Who is located on the Bronze Horseman monument. Bronze Horseman (monument)

P The monument to Peter I ("The Bronze Horseman") is located in the heart of St. Petersburg - on Senate Square.
The location of the monument to Peter I was not chosen by chance. Nearby are the Admiralty, the building of the main legislative body founded by the emperor. Tsarist Russia- Senate.

In 1710, on the site of the present Bronze Horseman The very first wooden St. Isaac's Church was located in the “drafting shed”.

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.

Falconet 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 big 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 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. Most likely, she also helped him in bed, but history is silent about this...
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.

Falcone 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 people. My king does not hold any rod, he extends his beneficent right hand over the country he travels around. He rises to the top of the rock that serves as his pedestal - this is an emblem of the difficulties he has conquered.”

Defending the right to his opinion regarding the appearance of the monument, Falcone wrote to I. I. 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, passersby 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 Russian Academy 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 the 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.

Bust of Falconet Marie-Anne Collot 1773

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 two fulcrum points (the snake is not a fulcrum, more on that below).

Filling alone, which began on August 25, 1775, did not solve the problem. Khailov was entrusted with her supervision. 1,350 pounds of bronze were prepared, and when all of it, molten, flowed into the mold, the mold cracked and the metal poured onto the floor. A fire started. Falcone ran out of the workshop in horror, the workers ran after him, and only Khailov remained in place. Risking his life, he wrapped the mold in his homespun and coated it with clay, picked up the spilled bronze and poured it back into the mold. The monument was saved, and the errors that arose due to the accident were later corrected when polishing the statue.

The St. Petersburg Gazette wrote about these events:
“The casting was successful except in places two feet by two at the top. This regrettable failure occurred through an incident that was not at all foreseeable, and therefore impossible to prevent. The above-mentioned incident seemed so terrible that they were afraid that the entire building would catch fire, but, Therefore, the whole business would not have failed. Khailov remained motionless and carried the molten metal into the mold, without losing his courage in the least at the danger to his life presented to him, Falconet, touched at the end of the matter, rushed to him and kissed him with all his heart and gave him his own. money."

However, as a result of the accident, numerous large defects (underfilling, adhesions) were formed in the horse’s head and the figure of the rider above the waist.

A bold plan was developed to save the statue. It was decided to cut off the defective part of the statue and refill it, increasing new uniform directly onto the surviving parts of the monument. Using pieces of plaster mold, a wax model of the top of the casting was obtained, which was a continuation of the wall of the previously cast part of the statue.

The second filling was carried out in November 1777, and it was a complete success. In memory of this unique operation, on one of the folds of Peter I’s cloak the sculptor left the inscription “Modeled and cast by Etienne Falconet, a Parisian in 1778.” Not a word about Khailov.

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 region, 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 famous monument. There were rumors that in the old days there was a temple on it. And sacrifices were made.

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 is written “Like daring. January 20, 1770.”

The poet Vasily Rubin wrote in the same year:
The Russian Mountain, not made by hands 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.

Portrait of Marie-Anne Collot

The offended master did not wait for the opening of the monument; in September 1778, together with Marie-Anne Collot, he left for Paris.

And the monument, weighing about 10 tons, still had to be erected...

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, and to the beat of drums 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.

"Bronze Horseman" sculpture in his poem of the same name named by A.S. Pushkin. 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.

Neither the wind nor the terrible floods could defeat the monument.

Legends

One evening, Pavel, accompanied by his friend Prince Kurakin, walked through the streets of St. Petersburg. Suddenly a man appeared ahead, wrapped in a wide cloak. It seemed that he was waiting for the travelers and, when they approached, he walked next to them. Pavel shuddered and turned to Kurakin: “Someone is walking next to us.” However, he did not see anyone and tried to convince the Grand Duke of this. Suddenly the ghost spoke: “Paul! Poor Pavel! I am the one who takes part in you.” Then the ghost walked ahead of the travelers, as if leading them along. Approaching the middle of the square, he indicated the place for the future monument. “Goodbye, Pavel,” said the ghost, “you will see me here again.” And when, leaving, he raised his hat, Pavel saw Peter’s face with horror.

