What the Stroganov Palace looks like. History

The Stroganov Palace is an architectural masterpiece of the 18th century located in the historical center of St. Petersburg. The Baroque house was owned by the most influential merchant family, the Stroganovs.

The construction of the palace lasted from 1752 to 1754: at that time, the unprecedented speed of the construction of the building. The architectural plan of the house was created by B. Rastrelli.

In honor of the opening of the palace, the Stroganovs arranged a gorgeous ball, which was attended by Empress Elizabeth I. The Empress liked the building of 50 luxurious rooms so much that she ordered her next name days to be celebrated in the Stroganovs' house.

Unfortunately, the Stroganov Palace has not survived in its original form. At the end of the 18th century, a powerful fire broke out in the building, almost all of the interior decoration was destroyed by fire. Only the Great Hall and the Main Lobby remained intact: these interiors of Rastrelli have survived to our time. In the rest of the premises, the situation changed several times.

After the fire, the palace underwent a large-scale renovation, and it quickly regained the title of one of the main secular places of the capital. The most beautiful ladies of St. Petersburg, rich gentlemen, celebrities came to the balls to the Stroganovs.

The merchants lived on a royal scale, maintained a huge staff of servants, numbering 600 people. Throughout Petersburg, the generosity of the Stroganovs was famous: free dinners for the townspeople were arranged in the palace. By the way, the famous beef stroganoff was invented by the chefs of this merchant family.

After 1917, the Stroganov Palace became the property of the state: the owners of the building emigrated. The Bolsheviks organized a museum of the life of the Russian merchants in the house, then it was transferred to the St. Petersburg Agricultural Academy. Numerous collections of paintings, statues, jewelry were sent to the Hermitage funds, and the extensive library of the Stroganovs was transported to Tomsk, to the local university.

Now the Stroganov Palace has been transferred to the management of the Russian Museum. The building has been assigned the status of a cultural heritage site.

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Stroganov (Strogonov) Palace- a magnificent structure erected by an architect F.B. Rastrelli in 1753-1754 at the corner of Nevsky Prospekt and Moika, at the Green Bridge. In this area of ​​St. Petersburg, this is the only building that has retained its features baroque architecture... Today, the palace with a restored facade and recreated interiors of the main floor is a branch of the Russian Museum.

History and architecture of the Stroganov Palace in St. Petersburg

The site at the corner of Nevsky Prospekt and Moika Embankment originally belonged to the tailor Johann Neumann. There was an extended house built in 1738-1742, probably with the participation of the famous architect M.G. Zemtsov. The unfinished building was purchased by the brothers in 1742 Nikolay and Sergey Stroganovs, the sons of an associate of Tsar Peter I, "an eminent person" Grigory Dmitrievich Stroganov and his wife Maria Yakovlevna Stroganova, nee Novosiltseva.

The brothers already owned a luxurious stone house on the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island in St. Petersburg, on the site of the present Exchange. They built a new palace for themselves in an even more prestigious place, near the royal court. The tailor's house was allowed to the Stroganov barons to be bought by Empress Elizabeth, but only on the condition that it "be completed regularly, in architecture, and maintained as ordered by decrees." In the painting by an unknown artist "View of Nevsky Prospekt from the Police Bridge" (before 1753), houses are visible on the right, on the site of which the Stroganov Palace was later built:

One of the brothers became the actual owner of the house: the baron, the actual chamberlain Sergey Grigorievich Stroganov(1707-1756). It was he who began to collect the Stroganov collection and built new three-story Castle“At the turn of the Nevskaya prospect along the Mie river”.

Green (Police Bridge) in the 1810s, illustration by Benjamin Patersen:

The building was erected by the greatest architect of the Baroque era F.B. Rastrelli on the foundations of the old house with partial use of its walls, as well as the vaults of the lower floor. The volume of the palace also probably included the neighboring building on Nevsky Prospect, which belonged to the court chef Shestakov, and the small house of the Stroganovs (or their relatives), which stood on the Moika side.

Despite the extreme workload on other projects in St. Petersburg, Moscow and Tsarskoye Selo, the chief architect of the Imperial Court, Count Rastrelli accepted the order of S.G. Stroganov and issued another masterpiece. Rastrelli usually did not take private orders, it was precisely court architect, but for the Stroganovs he made an exception, which once again emphasizes the uniqueness of this family and the palace itself.

Stroganov Palace was built by Rastrelli from 1753 to 1754, when the first costume ball was held here in honor of the birth of the heir to the throne Pavel Petrovich (however, sometimes as year of completion of construction they call the year 1756, since only by that time the work in all the premises was completely completed). The new house, grandiose and elegant, immediately stood out among the low terraced houses not only in size, but also in rich decoration.

Quarenghi, View of the old Police Bridge (early 1780s):

Stroganov Palace. Police Bridge, from a drawing by I. Charlemagne:

Stroganov Palace is an outstanding example mature baroque architecture... The main L-shaped (built with a "verb") body of the building faces Nevsky Prospekt and the Moika Embankment - one of the main waterways of St. Petersburg, therefore both facades Rastrelli designed in the highest degree ceremonially, generously supplying them with columns, various mascarons, rocaille cartouches and other decorative elements. Model of the Stroganov Palace:

Longer facade from the side of Nevsky Prospect has three risalits: a strongly developed central one and two weakly expressed subordinate lateral ones. The ground floor, decorated with rustic stone, was used by the servants, and on the second and third floors there were state rooms and residential apartments of the Stroganovs. These floors, united by columns and pilasters of a large order, have a rich sculptural decoration. The windows of the two main floors are decorated with trims of various baroque designs.

On the sides of the passage to the courtyard, there are decorative columns grouped in bundles with adjacent paired columns. Concentration of plastic expressiveness in the center of the building was a favorite technique architect Rastrelli... In the work of the architect and, in particular, in composition Stroganov Palace see the influence of the "curvilinear" baroque Italian Guarino Guarini(1624-1683), who worked a lot in Turin and published the most popular treatise on civil architecture.

The two centered windows with caryatids On the second floor.

The composition of the facade is crowned with a torn arched pediment depicting coat of arms of the Stroganovs: a bear-headed shield, divided diagonally by a wavy sling with three arrowheads, held by two standing on their hind legs sable... These sables, as well as the bear's head, are symbols of Siberia and mean that the ancestors of the Stroganovs were among the organizers of Yermak's campaign to Siberia and contributed to the conquest of this region by the Russians.

Decorative balcony grilles under the windows of the second floor emphasize the elegance of the building, and the two-tone color makes it picturesque and expressive (in 2003, the facade was returned to its historical color).

Above the gate is a lion's mask in a shell, the same motif in a reduced form is repeated in each sandrik of the front floor window. The lateral links of the façade are marked with pilasters and small bow pediments with lion faces above the upper window.

The spectacular architectural treatment of the Baroque facades did not come down to us in full: according to Rastrelli himself, initially, “four large statues depicting the four parts of the world” (Europe, Asia, Africa and America) were also installed on the main facade between the columns. In addition, there were sculptural groups on both sides of the pediments, and the balconies were supported by the figures of the Atlanteans. These details can be seen in the old view of the Stroganov Palace, captured by the artist M. Makhaev in the middle of the 18th century in the painting "Prospect of the Nevskaya Perspective Road from the Admiralty Triumphal Gate to the East". View of the Stroganov Palace from the Moika side, engraving from the middle of the 18th century after fig. M. I. Makhaeva:

Facades of the Stroganov Palace underwent changes at the beginning of the 19th century, during the restructuring of the ceremonial interiors: Count Alexander Sergeevich removed the statues-allegories of the countries of the world and frivolous nymphs, and the terracotta Rastrelli facade coloring replaced with a yellow-pink color. Decor details:

Facade facing the Moika, highlighted in the center by four graceful columns and two pilasters on the sides. The portico is crowned with a torn triangular pediment. It is on this side of the building, at the level of the columns and pilasters of the central part, that the Great Dance Hall is located - the hallmark of the Stroganov Palace. On the pediment of this facade is also placed coat of arms of the Stroganovs, and the extended balcony is decorated with an openwork wrought iron lattice. The next photo shows the "small facade" of the Stroganov Palace, located along the Moika. The central portico hides the main room of the house - the Great Hall.

Among other things, plastic decor, both facades of the palace adorn portrait medallions... According to one version, these bas-relief portraits depict the first owner of the palace (Baron S.G. Stroganov), whom Rastrelli decided to surprise in this way. However, many historians claim that the famous architect placed his own profile on the walls of the palace, as a kind of author's signature, in order to immortalize his work. There is also an assumption that medallion with a mysterious profile at the Stroganov Palace appeared later, when the facade was being completed by Vallen-Delamot.

Another interesting detail is decorative cast iron posts with lion masks standing at the corners of the gateway (outside the palace and from the garden side in the courtyard). This is a unique example of iron casting from Elizabethan times. Initially, the pedestals were connected by chains and served as part of the hanging fence of the canal, which was dug in front of the Stroganov Palace approx. 1760 (;) (according to other sources, it was just a fence from the roadway). During the reconstruction of Nevsky Prospekt at the beginning of the 19th century, the cast-iron fence disappeared.

Only six pedestals, which were now used as bumpers at the corners of the passage arches to protect the building from the blows of carriages turning into the courtyard. There are four pedestals at the Stroganov Palace, two more of the same cast iron cabinets can be seen at the doorway of the neighboring house No. 19 on Nevsky Prospekt (the building was acquired by the Stroganovs in the 1830s, and the best St. Petersburg tavern "STROGONOV" was located here).

In the courtyard of the Stroganov Palace, you can also see two granite statues sphinxes... These sculptures are located on low pedestals near the former main entrance and were moved here from the pier at the Stroganov dacha in St. Petersburg, where they appeared in 1796 (see the painting by A.N. Voronikhin "").

Entrance to the ceremonial premises of the Stroganov Palace today it is located on the right side of the facade overlooking Nevsky Prospect... Previously, the entrance to the palace from the avenue did not exist: the main staircase and the premises of the palace were entered through the ceremonial porch, which was located in the front courtyard. Having let the carriage pass, the oak gate on the facade was tightly closed.

Today's view of the gate to the courtyard of the Stroganov Palace:

The guests entered the ceremonial lobby decorated with elegant columns and then ascended the Main Staircase. From the top of the stairs, doors led through the lobby to the Great Ballroom. The entrance from Nevsky Prospect was arranged in the 1790s by the architect Voronikhin.

View of the northern (Nevsky) building from the side of the courtyard:

Stroganov Palace: opening hours and ticket prices

Address of the Stroganov Palace in St. Petersburg: Nevsky prospect, 17 / nab. Moiki, 46. The nearest metro stations: "Nevsky Prospect", "Admiralteyskaya". You can view the location of the house on the map of St. Petersburg.

Working hours of the Stroganov Palace, branch of the Russian Museum: the palace is open daily from 10:00 to 18:00, except Tuesday; on Monday - from 10:00 to 17:00. Ticket offices close an hour earlier.

Ticket prices to visit the ceremonial halls of the Stroganov Palace: a ticket for citizens of the Russian Federation costs 110 rubles; for foreign citizens - 300 rubles.

Price complex ticket, providing a visit to the Mikhailovsky, Marble, Stroganov palaces and the Mikhailovsky castle - 400 rubles. for citizens of the Russian Federation and 600 rubles. for foreign citizens (the ticket is valid for three days from the date of purchase).

Take pictures in the Stroganov Palace it is possible, but only for a fee and strictly without a flash and a tripod. A ticket entitling you to take pictures costs 250 rubles. Photographs are not permitted in temporary exhibition halls.

Ticket prices are as of 2013.

