who fled to Russia, who were not lucky at home, and who thought of finding easy bread in a barbaric country, in their opinion, no, Falconet was exactly fifty years old, and in these fifty years he had already earned an honorable place among my fellow citizens...

On September 10, 1766, Falconet left Paris; his things were sent by sea... it turns out that out of 25 boxes, one only contained the artist’s belongings, the rest were filled with books, engravings, marble, as well as casts and photographs for the Academy of Arts.” Advising his friend, Diderot exclaimed: “Remember, Falconet, that you must either die at work, or create something great!”

“Diderot gave me the opportunity to acquire a person who, I think, has no equal: this is Falconet; he will soon start a statue of Peter the Great, and if there are artists who are equal to him in art, then I boldly think that there are none who could be compared with him in feelings: in a word, he is Diderot’s soulmate,” - so Catherine herself responded about the arriving sculptor.

"Great Deeds and Most Memorable Adventures"

What's "bad" about ancient statues?

The statue of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius in Rome is the only equestrian statue to survive from antiquity.

One of the projects of the monument to Peter I by B.K. Rastrelli “with allegorical figures.” Detail of the “Plan of the capital city of St. Petersburg...” by Mikhail Makhaev (1753).

At first, Catherine’s entourage was inclined to copy the composition of one of the equestrian monuments to kings and commanders installed by that time in European countries. This is, first of all, a statue of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius in Rome (160–180s); statue of the Italian condottiere (mercenary) Bartolomeo Colleoni in Venice (sculptor Andrea Verrocchio, 1480s); statue of the Elector (ruler) of Brandenburg Friedrich Wilhelm in Berlin (sculptor Andreas Schlüter, 1703); the statue of King Louis XIV of France in Paris (sculptor François Girardon, 1683; destroyed during the French Revolution of 1789-1799) and other outstanding works.

Thus, Jacob Shtelin, a figure in the Russian Academy of Sciences and memoirist, wrote: “A statue of His Majesty on a horse will be erected, and its pedestal will be decorated with bas-reliefs glorifying his great deeds and his most memorable adventures.” At the corners of the pedestal there were supposed to be statues of the vices that Peter “deposed with undaunted courage,” namely: “gross ignorance, insane superstition, mendicant laziness and evil deception.” As a backup, there was an option with statues of “heroic spirit, untiring courage, victory and immortal glory.”

Architect Johann Schumacher proposed to build in front of the Winter Palace or in front of the Kunstkamera building “in view of the courtyard, the collegium, the Admiralty, and especially the ships sailing along the Neva River... a building... of white marble, cast metal and red gilded copper and with convex work ", surrounded by allegorical figures of seas and rivers, "showing the space of this state."

Baron Bilinstein proposed erecting a monument on the banks of the Neva - so that Peter would look with his right eye at the Admiralty and towards the entire Empire, and with his left eye at Vasilyevsky Island and the Ingria he conquered. Falcone retorted that such a thing was only possible with strabismus. “The right and left eyes of Peter the Great made me laugh very much; this is more than stupid,” Catherine echoed him. “You seem to think, dear sir,” Falcone wrote to the baron, “that the sculptor is deprived of the ability to think, and that his hands can only act with the help of someone else’s head, and not his own. So find out that the artist is the creator of his work... Give him advice, he listens to it because in the smartest head there is always enough space to accommodate delusion. But if you act as an official distributor of ideas, then you will only be funny.”

Even Diderot recommended a convoluted solution to Falconet: “Show them your hero... driving barbarism before him... with his hair half loose, half braided, with his body covered with wild skin, casting a fierce, menacing look at your hero, fearing him and preparing to be trampled under the hooves his horse; so that on the one hand I see the love of the people stretching out their hands to their legislator, watching him off and blessing him, so that on the other hand I see the symbol of the nation, spread out on the earth and calmly enjoying peace, relaxation and carelessness.”
Ivan Betskoy, president of the Academy of Arts, head of the Commission on Stone Construction (and also the official appointed by Catherine to be in charge of everything related to the construction of the monument to Peter), insisted that Falcone take the statue of Marcus Aurelius as a model. Their dispute went so far that Falcone was forced to write an entire treatise, “Observations on the Statue of Marcus Aurelius.” Along with a deep analysis of ancient sculpture, Falcone ironically notes that in such a pose the horse will not be able to take a single step, since the movements of all its legs do not correspond to each other.

Catherine supported Falcone as best she could: “Listen, throw away... the statue of Marcus Aurelius and the bad reasoning of people who do not understand any sense, go your own way, you will do a hundred times better by listening to your stubbornness...”

“The ancients were not so superior to us; they did not do everything so well that there was nothing left for us to do,” the sculptor believed. It took unsurpassed courage and self-confidence to move away from the age-old traditions of depicting rulers in military armor calmly sitting in identical poses on measuredly walking horses, surrounded by allegorical figures.
The place for the monument was determined on May 5, 1768, when Betskoy announced to the Senate: “Her Imperial Majesty deigned to verbally command the monument to be erected on the square between the Neva River, from the Admiralty and the house in which the Governing Senate is present.”

"Hero on the Emblematic Rock"

How was Falconet's idea born?

Engraving “Equestrian statue of Peter the Great” from the album “Costume of the Russian Empire” (London, 1811).