The legend is believed to date back to the memoirs of Baroness von Oberkirch, who details the circumstances under which Paul himself publicly told the story. Bearing in mind the high reliability of the memoirs based on many years diary entries and the friendship between the Baroness and Maria Feodorovna, Paul’s wife, most likely, the source of the legend is indeed the future sovereign himself...

There is another legend. During the War of 1812, when the threat of Napoleonic invasion was real, Alexander I decided to transport the monument to Peter to Vologda. A certain captain Baturin dreamed a strange dream: as if the Bronze Horseman is moving off the pedestal and galloping towards Kamenny Island, where Emperor Alexander I was at that time. “Young man, what have you brought my Russia to?” Peter tells him. “But as long as I stand in my place , my city has nothing to fear." Then the horseman, announcing the city with a “heavy ringing gallop,” returned to Senate Square. According to legend, the dream of the unknown captain was brought to the attention of the emperor, as a result of which the statue of Peter the Great remained in St. Petersburg.
As you know, the boot of a Napoleonic soldier, like a fascist one, did not touch the St. Petersburg pavements.

The famous mystic and spirit seer of the 20th century, Daniil Andreev, in “The Rose of the World,” described one of the hellish worlds. There he reports that in infernal Petersburg, the torch in the hand of the Bronze Horseman is the only source of light, while Peter is sitting not on a horse, but on a terrible dragon...

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

When after the war the monument was freed from boards and bags, the Star of the Hero appeared on Peter’s chest Soviet Union. Someone drew it with chalk...

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 space 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 still serve long years. Inside the figure was a capsule with a note about the restoration and its participants, a 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 left their autographs on the thunder stone and the sculpture itself, the idea of restoring the fence was realized.

Recent studies of the monument have brought two sensations:

1. The monument rests not on three points of support, as previously thought, but on two. The snake and the horse's tail do not carry any load.

The snake trampled by the horse and the tail serve only to separate air flow and reducing the windage of the monument.

2. Peter’s pupils are made in the shape of hearts. Peter looks at the city with loving eyes. So Falcone conveyed to his descendants the news of Peter’s love for his brainchild - St. Petersburg.

3. Thanks to Pushkin and his poem, the monument is called “Copper”, but it is not made of copper, but of bronze.

4. The monument was depicted on Yudenich’s money.

The monument is covered in myths and legends. He is also in foreign meetings. This is how the Japanese imagined it.

Illustration from the 11th scroll "Kankai Ibun". The monument was drawn by a Japanese artist from the words of sailors)))

Late in the evening the monument is no less mysterious and beautiful...

Info and part of the photo (C) Wikipedia, the site "Legends of St. Petersburg" and other places on the Internet

In 1782, the centenary of Peter I's accession to the Russian throne was celebrated in St. Petersburg with the opening of a monument to the Tsar by the sculptor Etienne Maurice Falconet. The monument began to be called the Bronze Horseman thanks to A.S. Pushkin.

The monument to Peter I (“Bronze Horseman”) is located in the center of Senate Square. The author of the sculpture is the French sculptor Etienne-Maurice Falconet.

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 an 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, passersby 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 the 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 craftsmen demanded too much money, 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.

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 not at all foreseeable, 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.”

The granite monolith was found in the Lakhta region, twelve miles from St. Petersburg. Once upon a time, according to local legends, lightning struck the rock, forming a crack in it. Among the locals, 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.

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 way to 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 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, and to the beat of drums 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.

A.S. called the sculpture “Bronze Horseman” in his poem of the same name. Pushkin. 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

From the very day of its installation it became 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 greatness and glory Russian Empire, and that Russia will remain so until the rider 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 precisely the stone that Peter climbed more than once during his 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. 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 Patriotic War In 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 particularly valuable works of art to be removed from the city. 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 space 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, a newspaper dated September 3, 1976.

Currently, the Bronze Horseman is a popular place for newlyweds.