Review of visiting the Stroganov Palace in St. Petersburg

The Stroganov Palace is a very beautiful building with a rich history, and it's great that now residents and guests of St. Petersburg have the opportunity not only to admire its facades, but also to visit inside. Some time ago, not too many halls were opened in the palace, so it was far from the highest priority for visiting, yielding to its brothers, other St. Petersburg palaces.

Although the restoration of the palace continues, today quite a few are already open for inspection. ceremonial interiors, among which there are real gems: for example, the authentic Rastrellian Great Hall, the unusual Mineralogical study or the stunning Arabesque living room.

Thanks to the careful work of the restorers, many of the interiors have been recreated in such a way that visitors get a vivid idea of ​​what the palace looked like in the past glorious times. All halls available for visiting at the moment are shown in the following plan of the Stroganov Palace:

The main attraction of the Stroganov Palace is its state rooms, the decoration of which is impressive, despite the fact that the building has almost no original items from the Stroganovs collection.

Over time, this gap is likely to be partially closed, because some exhibits and interior items have already begun to return to the palace, since a lot of first-class Stroganov things have been preserved in various museums and funds (although it is clear that paintings and sculptures from the Hermitage will never return here) ...

A visit to the Stroganov Palace is an opportunity to see artistically decorated historical interiors with carefully selected art objects, get acquainted with portraits of representatives of the Stroganov family and learn about the architects who built the palace and decorated its premises in different eras.

Inspect the Stroganov Palace you can do it yourself, without a guide, especially if you are well acquainted with the history of this illustrious family and their Petersburg nest. But even without this knowledge visit the palace it will be interesting: to help you there are explanatory stands that are available in each hall (the stands describe the history of the room and provide old illustrations and photographs of how it looked before). In addition, there are responsive and competent room caretakers who will help you learn more about this historic building and the Stroganov family, as well as notice some interesting interior details that you yourself would never have paid attention to.

As already mentioned, the entrance to the Stroganov Palace today is on the right side of the facade overlooking Nevsky Prospect... First you find yourself in the lobby with the ticket office and souvenirs, then you buy a ticket and go to the Main Staircase. Before climbing it, you can look into the toilet and wardrobe, which are located at the end of a long inhospitable corridor, which does not at all portend the splendor that awaits ahead, as soon as you climb the stairs.

Description and photos of the interiors of the Stroganov Palace: self-guided tour of the palace

The main staircase of the Stroganov Palace was originally an important part of the solemn path of the guests of the palace. It was decorated at the beginning of the 19th century, completely remaking the much more magnificent Rastrelli staircase, which was finished in 1753-54. using gold, marble and painting. In 1805-1805. Voronikhin created his own Front staircase, designed in a strictly classicist style, more modest than the previous baroque style. He changed the direction of the marches (now they go clockwise), and installed the intermediate and upper platforms on four fluted Doric columns of different height. Such a strict and monumental staircase was supposed to create the image of a house built on the ruins of an ancient temple. The openwork cast-iron railings are covered with an oak handrail with a mahogany vein. Voronikhin treated the walls with plank rustication (this is the name of the rust in the form of continuous horizontal stripes).

After the architect Charlemagne built a two-story annex to the western building, it was necessary to reconstruct the Main Staircase somewhat, since the extension was adjacent to it. Three Rastrelli windows illuminating the stairwell had to be laid. Then the architect Sadovnikov suggested dismantling the ceiling over the stairs, sacrificing a room on the third floor, and opening three "overhead light" windows. Thus, in the 1830s, the third floor was included in the space of the staircase, and it received its current appearance.

1994-1995 over the stairs the picturesque plafond(painting under the caissons beloved by Voronikhin), a fragment of which was discovered during the restoration (photo from the site). The previously empty lunettes of three walls were installed mirrors, the bindings of which were designed by analogy with the design of the semicircular window on the second floor.

On the intermediate and upper landing of the stairs, today you can see bronze floor lamps specially designed for The main staircase of the Stroganov Palace architect E. M. Petrov in 1995-1996. based on museum samples. Luminaires made with funds International Stroganov Foundation.

From the stairs we get into New front located on the second floor of the Stroganov Palace between the Main Dining Room and the Great Hall. The original decoration of the room has not survived. The existing stucco moldings of the walls with the painting of a paduga in the style of the "second rococo" and two corner furnaces decorated with stucco and mirrors appeared probably in the middle of the 19th century, but the inlaid marble floor was arranged by A.N. Voronikhin at the beginning of the century (1804-1805). At that time, the interior served as a reception room (anti-chamber) for half of Count P.A.Stroganov.

In the center of the floor rosette previously stood a tall bowl made of red granite, donated to the owner of the Stroganov Palace by the builders of the Kazan Cathedral. Now she is in the Small Office of the palace, and her place was taken by the bronze sculptural group " Minerva and the Artistic Genius"(1796) works M. I. Kozlovsky (1753-1802).

The room has not been repaired for a long time and is dilapidated. Before the transfer of the Stroganov Palace to the Russian Museum, the New Front was used as an office building for the equipment department of the Department of the Ministry of the Shipbuilding Industry, and there were tables for 14 people. In the process of restoration of the room in 1994-1995. and 2003, the floor beams were strengthened, the loss of the marble floor stone and the decor of the walls and stoves were renewed, the painting of the paduga and the painting of the walls were restored, the mahogany doors were repaired. As a result, the room managed to return the appearance of the second half of the 19th century. The main difficulty during the restoration was the selection of the color scheme and the complete bulkhead of the marble floor covering.

From the New Front you can go left or right. If we go to the left, we find ourselves in the interior, which is the pearl of the palace - Great dance hall, or simply Big hall in 128 square meters. Although initially, according to the project of Rastrelli in the Stroganov Palace, according to the project, fifty ceremonial rooms were decorated, only one interior has survived to us, but what a one!

Great dance hall- the only room of the Stroganov Palace that has retained its original decoration, including a magnificent sculptural decoration and a picturesque ceiling work (c. 1708-1761), who was one of the most prominent decorators of that era, the father of Russian theatrical painting. This is the only one in St. Petersburg not recreated, but the original, pristine ceremonial interior of Rastrelli.

The architect Rastrelli himself described the premises as "a large hall, decorated with plastering by a very skilful Italian master." The magnificent two-story hall is well illuminated by five large windows of the lower light and five small windows of the upper light (the latter are "answered" by similarly decorated blind bindings on the opposite wall). The abundance of windows on the western wall of the hall leaves almost no room for the walls, the lower part of which is decorated with mirrors. This wall permeated with light is recognized as a triumph of Rastrelli's architectural thought.

The look of this elegant hall is impressive. The walls are decorated with lush molding, the windows of the upper tier have complex decorative frames, and under them there is a strongly extended cornice. On two short walls, the cornice is interrupted by balconies with forged baroque gratings. Balconies are supported by powerful half-figures Atlanteans, between which cupids carry a cartouche topped with a baronial crown. Half-figures caryatid, as if growing out of stucco baroque ornaments, support the protruding parts of the cornice on the far longitudinal (eastern) wall. Cupids with garlands of flowers lined the corners of the portals framing the balconies.

Appeared in the middle of the 19th century parquet made of exotic wood species(boxwood, sandalwood, lemon, plane tree) and inlaid in the center with an elegant ornamental rosette. Some unique types of wood were ordered from another continent, in Latin America.

Picturesque plafond occupying the entire surface of the ceiling of the Great Hall of the Stroganov Palace, made in 1753 in the St. Petersburg workshop of an Italian artist on 13 stretchers, delivered to the Stroganov Palace and mounted on the ceiling of the room.

The grandiose canvas has an area of ​​125 square meters. Its central part is enclosed in a picturesque frame depicting a gallery with a colonnade. These architectural elements are masterfully painted in perspective reduction, which creates the illusion of the hall walls extending upward, and the ceiling space bursts into the divine celestial sphere.

Valeriani's sketch of the central part of the plafond in the Great Hall of the Stroganov Palace:

The masterfully painted canvas on the ceiling of the Great Hall of the Stroganov Palace is the only surviving work of Valeriani. The rest of the plafonds of his brush, created for suburban palaces, died during the Great Patriotic War. The central image was painted by Giuseppe Valeriani himself, while the architectural part of the plafond appears to be the work of his permanent assistant. Antonio Perezinotti .

The plafond with the image of allegorical figures does not have a specific plot, and it is called differently, the most common options are “ The adventures of a hero», « Hero's Triumph"," The Erection of the Hero on Olympus "," The Apotheosis of the Hero "," The Wanderings of Telemachus (Telemachus) "and" Honoring Telemachus on Olympus". It is possible that the warrior with a scarlet cloak over his shoulder at the top of the composition is the mentor Telemachus Mentor, showing his young companion the beauty of Olympus. Then these figures can be interpreted as an allegorical portrait of Baron S.G. Stroganov, who introduces his son Alexander to the temple of arts and sciences. Above the young hero, Mercury, the messenger of the gods and the patron saint of travelers, hovered in the air. In his hand is a rod with intertwined snakes (caduceus).

Allegories of arts presented in the lower right corner of the composition: Painting writes pictures, Music plays the flute, Poetry reads poetry, and Sculpture sculpts a bust. They are united by History, which laid the tablets on Saturn's bent back. The goddess of wisdom and patroness of the arts is depicted in the center of the composition. Minerva, expelling vices: Cunning, Lust for Power, Slander and Envy.

Finally, in the left corner are the virtues: Justice, Truth, Fortitude, Loyalty, Courage and Strength (carries a column under his arm, on the basis of which is the artist Valeriani's handwritten signature). Next to Faithfulness is depicted an old man in armor and with a book: probably Asclepius. In the upper left corner of the plafond, there is a round temple on a rocky mountain, reminiscent of the Pantheon.

Researchers see in this plafond a kind of moral parting word to descendants, spiritual testament Baron Stroganov to his son Alexander, who was to carry out the construction of one of the main temples of the Orthodox world - the Kazan Cathedral. The painting of the plafond is interpreted as a preaching of creative virtue, wisdom and love for the arts, it is not for nothing that the central role in the composition belongs to goddess Minerva, which became a symbol of Russian enlightenment (Catherine II was often called the Northern Minerva).

Above the doors of the hall there are huge picturesque canvases-desudeports in rectangular frames - this is the cycle “ Aeneas' exploits»Brushes by an Italian artist Antonio Vigi... The canvases are not related to Valeriani's plafond and are an illustration to the epic poem "Aeneid" by the Roman poet Virgil.

Starting from the door to the New Hall, the desudeports depict the following scenes: "Aeneas at the Sibyl", "The meeting of Aeneas and Venus, who took the form of a girl-hunter", "Aeneas and Lavinia with their son Askanias", "Aeneas carries out his old father from burning Troy Anchis "," Venus presents Aeneas with weapons forged by Vulcan "," Tiberius advising Aeneas to conclude an alliance with Evander, king of Palanteus. "

Although the Great Hall is often called Rastrelli, not all the decoration of that time has survived, since the premises underwent a number of changes when Voronikhin worked here. In 1791 Voronikhin placed in this unique room furniture set as well as four chandeliers Petersburg master I. Fischer, made according to the project of Gervais (the chandeliers have survived). And in 1804-1805. the same Voronikhin installed in place of large tiled stoves empire fireplaces(earlier, portraits of Emperor Alexander I and his wife were hung over the fireplaces).

In Soviet times, the main part of the Great Hall was divided by temporary partitions, and in the eastern part there was a corridor that allowed passage from the Main Staircase to the Great Living Room.

The restoration of the hall was carried out in 1995-1997. and in 2003, when the artistic parquet was recreated from precious wood species. In addition, the molding, carving, gilding, painting of the ceiling and desudeports were restored, and the furniture set was recreated.