A snake under a horse’s hooves is a symbol of defeated envy.

While still in Paris, Falconet thought about the project of the future monument and made its first sketches. “That day when I sketched on the corner of your table a hero and his horse jumping over an emblematic rock, and you were so pleased with my idea,” he later wrote to Diderot. – The monument will be made simply. There will be no barbarity, people's love, or a symbol of the nation there. Peter the Great is his own subject and attribute: all that remains is to show it. I imagine the hero not as a great commander and conqueror, although he was, of course, both. We must show humanity a more beautiful sight, the creator, legislator, benefactor of his country... My king does not hold a rod in his hand, he extends his beneficent hand over the country over which he flies, he climbs this rock, which serves as his foundation - an emblem of difficulties which he overcame. So, this fatherly hand, this jump over a steep cliff—this is the plot that Peter the Great gives me.”

The clothes of the future rider caused serious thought. The options offered included a European suit that was fashionable at the time, a Roman toga, military armor, and ancient Russian attire. Ivan Bakmeister, a librarian of the Academy of Sciences who personally knew Falcone, spoke categorically about modern clothing in his remarkable work “Historical News of the Statued Equestrian Image of Peter the Great” (1783): “French clothing for the heroic sculptured image is completely obscene, erect and sea-buckthorny.” . Antique and knightly clothing “is a masquerade when worn by a person who was not a Roman, and especially when he is not depicted as a warrior... If this is an old Moscow caftan, then it is not suitable for someone who has declared war on beards and caftans. If you dress Peter in the clothes that he wore, then it will not make it possible to convey movement and lightness in a large sculpture, especially in an equestrian monument. Therefore, Peter’s costume is the clothing of all nations, all people, all times - in a word, a heroic costume,” Falcone concluded.

The snake as an important element of the composition also appeared as a result of much thought. “This allegory gives the object all the power inherent to it, which it did not have before... Peter the Great was opposed by envy, that is certain; he bravely overcame it... such is the fate of every great man,” Falcone convinced Catherine. “If I ever made a statue of Your Majesty, and if the composition allowed it, then I would throw envy at the bottom of the pedestal.” The Empress answered evasively: “I neither like nor dislike the allegorical snake. I wanted to find out all sorts of objections to the snake...” And there were many objections: some thought that the snake was too “smooth” and it would be better “made with greater curvatures,” others that it was too big or too small. And Betskoy, in conversations with Catherine, presented the snake only as a manifestation of the sculptor’s whim. It soon became clear that the wise Falconet intended the snake not only as a bright artistic image, but also as part of the supporting structure: “People... perhaps too sensitive to the slightly bold but simple trick of my inspiration, believe that the snake should be removed... But these people do not know, like me, that without this happy episode the support of the statue was would be very unreliable. They didn't calculate the strength I needed with me. They do not know that if they listened to their advice, the monument would be unstable.” The fate of the snake was decided by these words of Catherine: “there is one old song that says: if it is necessary, then it is necessary, this is my answer regarding the snake.”

As Kaganovich figuratively put it, “the horseman crushed with his passionate energy, the swiftness of his impulse, a deadly obstacle, a clot of envy, deceit and betrayal that interfered with the free movement of progress.”

Let us finally cite a significant remark by Lewis Carroll (author of “Alice in Wonderland”) from his “Diary of a Travel to Russia” (1867): “If this monument had stood in Berlin, Peter would undoubtedly have been busy directly killing this monster, but here he doesn’t even look at him: obviously, the “killer” principle is not recognized here.”

“I have completed my main job!”

How was the work on the model?

Adolphe Charlemagne. M.-A. Collo sculpts the head of Peter I, fragment (1867). Filmstrip “The Bronze Horseman” (1981).

Drawing of a model of the monument to Peter the Great, made by artist Anton Losenko in Falconet’s workshop (1770). Museum of the city of Nancy (France).

Falcone arrived in St. Petersburg at the end of 1766 and, already at the beginning of the next year, having agreed on the composition of the future monument, he began making its “small model”. A year later she was ready and received the highest approval. On February 1, 1768, a “large model” was begun - life-size of the future bronze statue.

The master’s selfless and thoughtful work on every detail is emphasized by the following memories: “... when I had the idea to depict a horse in a gallop and on the rise in sculpture, I turned not to my memory, and even less to my imagination, in order to make an accurate model. I studied nature. To do this, I commissioned the making of a slide, which I gave the slope that my pedestal should have. I made the rider gallop: first, not just once, but more than a hundred times; second - in different time; third - on different horses. For the eye can only grasp the effects of such rapid movements by means of many repeated impressions. Having studied the movement of the horse I had chosen as a whole, I moved on to studying the details. I examined, sculpted, drew every part - from below, from above, in front, behind, on both sides, because there is no other way to get exact knowledge subject; only after these studies did I believe that I had seen and was able to convey a horse rising up in a gallop, to convey the true shape of the muscles and ligaments...” (Note that the camera was invented only 60 years later).

In the contract, Falcone specifically stipulated the possibility of an unhindered choice of horses and sitters. The sculptor chose the best stallions from the court stable - they turned out to be the handsome Brilliant and Caprice. The name of one of the riders is known - Afanasy Telezhnikov. According to legend, Colonel Peter Melissino also posed for Falcone, “with a face and physique very similar to the emperor.” The sculptor was advised by a major horse expert, the English Ambassador Lord Cathcard.