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.

In St. Petersburg

In fact, the monument is not made of copper at all - it was cast from bronze, and received its name thanks to Pushkin’s poem of the same name)

Bronze Horseman was created in 1768-1770 by the sculptor Etienne Falconet, his head was sculpted by the sculptor’s student, and the snake according to his design was sculpted by Fyodor Gordeev. The final casting of the rider was completed only in 1778

They looked for a stone for the horseman’s monument for a long time, but they never found a suitable one, so the St. Petersburg Vedomosti newspaper soon published an appeal to private individuals with an offer to help the project

Very little time passed from the moment the advertisement was posted and the stone was found - it turned out to be a block that had long been looked after by the state-owned peasant Vishnyakov for his own needs. He never found a way to split it into pieces, so he pointed it out to Captain Lascari, the head of the search work in this project

The block was given the name Thunder Stone, but the place in which it was found is not known exactly today

To transport the block, it was undertaken whole line measures, from the creation of a special platform that rolls over balls made of a copper-based alloy, to a system for using levers when loading stone onto this platform. In order to pull the stone out of the ground and load it onto the platform, the forces of thousands of people were involved, because it weighed more than 1,600 thousand tons. Interesting feature finishing of the stone is that it was given the proper shape by 46 stonemasons right during transportation

This finishing operation, which has no analogues, lasted throughout the entire journey, from November 15, 1769 to March 27, 1770, when the Gorm Stone arrived on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, at a pier built specifically for its loading.

A special ship was also created to transport the block by water. As a result of these inhuman efforts, on September 26, 1770, the Thunder Stone solemnly arrived on Senate Square

The whole of Europe watched the movement of the Thunder Stone with interest. Along the way, situations occurred many times that threatened the collapse of all undertakings, but the work leaders each time found a way out of the current situation. In honor of the successful completion of the transportation of the block, a commemorative medal was created with the inscription “Like daring”

Falconet fell out of favor with Catherine II in 1778 and was forced to leave the country. His place was taken by the sculptor Felten, under whose leadership the Bronze Horseman was completed and inaugurated on August 7, 1782

The Bronze Horseman became the first equestrian monument to the king. The ruler is depicted in conventional clothing, on a rearing horse, and his role as a victorious commander is indicated only by the sword hanging from his belt and the laurel wreath crowning his head

The concept of the Bronze Horseman was developed jointly by Catherine II, Voltaire and Diderot. They came to the conclusion that the monument was supposed to symbolize the victory of man over nature, which would be depicted by the Thunder Stone - which is why modernity was outraged by the fact that Falcone carved and polished a grandiose block of stone

The inscription “To Peter the Great Catherine the Second, summer 1782” is carved on the pedestal, which is duplicated by its Latin counterpart on back side. It reflects the intention of Catherine II to establish a line of continuity between the activities of Peter I and her own

By the end of the 18th century, many legends were formed about the monument, and at the beginning XIX century Bronze Horseman became one of the most popular topics in Russian poetry

For example, they say that in 1812, at the height of the Patriotic War, Alexander I, concerned about the prospect of the capture of St. Petersburg by the French, ordered the evacuation of the most valuable works of art from the city, for which State Secretary Molchanov was allocated several thousand rubles. But at this time, Major Baturin achieved a meeting with the tsar’s close friend, Prince Golitsyn, and told him that he had the same dream, in which a horseman on Senate Square descends from a pedestal and rushes to the palace of Alexander I on Kamenny Island. Peter I said to the Tsar who came out to meet him: “Young man, what have you brought my Russia to... But as long as I’m in place, my city has nothing to fear!” After which the rider turns and returns to his place. Prince Golitsyn, amazed by Baturin's story, conveys his story to the sovereign, who, after listening to him, canceled his original order to evacuate the Bronze Horseman

It is quite possible that it was this legend that formed the basis of Pushkin’s “Bronze Horseman”; there is also an opinion that it was because of this legend that during the Great Patriotic War the monument remained in place and was not hidden, unlike other sculptures in St. Petersburg

And if you look at it from this angle, it turns out very interesting monument horse...=)

The monument “Millennium of Russia” is installed in the center of the Novgorod Detinets (Kremlin) opposite the St. Sophia Cathedral and former building Office places

The monument was opened 154 years ago, on September 21 (old style - September 8), 1862, when Veliky Novgorod became the center for several days political life state, almost the capital: Russia celebrated the 1000th anniversary of its history, and Emperor Alexander II with his heir and members of the Imperial House arrived at the celebrations in Veliky Novgorod on the occasion of the opening of the monument.