From the Great Hall we will go to a very warm and cozy Hall with an oak fireplace (Hall with a wooden fireplace)... The name of this interior is conditional, since the real one has not been established. The hall is dedicated exclusively to hunting and horses.

At this place, there were successive living rooms, decorated by Rastrelli for Baron S.G. Stroganov in 1753-54, the inner chambers of Count P.A.Stroganov, designed by Voronikhin in 1804-1805. and, finally, the apartments of the wife of Prince. V.S.Golitsyn of Princess A.P. Golitsyna, nee Stroganova (project by K. Rossi, 1820).

The present proportions of the interior and its decoration date back to the end of the 19th century, when the house belonged to Count S.A.Stroganov (1852-1923), the last representative of the famous family of collectors and patrons of art.

Perhaps the room is modeled after the hunting rooms of English castles. Count S. A. Stroganov was a great lover of hound hunting. In addition, he was the owner of several stud farms. In Soviet times, the hall was divided into three small rooms. Restoration with the recreation (according to the discovered sample) of wallpaper and parquet was carried out in 2005-2007.

The exposition of the Hall with Oak Cain is dedicated to animalism in Russian art of the second half of the 19th century: hunting sculptures and paintings with images of animals, primarily horses and dogs.

For example, to the left of the fireplace are paintings “ Gray horse"(Artist I.E. Krasnushkina (1858-1912)) and" Black horse"(Artist VA Vinogradov (1858-c. 1893)).

In this room, you could see an old fireplace screen made of mahogany - one of two screens that returned to the Stroganov door in 2004 (photo of the screen from the site; now both screens have been transferred to the Art Gallery of the Palace). The paintings inserted into the screens depict favorite dogs of the Counts Stroganovs, Mouton Spaniel and Mustafa White Poodle. The fireplace screens in question were created in St. Petersburg in 1805 by order of Count Alexander Sergeevich Stroganov and decorated the Art Gallery of the Stroganov Palace. The pictures for the screens were made by the artist Karl-Friedrich Knappé. Since the late 1920s, the screens were in the Hermitage, and in 1959 they were transferred to the Pavlovsk State Museum-Reserve, from where they returned to the Stroganov Palace (in exchange for an album with plans for Pavlovsky Park; now there are copies of screens in Pavlovsk).

From the Hall with an oak fireplace, we will go to the spacious Greek room with a minimum of decoration. This space was formed as a result of the dismantling of the wall between the living room and the dark corridor, which was done during the recent restoration work. The parquet floor in this room is made up of three different parts, reflecting a complex history. Greek room of the Stroganov Palace.

Until the late 1990s, none of the researchers had any idea about this interior. Its name was discovered in 1997 on the back of one of the tiny watercolors of the Russian Museum. Then the difficult restoration process began. According to modern legend, the director of the Russian Museum and enthusiast for the restoration of the Stroganov Palace V.A. Gusev once tore off a piece of plywood in a dark corridor adjacent to the hall, and the remains of bas-reliefs were revealed behind him.

Regarding the mentioned watercolors, then it turned out that these are sketches projects of K. I. Rossi for the decoration of the apartments of the second daughter of Pavel Stroganov and Sofia Vladimirovna Golitsyna - Aglaida (Adelaida, Aglaya) Pavlovna (1799-1882) and her husband Prince Vasily Sergeevich Golitsyn (1794-1836). Although Rossi's designs were not fully accepted, they were likely interesting interiors. On the back of a watercolor of this interior, Rossi wrote in small handwriting: "the door to the Greek room." The historian S.O.Kuznetsov determined that it was probably the dressing room of Countess Sophia Vladimirovna that was meant.

The history of this room is rather complicated. Once upon a time there was Walk-through living room, the interior of which was created by Rastrelli, but it changed its dimensions several times before returning to the original. On the site of the corridor that, under the last owners, connected the Great Living Room with the (Great) Study, under Rastrelli there was a staircase that united all three floors. It was the latter that prevented communication between the western and southern corps during the alterations of A. N. Voronikhin. In 1804-1805. Voronikhin was engaged in the design of the apartments of Pavel Alexandrovich and his wife Sofia Vladimirovna. In particular, as the last hall of the inner (facing the courtyard) enfilade of the western building appeared Reception Countess Sofia Vladimirovna Stroganova... This room - probably due to the peculiarities of decoration - was called Greek room... Its parquet was recreated during restoration and allows one to judge the dimensions of the interior, which occupied approximately half of Rastrelli's living room... Drawing parquet A. N. Voronikhin made in the form of rhombuses with circles in the center of the squares.

The second part of the living room from the moment of the Voronikhinsky alteration served Restroom (dressing room) of Count Pavel Alexandrovich Stroganov... Subsequently, this lavatory received a new Empire-style finish according to the project K. I. Rossi who was tasked with arranging the apartment Aglaida Pavlovna, Princess Golitsyna, nee Stroganova. Has reached our time the parquet floor of this restroom adjacent to the central parquet floor of the Greek Room. This intricate parquet is made using palm and rosewood; in the center there is a large double octagon, in which a rhombus is inscribed; on four sides it is surrounded by a frieze with ellipses (the stars in the corners of the composition were added later).

In the 1840s, the architect P.S. Sadovnikov carried out redevelopment on the site of the Greek Room, using the additional space of the adjacent staircase, and decorated the interior of the Walk-through living room in the style late classicism for the Serene Princess Elizaveta Pavlovna Saltykova, nee Stroganova. (Sadovnikov carried the staircase that hindered the connection between the western and southern facades behind the facade).

The new interior - typical of the halls of late classicism - had yellow artificial marble and ribbon allegorical bas-reliefs at the top of the wall. This style was close to the style of Voronikhin, who executed the above-mentioned parquet flooring of the Greek Room.

Subsequently, in the 1860s, another architect, presumably Harald Boss, changed the decoration to neo-baroque... He did not destroy, but covered with cloth the artificial marble and academic reliefs used by his predecessor. There was a carpet on the floor, which preserved the parquet. Some time later, instead of a staircase, a dark corridor was arranged to go from the Great Living Room to the Study, and the dimensions of the Walk-through Living Room returned to those that existed under Rastrelli. In it, trying to interpret the Baroque heritage, they installed the existing fireplace, gilded panels and redesigned the plafond. After that, the interior got its final look. Subsequently, some of the bas-reliefs of the living room remained behind the shields, others, in the corridor, remained accessible for inspection, although they were somewhat damaged. Artificial marble was almost lost over time.

A photograph of the room after its alteration by Bossé has survived: in 1865, a new look Greek room on the instructions of Count P. S. Stroganov, Giovanni Bianchi was recorded for an album with views of the Stroganov Palace... There is no doubt that this particular room is captured in the photograph, since the large living room is clearly visible from the door.

During a recent restoration, a space was created which is now called Greek room... Taking into account the rare preservation of decorative elements of several eras at once, it was decided to restore them and show several historical layers at the same time, dismantling the walls of the corridor. The work was carried out in 2005-2007.

The process of creating an exposition in this hall turned out to be painful and lengthy and has not yet been completed.

At the moment, the main decoration of the interior is marble fireplace(we could see similar ones in other mansions of St. Petersburg, for example, in the mansion of M.V.Shtifter and in the mansion of the Brusnitsyns). In the central part, the fireplace is decorated with figures of kissing putti, two more cupids sit on the sides, supporting marble garlands.

In addition to the fireplace, in the Greek Room you can see portrait of Count S. G. Stroganov(1794-1882), executed in 1882 K. E. Makovsky... Sergei Grigorievich, founder of the Stroganov School in Moscow, collector of coins and icons, founder of the Imperial Archaeological Commission, died in the Stroganov Palace on Easter 1882 in his office, where he was depicted by the artist Makovsky, who was working on the portrait after the death of the count.

Recently in the Greek room were installed plaster busts of the architect Andrey Nikiforovich Voronikhin(1759-1814) and his wife, Voronikhina Maria Feodorovna, née Mary Lond (1770-1822). Voronikhin married his English assistant Mary Lond- the educator (governess) of the children of Pavel Stroganov and a wonderful artist - in 1801. After the wedding, the newlyweds left the house on Nevsky and moved to their own apartment. The couple had six sons: two died in childhood, the rest, with the exception of Constantine, also lived very little. They left no offspring after themselves. Both busts of the spouses were made by A. Voronikhin, the nephew of the architect.

From the Greek room we pass to Large study of Countess S. V. Stroganova formerly referred to simply as Cabinet... Initially, this interior, designed by Voronikhin around 1804, was the painting workshop of the owner of the palace, who painted Sophia Vladimirovna well. It is also possible that the hall was used to display paintings. At that time, the hall had no windows and was illuminated exclusively with the help of light lantern in the ceiling. - How this office looked then helps to understand the watercolor from the album of the Stroganov family, made by an unknown artist in the 1830s. Voronikhin decorated the upper part of the walls with casts from the reliefs of the temple of Antoninus and Faustina in Rome (2nd century AD).

The study's unique skylight was lost in the 1840s. because of the superstructure by PS Sadovnikov of the upper floor. At the same time, windows appeared in the room. The Cabinet began to be called the Big, and the former Small Library became the Small Cabinet. Somewhat later, already for the Most Serene Princess E.P. Saltykova, nee Stroganova, was installed marble fireplace in the style of the second rococo.

View of the office of His Serene Highness Princess E.P. Saltykova, nee Stroganova, photograph by J. Bianchi from the album of Count P. S. Stroganov (1865):

The restoration of the Big Office took place from 2003 to 2007. During the work, in particular, the parquet from the time of Voronikhin was restored from the watercolors by an unknown artist (presumably EI Esakov).

Currently, the exposition of the hall is dedicated to Patriotic War of 1812, which was of great importance for the Stroganov family. In this war, Countess Sofya Vladimirovna lost her husband, Count Pavel Alexandrovich, and her son Alexander.

Two large paintings in the hall illustrate one of the most famous episodes of the overseas campaign of the Russian army: V.I. "Battle of Leipzig on October 6, 1813" (1815) and Babaev P. I. "The feat of Leonty Korennoy, grenadier of the Life Guards of the Finland Regiment, in the Battle of Leipzig in 1813" (1846). On the walls are portraits of the Adjutant General Prince Alexei Yakovlevich Lobanov-Rostovsky, Adjutant General Count Vladimir Fedorovich Adlerberg, Count Alexei Fedorovich Orlov and other military and historical figures.

Let's go now to Small study of Countess S. V. Stroganova, or the library of the Stroganov Palace... This is one of the most interesting rooms that have survived to this day. Once this room belonged to Count P.A.Stroganov, and then to his widow Sophia. This interior has retained the original design of the one who created it in 1804-1805. architect, who conceived it as a miniature antique temple.

A small oblong room with one window into the courtyard is covered with a false caisson cylindrical vault with rosettes and ornamental painting "for molding". The subsequent decorative finishing of the interior belongs to the architect I. F. Kolodin, a freedman from the Stroganov serfs, and dates back to 1818. Kolodin installed new Corinthian artificial marble columns and corresponding pilasters.

In addition, in the 1840s, some changes were made to the decoration. P. S. Sadovnikov, a native of the Golitsyn serfs. Sadovnikov installed in the room fireplace from a dark green coil and widened the window opening. The painting between the caissons was made in the second half of the 19th century. The part of the hall farthest from the window under Voronikhin was probably occupied by a small staircase, and then a bath was placed there, hidden by a screen between the columns. There was a dark corridor to the Soviet place that led to the Big Office. The restoration of the Small Office was carried out in 2005-2007, at the same time the artistic parquet.