A significant problem turned out to be sculpting the emperor's head.
“In order... to depict the facial features of the original in the model as accurately as possible, he received, by the highest order from the Academy of Sciences, a very similar plaster head of Peter the Great, he also ordered from Bologna an image cast from the chest image located there, very similar to the emperor ; In addition, he was allowed to look at his will at the image made of wax, located in the Academy, taken from the face of the emperor himself,” Backmeister testified. Apparently, after several unsuccessful attempts To make a sculptural portrait of Peter that fully corresponds to the plan, Falconet entrusted this task to Marie-Anne Collot, with whom she, being a portrait painter, coped brilliantly.

In July 1769, a life-size clay model of the future monument was made. Until the spring of next year she was “transferred to plaster.” “I have completed my main work! – Falcone wrote to a friend. “Oh, if the monument I brought to the end was worthy of the great man he depicts, if this monument did not disgrace either art or my fatherland, then I could say with Horace: “Not all of me will die!”

"A fragment of a great epic poem"

What did the public say when the model was unveiled?

This is how the monument to Peter the Great was remembered by the Japanese traveler Daikokuya Kodai, who visited St. Petersburg in 1791. National Museum Tokyo.

Falcone contacted the Academy of Arts and invited Russian artists to discuss the shortcomings of the model, “which may still be there, in order to correct them if possible,” after which the model was exhibited “for two whole weeks for a national spectacle.” “St. Petersburg Vedomosti” wrote about this: “On May 19 from 11 to 2 and in the afternoon from 6 to 8 o’clock, the model Petru Vel will be shown for two weeks from now on. in a building located on the site of the former winter palace on Nevsky Prospekt.”
“Finally, the curtain has risen,” Falcone wrote with excitement. “I am, of course, at the mercy of the public; my workshop is jam-packed.”

“Some praised her, others blasphemed her,” Backmeister testified. – The front part of the horse’s neck, according to the expert’s notes, is made a quarter of an inch thicker than it should be... the astute husband, perhaps not without reason, noticed that the fingers of the outstretched hand were very wide. Does it follow from this, as some have thought, that they were coupled together? Such a hand would not express anything and would not mean anything. Others found that the content of the size of the head in the discussion of the legs was wrong... Others still thought simple clothing was obscene...” Someone Yakovlev “found the emperor’s mustache terrible.” The Synod prosecutor was indignant at the fact that “a man and a horse are twice as large as they usually are.” A certain Englishman demanded a “written explanation” so that he could understand “the meaning of the rock and the position of the horse.” Ludwig von Nicolai, future president of the Academy of Sciences, recalled: “Falcone... had a lot of fun at the judgments of his visitors. One kind fellow exclaimed: “My God! What was this man thinking? Of course, Peter I is called great, and that’s what he was. But not the same giant!” Falcone met one privy councilor near the door, and, as usual, asked his opinion. “Oh, oh,” he began at first sight. - How could you make such a gross mistake? Don’t you see that one leg is much longer than the other?” - “I thank you for your remark, but let’s investigate this matter in more detail.” “Falcone led him to the other side. - “Here you go! Now the other one is longer!” Two men stopped in front of the statue: “Why is Peter extending his hand into the air like that?” “You’re a fool,” the other objected, “he’s testing whether it’s raining or not.” Further, Nikolai wrote: “Falcone paid exceptional attention to the horse, and considered the image of Peter to be almost a secondary matter. He felt that in creating a horse he could surpass the ancient sculptors, but in depicting Peter he could barely reach the old masters. The Russian people, who were expecting a monument to Peter, and not his horse, did not like this, especially when he commissioned his student, Mademoiselle Collot, to sculpt the hero’s head, the main part of the whole work.”

Such criticism both amused and hurt Falcone. “Laugh at fools and go your way. This is my rule,” Catherine encouraged him. However, there were much more rave reviews.
“Today I saw the famous equestrian statue of Peter I,” wrote French diplomat Marie Corberon, “this is the best of all its kind that I know of. You know all the controversy, abuse and ridicule that it caused; I can assure you that she will make you forget all this.” Here is the testimony of one English traveler: “This work combines simplicity with the grandeur of the concept... This monument is one of a kind, and it perfectly expresses the character of both the man and the nation over which he ruled.” Falconet's teacher, Jean-Louis Lemoine (he received a small copy of the sculpture by mail) wrote this: “I always considered Falconet very talented and was firmly convinced that he would create a magnificent monument to the Russian Tsar, but what I saw exceeded all expectations.” .

Diderot, who visited St. Petersburg in 1773-1774, responded, as one would expect, enthusiastically: “This work, like a truly beautiful work, is distinguished by the fact that it seems beautiful when you see it for the first time, but the second, third, fourth time seems even more beautiful: you leave it with regret and always willingly return to it.” “The hero and the horse together make up the beautiful Centaur, whose human and thinking part is surprisingly calm in contrast to the part of the furious animal.” And again: “The truth of nature has retained all its purity; but your genius merged with it the brilliance of ever-increasing and amazing poetry. Your horse is not a snapshot of the most beautiful of existing horses, just as Apollo Belvedere is not a repetition of the most beautiful of people: both are the essence of the work of both the creator and the artist. He is colossal but light, he is powerful and graceful, his head is full of intelligence and life. As far as I could judge, it was executed with extreme observation, but deep study of the details does not harm the overall impression; everything is done in a big way. You don’t feel any tension or labor anywhere; You'll think it's just one day's work. Let me state a hard truth. I knew you to be a very skilled person, but I never imagined anything like this in your head... You managed to create in life... a fragment of a great epic poem.”