Monument "Millennium of Russia" in the Novgorod Detinets (Kremlin)

"Laboratory for the revival of patriotism"

It is believed that the idea of opening the monument belonged to the emperor himself, Alexander II. However, as follows from historical documents, to celebrate the 1000th anniversary of Russia in Veliky Novgorod and commemorate this date with the opening of a monument on which the first Russian ruler, Prince Rurik, would be immortalized, proposed Minister of Internal Affairs Sergei Lanskoy. His proposal, voiced in 1857, was supported by the young Tsar Alexander II. Soon a competition was announced, and it was decided to raise funds for the creation of the monument “from the whole world.” A circular about collecting donations was sent to all provinces. "After Crimean tragedy work on this monument has turned into a laboratory for the revival of patriotism,” noted the authors of the article “Tsar-Monument” Arseny Zamostyanov and Irina Savinova on the 150th anniversary of the opening of the monument in the magazine “Historian”.

Novgorod child

Even before the creation of the monument, it was decided to install it in Veliky Novgorod, namely in the center of the Novgorod Detinets (Kremlin). True, on the Kremlin square between the St. Sophia Cathedral and the building of the Government Offices there was already a monument to the Novgorod militias. But, following the wishes of the emperor, it was decided to move it outside the Kremlin, moving it to Sophia Square, to the building of the Noble Assembly. There were no objections.

According to the Tale of Bygone Years, the thousand-year anniversary of the Russian state was to be celebrated in 1862. Competition for best project The monument was announced three years before the celebrations, in 1859, while sculptors were given only six months to prepare projects: from April to November. The conditions were as follows: six periods should be reflected in the sculptural groups on the monument Russian history, and the height of the monument should not exceed 18 meters. The competition council created at the Academy of Arts selected three out of 52 projects, but the project of the architect Antipov turned out to be disproportionately large for the Kremlin square in Novgorod, and the project of academician Gornostaev seemed too allegorical. The task was to make the monument as clear as possible more people, and, of course, to make an impression.

Mikhail Osipovich Mikeshin. Russian artist and sculptor

This turned out to be the project of an unknown 23-year-old recent graduate of the Academy of Arts, Mikhail Mikeshin - not even a sculptor, an artist. Having no experience working with sculpture, Mikeshin asked his peer, a student in Ivan Schroeder’s sculpture class, to help implement his idea. He sculpted a smaller model of the monument, and then, while still attending classes at the Academy, created ten large-scale statues for the monument itself.

Power on the veche bell

What attracted you to the monument project invented by Mikhail Mikeshin?

The monument “Millennium of Russia” consists of three tiers

It was considered successful by everyone, almost without exception. common decision monument. Its silhouette was a huge orb on a bell-shaped pedestal. It was associated both with the veche bell - a symbol of Novgorod history, and with the attributes of royal power, reminiscent of the outlines of Monomakh's cap. In addition, visually the monument was divided into three levels, which in the language of sculpture reflected the formula of the official doctrine of that time: “Orthodoxy, autocracy, nationality.”

Accommodating 126 figures, the monument was not bulky: its height, including the 3-meter cross on the orb, was only 15.7 meters. The lattice, lanterns (all this, like all the figures, were cast in St. Petersburg) and the 100-ton bronze monument fit into the landscape of the Novgorod Kremlin even with grace.