One of the main decorations of the hall is a semicircular lunette with a relief " Ivan the Terrible gives water to his warrior"(" Ivan the Terrible give the warriors a drink ") (1811) by a 23-year-old Alexey Voronikhin, the nephew of the architect. The composition was created according to a program on a historical theme, which was given to the students of the Academy of Arts.

The sculptor presented an episode from the tsar's campaign against Kazan, when two soldiers found water and brought it in helmets to the monarch, who ordered the warrior who was most exhausted in the battle to drink first. Somewhat strange ancient vestments of the characters are associated with the fact that at the beginning of the 19th century, themes from early Russian history were perceived as “national antiquity”. It is believed that this bas-relief was installed in the Small Library of Pavel Stroganov in memory of his deceased father, President of the Academy of Arts A.S. Stroganov.

In the Small Office, you can see several portraits of representatives of the Stroganov family, including a portrait of the Count's portrait Grigory Alexandrovich Stroganov(1770-1857) and a portrait of his second wife, Countess Yulia Pavlovna Stroganova, d'Ega (she is Juliana Maria Louise Carolina Sophia) (1782-1864). The spouses lived in great love and harmony, were very friendly with A.S. Pushkin, to whom, as we already know, Grigory Stroganov was a relative through Natalia Goncharova.

There are also portraits of the count. Pavel Alexandrovich Stroganov(1772-1817) and Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna(1819-1876), wife of Count G.A.Stroganov (1824-1878), in the first marriage of the Duchess of Leuchtenberg.

Behind the columns is granite vase with gilded bronze trim, presented to the Count A. S. Stroganov in memory construction of the Kazan Cathedral from the Commission for the construction of the temple.

Then we return from the southern building to the western one and through the Greek living room we pass into an elegant and bright Large living room, which was restored from a photograph from the Stroganov family album. The interior of the Large Living Room is designed in the eclectic spirit of the second half of the 19th century.

The hall was originally smaller and had only three windows. In 1804-1805. the architect changed the decoration of the living room and included this interior among the ceremonial interiors of Count Pavel Stroganov. In the 1840s, the room was expanded by P.S. Sadovnikov, who began to decorate the hall in the style of late classicism for the Most Serene Princess E.P. Saltykova (1802-1863), nee Countess Stroganova.

The main element of the decor Large living room there was Lyons silk with bouquets of flowers on a cream background, framed with gilded frames. White silk was used both on walls and in upholstering furniture and draping windows and doors.

The work was completed a little later, in the middle of the 19th century in the style of the second Rococo by the architect G. Bosse, who was also engaged in the interior decoration of the pseudo-Gothic dacha and her husband, Prince I.D. Saltykov. During this period, carved gilded lambrequins were installed in the Great Living Room, as well as a three-part mirror, in which the doors of the Great Rastrelli Hall were reflected. Sofas, armchairs in the Louis XVI style and Tonet's chairs occupied the entire area of ​​the room. Sculpture and numerous plants complemented the interior. In the photograph of the Great Living Room, made by Bianchi in 1865, you can see the original furniture of the 18th century, bought at one time by Count Alexander Sergeevich, porcelain groups, Rococo wall clock by François Vigee.

In the 1870s, the interior design was changed again and, in particular, the old carved frames, a small mirror with a console on the south wall and a mirror above the fireplace were lost, and new crimson silk and tapestries appeared on the walls.

In Soviet times, a door was opened in the northeastern corner of the room to organize the passage to the Great Hall, at the same time a large mirror was lost. In the process of restoration 2000-2003. according to the photograph by G. Bianchi (1865), artistic parquet was recruited, cornices, carved frames for mirrors and silk were recreated. The fabric itself was selected according to the principle of maximum proximity to the original. In the following years, the console table was restored, as well as the restoration of the fireplace was carried out (2005-2007).

From the previous decoration has been preserved chandelier, fireplace and doors mahogany - all these elements are probably made according to the drawings of A. Voronikhin.

The fireplace that still exists today is one of the most spectacular in the entire palace, thanks to two marble vases on bronze tripods and precious plaques English firm Wedgwood ("Wedgwood").

In 2009, Lord Percy Wedgwood's donation ceremony took place three ceramic jasper plaques depicting the wedding of Cupid and Psyche for their restoration on the historical site on the fireplace of the Great Living Room of the Stroganov Palace.

This charitable act was timed to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the company Wedgwood founded in 1759. In 1775, this manufactory produced "jasper" porcelain, the so-called "jasper", and by the beginning of the 19th century the company had gained fame among aristocrats from different countries. Vases, sets and decorative elements from this mass were mainly made in the corporate blue color.

In the center of the Great Living Room today is installed withculture "Devotion"(Josue Meli, 1854) (1807-1903) (a dog selflessly presses a snake with its paw so that it does not bite a sleeping child). The sculpture entered the Stroganov Palace from the accounting department of the Palace of Culture named after Gorky.

The large living room adjoins a cozy Small living room, owned by Count Pavel Aleksandrovich Stroganov, who since 1802 had the rank of senator and the post of comrade (deputy) minister of the interior, and later distinguished himself in the war of 1812.

Researchers suggest that the decoration of this room in 1804-1805. was completely completed by A.N. Voronikhin, who somewhat reduced the size of the former living room, decorated by Rastrelli in 1753-54.

The walls of the room are lined artificial marble warm shade, bringing peace. In the partition between the windows and above the fireplace are placed opposite each other mirrors that illusory expands the interior space. The mirror between the windows is crowned with a sculptural image of an eagle, and above the mahogany doors with gilded lion masks there are relief compositions (desudeports) composed of acanthus curls and the head of the Gorgon Medusa (in the period of Classicism and Empire style, such antique motifs were a traditional element of decor).

Plafond Small living room framed by repeating elements of a floral pattern and decorated with four figured compositions based on antique motifs. In the 1830s, the existing painting was supplemented with new elements, and decorative friezes appeared on the southern and northern walls. The most interesting decoration of the room is ten multi-figure bas-reliefs placed in the semicircular lunettes of the paduga. For a long time, the authors of these bas-reliefs were unknown, but modern art historians have proven that they were made by the sculptors S.M. Tyeglev (1771-after 1848), I.I. Terebenev (1780-1815) and M.P. Aleksandrov-Dear (1758-1813) (;). In these sculptural scenes used plots from ancient mythology, known for "Metamorphoses" by Ovid, "Iliad" and "Odyssey" by Homer ("Medea and Jason", "Perseus and Atlas", "Childhood of Jupiter", "Perseus and Phineus", "The dispute of the Greek leaders for the armor of Achilles", " Diana and Actaeon "and others). The restoration of the interior of the Small Living Room was carried out in 2000-2003. with the preservation of the old parquet floor and the recreation of the lost parts of the fireplace.

Now let's go back to the Great Dance Hall and go through it and the New Hall into the hall at the junction of the western and northern buildings - The front dining room, or Corner hall... This is a veritable mystery room that is completely confusing. Small in size, it seems huge, as if divided into two parts by massive columns. Immediately you would not guess that on the other side of the columns there is a looking glass: the chandeliers and columns are only half-hearted.

It's all about huge five-meter mirrors which are located between half columns Ionic order, occupying almost the entire southern wall opposite the windows. The entire hall is reflected in the mirrors, and this reflection illusory doubles its space. Elegant semi-chandeliers adjoin the mirrors, and a painted ceiling stretches above them. In addition, the doors are also surrounded by mirrors, which enhances the effect of the spreading space even more.

This spectacular interior was designed by A.N. Voronikhin on the site of the former Rastrelli Mirror Gallery and decorated in 1793 for the wedding of Count P.A.Stroganov. The hall has retained the main composition and partly even the original decoration, having suffered less than others during the Soviet era.

Half-columns of artificial marble, a ceiling painted with caissons with rosettes have survived to this day. The semicircular niches at the ends of the hall are still empty (earlier there were statues, and later - tall furnaces). The main source for the restoration of the interior was Voronikhin's watercolors. It was used to recreate large mirrors that disappeared in the 19th century, stucco desudeports, painting with caissons in niches, false doors in the southeastern corner, draperies with fringes and tassels (1994-1995).

At the second stage of the restoration, in 2002-2003, the parquet was recreated from precious wood and the lighting fixtures - semi-chandeliers.

Soon after the creation of the Grand Dining Room, this hall became the site of the famous Sunday dinners. Count Alexander Sergeevich, when, after the morning service in the Kazan Cathedral, art lovers and simply lovers of delicious food gathered here. It is known that in the dining room there was a grandiose round table with a malachite tabletop, designed by the French people Percier and Fontaine.

The most serious problem in the restoration of the Main Dining Room was the restoration of huge, from floor to cornice, mirrors between the half-columns of a blank wall opposite four windows and a balcony door overlooking Nevsky Prospect. A Finnish company was engaged in the installation of mirrors in a vacuum method on suction cups. Paanurakenne... The edges of the mirrors were carefully fitted to the figured profiles of the bases and capitals of the semi-columns. In addition, in accordance with Voronikhin's famous watercolors with the view of this hall, over the doors were recreated stucco desudeports in the form of vases with garlands on a mirrored background, as well as painting of vaults in niches and their stucco frames. These works were carried out by the foremen of the "Lazur" company.

From the Main dining room, bypassing the Old front hall, we find ourselves in the northern building. Extended Hubert Robert Hall (Hubert Robert) was conceived by Count A.S. Stroganov. During his stay in France in 1771-78. the count met a number of outstanding artists, among whom was Hubert Robert ( Hubert Robert) (1733-1808). In 1773 A.S. Stroganov commissioned this French artist to create an ensemble of six canvases depicting ancient obelisks, temples and arches, as well as waterfalls and mountains. One of Robert's paintings through an arch shows St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome - the prototype of the future Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg.

In the early 1790s, the interior of the hall was designed by A.N. Voronikhin. The current version of the interior decoration dates back to the 1810s and probably belongs to the architect I.F. Kolodin. In the second half of the 19th century, the picturesque plafond was lost, as well as the stove with a sculpture of a lion. A fireplace was placed in its place. In Soviet times, when the suite was closed, three offices were created on the site of a single space with the help of temporary partitions, the entrance to which was carried out through a door punched in the place of the fireplace.

The hall was reconstructed in 2000-2003. based on a painting by an unknown artist from the first third of the 19th century. Paintings from Robert's room have been in the Hermitage collection for a long time, and temporary exhibitions are periodically held in this room today.

Further before us appears Arabesque living room- one of the most impressive. The room is located front suite along Nevsky Prospekt, between the gallery of paintings by Hubert Robert and the Mineral Cabinet. Painted copies are the main decoration of the hall. frescoes by Raphael and his students in the loggias of the Vatican Palace (the so-called Raphael loggias). The motifs of Raphael's loggias were very popular in European palaces at the end of the 18th century.

Decoration of the Arabesque living room, conceived by Count A.S. Stroganov in imitation Raphael loggias The Winter Palace, created by G. Quarenghi for Catherine II, was started in the 1770s and 80s and completed in the 1830s and 40s. Although the idea to create Raphael loggias she was born in her palace back to A.S. Stroganov, during the life of the count it was not fully realized.

His son Pavel outlived his father by only 6 years and spent most of his time on the battlefields, so the creation of the Arabesque living room became the work of his widow, Countess A.S. Stroganov's daughter-in-law Sofia Vladimirovna... She did not want to give in to her relatives the Sheremetevs, who arranged an exotic Etruscan room in their Fountain House, and therefore hired an unknown architect - perhaps P.S. Sadovnikov (a native of the serfs of her mother N.P. Golitsyna) - to complete the ensemble conceived.

The architect converted two rooms into one long space. According to one version, he used copies of Raphael's frescoes stored in the storerooms, acquired by A.S. Stroganov. Copies of the Vatican grotesques are believed to have been made by the Italian painters Antonio Scotti and Pietro Vigi.

The Stroganovs were able to install only part of the ensemble, since the space allocated for the interior was much smaller than Raphael's loggias. In addition, the construction of the house did not allow for domes, so the ceiling remained flat and without painting.

The architect supplemented the wall frescoes with decorative compositions above the doors and mirrors on the subjects of the frescoes of the Pompeian villa of Cicero ("The Centaur and the Nymph", "The Centauress and the Satyr", "The Centaur and Achilles"). Style Pompeian painting was extremely fashionable in St. Petersburg of that era.

Two above-mantel mirrors received picturesque frames with grotesque motives. The arabesque living room in its current form was completed by the mid-1840s. Two paired marble sculptures of seated philosophers in antique togas, donated in the 1930s to the Palace of Culture. Maxim Gorky, returned and regained their places in this hall after restoration.

Several leaks in the 1980s and 1990s caused serious damage to the structures and decoration of the ceiling, and some of the paintings and gilded frames were also damaged.

As a result of works carried out in 2000-2003, they were gilded again. Also, picturesque panels were restored with the recreation of panels on the walls lost during repairs. In addition, the parquet was completely replaced with a recreation of its previous pattern.

At the end of our tour of the Stroganov Palace, we pass into a two-tiered Mineral (Mineralogical) Cabinet, completing the Neva enfilade of the house and occupying the northeastern corner of the building.

Even in his youthful trip abroad, Alexander Stroganov observed various "curious things" in the houses of the nobility and royal palaces. In his letter from Paris on February 23, 1756, he shared his impressions with his father: "A glorious royal natural cabinet, which is very large ... In this cabinet, the Mineral Chamber is almost entirely filled with those ores that Professor de Lisle brought from Russia." Then A.S. Stroganov, apparently, caught fire with the idea of ​​creating a study: "In my opinion, I have a great desire for curious things and that I really want to compose a pretty study." After 30 years, the collection of the Count's rarities increased many times over, and it was necessary to equip a special room for it.

The cabinet, made in 1791-1792, is considered one of the masterpieces of Russian architecture of the 18th century. The first tier of the room was intended to accommodate the richest book collection of Count A.S. Stroganov, and on the upper tier, his famous collection of minerals was exhibited. The ceiling of the Mineralogical Office was decorated with a picturesque plafond, and the floor was decorated with artistic parquet made of precious wood.

Voronikhin designed not just a scientific study, but a real temple of stone. At the first moment, the guests entering the hall saw a dome overhead, which seemed immensely high due to the workshop illusory painting. But on the sails of the dome are not evangelists, but the emblems of the sciences and arts, and in the lunettes there are not expected scenes from the Bible, but four allegorical bas-relief, which depict four elements: "Fire", "Water", "Earth" and "Air". The sails of the vaults rest on fluted columns of a composite order made of artificial marble (there are twelve columns, according to the number of the apostles, which again evokes associations with a temple). The perspective painting of the dome was made presumably by P. Gonzago at the beginning of the 19th century.

Allegories of the elements presented in the form of seated female figures. The bas-relief in the south lunette depicts a woman in antique dress holding a bowl of fire and a salamander. This composition can be interpreted not only as an allegory of fire, but also as a representation of the alchemical process. "Allegory of air" in the northern lunette is presented in the form of a sleeping hunter, "allegory of water" in the western lunette is holding a fish in his hand, and "allegory of earth" is depicted in the form of Cybele leaning on a lion - the goddess of fertility, patroness of the welfare of cities.

In the middle of the 19th century, the Mineralogical Office was turned into a Billiard Room, and the second tier was insulated with a glass dome, and a tiled stove was installed instead of one of the bookcases. The dome and stove were dismantled during the first restoration of the hall in the 1920s. Artistic parquet had already been lost by that time.

In addition, during the 20th century, the painting of the dome suffered from leaks, and the cabinets of the upper tier fell into complete disrepair.

At present, the hall has been completely restored to its appearance, conceived by the architect. In particular, the previously existing art parquet was restored. The restoration was carried out in 2002-2005. with funds received from the exhibition "The Stroganovs: House and Collections of a Russian Aristocratic Family" (2000), organized by the International Charitable Stroganov Foundation with the participation of a number of Russian museums. ...

Today in the exhibition hall you can see a painting by M.N. Vorobyov " View of the Kazan Cathedral from the west", As well as a fragmentary copy of an unknown artist with portrait of Count A.S. Stroganov brushes J.-L. Monier and two canvases by S.F.Shchedrin with views of the Kamennoostrovsky Palace from the Stroganov dacha (early 19th century).

also in Mineralogical office presented a mahogany camping chest for storing polished rock tiles (mainly Ural marble). The chest was returned to the Stroganov Palace from the Mineralogical Museum. A.E. Fersman in Moscow. Some of the mineral samples for the modern exposition of the study were provided by the Mining Museum of St. Petersburg. As in the time of Alexander Sergeevich Stroganov, books were housed in cupboards with gilded doors. But since book collection The Stroganovs are now kept in the Russian National Library, the Library of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the State Hermitage; the restored Mineral Cabinet houses 19th century books from the State Russian Museum collection.

It is worth paying attention to secret door in the form of a bookcase. It was made by analogy with other interiors of the 18th century by the artist-decorator L.V. Gruzdeva.

In the southern wall of the Mineral Office there is a hidden passage to the famous Art gallery of the Stroganovs... The gallery, located in the eastern building, has become not only the pearl of the ceremonial chambers of the Stroganov Palace, but thanks to the memoir literature has become a proper name, denoting a unique artistic and historical phenomenon.

The picture gallery is one of the best creations of Voronikhin. The design principle of the gallery is identical to the Mineral Cabinet and, probably, the same sculptor made two bas-reliefs in it as well. In the center of one bas-relief is a female figure - "allegory of painting", on the contrary - a composition with "allegory of sculpture".

The extended space of the gallery is divided into three parts, the central part of which was assigned to the main paintings of the collection and was a hall with a gently sloping coffered vault. Symmetrically to the central part of the gallery, on the left and right, there were two small loggias with small domes. The facing of the columns with artificial marble imitating Siena has been repeatedly restored and has survived to this day.

Alexander Benois called the Art Gallery the “soul” of the Stroganov Palace. Previously, this room housed the famous collection of paintings by A.S. Stroganov, and also held classes for students of the Academy of Arts. This unique museum of Western European painting was open to all art lovers.

Once upon a time, the walls of the gallery were covered with green silk, but in Soviet times the decorative decoration of the hall was partially lost: the surface of the walls was plastered and painted with green paint. The furniture set from the Stroganov Art Gallery is now in the funds of the Russian Museum. There was also a magnificent malachite vase, made at the Yekaterinburg lapidary factory and now in the State Hermitage, as well as three-meter bronze floor lamps made in the 1790s. according to the model of J.-J. Fuku by the French master F. Thomir.

When the Stroganov Palace was handed over to the Institute of Applied Botany in 1929, a reading room of the Institute was arranged in the Art Gallery. The last restoration of the interior was carried out in 1964-1966. In the 1950s-60s, the assembly hall of the Era enterprise was located here.

Open the Stroganov Art Gallery after restoration planned by mid-2013. Also, the exposition of the Stroganov Palace will be replenished with the Physics Cabinet after a while.

Attention, new information at the beginning of March 2013: restoration of the Art Gallery of the Stroganov Palace is completed... It is no longer possible to recreate the richness of the interior in its former form, so the restorers chose the path of modeling: it was decided to decorate the gallery walls with first-class canvases by the Academy's teachers invited from Europe, and copies made by Russian masters (for example, here you can see a copy of Raphael's painting by Fyodor Bruni, as well as canvases by Borovikovsky, Kiprensky, Ivanov). Restoration of the Art Gallery of the Stroganov Palace lasted about 3 years. Two fireplace screens with the image of the favorite Stroganov dogs are now located in this room. These are the only authentic items from the Art Gallery of the Palace. The completion of the restoration will be one of the key events of the 115th anniversary of the Russian Museum celebrated in March.

From the history of the Stroganov family and their Neva house. Inhabitants and guests of the Stroganov Palace

Designed by Rastrelli for Sergei Grigorievich Stroganov 50 ceremonial interiors were decorated, including the Great Hall, the Mirror Gallery and the Main Staircase. Also, the architect created a variety of office and utility rooms that do not belong to these fifty rooms. The most valuable, luxuriously decorated rooms where guests were received were on the second floor of the palace, along the Moika. On this floor there were also living quarters, concentrated at the end of the building on the Nevsky Prospekt farthest from the Moika.

A kind of housewarming was arranged in the palace by Baron Stroganov in October 1754, when costume ball in honor of the birth of the heir to the throne, grandson of Empress Elizabeth, Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich. “Sankt-Peterburgskie vedomosti” reported: “In the larger hall they danced with a fair amount of music; and in other chambers throughout the night they were served with expensive drinks, fruits and sweets in great contentment. At the same time, tables were set in three large chambers, which were always covered again from 11 o'clock to noon until 7 o'clock at midnight, behind which masks were seated alternately, because all of a sudden it was not possible for everyone to fit behind the oppression. " Among those invited were court ladies and gentlemen, foreign merchants and ministers of foreign states.

Baron S. G. Stroganov settled in the new palace in the fall of 1754 and lived there for two years. After the death of the first owner, the house passed to his only son Alexander, who in 1761 received from the hands of Empress Maria Theresa count's dignity instead of the title of baron, and in 1798 became the count of the Russian Empire.

Graph Alexander Sergeevich Stroganov(1733-1811) - the most famous representative of the Stroganov family... He was the president of the Academy of Arts, the first director of the Public Library, a member of the State Council, the initiator of the construction of the Kazan Cathedral, an active Masonic figure, a famous collector and benefactor. KN Batyushkov called him "an enlightened patron and friend of the sciences and arts" and "the most amiable and kindest of people."

Collected by him collection of art and minerals laid the foundations of museum work in Russia, and the palace at the Green (Police) Bridge became a real temple of art and enlightenment. He inherited his passion for collecting antiques, icons, prints, valuable books, paintings, jewelry from his father, who loved him dearly S.G. Stroganov, the creator of the first private art gallery in St. Petersburg. Even in his youth, during long travels across Europe, Alexander Sergeevich began to take an interest in rare paintings and "curious things".

About appearance A. S. Stroganova we can judge by the famous posthumous (1814) a portrait by A.G. Varnek, in which the count is depicted in the costume of the Knight of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, with a plan of the Academy of Arts unfolded on his knees, the Kazan Cathedral in the window and a sculpture of Jupiter-Ammon. (This statue with the inscription "ARS ÆGIPTIACA PETROPOLI RENATA. MDCCCX" - Egyptian art has been resumed in St. Petersburg. 1880 - to this day it is in the Physics Office of the palace). The Kazan Cathedral is depicted in the background as the main result of the life of Count Stroganov.

It was in the family of serfs A.S. Stroganov that the future famous Russian was born in 1759 architect Andrey Nikiforovich Voronikhin(1759-1814). He was born in the Urals, in Novy Usolye. According to one of the versions about the origin of Voronikhin, he actually was the illegitimate son of Count Stroganov... One way or another, the count appreciated the talent of the young man and sent him to study in Moscow, and in 1779 Andrei arrived in St. Petersburg and settled in Stroganov Palace... At the same time, a gifted serf receives a good education at home together with the master's son. Pavel Stroganov(their teacher and educator was the French politician and mathematician Charles-Gilbert Romme). In 1786, the serf artist Voronikhin received his freedom, and after returning from a long journey in 1790, he again began to live in the Stroganov Palace.

It was at this time, by order of the highly educated philanthropist A.S.Stroganov, begins reconstruction of the interiors of the palace according to the project of the architect F.I.Demertsova... A.S. Stroganov had the idea of ​​adapting the house to the tastes of the new time, when instead of baroque comes out classicism... In addition, a huge collection of paintings, sculptures, mineralogical samples, numismatics, objects of applied art, books - all this required additional special premises. For the growing heir, Pavel Stroganov, it was also necessary to equip an apartment. The decision to rebuild was finally made by the count in the mid-1780s.

Architect Fedor Demertsov(1762-1823) was also originally a serf (prince P.N. Count A.S. Stroganov... Many historians suggest that it was under the leadership of Demertsov that Voronikhin received systematic knowledge in the field of architecture and construction. Voronikhin helped Demertsov in finishing interiors of the Stroganov Palace, and then began to develop and independent projects. By 1791, Demertsov built two new outbuildings in the courtyard on the site of outbuildings, enclosing the space of the rectangular courtyard. By the return of Pavel Stroganov and Voronikhin from abroad, Demertsov also completed the reconstruction of a number of ceremonial interiors.

In the period 1788-1793. Demertsov and Voronikhin created a magnificent ensemble interiors in the style of classicism, including Picture gallery, The front dining room and Mineral Cabinet. Voronikhin took part in these works since 1791, after returning from abroad together with the owner's son P. A. Stroganov(such long journeys were part of the education system adopted in aristocratic families). In particular, Voronikhin performed alterations on the half of the young P.A.Stroganov (in the southern building of the palace - in the courtyard wing parallel to Nevsky Prospekt), rebuilt Front staircase and designed an extraordinary Physical cabinet in Egyptian style. The cabinet was an alchemical laboratory.

Physical cabinet was intended for the Egyptian collection, but it also had an important symbolic meaning: it completed the eastern suite of the palace, which included the Mineral Cabinet and the Picture Gallery, and attached significance to the entire suite of stages on the Masonic road of initiation. It is also believed that the hall was the site of alchemical experiments and the sanctuary of the Freemasons. From the window of the office, a view of the construction site of the main brainchild of A.S. Stroganov, the "bricklayer" - Kazan Cathedral... The creation of Physical cabinet Alexander Sergeevich completed the formation of the museum in his St. Petersburg house. Today, only the columns with lotus-shaped capitals near the portal and the above-mentioned granite statue of Jupiter (carved out of granite in 1810 by Samson Sukhanov) remind of the former decoration of the office. So far, the Physics Office of the Stroganov Palace is closed for inspection. It is not known whether he will be included in the exhibition.

Experience in architectural reconstruction of the Physics Office:

Among the interiors designed by Demertsov and Voronikhin, Mineral Cabinet with bypass choirs under the dome, located at the end of the building farthest from the Moika along Nevsky Prospect. Here the owner was able to place his extensive collection of samples of mountain ores and minerals, as well as a collection of rare books on geology and mineralogy. Was also built Picture gallery, in which the count placed sculpture and objects of decorative and applied art, and also hung canvases by Rembrandt, Botticelli, Rubens and other prominent Western European masters (partly inherited from his father, partly acquired during numerous travels). Picture gallery of the Stroganovs was one of the best private collections of Western European painting in Russia, and later its exhibits were transferred to the Hermitage collection.

Some researchers also suggest that Voronikhin was finishing the decoration of the former Mirror Gallery, rebuilt by Demertsov in The front dining room(she is the Corner Hall). The watercolor painted by Voronikhin “ View of the Main Dining Room"Showing the room in full splendor. At that time there were still statues installed on a pedestal in elegant niches in the wall; now the niches are empty, but in the future the restorers plan to re-place the sculptures in the niches of the Corner Hall, as envisaged by Voronikhin's plan.

The adjacent room on the Neva enfilade, Old front, also may have been designed by Voronikhin. Under the first owner of the palace, Baron S.G. Stroganov, it was a spacious room with a flat ceiling, a wide arched portal with columns and four windows overlooking Nevsky Prospekt. AS Stroganov planned to change the look of this room. It was with him that a fake box vault with lunettes appeared. The pilasters in the piers between the windows and on the other walls were decorated with bas-reliefs with putti playing. The exact author of this renovated decoration is not known, but the decoration of the room appeared no later than 1811, and it is likely that the room was designed by him who, since 1802, became a professor at the Academy of Arts.

In 1793, after finishing the finishing work in the main premises of the palace, Voronikhin painted a large watercolor depicting the count's Picture Gallery, for which he received the first academic title "appointed" to academician, and three years later he was awarded the title of "academician of perspective and miniature painting." Voronikhin lived in the Stroganov Palace until 1801. This year he got married and moved into his own apartment. In the same year, with the support of A.S. Stroganov Voronikhin became the builder of the Kazan Cathedral. Myself A. S. Stroganov, the former chairman of the board of trustees for the construction of the Kazan Cathedral, died shortly after its consecration in 1811.

Count A.S.Stroganov constantly moved in the circle of collectors, writers and artists, was fond of collecting masterpieces of painting, medals and coins, rare manuscripts. During his reign, the palace was visited by almost all prominent artists and writers. The Stroganov Palace was visited, for example, by such famous cultural figures as the writers D.I.Fonvizin and G.R.Derzhavin, the fabulist I.A.Krylov, the translator of the Iliad N.I. artist D. G. Levitsky, sculptor I. P. Martos. As president of the Academy of Arts, A. Stroganov took care of young talents, patronized the sculptors Martos and Galberg, and was friends with such artists as Varnek, Egorov, Levitsky, Shchukin. It was he who fostered architect Voronikhin and gave way to a whole galaxy of other talented masters.

V Art gallery of the Stroganov Palace classes were held for pupils of the Academy of Arts. Count AS Stroganov was a famous gourmet and hospitable person, and his house was famous in the capital Petersburg for its sumptuous dinners (however, "beef stroganoff", or "Stroganoff beef" - a much later gastronomic invention of the times of Alexander Grigorievich Stroganov (1795- 1891), who gave open dinners in Odessa).

Description lunch at the Stroganov Palace at the end of the 18th century, you can read from MI Pyliaev: “Count Stroganov, like a Roman grocery store, had a triclinium - a kind of dining room, where, like the pampered Greeks or Romans, guests lay at the table on the bed, leaning on a pillow. Here the decoration resembled the splendor and luxury of ancient Rome, the floors were covered with soft expensive carpets, the walls were covered with paintings depicting satyrs<...>... Pillows and mattresses were stuffed with swan down and had great bedspreads<...>... The tables were not inferior in luxury: they were marble with mosaics, or some expensive fragrant wood; incense was smoking in the corners, tables bent under the weight of gold, silver and crystal dishes<...>... The first is an appetizer that consisted of foods that whet the appetite.<...>... During the second break, savory dishes were also served: moose lips, boiled bear paws, fried lynx<...>... Then came the cuckoos fried in honey and butter, burbot milk and fresh halibut liver; the third change was - oysters, game<...>... As salads, salted peaches were served here, then very rare pineapples in vinegar, etc. If the guest felt full, then, like an ancient Epicurean, he tickled his throat with a feather, produced nausea and made room for new food. This custom<...>was not considered at all indecent. After supper there was a drinking binge ... ".

At the beginning of the 19th century, Count A.S. Stroganov arranged gala dinners already in the Main dining room, decorated by Demertsov and Voronikhin. In the same room, after the death of the count, his body was located, to which people came to say goodbye for a whole week. On the occasion of the death of AS Stroganov, Joseph de Maistre, the envoy of the Sardinian king in St. Petersburg in 1803-1817, wrote: “The count was kind, he was loved, and he spent a lot of money. With him gone what is called the old courtyard and the old Russian aristocracy. "

It is curious that for all the luxury of the interiors in the Stroganov Palace under A.S. Stroganov was not there bedrooms(the front bedchamber), to which the same Joseph de Maistre drew attention: “In his huge palace he did not have a bedroom, or even a permanent bed, and he slept in the manner of old-world Russians, either on a sofa, or on a small camp bed, which staged here and there according to his imagination. " Both marriages of A.S. The Stroganovs were unhappy, and from 1779 he lived in the palace without a life partner.

After the death of A.S. Stroganov, the palace passed to his son Pavel Alexandrovich Stroganov(1772-1817) - statesman, hero of the war with Napoleon. As already mentioned, Paul's tutor was Charles-Gilbert Romm, with whom he and the serf artist Voronikhin made long journeys across Russia and Europe (Geneva, Paris). They ended up in Paris in 1789 and witnessed revolutionary events. Pavel Stroganov, under the influence of his mentor, even became a Jacobin and joined the Friends of the Law club (Romm himself stabbed himself in a prison cell after the defeat of the revolution, being sentenced to the guillotine, in 1795). Having learned about Stroganov's seditious behavior in "rebellious" France, Catherine II ordered to recall her subject to his homeland in 1790. Until 1796, Pavel lived mainly in the Bratsevo estate near Moscow, where he married the princess Sofia Golitsyna, the youngest daughter of the "mustachioed princess" NP Golitsyna (the latter was the prototype of "The Queen of Spades").

With the accession of Paul I, Pavel Stroganov returned to the capital, became a real chamberlain, a senator, and received the post of assistant minister of the interior. He also distinguished himself in several military campaigns, and then in the Patriotic War of 1812 (a portrait of Pavel Stroganov can be seen in Military gallery Winter Palace), commanded a division and a corps, was wounded several times.

Pavel and Sophia had four daughters and an only son, Alexander Pavlovich Stroganov(1794-1814), who died on the battlefield in the battle of Craon (1814), in which he participated with his father.

Perhaps, under the influence of conversations with Pavel Stroganov's widow, Sofya Vladimirovna, Pushkin gave birth to such an emotional and vivid description of the tragic death of Alexander Stroganov and the grief of his father, given in the draft manuscript for the sixth chapter of Eugene Onegin:

Oh fear! about a bitter moment!
About Stroganov, when is your son
Fell down, struck down, and you're alone
You have forgotten the glory and the battle
And you betrayed the glory of a stranger
Success encouraged by you.

The news of the death of his son completely broke Pavel Alexandrovich, he left the army and after 3 years died on board the frigate "St. Patrick", near Copenhagen, heading for treatment in Portugal.

The owner of the palace in St. Petersburg was his widow, a lady of the court Sofia Vladimirovna Stroganova (Golitsyna)(1775-1845), who for almost 30 years independently managed the huge estates that she inherited and managed to bring them to a brilliant state. (Thanks to a special tsarist decree on an indivisible estate (maiorate), Sofya Vladimirovna became the life manager of all Stroganov's property, and the count's title and surname were passed on to the husband of the eldest of four daughters).

The Stroganov Palace, as well as other estates, the Countess owned until her death in 1845. Sofia Vladimirovna she was an exceptionally educated, intelligent and charming woman, she drew very well, was fond of literature and music. In the next watercolor by Yermolai Ivanovich Esakov (1790-1840), (he was the home artist of the Stroganovs and taught drawing to the children of Pavel Alexandrovich), Countess Sofia Vladimirovna captured in a funeral dress in the Small Office (Small Library) of the Stroganov Palace. Note the portraits on the wall of her son and daughters, as well as her late husband.

The Countess continued the work started by her father-in-law (A.S. Stroganov): she increased the number of scholarships for students of the Academy of Arts from her own funds, invited prominent artists and writers to the palace. During this period, the fabulist Krylov was still a regular at the Stroganovs' house; Zhukovsky and Derzhavin, Gnedich and Borovikovsky, Martos and Karamzin visited the palace. The famous Art Gallery of the Stroganovs was visited by representatives of the highest nobility and people of art. In the palace on the Nevsky Prospect, Countess Sofya Vladimirovna, especially after the war of 1812, often organized Russian dinners, the main participant of which was I.A. Krylov. Educator of children Stroganovs N.M. Kolmakov writes: “On the day he announced his arrival, the entire dinner table was prepared in the Russian spirit: cabbage soup, porridge, pies, kulebyaka and everything else that smelled of Russia. Moreover, all those present had to speak Russian, otherwise a penalty was imposed. "

Sofya Vladimirovna even was in a certain kinship with Pushkin, through the poet's wife, Natalia Nikolaevna Goncharova. More precisely, the father of her husband (and fourth cousin) Sofia Vladimirovna, Grigory Alexandrovich Stroganov(1770-1857), was a great-uncle of Natalya Nikolaevna. Grigory Alexandrovich was very friendly with his in-law Pushkin. It was he who headed the custody of the children and property of A.S. Pushkin and took upon himself the material costs associated with the poet's funeral. He also persuaded Metropolitan Seraphim to allow Pushkin's burial according to the Christian rite, which he initially forbade, considering death in a duel to be tantamount to suicide.

Under Sofya Vladimirovna in 1833 architect I.I. Charlemagne made in the courtyard of the palace annex to the west building(which now has sphinxes). An ordinary extension covered a part of the Rastrelli facade and, although it has survived to this day, is considered frankly unsuccessful, since it was made without taking into account Rastrelli's juicy plastic (;). In 1842 P.S. Sadovnikov built on the southern courtyard wing of the palace, giving it features of the Rastrelli style. Previously, part of the building had three floors, and part - only two. Sadovnikov brought the entire building under a common cornice.

After the death of Sofia Vladimirovna, her eldest daughter, the Countess, became the mistress of the Stroganov Palace. Natalia Pavlovna(1796-1872), whose husband was her fourth cousin the Count Sergey G. Stroganov(1794-1882) (son of the aforementioned Grigory Alexandrovich and, accordingly, second cousin of Natalia Nikolaevna Goncharova). The young people were allocated the northern building of the Stroganov Palace along Nevsky Prospekt, as well as the courtyard building with the Art Gallery.

After the death of Natalia Pavlovna, all the possessions of the Stroganovs were ruled Sergey Grigorievich, who became the head of the mayor's office (indivisible estate) of the Stroganovs. In his youth, Sergei Grigorievich participated in the war with Napoleon, distinguished himself in the Battle of Borodino, was among the Russian troops who marched triumphantly across Paris in 1814. Subsequently, the count proved to be an outstanding statesman, archaeologist, philanthropist, collector, founder of a free drawing school - Stroganov School in Moscow, head of the multivolume edition "Antiquities of the Russian State". He was also the founder of the Imperial Archaeological Commission, which worked at the Stroganov Palace on Nevsky for 23 years. Sergei Grigorievich did not like modern art, but he revered the ancient and therefore significantly replenished the family collection of paintings, icons, and valuable coins. The next photo shows office of Count Sergei Grigorievich Stroganov.

SG Stroganov's office was located in the northern building of the palace, parallel to Nevsky Prospect, and bordered on the Arabesque drawing room. Today, nothing is left of the decoration of this long room, but during the time of Sergei Grigorievich it was a working corner, saturated with various objects that reflected his professional and amateur interests: books, various rarities, coins, paintings, vases and other works of art.

Besides his own collection, good collection of coins went to S.G. Stroganov after the death of his eldest son Alexander (1818-1864), a famous numismatist. His other son, Pavel Sergeevich (1823-1911), who rebuilt the house on Tchaikovsky Street (Sergievskaya) according to the project of I. Monighetti, was famous for his collection of paintings... Another son of S. G. Stroganov, Grigory Sergeevich (1829-1911), also had a rich collection of paintings and books.

The last owner of the Stroganov Palace was the grandson of Sergei Grigorievich - Count Sergei Alexandrovich Stroganov(1852-1923), who owned the palace from 1882 until the revolution. With him in the courtyard of the Stroganov Palace in 1908 a small garden, where marble statues and vases were moved from the rebuilt Stroganov dacha, as well as a couple of already familiar granite sphinxes the end of the 18th century, which flank the entrance to the Charlemagne annex. This at least partially compensated for the loss of the famous large Stroganov Garden on the Vyborg side in St. Petersburg. View of the garden of the Stroganov Palace in the 1920s:

Sergey Alexandrovich Stroganov from his youth he devoted himself to the naval service. In particular, he took part in the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. and was awarded the cross of St. George. His wife, the maid of honor of the Empress, Princess Yevgenia Alexandrovna Vasilchikova, died shortly after the wedding from typhoid fever. Heartbroken Stroganov retired in 1885 with the rank of 2nd rank capital and spent a significant amount of time on the Volyshovo estate, being actively carried away hunting(while the huge palace in St. Petersburg remained uninhabited for years). The marriage of Sergei Alexandrovich remained childless. The count died in France, and with his death the male line of the Stroganov family was interrupted.

One of the last representatives of the Stroganov family - Elena Andreevna(Helene), Baroness de Lüdingausen ( Hélène de Ludinghausen) (b. 1942) - now lives in Paris. Helene received an excellent education while traveling across Europe and America and worked as a fashion designer for Yves Saint Laurent all her life. She got married in England and has a lot of friends in many countries and is fluent in several languages, including Russian. In 1992, Helen visited St. Petersburg and was amazed at how dilapidated the temples and palaces built by her ancestors. In the same years, on her initiative, it was created to restore the Stroganov heritage. At the expense of the Stroganov Foundation, temples and palaces are being restored.

In 1996, her mother, Ksenia Aleksandrovna Lyudingauzen (Shcherbatova-Stroganova), and other members and guests of the Stroganov Foundation, including Helen herself and her husband, visited the partially restored Stroganov Palace.

The fate of the Stroganov Palace after the revolution and in our time

In 1918, the Stroganov Palace was nationalized and turned into a house-museum, which in 1925 became a branch of the State Hermitage. However, already in 1929 the museum was closed, and the unique Stroganov collections were sold or plundered and only partially transferred to the Hermitage and other museums (among them the Russian Museum, the Museum of Mineralogy, the Russian National Library, etc.). Some of the things disappeared without a trace, many were sold through Antiques, Lengostorg and the State Fund. Some of the items in the collection were sold at the 1931 auction in Berlin.

Since the 1930s, the palace has housed the Institute of Applied Botany and New Cultures (now the Vavilov All-Russian Institute of Plant Industry), which is why the interiors began to undergo serious tests. Since 1937, the building was also occupied by various other organizations ("Electromortrest", the "Era" enterprise), as well as residents. Before World War II, some restoration work was even carried out, but as a result of the bombing, the building began to decay noticeably. After the war, renovation work resumed, the facades were cleared and painted green, which first appeared on the palace even earlier, in 1935. In 1955, the lease agreement with the 6th Directorate of the State Committee for Shipbuilding was renewed, and due to the secret nature of the activities, the interiors were seriously distorted and disfigured. Partitions appear everywhere, holes and channels are made, safes are mounted.

The first calls to free the Stroganov Palace from tenants and return the museum functions to it were heard in the early 1970s, but the solution to this issue was delayed for many years. Only in 1988 the Stroganov Palace received the status of a branch State Russian Museum... Only then there were conditions for the elimination of the consequences of the tenants' stay and the examination of the architecture of the palace. A depressing picture appeared before the restorers: as a result of numerous redevelopments, the palace interiors were in a disfigured and distorted state, with a variety of everyday layers. Since then, for twenty years in the Stroganov Palace, serious restoration work supervised by Irina Nikolaevna Benois. In 2003, the restoration of the building facades was completed with the restoration of the original color.

Restoration work in the palace is costly, and the Russian Museum Palaces Restoration Fund and the charitable International Stroganov Fund.

For the first time, the Stroganov Palace was opened for viewing in 1995. The official opening took place in 2003. Since then, an exposition has been opened for residents and guests of the city, which begins in the New Front and is constantly being improved. Estimated time of completion of all works - 2014... Several more restored interiors are likely to open by then.

At the moment, in addition to the ceremonial rooms of the Stroganov Palace, which make up a branch of the Russian Museum, the building houses exhibition of wax figures and boutique " Chocolate Museum”(This is a shop, not a museum).

A glass restaurant was built in the courtyard of the Stroganov Palace, which destroyed the old garden with century-old trees.

Gate of the eastern building from the side of the courtyard of the house:

Most of the art objects from the Stroganov Palace today are concentrated in Hermitage... Back in 1928, 562 items of museum significance were transferred there, and after the liquidation of the palace, the Hermitage received the entire numismatic collection of the Stroganovs, as well as prints, books, an antique sarcophagus from the Stroganov garden, a malachite vase, furniture and much more.

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Used sources:

1. Shuisky V.K. The Golden Age of Baroque and Classicism in St. Petersburg. Moscow; SPb. : Centerpolygraph: MiM-Delta, 2008.

2. Nevsky Prospect: house by house / B. M. Kirikov, L. A. Kirikova, O. V. Petrova. - 3rd ed., Rev. and add. - Moscow: Centerpolygraph; St. Petersburg: MiM-Delta, 2009.

3. Palaces of Nevsky Prospect: Collection. - SPb. : White and Black, 2002.

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When visiting St. Petersburg, it seems to me that none of the travelers will be left indifferent by the beautiful old buildings of our city. I myself really love (especially on summer evenings) to wander around the center and enjoy the surrounding beauty!

By the way, the one I have already considered, according to some assumptions, was created "in the image and likeness" of the hero of my today's story.

I mean the Stroganov Palace.

Perhaps there are reasons for this. Since the latter was originally built by 1756, and the Beloselsky-Belozersky mansions appear already by 1848. Although, this is not so important. The main thing is that in our time we have the opportunity to admire this masterpiece of the 18th century, both walking along Nevsky Prospekt (at its intersection with the Moika), and going inside the building, which is currently a branch.

Historical excursion

The appearance of the palace

To begin with, the precondition for the appearance of the Stroganov Palace, according to historians, was that in the 1720s, near the Green Bridge, which was thrown across the Moika, the noble family of the Stroganovs acquired a modest mansion. 20 years later, presumably in 1742, they bought an unfinished two-story house next to it, overlooking from the Moika one of the facades on Nevsky Prospekt, which was previously started by the tailor Johann Neumann according to the project of the architect M.G. Zemtsov. And then the Stroganovs faced an unexpected obstacle. I would like to note that at that time the houses of the neighbors, the court cook Shestakov and the adjutant General Saltykov, were part of the same complex with this “unfinished building”. According to the regulations on urban planning existing under the Empress Anna Ioannovna, the facades of nearby houses on Nevsky were supposed to look "not of different sizes", but in a single style. At the same time, the "creative intention" of the new owner, Baron S. G. Stroganov, who wanted to complete the new property in his own way, was infringed upon.

Sergei Grigorievich began to beg the cook to sell his house, but he turned out to be a tough nut to crack. And there was a reason for his stubbornness. Although he did not have rich housing, it was located on Nevsky Prospekt! For some reason, I immediately remember the communal apartments in St. Petersburg in the city center. Indeed, even today, residents are not very eager to move from them to individual apartments on the outskirts. Stroganov had to put up with it and finish building a new house in a "general architectural style" with a cook's and adjutant's. For this purpose, he attracted the famous Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli.

Further, according to the opinions of individual historians, this house was destroyed by fire in 1752, just at the moment when the cook finally, for some of his new reasons, gave up his mansion to the Stroganov family. The owner's hands were now untied, and the construction of a new palace, also under the leadership of Rastrelli, began to boil.

This building swallowed up the foundations and lower floors of the previous houses and grew rapidly, as if by leaps and bounds. Already in the fall of 1754 (although only a part of the palace on the Moika side was ready), a ball was arranged in it for the hosts' housewarming party, which was even attended by Empress Elizabeth Petrovna.

The final year of construction is 1756.

Architecture and interior decoration "after Rastrelli"

I think that when you visit St. Petersburg, you will see for yourself that this palace was built, as they used to say, "with a verb", that is, in the form of the letter "G".

The facades and interiors were made in the Baroque style. Rastrelli strove to ensure that both facades facing both the Nevsky and the Moika embankment were in harmony with each other. For this purpose, in their centers, the architect placed porticoes with the family coat of arms of the Stroganov family, crowned with a baronial crown. Under the windows of the second floor, you can see medallions with a picture of a man's profile. Someone considers him a portrait of Sergei Grigorievich, someone - belonging to Rastrelli, according to whose sketches 50 rooms were also decorated in the palace.

I would like to note that I had to remember about the rules of urban planning. The palace could not have had any manor entrances with projections. But all the same, Rastrelli managed to create a ceremonial representativeness of the entrances.

I think that you will be interested in the fact that this master did not undertake the arrangement of private houses until this moment. "Not lordly" was this thing for the court architect. Stroganov, as a private customer, became an exception (apparently due to his proximity to the Romanovs' house). So, you can see the only surviving first private house, executed by Rastrelli. Unfortunately, today its Mirror Gallery and the Main Staircase have not survived. But the Great Hall, which was used for arranging balls, fortunately, is safe and harmless.

It still shines with its splendor in our time.

Subsequent changes to the interiors of the palace

After the death of the owner, the Stroganov Palace became the property of his son, Alexander Sergeevich. Let me tell you that he was a very prominent figure in St. Petersburg: art critic, philanthropist, president of the Academy of Arts, director of the Public Library.

At his request, in the period from 1788 to 1793, changes were made to the interiors with the help of the architect Fyodor Ivanovich Demertsov. He replaced the outbuildings with two wings and closed the building in the shape of a square. Further, since 1793, the former serf of the Stroganovs was engaged in redevelopment, so to speak, their "home" architect - Andrei Voronikhin (he is the author of the famous St. Petersburg).

The baroque "Rastrellian" style of the Stroganov Palace was changed by this master to the classical one. The facades are repainted yellowish pink. It was during that period that a fire broke out in the palace, as a result of which only the Ballroom remained from all the premises of the original design.

Please note that today this is the only authentic, not newly created ceremonial interior of Rastrelli in St. Petersburg. The architect Voronikhin worked and lived in the Stroganov Palace until the beginning of the 19th century.

The famous Corner Hall, built on the site of the former Mirror Gallery, belongs to his works. The Voronikhinskaya water-color of this room, saved by a lucky chance, allowed specialists at the end of the 20th century to recreate the original author's idea.

Also especially noteworthy in the Stroganov Palace is the two-tiered Mineralogical Office. This is a true masterpiece of 18th century Russian architecture. At first, it served only to house a collection of minerals, but then a library appeared here.

The sails of the vaults of the second-tier choirs are supported by artificial marble columns. The first tier is decorated with bas-reliefs, allegorically meaning the four elements: "Fire", "Water", "Earth" and "Air". I will outline for you another of Voronikhin's creations - the Palace Picture Gallery, which the art critic A. Benois called the “soul of the building”.

A talented architect created here an amazing Russian interior at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries. The room is located on the second floor in the east wing. It is a gallery and two loggias, painted with caissons.

Here, in gilded baguettes, canvases were placed mainly by European artists of the 17th century. The walls were lined with sofas and armchairs upholstered in green silk.

I would like to draw your attention to the fact that this furniture set was preserved in the Russian Museum in Soviet times and returned to its rightful place in 2015. So you can admire it when you visit the palace. The Art Gallery also had an amazing malachite vase made by Yekaterinburg masters.

Its dimensions are quite significant: 1.34 meters in height and 1 meter in diameter. It is now a property. The collection of paintings presented in the Gallery belonged to A. S. Stroganov himself. He has been collecting it for over 40 years. This included canvases by Rembrandt, van Dyck, Robert, Reni and works by famous sculptors. I have already mentioned that Alexander Sergeevich was the president of the Academy of Arts. So he used his gallery as a classroom for students. Students of the Academy studied the theory of art here, and also copied the works of the greatest masters.

By the way, on Sundays this kind of museum was opened for visiting St. Petersburg art lovers. It seemed to me interesting that under Alexander Sergeevich, there was no bedroom in the building. It turns out that the owner of this luxury simply rested in different rooms.

He lay down now in armchairs, now on couches, now on a camp bed. Nevertheless, the palace was served at once by about 600 people. Among them were not only servants in the usual sense, but also actors, dancers, musicians. Indeed, in those days, the Stroganovs' palace was a real cultural center of St. Petersburg.

Masquerades, opera evenings, concerts were often held here, where a lot of guests gathered. Among them I can name G.R.Derzhavin, D.S.Bortnyansky, D.G. Levitsky. It was in the Stroganov Palace that Fonvizin read excerpts from The Brigadier for the first time, and Krylov read his fables.

After the death of Alexander Sergeevich in 1811, the palace went to his heir Pavel Alexandrovich.

The son of Pavel Alexandrovich, participating with his father in the Battle of Kraons in 1814, died. There are lines by A.S. Pushkin, who responded to this tragedy:

Oh fear! about a bitter moment!

About Stroganov, when is your son

Fell down, struck down, and you're alone

You have forgotten the glory and the battle

And you betrayed the glory of a stranger

Success encouraged by you.

Pavel Alexandrovich survived his son by only three years ... Having lost his heir, he established a maoirat - an indivisible property that passed to the eldest in the family. And his widow Sofia Vladimirovna Stroganova began to own the palace.

I will tell you that this extraordinary woman, over 30 years of disposing of huge family estates, has managed to bring them into a brilliant state.

She allowed her two daughters with their families to live in the palace. For them, in the 1820s, the building was again rebuilt through the efforts of the architect P.S. Sadovnikov. He created the Arabesque Hall, built on the southern wing, finishing the facades in the Baroque style, and built a dovecote in the courtyard.

After the death of Sophia Vladimirovna, the palace passed to various members of the Stroganov family. During that rather long period, it was repainted more than once and as a result turned pink. By the way, if you look into the palace courtyard, you will see lovely sphinxes.

They migrated here in 1908 from the dacha of A.S. Stroganov, also built according to Voronikhin's design at the end of the 18th century on the banks of the Bolshaya Nevka. This is not a "remake". Their master is unknown, but art critics are inclined to believe that he is our compatriot.

Count S.A.Stroganov became the last owner of the palace.

But his main hobbies were hunting and horses. He preferred the estate in the Pskov region in Volyshovo to the St. Petersburg mansions.

Open dinners at the palace or the famous beef stroganoff

I think it is worth adding a little touch to the story about "beef stroganoff." Yes, yes, this dish, which at first was called "Beef a la Stroganov", which means "Stroganov style meat", was invented precisely "in the depths" of this family.

This culinary delight is named in honor of Count Alexander Grigorievich Stroganov.

He lived not in St. Petersburg, but in Odessa, and his chef - a Frenchman - combined the secrets of his native and Russian cuisines in beef Stroganoff. Being a rich and generous man, the count arranged in his house receptions of "open tables" for any decently dressed person, where such interestingly prepared meat was served. By the way, today this dish is included in the list of world restaurant cuisine as "Russian", although it is a mixture of Russian and French recipes. So, the inhabitants of the Strogonov St. Petersburg Palace in their courtyard also often laid tables and organized "open dinners", but for everyone, including poor Petersburgers.

Palace after the 1917 revolution

During the political storm that shook Russia in 1917, the Stroganov family left the country. The palace was nationalized. The richest library was transferred to Tomsk University. And in the building itself a historical and everyday museum was created, which has become a branch of the Hermitage since 1925. True, it did not last long, only until 1929. After its closure, all values ​​from the Stroganov Palace were transferred to other museums.

This happened, for example, with a malachite vase and three-meter floor lamps by F. Tomir, which are now in. Also, part of the collection was sold abroad, including leaving the Berlin auction held in 1931. The palace itself now houses the All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences, then since 1937 - "Electromortrest", and behind it - the shipbuilding enterprise "Era".

The facade of the building was repainted in 1935, and until 2003 it looked white and green. This is how I saw this palace for the first time. I note that by the middle of the 20th century, the dilapidated roof of the building led to leaks that severely damaged the premises, including the famous Mineralogical Office. During perestroika, in 1988, the Stroganov Palace was given away by the decision of the Leningrad City Executive Committee.

Thanks to this, here in the period 1989–2014. grandiose restoration work was carried out.

Stroganov Palace today

I would like to start my story about the contemporary fate of the palace with a pleasant remark. It turns out that in 1992 the grand-niece of Count S.A.Stroganov, Helene de Lüdingausen, founded the Stroganov Charitable Foundation.

The main goal of this organization is to finance restoration projects not only of the Stroganov Palace, but also of other masterpieces of St. Petersburg and Russia. Thanks to the Helene de Lüdingausen Foundation, the painstaking work of St. Petersburg restorers and the initiatives of the city government, in 1995 the palace opened its doors again for guests.

True, its official opening as a museum took place in 2003. Today, a collection of minerals has been recreated here (with the help of the Moscow Mineralogical Museum, where it was donated from the Stroganov Palace in 1919). From the special you can see here a true example of Voronikhin's creativity - the Small Living Room.

Today, temporary exhibitions are held on the ground floor. You can find out about their schedule. On the second floor, two permanent exhibitions are offered for your attention:

In addition, even without visiting St. Petersburg, you can easily find yourself in the wonderful Stroganov Palace thanks to modern technical capabilities. I suggest that you familiarize yourself with the internal and external views of the building through a virtual tour that you can take.

How to get there

You already understood that this palace is located at the intersection of Nevsky Prospekt and the Moika River. By the way, it is located next to the Herzen Pedagogical University at the address: Nevsky Prospekt, 17. Here (2) you can just walk a little from the metro station and "Admiralteyskaya" (1).

This is the most convenient way. There is an option to follow from the metro station "Nevsky Prospect" (1).

At the same time, on the way to the palace (2) on your left hand will be located Voronikhin's masterpiece, which I mentioned, (3).

Museum awaits you

You can visit this museum all days of the week except Tuesday (closed). Thursday - from 13:00 to 21:00, on other days - from 10:00 to 18:00

Tickets

If you are citizens of Russia or Belarus, then

• An adult ticket costs 200 rubles;
• Students, pensioners can visit the palace for 100 rubles;
• Persons who have not yet reached the age of 16 are admitted free of charge.

For citizens of other states:

• Adult ticket - 300 rubles;
• Students - 150 rubles;
• Everyone who is under 16 years old, in this case, is free.

Finally

The Stroganov Palace is inferior in popularity to Makhaylovsky, Zimny ​​and Anichkov, but also, in my opinion, is very interesting for guests of St. Petersburg.

Here you immediately plunge into the authentic atmosphere of the imperial times. I would like to note that this museum does not provide benches for resting, but it will not take much time to view the exposition (about an hour). If you find yourself on Nevsky Prospekt in bad weather, then the best decision is to spend time in this hospitable museum!

By the way, its servants themselves often like to tell something about the history of the building and the destinies of its owners.

Anything to add?