Probably, the sculptor most rejoiced at the empress’s words about “that smart beast that occupies the middle... of the workshop”: “This horse, in spite of you and between your fingers touching the clay, gallops straight to posterity, which, of course, will appreciate its perfection better than its contemporaries.” .

"Like Boldness"

History of the Thunder Stone

Medal “Like Daring”, minted in honor of the unique transportation of the Thunder Stone - from the Lakhtinsky swamp to Senate Square.

“An ordinary base, on which most of the statues are mounted,” wrote Backmeister, “means nothing and is not capable of arousing a new reverent thought in the soul of the viewer... The chosen base for the sculptured image of the Russian hero should be a wild and intractable stone... New, daring and expressive a lot thought! The stone itself, with its decoration, should remind of the then state of the state and of the difficulties that its creator had to overcome in carrying out his intentions... At a distance of almost six miles from St. Petersburg, near the village of Lakhta, in a flat and swampy country, nature produced a stone of terrible size... Looking at it was exciting surprise, and the thought of moving him to another place was terrifying.”

They dug up a huge stone, hoisted it onto a platform with levers, dragged it along special rails to the shore of the Gulf of Finland, loaded it onto a specially designed barge and delivered it to St. Petersburg. The history of the Thunderstone is so fascinating that we decided to dedicate one of the next issues of the wall newspaper to it.

Detailed description of the casting of the statue

Making a plaster mold for the subsequent casting of the statue of Louis XIV. Yverdon Encyclopedia (1777).

Wax copy of the statue of Louis XIV with a system of tubes - for pouring bronze, flowing out wax and releasing steam. Yverdon Encyclopedia (1777).

A mold covered with iron hoops, ready to begin casting the statue of Louis XIV. Yverdon Encyclopedia (1777).
The inscription on the pedestal is in Latin. Can you translate it? What about the bottom line?

The technology of casting small bronze figurines was known back in the 3rd millennium BC. First, they made a model of the future figurine (for example, from wood). The model was covered with a layer of clay. After hardening, this clay shell was cut into two halves, carefully separated, the model was taken out, and the halves were again connected and wrapped with wire. A hole was drilled at the top of the mold thus obtained and molten bronze was poured inside. All that remained was to wait until the bronze hardened, remove the mold and admire the resulting figurine.

In order to save expensive metal, they learned how to make hollow figurines. In this case, the inside of the mold was coated with a layer of soft wax and the remaining void was filled with sand. A fire was lit under the mold, the wax melted and flowed out. Now the molten bronze poured on top occupied the volume in which the wax had previously been located. The bronze froze, after which the mold was dismantled, and the sand from inside the figurine was poured out through a hole left in advance.

Falcone acted on approximately the same principle (taking into account the fact that the result should have been an eight-ton, five-meter giant, and not a small figurine). Unfortunately, neither Falcone nor anyone around him made any sketches (or they have not yet been discovered). Therefore, we present here drawings illustrating the casting of the monument to Louis XIV in Paris.

“First of all, the plaster mold had to be removed from the large model of the sculpture,” says Backmeister. This means that the model was coated on all sides with a thick layer of semi-hardened plaster, trying to fill every fold. The model was first coated with fat so that the plaster would not stick to it. After this plaster mold had hardened, it was cut into pieces, numbered and removed from the model. On inner surface A layer of melted wax was applied to each piece with a brush.
Falcone understood: in order to ensure the stability of the statue, its center of gravity should be made as low as possible (like that of a tumbler doll). To do this, the walls of the statue must be thick and heavy at the bottom, and very thin at the top, no more than 7.5 mm. Taking this into account, wax of different thicknesses was applied to the mold. Then the pieces of the mold, coated with wax on the inside, were reassembled into in the right places reinforced with a steel frame. The void inside was filled with a special hardening composition of gypsum and ground brick. Now, having carefully removed the plaster mold, Falcone had the opportunity to carefully examine the wax copy of the future statue in order to make final adjustments. “Any remaining unnoticed error in the large model could then be corrected, every feature in the face brought to greater perfection. The maiden Kollot practiced especially in straightening the model of the horseman's head she had made. Several weeks were spent on this work.”
Now it was necessary to carry many wax rods to the most secluded corners of the future statue. Subsequently, having melted inside the clay mass, each such wax rod will turn into a tube - a sprue. The sprues were combined into five large pipes. Special tubes were intended to drain the melted wax, as well as to allow air to escape as the mold was filled with bronze. All these numerous tubes “fit tightly to the model and gave the appearance of a branched tree.”

This entire structure, with the greatest precautions, “had to be covered with a clay composition. The wax was coated with this liquefied matter several times until it was half an inch thick; The dry and hardened bark was covered alternately with brick, glue and earth until it became eight inches thick. In order to properly strengthen the clay mold, they surrounded it with iron strips and rims. The last job left was melting the wax." A huge fire was lit around this new, downright armored form, which burned for eight days, after which all the wax (and there were 100 pounds of it!) flowed out, making room for subsequent bronze pouring, and the form itself hardened and became even stronger.