A group of two figures - an angel with a cross in his hand (the personification of Orthodoxy) and a kneeling woman (the personification of Russia) - crowns the composition

The Monument to the Millennium of Russia is crowned by two figures. An angel with a cross in his hand, personifying Orthodoxy, blesses a kneeling woman - Russia. The power with a relief ornament of crosses is surrounded by the inscription: “To the accomplished millennium of the Russian state during the prosperous reign of Emperor Alexander II in 1862.”

The middle tier of the monument consists of 17 “colossal” figures, more than three meters each, grouped into six sculptural scenes. They symbolize key periods in the history of the country, according to the official historiography of that time: the calling of Rurik, the baptism of Rus', the Battle of Kulikovo, the autocracy of Ivan III, the beginning of the Romanov dynasty and the formation of the empire under Peter I. Historians note that the monument could also include a seventh story - about the victorious the end of the Patriotic War of 1812, especially since in 1862 the 50th anniversary of the expulsion of the French was celebrated. However, for political reasons, a reminder of this triumph was considered premature and inappropriate.

The densest tier of the monument is the lower one. There are high reliefs of 109 figures, which are also combined into groups: statesmen, military men and heroes, cultural figures, educators. All figures were approved by the sovereign personally.

Sculptural group “Enlighteners” at the monument “Millennium of Russia” in Veliky Novgorod (31 figures)

Russia without Grozny

It is expected that the approval of such a significant list took for a long time. The original “Mikeshin list”, still stored in the Russian State Historical Archive, underwent significant changes towards the end of work on the monument. Most loud scandal erupted in connection with the image of Ivan the Terrible. No one in Novgorod was going to forget or forgive the tsar the pogrom of 1570. After all, then the guardsmen of Ivan IV destroyed many townspeople, including women and children, using various tortures - exact number it is difficult to name the victims, but it could reach 15 thousand people with a population of 30 thousand of Novgorod.

But among the ranks of military men and heroes appeared the wife of the Novgorod mayor Boretsky - Marfa Posadnitsa. Apparently, as a tribute to the Novgorodians and their love of freedom. On the monument, she bowed her head over the broken veche bell.

Great controversy arose over the figure of the poet Taras Shevchenko. Initially, he was not on the lists for the simple reason that it was not customary to erect monuments during his lifetime, but on February 26, 1861, the poet died, and young Mikeshin, under the influence of one of his advisers, historian Nikolai Kostomarov, decided that Shevchenko should be depicted on the monument. But this amendment of his, as they would say now, did not pass. The instruction stated that “the sovereign ordered the image of Gogol, located on the Highest approved drawing of the bas-relief, to be preserved, and Shevchenko, admitted arbitrarily, to be excluded.”

Writer Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol. Portrait by Fyodor Moller. 1840s

Also excluded from the lists were the poets Alexey Koltsov (he was sometimes included and then excluded) and Antioch Cantemir, naval commander Fyodor Ushakov, actor Ivan Dmitrievsky, and famous icon painters are not on the monument - neither Andrei Rublev, nor Theophanes the Greek...

Millennium in faces

Who found a place on the monument?

There are 16 figures in the sculptural group of writers and artists. This series begins with Mikhail Lomonosov, who, together with Alexander Kokorinov, Dmitry Fonvizin and Gavriil Derzhavin, listen to the founder of the Russian drama theater Fyodor Volkov. Composer Dmitry Bortnyansky concludes. Next to him are the artist Karl Bryullov and composer Mikhail Glinka.

The famous fabulist Ivan Krylov sits next to Alexander Griboyedov, and Nikolai Karamzin, Vasily Zhukovsky and Nikolai Gnedich are bending over them. Literary classics Nikolai Gogol, Mikhail Lermontov and Alexander Pushkin are dressed in Roman togas on the monument: precisely because they are classics. At the same time, Pushkin seems taller than Gogol and Lermontov standing next to him, although in life he was shorter than them. Of course, there is also a symbolic moment in this. Pushkin rises above their bent figures, as, in the opinion of the public, the second half of the 19th century century, the creativity of “our everything” was more significant.

Cyril and Methodius. Modern icon

There are 31 figures in the series of enlighteners. It begins with Cyril and Methodius, the creators Slavic alphabet, to which every year, on the Days Slavic writing and culture, Novgorodians bring flowers. At the same time, it often turns out that flowers are laid not so much on the holy brothers, but on the font, above which the figure of Vladimir the Baptist rises - he is next to Princess Olga. In the same row are the founder of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery Theodosius of Pechersk and the founders of other famous monasteries: Sergius of Radonezh, Zosima of Solovetsky. Metropolitans and bishops, Patriarch Nikon, Feofan Prokopovich. And, of course, Nestor the Chronicler, author of The Tale of Bygone Years.

State people. There are 26 of them on the monument. The first are Yaroslav the Wise and Vladimir Monomakh, behind the group of Lithuanian princes (Gediminas, Olgerd, Vytautas) is Ivan III. The figures of Lithuanian princes appeared on the monument for a reason: all three fought on the side of Russia against Poland, and during these years anti-Russian protests by nationalists there escalated. In addition, the presence of figures of Lithuanian princes on the monument about the thousand-year history of Russia was supposed to emphasize the original belonging of Lithuania to the Russian lands.

Kuksha Pechersky in the sculptural group “Enlighteners” at the monument “Millennium of Russia” in Veliky Novgorod

Ivan the Terrible, as we remember, is not on the monument, but his first wife, Anastasia Romanova, as well as his associate Sylvester are immortalized. The group of figures from the reign of Mikhail and Alexei Romanov included Patriarchs Hermogenes and Filaret, diplomats Afanasy Ordin-Nashchekin and Artamon Matveev. Peter the Great is depicted with Yakov Dolgoruky, and Grigory Potemkin kneels before Catherine II. Next to the empress are other nobles. Behind Alexander I are Mikhail Speransky and Mikhail Vorontsov, and this row is completed by Nicholas I. His figure was cast in the most last moment, after all, there was no clear opinion about the “previous emperor” - not much time had passed since his death. But those around Alexander II convinced him that his father should still be on the monument.

The most numerous row of figures on the monument is “Military Men and Heroes”, 36 characters.

These are historical figures Grand Duke Svyatoslav of Kiev, princes Mstistav Udaloy, Daniil Galitsky, prince of Lithuania and Pskov Dovmont. Here are Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy, the conqueror of Siberia Ermak Timofeevich, and Minin and Pozharsky. Here is the already named Marfa Boretskaya, bending over the broken veche bell. The monument also includes the Ukrainian Hetman Bohdan Khmelnitsky, and folk hero Ivan Susanin. And a number of famous commanders and naval commanders: Boris Sheremetev, Mikhail Golitsyn, Pyotr Saltykov, Alexey Orlov, Pyotr Rumyantsev, Alexander Suvorov, Burchard Minich, Mikhail Barclay de Tolly, Mikhail Kutuzov, Dmitry Senyavin, Matvey Platov, Pyotr Bagration, Ivan Dibich , Ivan Paskevich, Mikhail Lazarev, Vladimir Kornilov and Pavel Nakhimov.

Painting

The creation of the monument cost more than 500 thousand rubles. Collected folk remedies Of course, it was not enough: almost 400 thousand was added from the state treasury. For the opening ceremony, provincial Novgorod itself was transformed - it was renovated and re-paved.

Monument "Millennium of Russia". 1862 d

The entire august family, almost 12 thousand soldiers, as well as just spectators arrived in the city for the three-day celebrations. It is interesting that the imperial family arrived in Novgorod by water, because the railway connection in those years ended in Chudovo, from where it was possible to get further either along the Volkhov or along the postal route. Witnesses of those events claim that for three days the population of Novgorod practically doubled.

The Monument to the Millennium of Russia was opened on the second day of the celebrations, September 8. This date was not chosen by chance. Firstly, this is the anniversary of the Battle of Kulikovo. Secondly, - Orthodox holiday Nativity of the Virgin Mary. Thirdly, on September 8, the heir to the throne, Tsarevich Nicholas, celebrated his birthday.