“The time for casting the statue was approaching. The day before, the smelting furnace was fired, the supervision of which was entrusted to the cannon foundry master Khailov. The next day, when the copper had already melted enough, five main pipes were opened and copper was let in” (it should be noted that previously the word “copper” was used to refer to all metals similar in composition, including bronze). “The lower parts of the mold were all already filled, which promised the best success, but suddenly the copper flowed out of the clay mold and spilled onto the floor, which began to burn. The astonished Falconet (and what artist would not be astonished to see his nine-year work destroyed in a few minutes, that his honor was perishing, and that his envious people were already triumphant) hurried ahead of everyone else from there, and the danger also forced others to quickly follow him. Only Khailov, who looked with indignation at the leaking copper, stayed until the end... and picked up the leaked molten copper to the last drop into the mold, not in the least afraid of the danger to which his life was exposed. Falconet was so touched by this brave and honest act of the foundry master that, at the end of the work, he ran up to him, kissed him heartily and showed his most sensitive gratitude with the gift of several money from his own wallet... However, this casting can be considered the best, which is hardly anywhere committed. For neither in the rider nor in the horse is there a single shell or crack visible in the copper, but everything was cast as cleanly as wax.” As a result of this accident, the upper part of the monument was nevertheless damaged. “The shoulder-length horseman's head was so bad that I broke that ugly piece of bronze. The upper half of the horse’s head along a horizontal line is in the same position,” Falcone grieved. In 1777, he topped up - this time flawlessly.

“A lot of work was still required to finish the cast so that it could be publicly displayed. The composition filling the inside of the mold... and the excess iron device had to be removed; it was necessary to saw off the pipes located along the entire surface of the sculpture, which served to drain the wax, allow air to flow out, and spill molten copper; soak the bark that comes from mixing copper with clay, and beat it off with special tools; fill cracks and crevices with copper; give uneven or thickly cast parts a proportionate thickness and generally try to polish the entire sculpture in the most perfect way... Finally, Falconet enjoyed the pleasure of seeing his creation completely finished.” In memory of these events, the sculptor left the inscription on the fold of Peter I’s cloak: “Sculpted and cast by Etienne Falconet, a Parisian in 1778.”
Alas, at this stage, Falconet’s relations with Catherine’s entourage, primarily with Betsky, deteriorated so much that the master was forced to leave St. Petersburg forever, without waiting for the opening of his main creation. Backmeister wrote bitterly: “The confluence of various circumstances... made his further stay in St. Petersburg unpleasant for him, despite all the respect that his art and scholarship deserved. His departure was left to his will, and after a twelve-year stay here, he left in September 1778...”

The completion of the unfinished work was entrusted to Yuri Felten, academician, chief architect of the Office of Her Imperial Majesty's Houses and Gardens, who had been working with Falcone for several years. I wonder what was left to do? “Under the leadership of Felten,” Kaganovich reports, “two stones were placed in front and behind the rock, which somewhat lengthened the pedestal and gave it the shape that it retains to this day. Placing the statue on the pedestal was undoubtedly a great challenge. However, in in this case Felten did not encounter undue difficulties, since it is known that the calculations during the casting turned out to be so accurate, and the casting itself was carried out with such skill that the rider, mounted vertically and not yet strengthened in any way, retained reliable stability. Felten also had to, according to his “report” to the Office of Buildings, “... make a model of the parts of the snake, pour them out and strengthen them on stone. Around the monument, pave the area with large pieces of wild stone and surround it with a lattice with decent decorations,” and also “strengthen the inscription on both sides of the pedestal.” By the way, Falcone was against the fence: “There will be no bars around Peter the Great - why put him in a cage?”

The inscription on the pedestal also has its own interesting history. Diderot proposed this option: “Catherine the Second dedicated the monument to Peter the Great. The resurrected valor brought this huge rock with colossal effort and threw it under the feet of the hero.” Falconet, in a letter to Catherine, insisted on a shorter inscription: “Peter the First was erected by Catherine the Second” and clarified: “I would very much like it if... they didn’t think of writing anything more... thanks to the newest bad minds, they began to make endless inscriptions, in which chatter is wasted when one apt words would be enough." Catherine, having removed the word “erected” with a royal flourish, gave her descendants a laconic and deeply meaningful motto in St. Petersburg: “Catherine the Second to Peter the Great.”

“This simple, noble and lofty inscription expresses everything that only the reader should think about it,” sums up Backmeister.

“The image of the monarch appeared in the highest perfection”

Description of the opening of the monument

Unveiling of the monument to Peter I on Senate Square in St. Petersburg. Engraving by A.K. Melnikov from a drawing by A.P. Davydov (1782). State Hermitage Museum.

View of St. Isaac's Bridge. Colorized lithograph (1830s). The impression of the monument to Peter the Great was further enhanced by the fact that a floating bridge across the Neva was built directly opposite it (existed in 1727-1916 with interruptions).
“Behind him everywhere the Bronze Horseman galloped with a heavy stomp...” Illustration by A.N. Benois (1903) for the poem “The Bronze Horseman” by A.S. Pushkin.

Many descriptions of this spectacular festival have been preserved; The most valuable thing for us is the memories of eyewitnesses. Let's listen to Ivan Backmeister: “...Everyone looked forward with pleasure to the day on which this monument was to be opened to the public. Her Imperial Majesty deigned to set this celebration on the 7th day of August 1782... The opening of this monument followed exactly one hundred years after the accession to the All-Russian throne of the hero to whom it was erected in honor. Before the grand opening of the statue... a linen fence was placed near it, on which stones and mountainous countries were depicted in various colors. The weather was... at first cloudy and rainy; but, despite this, people flocked from all parts of the city... in the thousands. Finally, as the sky began to brighten, spectators began to gather in great crowds in galleries specially made for this occasion. The Admiralty Wall and all the windows near the houses were filled with spectators, even the very roofs of the houses were covered with them. At noon, the regiments designated for this celebration, under the leadership of their commanders, set off from their places and took the places shown to them... The number of troops extended to 15,000 people... At the fourth hour, Her Imperial Majesty deigned to arrive on a boat. Soon after this, the monarch appeared on the balcony of the Senate. Her favorable appearance attracted the gaze of countless people, filled with reverent surprise. The signal followed - at that very moment the fence fell to the ground without visible support, and the sculptured image of the Great Monarch appeared in the highest perfection. What a disgrace! (Have you noticed, dear reader, this word? A linguistic gift straight from the 18th century! You can conduct your own little research into why the author wrote it that way). " Great Catherine, filled with feeling for the feats undertaken by her ancestor for the bliss and glory of Russia, bows her head before him. Her eyes are filled with tears!.. Then nationwide exclamations were heard. All regiments congratulated the sculptured image of the hero by beating drums and saluting, bowing banners and proclaiming three times congratulations, accompanied by the thunder of cannons from the fortress, from the Admiralty and from the imperial yachts, which were immediately decorated with flags and proclaimed this joyful triumph in all parts of the city, to which it should forever be precious and holy. At the end of the day, the whole city was illuminated, and especially Petrovskaya Square, with a great variety of lights.”

Alexander Radishchev, the author of the famous “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow,” also impressed by the opening of the monument, wrote in a letter to a friend: “Yesterday the dedication of the monument to Peter the Great took place here with splendor in honor of the erected... The statue represents a powerful horseman, on a greyhound horse, rushing up the mountain steep, the top of which he had already reached, crushing the snake lying on the way and stopping the encroaching snake with his sting, the rapid rise of horse and rider... The steepness of the mountain is the essence of the obstacles that Peter had in putting his intentions into action; the snake lying on the way - deceit and malice that sought his death for the introduction of new morals; ancient clothing, animal skin and all the simple attire of horse and rider - the essence of simple and rude morals and lack of enlightenment that Peter found in the people whom he set out to transform; a head crowned with laurels - for the conqueror was before the legislator; the appearance of manly and powerful and the strength of the transformer; an outstretched hand, protective, as Diderot calls it, and a cheerful gaze are the essence of inner assurance that has reached the goal, and the outstretched hand shows that a strong husband, having overcome all the vices that opposed his aspirations, gives his protection to everyone called his children. Here, dear friend, is a faint image of what, looking at the image of Petrov, I feel.”

There is no need to say that even today Falcone’s immortal creation continues to inspire admiration. Art critic Solomon Volkov writes in his book “The History of the Culture of St. Petersburg from the Founding to the Present Day”: “Although almost everyone understood and recognized the high merits of the monument, it was hardly clear to the first viewers that this was one of greatest works 18th century sculptures. And of course, walking around the statue of equestrian Peter and as they moved, discovering more and more new aspects of his image - a wise and decisive legislator, a fearless commander, an unyielding monarch who did not tolerate obstacles - the crowd did not realize that before them was the most important, eternal, forever the most a popular symbol of their city."

“However, no one perceived the sculptor’s creation as deeply and subtly as Pushkin,” Kaganovich rightly concludes. In the fall of 1833 in Boldino, the monument to Peter the Great forever became the Bronze Horseman for us. Impressed by Pushkin's poem, composer Reinhold Glier created a ballet of the same name, a fragment of which became the official anthem of St. Petersburg.

"Protect the stone and bronze"

How to behave with monuments?

Employee State Museum city ​​sculpture applies a special restoration agent to the statue.

The Bronze Horseman today.

Since 1932, the study, protection and restoration of the Bronze Horseman (along with other monuments of monumental art in our city) has been the responsibility of the State Museum of Urban Sculpture. Nadezhda Nikolaevna Efremova, Deputy Director of the Museum for scientific work, told us about the culture of handling monuments.

“Monuments are the most accessible form of fine art. To see, for example, a painting or theatrical production, you need to put in some effort. And the monuments are always in front of us - in the city squares. It is difficult for monuments to live in modern world. Intensifying negative impacts, which the author could not even foresee. For example, vibration. After all, the monuments were created at a time when there was no heavy transport on the streets. Another problem is the blockage of groundwater flows as a result of economic activities. As a result, water flows under the heavy pedestal, setting its constituent stone blocks in motion. At the same time, the gaps between them increase and the seams are destroyed, which we treat with a special mastic. Monuments, although made of metal and stone, are generally defenseless against humans. I saw how in holidays people climbed onto the horse's neck, grabbing its front legs, not realizing that the thickness of the metal here was insignificant. Pressing bronze even with the soles of boots is as easy as shelling pears. This unusual stress causes invisible cracks in the metal. In our climate - from temperature changes, from water getting inside - any microcrack grows rapidly. It is also very important not to disturb the patina - the thinnest film covering the bronze. Coloristic features of patina - business card each monument. And if someone (it is not clear why) scratches or polishes some part of the statue to a shine, he not only makes the bronze unprotected, but also destroys the unique shade of patina, which is extremely difficult to reproduce. Falcone from the very beginning refused to install a fence: “If you need to protect stone and bronze from madmen and children, then there are sentries in the Russian Empire.” Without relying on the “sentinels,” it would be good for us to realize that any contact with the monument (except visual) is detrimental to it.”

In one of the next issues we will continue the conversation about the secrets of the Bronze Horseman revealed during its latest restoration.

What to read about the Bronze Horseman?

Kaganovich, A. L. The Bronze Horseman. History of the creation of the monument. L.: Art, 1982. 2nd edition, revised. and additional

Ivanov, G.I. Stone-Thunder: history. story. (To the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg). St. Petersburg: Stroyizdat, 1994.

Arkin, D. E. The Bronze Horseman. Monument to Peter I in Leningrad. M.-L.: Art, 1958.

Creation of a model and casting of the monument to Peter I in St. Petersburg. Extract from the work of I. G. Backmeister 1782-1786.

Opening of the monument to Peter I in St. Petersburg. August 7, 1782 Extract from the work of I. G. Backmeister. 1786

Lewis Carroll. Diary of a trip to Russia in 1867. Translation by N. Demurova

Radishchev A.N. Letter to a friend living in Tobolsk/Communication. P.A. Efremov // Russian antiquity, 1871. – T. 4. – No. 9.

Correspondence of Empress Catherine II with Falconet. Text of letters to French, with translation into Russian. Collection of the Imperial Russian Historical Society. Volume 17. St. Petersburg, 1876. Electronic version - on the website of the Presidential Library upon request.

Shubinsky S.N. Historical essays and stories. SPb.: Type. M. Khan, 1869.

Ivanovsky, A. Conversations about Peter the Great and his employees. SPb.: type. Children's care homes. poor, 1872.

Drawing by A. P. Losenko from the Falconet monument to Peter the Great. P. Ettinger. Based on materials from the monthly for lovers of art and antiquity “Old Years”, March 1915.

Newspapers for the holidays by selecting the appropriate menu item there. We remind you that our partners in their organizations distribute our wall newspapers for free.

Yours Georgy Popov, site editor

On August 27, 2016, the premiere of the cartoon “The Bronze Horseman” took place at the “Chaika” cinema center, created by the children of the “CartoonChaika” studio based on the idea and under the direction of our friend Lena Pilipovskaya. In close contact with our project. An excellent educational cartoon in the Mustlook category!

The opening ceremony of the monument to Peter the Great, now known as the Bronze Horseman, took place on August 18, 1782. Today this monument is a landmark that no tourist route can do without. Literally from the moment of its discovery, it was shrouded in a mystical flair, and over the years, truth and fantastic fiction about it completely mixed into one motley, mysterious story. the site suggests recalling the most interesting details from the “biography” of the Bronze Horseman.

The place was chosen by Catherine II herself

The location of the monument is perhaps the only thing that was hardly discussed during its creation. Catherine ordered the monument to be placed on Senate Square, since the Admiralty founded by Peter I and the main legislative institution of Russia at that time - the Senate - are located nearby. True, the queen wanted to see the monument in the center of the square, but the sculptor had his own way and moved the pedestal closer to the Neva.

Initially, a lifetime monument to Catherine herself was to be erected at this site, but she considered it more appropriate to perpetuate the memory of the founder of St. Petersburg on the 100th anniversary of his accession to the throne.

To prepare such a grandiose event, a real master was needed, and on the recommendation of her friends Denis Diderot and Voltaire, Catherine summoned the sculptor Etienne-Maurice Falconet, the author of “The Threatening Cupid”, which is now kept in the Louvre, and others to Russia famous sculptures. By that time the artist had already turned 50 years old, he had a rich track record, but he had never completed such monumental orders.

Falcone felt that this work of his should go down in history, and did not hesitate to argue with the empress. For example, she demanded that Peter sit on a horse with a staff or scepter in his hand, like a Roman emperor. The project manager and Catherine’s right hand, Ivan Betskoy, advised placing a figure in full height with a commander's staff in his hand. And Denis Diderot even proposed a monument in the form of a fountain with allegorical figures. It got to such subtleties that “Peter’s right eye should be directed at the Admiralty, and his left eye at the building of the Twelve Colleges.” But Falcone stood his ground. The contract he signed stated that the monument should consist "primarily of an equestrian statue of colossal size."

Falcone declared that there would be no scepter in Peter’s hand. Photo: AiF / Ksenia Matveeva

“I will limit myself only to the statue of this hero, whom I do not interpret either as a great commander or as a winner, although he, of course, was both. The personality of the creator, legislator, benefactor of his country is much higher, and this is what needs to be shown to people. My king does not hold any rod, he extends his beneficent right hand over the country he travels around. He climbs to the top of a rock that serves as a pedestal for him - this is an emblem of the difficulties he has overcome,” Falcone wrote in one of his letters.