Bogdan Villevalde. Opening of the monument to the 1000th anniversary of Russia in Novgorod in 1862

On the morning of September 8, 1862, the emperor and empress celebrated the liturgy in the St. Sophia Cathedral of the Novgorod Kremlin, from where they then procession proceeded to the monument.

As evidenced historical chronicles that day, the veil was removed from the monument, followed by a 62-gun salute and a military parade. This ceremony was depicted two years later by the artist Bogdan Villevalde. His painting entitled “Opening of the Monument to the Millennium of Russia in Novgorod” is now a special exhibit in the collection of the Novgorod Museum-Reserve. It is located in the Museum building fine arts in the building of the Noble Assembly and in preparation for the 1150th anniversary Russian statehood in 2012 it became a favorite canvas of the Novgorod establishment. Thematic briefings for the press were held at the painting, a copy of the painting was given to distinguished guests to create a similar painting, but 150 years later, competitions were announced... For the anniversary celebrations of 2012, the image of Villevalde’s painting was printed on a million postal envelopes and on a special anniversary stamp.

“The monument is ours!”

The fascist occupiers, who entered Novgorod after fierce fighting in August 1941, liked the monument. As Novgorod historian Viktor Smirnov testifies, German soldiers happily took photographs against its background (there are such photographs in his book “Monument of the Russian State: Millennium in Bronze”), and then decided to take it to Germany as a war trophy. For transportation, the monument was broken into pieces, and a narrow-gauge railway was built into the Kremlin to transport the massive figures. But they only managed to take away the bronze grille and lanterns - on January 20, 1944, Novgorod was liberated.

Kukryniksy. Flight of the Nazis from Novgorod. 1944 - 1946. In the foreground are fragments of a broken sculpture

Instead of a monument to the liberators, a terrible sight appeared: the monument itself was practically gone, only the lower half of the power sphere remained on the pedestal. The figures were lying in the snow on the square, many of them were damaged. Some small details (swords, staves, shields) disappeared without a trace. The desecrated “Millennium of Russia” was immediately placed under round-the-clock police protection, fenced with barbed wire. Without waiting for instructions from Moscow, they decided to restore the monument immediately. Not destroyed communications and houses razed to the ground, but a monument - a symbol of Russia, which has become a symbol of Novgorod. The missing bronze parts of the monument were cast again in the northern capital, at the Leningrad foundries.

The monument was opened for the second time, without waiting for the end of the war, on November 2, 1944. Rare film footage from this modest ceremony has been preserved in the funds of the Novgorod Museum-Reserve: they accommodated almost the entire population of the city, which gathered at the monument on this chilly November day. Eyewitnesses of the events recall that there was no electricity in the city yet, the monument was illuminated by the light of car headlights, and Novgorod boys shouted enthusiastically: “The monument is ours!”

Monument "Millennium of Russia" in Novgorod Detinets
Illustration: novgorodmuseum.ru

On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the monument and the 1150th anniversary of Russia in Veliky Novgorod, a competition was announced to create a “virtual tier” for the famous monument.

Novgorod residents were asked to choose historical figures, which could take a place on such a monument after another century and a half. According to the results of the voting, Yuri Gagarin took first place in terms of the number of mentions, Georgy Zhukov took second place, and Joseph Stalin took third place. They named Vladimir Putin, Sergei Mavrodi, Joseph Brodsky, and even D’Artagnan, Alyosha Popovich and Andrei Arshavin. In short, it’s good that the idea of a virtual tier remained virtual.

"The Bronze Horseman" - a monument to the first to the Russian Emperor Peter I, became one of the symbols of St. Petersburg. Its grand opening, timed to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the reign of Empress Catherine II, took place on August 18 (August 7, old style) 1782 on Senate Square.

The initiative to create a monument to Peter I belongs to Catherine II. It was on her orders that Prince Alexander Mikhailovich Golitsyn turned to the professors of the Paris Academy of Painting and Sculpture Diderot and Voltaire, whose opinion Catherine II completely trusted.