We were looking for a stone for a pedestal using an ad.

Usually the pedestal is given much less attention than the monument itself. But in the case of the Bronze Horseman, it turned out almost the opposite. Its pedestal, perhaps the only one in the history of monumental sculpture, has its own name - the Thunder Stone. Falcone wanted to use a monolithic rock as a metaphorical “rock,” but finding a stone of the appropriate size was difficult. Toga, an advertisement appeared in the newspaper “St. Petersburg Vedomosti” addressed to all private individuals who are ready to break out a piece of rock somewhere and bring it to St. Petersburg.

Transportation of the "Thunder Stone" in the presence of Catherine II. Engraving by I.F. Harness from a drawing by Yu.M. Felten. 1770 Photo: Public Domain

A certain peasant Semyon Vishnyakov, who was supplying building stone to St. Petersburg, responded. He had long had his eye on a block in the Lakhta area, but he just didn’t have the tools to split it. Where exactly the Thunder Stone lay is not known for certain. Possibly near the village of Lisiy Nos. The documents contain information that the path of the stone to the city took eight miles, that is, about 8.5 kilometers.

To transport the rock, according to the recommendations of Ivan Betsky, a special machine was developed; thousands of people took part in the transportation. The stone weighed 2,400 tons; it was transported in winter so that the soil beneath it would not sag. The relocation operation lasted from November 15, 1769 to March 27, 1770, after which the stone was loaded onto a ship on the shores of the Gulf of Finland and brought to Senate Square on September 26.

Not copper, but bronze

The monument is traditionally called the Bronze Horseman with light hand Pushkin, although it is cast from bronze. The workshop was set up in the former Throne Hall of the wooden Winter Palace of Elizabeth Petrovna. The sculptor thought through every little detail and did a colossal job.

“When I decided to sculpt him, the way he completes his gallop by rearing, it was not in my memory, still less in my imagination, so that I could rely on it. To create an accurate model, I consulted nature. To do this, I ordered the construction of a platform, which I gave the same slope that my pedestal was supposed to have. A few inches more or less in tilt would make a significant difference in the animal's movement. I made the rider gallop not just once, but with more than a hundred different techniques on different horses,” Falcone wrote.

One of the most famous illustrations to Pushkin's poem "The Bronze Horseman" belongs to the brush of Alexandre Benois. Photo: Public Domain

Work on the sculpture model lasted from 1768 to 1770. Falconet's young student Marie Anne Collot worked above Peter's head, and the snake under the horse's hoof was sculpted by Fyodor Gordeev. For this work, Marie Anne was accepted as a member of the Russian Academy of Arts, and Catherine II assigned her a lifelong pension of 10,000 livres.

Casting the statue took 8 years

Casting of the statue began in 1774 using a complex technology, which, by distributing the weight, made it possible to maintain the balance of the figure on only three points of support. But the first attempt was unsuccessful - the pipe with the hot bronze burst, and the upper part of the sculpture was damaged. It took three years to prepare for the second attempt. Constant troubles and missed deadlines spoiled the relationship between Falcone and Catherine, and in September 1778 the sculptor left the city without waiting for the completion of work on the monument. The Bronze Horseman turned out to be last work in his life. By the way, on one of the folds of Peter I’s cloak you can find the inscription “Modeled and cast by Etienne Falconet, a Parisian in 1778.”

Unveiling of the monument to Peter I on Senate Square in St. Petersburg. Paper, engraving with chisel. Mid XIX V. Photo: Public Domain / Melnikov A.K.

The installation of the Bronze Horseman on the pedestal was supervised by the architect Fyodor Gordeev. By order of Catherine, “Catherine II to Peter I” was written on the pedestal. The grand opening of the monument took place on August 7, 1782. In honor of this event, the Empress issued a manifesto on a general amnesty, and also ordered the minting of silver and gold medals with his image. Catherine II sent one gold and one silver medal to Falcone, who received them from the hands of Prince Golitsyn in 1783.

The monument survived three wars

The Bronze Horseman “passed” through three wars without damage, although it is located in a place convenient for shelling. A legend is associated with the Patriotic War of 1812, which says that Alexander I ordered the evacuation of the monument to the Vologda province when there was a threat of the capture of St. Petersburg by French troops.

The Bronze Horseman survived the blockade under sandbags. Photo: AiF / Yana Khvatova

A certain Major Baturin obtained an audience with Prince Golitsyn and told him about the dream that haunted him. Allegedly, he sees Peter on Senate Square sliding down from the pedestal and galloping to the Tsar’s residence on Kamenny Island. “Young man, what have you brought my Russia to,” Peter tells him, “but as long as I’m in place, my city has nothing to fear!” As the legend goes, Golitsyn retold the dream to the sovereign, and he canceled the order to evacuate the monument.

First World War in the end, the majestic Peter was also not affected, and during the Great Patriotic War, the Bronze Horseman was sheathed with logs and boards, and the monument was covered with bags of sand and earth. They did the same with the monument to Lenin at the Finlyandsky Station and other large monuments that were not possible to hide or evacuate.