Famous masters They recommended Etienne-Maurice Falconet for this work, who had long dreamed of creating a monumental work. The wax sketch was made by the master in Paris, and after his arrival in Russia in 1766, work began on a plaster model the size of the statue.

Refusing the allegorical solution proposed to him by those around Catherine II, Falcone decided to present the king as “the creator, legislator and benefactor of his country,” who “extends his right hand over the country he travels around.” He instructed his student Marie Anne Collot to model the head of the statue, but subsequently made changes to the image, trying to express in the face of Peter a combination of thought and strength.

The casting of the monument took place at the end of August 1774. But it was not possible to complete it in one go, as Falcone had hoped. During casting, cracks formed in the mold, through which liquid metal began to flow. A fire started in the workshop.

The dedication and resourcefulness of the foundry master Emelyan Khailov allowed the flames to be extinguished, but the entire upper part of the casting from the rider's knees and horse's chest to their heads was irreparably damaged and had to be cut down. During the time between the first and second casting, the craftsmen sealed and caulked the holes left in the cast part of the monument from the pipes (sprues) through which liquid metal was fed into the mold, and polished the bronze. The upper part of the statue was cast in the summer of 1777.

Then the joining of the two parts of the sculpture and the sealing of the seam between them, chasing, polishing and patination of the bronze began. In the summer of 1778, the decoration of the monument was largely completed. In memory of this, Falconet engraved an inscription in Latin on one of the folds of Peter I’s cloak: “Sculpted and cast by Etienne Falconet, a Parisian 1778.” In August of the same year, the sculptor left Russia without waiting for the opening of the monument.

Observation of the progress of work on the construction of the monument after departure French sculptor The architect from Russia was Yuri Felten.

The support for the monument is a snake trampled by a horse by the sculptor Fyodor Gordeev, symbolizing envy, inertia and malice.

The base of the sculpture - a giant granite block, the so-called thunder stone, was found in 1768 on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, near the village of Konnaya Lakhta. The delivery of the colossal monolith weighing about 1.6 thousand tons to the site of the monument was completed in 1770. First it was transported overland on a platform with grooved runners, which, through 32 bronze balls, rested on portable rails laid on a prepared surface, and then on a specially built barge. According to a drawing by architect Yuri Felten, the stone was given the shape of a rock; as a result of processing, its size was significantly reduced. On a pedestal in Russian and Latin languages an inscription was mounted: “Catherine the Second to Peter the Great.” The installation of the monument was supervised by the sculptor Gordeev.

The height of the sculpture of Peter I is 5.35 meters, the height of the pedestal is 5.1 meters, the length of the pedestal is 8.5 meters.

In the statue of Peter pacifying his horse on a steep cliff top, the unity of movement and rest is superbly conveyed; The monument is given special grandeur by the king’s royally proud seat, the commanding gesture of his hand, the turn of his raised head in laurel wreath, personifying resistance to the elements and affirmation of the sovereign will.

The monumental statue of a horseman, with an imperious hand squeezing the reins of a horse rearing in a swift rush, symbolizes the growth of the power of Russia.

The location of the monument to Peter I on Senate Square 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 Falconet, did things his own way by erecting the monument closer to the Neva.

After the opening of the monument, Senate Square received the name Petrovskaya; in 1925-2008 it was called Decembrists Square. In 2008, it was returned to its previous name - Senate.

Thanks to Alexander Pushkin, who used fantastic story about the monument that came to life during the flood that shook the city in his poem, the bronze monument of Peter.

During the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945), the monument was covered with sandbags, on top of which a wooden case was built.

The Bronze Horseman has been restored several times. In particular, in 1909, the water that had accumulated inside the monument was drained and the cracks were sealed; in 1912, holes were drilled in the sculpture for water drainage; in 1935, all newly formed defects were eliminated. Complex restoration work was implemented in 1976.

The monument to Peter I is an integral part of the city center ensemble.

On City Day in St. Petersburg, official festive events are traditionally held on Senate Square.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources