Who is depicted on the bronze horseman. Bronze Horseman

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

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

The location of the monument to Peter I was not chosen by chance. Nearby are the Admiralty, founded by the emperor, the building of the main legislative body tsarist Russia- Senate. Catherine II insisted on placing the monument in the center of the Senate Square. The author of the sculpture, Etienne-Maurice Falconet, did his own thing, placing the Bronze Horseman closer to the Neva.

By order of Catherine II, Falcone was invited to St. Petersburg by Prince Golitsyn. The professors of the Paris Academy of Painting Diderot and Voltaire, whose taste was trusted by Catherine II, were advised to turn to this particular master.

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

Falcone arrived in St. Petersburg with his seventeen-year-old assistant Marie-Anne Collot.

The vision of the monument to Peter I by the author of the sculpture was strikingly different from the wishes of the empress and most of the Russian nobility. Catherine II expected to see Peter I with a staff or scepter in hand, riding a horse like a Roman emperor. State Councilor Shtelin saw the figure of Peter surrounded by allegories of Prudence, Industry, Justice and Victory. I.I. Betskoy, who supervised the construction of the monument, represented him as a full-length figure, with a commander's baton held in his hand. Falcone was advised to direct the emperor's right eye to the Admiralty, and his left to the building of the Twelve Collegia. Diderot, who visited St. Petersburg in 1773, conceived a monument in the form of a fountain decorated with allegorical figures.

Falcone, on the other hand, had a completely different idea. He turned out to be stubborn and persistent. The sculptor wrote:
“I will confine myself only to a statue of this hero, whom I do not interpret either as a great commander or as a victor, although he was, of course, both. The personality of the creator, legislator, benefactor of his country is much higher, and this is what it is necessary to show to people. My king does not hold any rod; he stretches out his beneficent hand over the country he is circling. He ascends to the top of the rock, which serves as his pedestal - this is the emblem of the difficulties he conquered. "

Defending the right to his opinion regarding the appearance of the monument to Falcone, I.I. Betsky:
"Could you imagine that the sculptor chosen to create such a significant monument would be deprived of the ability to think and that someone else's head, and not his own, would control the movements of his hands?"

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

Falcone worked on a life-size model of the monument for three years. Work on "The Bronze Horseman" was carried out on the site of the former temporary Winter Palace Elizaveta Petrovna. In 1769, passers-by could watch here as a guard officer took off on a horse on a wooden platform and put it on its hind legs. This went on for several hours a day. Falcone sat by the window in front of the platform and carefully sketched what he saw. The horses for the work on the monument were taken from the imperial stables: the horses Brilliant and Caprice. The sculptor chose the Russian "Oryol" breed for the monument.

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

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

It took twelve years to prepare the life-size plaster model of the monument, it was ready by 1778. The model was opened for public viewing in a workshop at the corner of Kirpichny Lane and Bolshaya Morskaya Street. The most varied opinions were expressed. The Chief Prosecutor of the Synod resolutely rejected the draft. Diderot was pleased with what he saw. Catherine II, on the other hand, turned out to be indifferent to the model of the monument - she did not like Falcone's self-righteousness in choosing the appearance of the monument.

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

Finally, a foundry found a cannon master Emelyan Khailov. Together with him, Falcone selected alloy, made samples. For three years, the sculptor has mastered casting to perfection. Casting of the Bronze Horseman began in 1774.

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

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

St. Petersburg vedomosti wrote about these events:
“On August 24, 1775, Falcone poured a statue of Peter the Great on horseback here. Casting succeeded except in places at two feet by two at the top. This inflammatory failure occurred through an incident that could not have been foreseen, and therefore prevented from being possible at all. The aforementioned incident seemed so terrible that they feared that the whole building would not start on fire, and, therefore, the whole thing would not fail. Khailov remained motionless and conducted the molten metal into the mold, without losing his vigor in the face of the danger to his life presented to him. With such courage, Falcone, touched at the end of the case, rushed to him and kissed him from the bottom of his heart and gave him money from himself. "

As conceived by the sculptor, the base of the monument is a natural rock in the form of a wave. The waveform serves as a reminder that it was Peter I who brought Russia to the sea. The Academy of Arts began searching for a stone-monolith when the model of the monument was not even ready yet. A stone was needed, the height of which would be 11.2 meters.

The granite monolith was found in the Lakhta region, twelve miles from St. Petersburg. Once upon a time, according to local legends, lightning hit the rock, forming a crack in it. Among local residents the rock was called "Thunder-stone". So they began to call it later when they installed it on the banks of the Neva under the famous monument.

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

From the location of the stone to the shore of the gulf, a clearing was cut, and the soil was strengthened. The rock was freed from unnecessary layers, it immediately lightened by 600 tons. The thunder-stone was hoisted with levers on a wooden platform supported by copper balls. These balls moved along wooden grooved rails covered with copper. The clearing was winding. Work on the transportation of the rock continued in frost and heat. Hundreds of people worked. Many Petersburgers came to watch this action. Some of the observers collected fragments of stone and ordered from them knobs for a cane or cufflinks. In honor of the extraordinary transport operation, Catherine II ordered the minting of a medal on which it was written “Like daring. Genvarya, 20. 1770 ".

The poet Vasily Rubin wrote in the same year:
The Ross mountain, not made by hands,
Heeding the voice of God from the mouth of Catherine,
Came into the city of Petrov through the Nevsky depths
And fell under the feet of the Great Peter.

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

The installation of the Bronze Horseman on the pedestal was directed by the architect F.G. Gordeev.

The grand opening of the monument to Peter I took place on August 7, 1782 (old style). The sculpture was closed from the eyes of observers by a canvas fence depicting mountain landscapes. It was raining in the morning, but it did not prevent a significant number of people from gathering on Senate Square. By noon the clouds had cleared. The guards entered the square. The military parade was ruled by Prince A.M. Golitsyn. At four o'clock, Empress Catherine II herself arrived on the boat. She went up to the balcony of the Senate building in crown and porphyry and signaled for the unveiling of the monument. The fence fell, the shelves moved along the Neva embankment to the drumbeat.

By order of Catherine II, the pedestal is inscribed: "Catherine II to Peter I". Thus, the Empress emphasized her commitment to Peter's reforms.

Immediately after the appearance of the Bronze Horseman on Senate Square, the square was named Petrovskaya.

The sculpture in his eponymous poem was named by A.S. Pushkin. This expression became so popular that it became almost official. And the monument to Peter I itself has become one of the symbols of St. Petersburg.

The Bronze Horseman's weight is 8 tons, its height is more than 5 meters.

The Legend of the Bronze Horseman

from the very day of its installation, it became the subject of many myths and legends. Opponents of Peter himself and his reforms warned that the monument depicts the "horseman of the Apocalypse" bringing death and suffering to the city and all of Russia. Peter's supporters said that the monument symbolizes greatness and glory Russian Empire, and that Russia will remain so until the rider leaves his pedestal.

By the way, the Bronze Horseman's pedestal is also legendary. As conceived by the sculptor Falcone, it was supposed to be made in the form of a wave. Suitable stone was found near the village of Lakhta: a local holy fool allegedly pointed to the stone. Some historians find it possible that this is the very stone that Peter climbed more than once during the Northern War in order to better see the location of the troops.

The fame of the Bronze Horseman spread far beyond the borders of St. Petersburg. In one of the remote settlements, its own version of the appearance of the monument appeared. The version was that once Peter the Great was having fun by jumping on his horse from one bank of the Neva to the other. The first time he exclaimed: "All is God's and mine!", And jumped over the river. The second time I repeated: "Everything is God's and mine!", And again the jump was successful. However, the third time the emperor mixed up the words, and said: "All mine and God's!" At that moment, God's punishment overtook him: he turned to stone and forever remained a monument to himself.

The Legend of Major Baturin

During Patriotic War In 1812, as a result of the retreat of Russian troops, there was a threat of the capture of St. Petersburg by French troops. Worried about this prospect, Alexander I ordered to take especially valuable works of art out of the city. In particular, Secretary of State Molchanov was instructed to take the monument to Peter I to the Vologda province, and several thousand rubles were allocated for this. At this time, a certain major Baturin achieved a meeting with the Tsar's personal friend, Prince Golitsyn, and told him that he, Baturin, was haunted by the same dream. He sees himself in Senate Square. Peter's face turns. The rider drives off his cliff and goes along the Petersburg streets to Kamenny Island, where Alexander I then lived. The rider enters the courtyard of the Kamennoostrovsky palace, from which the sovereign comes out to meet him. “Young man, what have you brought my Russia to,” Peter the Great tells him, “but as long as I’m in place, my city has nothing to fear!” Then the rider turns back, and again there is a "heavy-ringing gallop". Struck by Baturin's story, Prince Golitsyn conveyed the dream to the emperor. As a result, Alexander I canceled his decision to evacuate the monument. The monument remained in place.

There is an assumption that the legend about Major Baturin formed the basis of the plot of the poem by Alexander Pushkin "The Bronze Horseman". There is also an assumption that the legend of Major Baturin became the reason that during the Great Patriotic War the monument remained in place and, like other sculptures, was not hidden.

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

The restoration of the monument took place in 1909 and in 1976. During the last one, the sculpture was studied using gamma rays. For this, the space around the monument was fenced off with sandbags and concrete blocks. The cobalt gun was controlled from a nearby bus. Thanks to this study, it turned out that the frame of the monument can still serve long years... Inside the figure was a capsule with a note about the restoration and about its participants, a newspaper dated September 3, 1976.

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

Etienne-Maurice Falcone conceived The Bronze Horseman without a fence. But it was nevertheless created, has not survived to this day. "Thanks" to the vandals who left their autographs on the thunder-stone and the sculpture itself, the idea of ​​restoring the fence could soon be realized.

The war with monuments practically does not stop in Russia (yes, in Russia - they are also fighting in the United States right now). V different times and different years these were different persons who were demolished, then set, and then demolished again. Personally, I am a supporter of the fact that any historical person that got into the history of the country can be marked as a monument. The person was - the monument shows it. And then different groups of people will come up to them and they will be told different versions of the history and relationships of these people, tk. there will never be a single approved history.

But did you know that the monument erected in Novgorod back in 1861 on the theme "Millennium of Russia" does not have one of the most striking historical characters Russia. You know him for sure.

Guess who?

The idea of ​​erecting a monument to the 1000th anniversary of Russian statehood belonged to Alexander II and was supported by the Committee of Ministers. In 1859, a competition was held, for which 52 works were submitted. The winner was an unknown graduate of the Imperial Academy of Arts Mikhail Mikeshin, who was assisted by the sculptor Ivan Schroeder.

It took almost a year and a half to create the monument. The laying of the monument took place on May 28, 1861 on the square between the St. Sophia Cathedral and public places.

The structure of the monument

The silhouette of the monument is associated with two important symbols of Russian and Novgorod history: the attribute royal power- the cap of Monomakh - and the veche bell. The division of the monument into three levels emphasizes the famous formula of the official doctrine of that time: "Orthodoxy, autocracy, nationality."

In the upper part there is an angel, personifying Orthodoxy, blessing the kneeling woman - Russia. The second level consists of six groups. Each represents one of the stages in the development of Russian statehood: from Rurik (on the south side) to Peter I (on the north). The ribbon of high relief, running in a circle below, contains the entire history of Russia.

129 figures approved by Alexander II are combined into groups: statesmen, military and heroes, cultural workers, educators.

It is interesting that on the monument there is no figure of Ivan the Terrible - one of the most prominent representatives dynasty of Rurikovich. It was decided that it was unethical to place his image in Novgorod, because the tsar "became famous", among other things, for the brutal pogrom of this city. But on the monument there is a figure of Martha the Posadnitsa, who defended the ancient Novgorodian liberties and for this was expelled by Ivan III from the city. Among the great literary figures v last moment, at Mikeshin's insistence, Nikolai Gogol was included, but Alexander II deleted the Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko from the list.

The monument to the 1000th anniversary of Russian statehood has long been the subject of all kinds of discussions. Most of the public favorably accepted unusual monument... Others, such as Herzen, actively criticized him. But even the Bolsheviks did not dare to demolish it.

"Millennium of Russia" during the war and in the post-war period

During the Great Patriotic War, during the Nazi occupation, the monument was dismantled by the Germans. They brought a narrow-gauge railway to the destroyed Novgorod Kremlin: the dismantled figures and reliefs of the monument were planned to be sent to Germany. Entering the Kremlin Soviet soldiers found fragments half-covered with snow ...

Well, about Ivan the Terrible himself, there are such opinions: a statement that, for example, well, and about

If you are interested in learning about other subjects on the monument, you can read it here: Monument to the Millennium of Russia in Veliky Novgorod. Interesting article and there is a picture from the grand opening plus a 3d panorama of how everything looks around.

Is it possible to erect monuments to all persons Russian history?

Yes, you can erect monuments to everyone who has been significantly noted in Russian history.

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Description

The Bronze Horseman monument has long been associated with the city of St. Petersburg; it is considered one of the main symbols of the city not on the Neva.

Bronze Horseman. Who is depicted on the monument?

One of the most beautiful and famous equestrian monuments in the world is dedicated to the Russian Emperor Peter I.

In 1833, the great Russian poet Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin wrote famous poem"The Bronze Horseman", which gave the second name to the monument to Peter I on Senate Square.

The history of the creation of the monument to Peter I in St. Petersburg

The history of the creation of this grandiose monument belongs to the era of the reign of Empress Catherine II, who considered herself the successor and continuer of the ideas of Peter the Great. Wanting to perpetuate the memory of the reformer tsar, Catherine orders to erect a monument to Peter I. Being a fan of European ideas of enlightenment, whose fathers she considered the great French thinkers Diderot and Voltaire, the empress entrusts Prince Alexander Mikhailovich Golitsyn to them for recommendations for choosing a sculptor who is capable would erect a monument to the Great Peter. The meters recommended the sculptor Etienne-Maurice Falconet, with whom a contract was signed on September 6, 1766 for the creation of an equestrian statue, for a rather small fee - 200,000 livres. To work on the monument, Etienne-Maurice Falcone, who by that time was already fifty years old, arrived with a young seventeen-year-old assistant - Marie-Anne Collot.

Etienne-Maurice Falcone. Bust by Marie-Anne Collot.

Empress Catherine II, the monument was represented by an equestrian statue, where Peter I was to be depicted as a Roman emperor with a rod in his hand - this was a generally accepted European canon, with its roots going back to the glorification of the rulers Ancient rome... Falcone saw a different statue - dynamic and monumental, equal in its inner meaning and plastic solution to the genius of the man who created the new Russia.

There are notes of the sculptor, where he wrote: "I will confine myself only to a statue of this hero, whom I do not interpret either as a great commander or as a winner, although he was, of course, both. Much higher is the personality of the creator, legislator, benefactor of his country, and it is this that must be shown to people. My king does not hold any rod, he stretches his beneficent hand over the country he is circling. He ascends to the top of the rock that serves as his pedestal - this is the emblem of the difficulties he conquered. "

Today the monument "The Bronze Horseman", which is known all over the world as a symbol of St. Petersburg - the emperor with an outstretched hand on a rearing horse on a pedestal in the form of a rock, for that time was absolutely innovative and had no analogues in the world. It took a lot of work for the master to convince the main customer of the monument, Empress Catherine II, of the correctness and grandeur of his ingenious decision.

Falcone worked on a model of an equestrian statue for three years, where the main problem the master had a plastic interpretation of the movement of the horse. In the sculptor's workshop, a special platform was erected, with the same angle of inclination that should have been at the pedestal of the "Bronze Horseman", riders on horses flew up on it, putting them on their hind legs. Falcone carefully observed the movements of the horses and made careful sketches. During this time, Falcone made many drawings and sculptural models of the statue and found exactly the plastic solution that was taken as the basis for the monument to Peter I.

In February 1767, at the beginning of Nevsky Prospekt, on the site of the Temporary Winter Palace, a building was erected for the casting of the Bronze Horseman.

In 1780 the model of the monument was completed and on May 19 the sculpture was opened for public viewing for two weeks. Opinions in St. Petersburg were divided - some liked the equestrian statue, others were critical of the future itself famous monument Peter I (Bronze Horseman).

An interesting fact is that the head of the emperor was fashioned by Falcone's student Marie-Anne Collot, Catherine II liked her version of the portrait of Peter I, and the Empress appointed the young sculptor a life pension of 10,000 livres.

The Bronze Horseman pedestal has a separate history. According to the idea of ​​the author of the monument to Peter I, the pedestal was supposed to be a natural rock, shaped like a wave, symbolizing Russia's access to the sea under the leadership of Peter the Great. The search for a stone monolith began immediately with the beginning of work on a sculptural model, and in 1768 a granite rock was found in the Lakhta region.

It is known that the peasant Semyon Grigorievich Vishnyakov informed about the discovery of the granite monolith. According to the legend, prevailing among the local population, once upon a time lightning struck a granite rock, splitting it, hence the name "Thunder-stone".

To study the suitability of the stone for the pedestal, the engineer Count de Lascari was sent to Lakhta, who suggested using a solid granite massif for the monument, he also made a calculation of the transportation plan. The idea was to pave a road in the forest from the location of the stone and move it to the bay, and then deliver it by water to the place of installation.

On September 26, 1768, work began on the preparation for moving the rock, for which it was first completely dug up and the chipped part was separated, which was supposed to serve as a pedestal for the monument to Peter I (The Bronze Horseman) in St. Petersburg.

In the spring of 1769, the "Thunder-stone" with the help of levers was installed on a wooden platform and throughout the summer they prepared and strengthened the road; when frost hit and the ground froze, the granite monolith began to move towards the bay. For these purposes, a special engineering device was invented and manufactured, which consisted of a platform resting on thirty metal balls, moving along copper-studded wooden grooved rails.

View of the Stone of Thunder, during its transportation in the presence of Empress Catherine II.

On November 15, 1769, the movement of the granite colossus began. During the movement of the rock, 48 craftsmen cut it, giving it the shape conceived for the pedestal. These works were supervised by the stone craftsman Giovanni Geronimo Rusca. Moving the block aroused great interest and people came to see this action from St. Petersburg. On January 20, 1770, Empress Catherine II herself came to Lakhta and personally watched the movement of the rock, which was moved 25 meters with her. According to her decree, the transport operation to move the "Thunder-stone" was marked with a minted medal with the inscription "Like daring. January 20, 1770". By February 27, the granite monolith reached the coast of the Gulf of Finland, from where it was supposed to go by water to St. Petersburg.

On the side of the coast, through shallow water, a special dam was built, extending into the bay for nine hundred meters. To move the rock along the water, a large flat-bottomed vessel, the pram, was made, which was moved by the force of three hundred rowers. On September 23, 1770, the ship moored on the embankment near the Senate Square. On October 11, a pedestal for the Bronze Horseman was installed on Senate Square.

The casting of the statue itself took place with great difficulties and setbacks. Due to the complexity of the work, many foundry masters refused to cast the statue, while others asked too high a price for manufacturing. As a result, Etienne-Maurice Falcone himself had to study foundry and in 1774 began to cast the "Bronze Horseman". According to the manufacturing technology, the statue must be hollow from the inside. The whole difficulty of the work was that the thickness of the walls in the front of the statue had to be thinner than the thickness of the walls of the back. According to calculations, the heavier rear part gave the statue stability, which had three points of support.

It was possible to make the statue only from the second casting in July 1777; for another year, work was carried out on its final finishing. By this time, relations between Empress Catherine II and Falcone soured, the crowned customer was not happy with the delay in completing work on the monument. To complete the work as soon as possible, the Empress appointed the watchmaker A. Sandots to help the sculptor of watchmaking, who was engaged in the final chasing of the surface of the monument.

In 1778, Etienne-Maurice Falconet left Russia without restoring the empress's favor and without waiting for the grand opening of the most important creation in his life - the monument to Peter I, which the whole world now knows as the "Bronze Horseman" monument in St. Petersburg. This monument was the last creation of the master, he did not create a single sculpture again.

The completion of all work on the monument was supervised by the architect Yu.M. Felten - the pedestal was given its final shape, after the installation of the sculpture, under the hooves of the horse appeared, designed by the architect F.G. Gordeev, a sculptural statue of a snake.

Wishing to emphasize her adherence to Peter's reforms, Empress Catherine II ordered to decorate the pedestal with the inscription: "Catherine II to Peter I".

Opening of the monument to Peter I

On August 7, 1782, exactly on the day of the centenary of the accession of Peter I to the throne, it was decided to timed Grand opening monument.

Opening of the monument to Emperor Peter I.

Many townspeople gathered on Senate Square, foreign officials and high-ranking associates of Her Majesty were present - everyone was waiting for the arrival of Empress Catherine II to unveil the monument. The monument was hidden from view by a special linen fence. For the military parade, guards regiments were lined up under the command of Prince A.M. Golitsyn. The Empress in ceremonial vestments arrived in a boat along the Neva, the people greeted her with a standing ovation. Rising to the balcony of the Senate building, Empress Catherine II gave a sign, the veil covering the monument fell and the figure of Peter the Great appeared in front of the enthusiastic people, sitting on a reared horse, triumphantly stretching out his right hand and looking into the distance. Guards regiments marched along the embankment of the Neva to the beat of drums.

On the occasion of the opening of the monument, the Empress published a manifesto on forgiveness and the granting of life to all those sentenced to death, prisoners who had languished in prison for more than 10 years for state and private debts were released.

A silver medal was issued with the image of the monument. Three copies of the medal were cast in gold. Catherine II did not forget about the creator of the monument; by her decree, Prince D.A.Golitsyn presented gold and silver medals to the great sculptor in Paris.

The Bronze Horseman witnessed not only the celebrations and holidays that took place at its foot, but also tragic events December 14 (26), 1825 - the Decembrist uprising.

To celebrate the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg, the Monument to Peter I was restored.

Nowadays, as before, it is the most visited monument in St. Petersburg. The Bronze Horseman on Senate Square often becomes the center for city celebrations and holidays.

Information

• Architect

  Yu.M. Felten

• Sculptor

  E. M. Falcone

Contacts

• The address

  Saint Petersburg, Senate square

How to get there?

• Metro

  Admiralteyskaya

• How to get there

  From the stations "Nevsky Prospect", " Gostiny Dvor"," Admiralteyskaya "
  Trolleybuses: 5, 22
  Buses: 3, 22, 27, 10
  to St. Isaac's Square, then on foot to the Neva, through the Alexander Garden.

To all famous Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin in the poem "The Bronze Horseman" became the author of several delusions.
Why copper? It is bronze, but as the saying goes, "believe what is written, because you cannot knock it out with an ax."
In the author's note to his line "to cut a window to Europe", he directly refers to the original source - the French words of Francesco Algarotti: "St. Petersburg is a window through which Russia looks to Europe", but sources of mass knowledge such as school textbooks and the notorious Wikipedia, supported by official historians of all stripes and ranks, persistently broadcast: "To cut a window to Europe" - catch phrase from the poem by Alexander Pushkin "The Bronze Horseman", which characterizes the founding by Peter I of the city of St. Petersburg - the first seaport of the Moscow state ", although a seaport in the city did not appear during the time of Peter I. to this day it remains in Kronstadt on the Kotlin Island. Due to the 27 nautical miles (47 km) shallow water area, Petersburg was denied the right to be called a "door" (port - gate, door), at that time it remained only " a window to Europe ".

Another misconception:
In the fifth footnote to the poem "The Bronze Horseman" Pushkin refers to Mitskevich's poem. And the lines from the poem "Monument to Peter the Great" in literal translation read as follows:

"To the first of the kings who created these miracles,
Another queen erected a monument.
Already the king, cast in the form of a giant,
Sat on the bronze ridge of Bucephalus
And I was looking for a place where to ride on horseback.
But Peter cannot stand on his own land ... "

Mickiewicz for some reason mentions the name of Alexander the Great's favorite horse, although it was known that Peter's favorite horse was Liseta, which was later made into a stuffed animal.

Tsar Nicholas I himself acted as the censor of the poem "The Bronze Horseman". For some reason he forbade the use of the word "idol" in relation to Peter I.
Maybe the tsar knew that the rider on horseback (but not Peter) was really once a people's idol?

Here's another coincidence.

Peter I holds his hand so that it is easy to put a spear into it, it would look quite harmonious there.

The horse stepped on the back of the snake right foot, everything is like a book writes. And the position of the hand and head is not that difficult to edit. Not all monuments have a cloak (cape) from the times of A. Macedon. And this is a completely different hero

George the Victorious

And here is the "Petrovsky" altyn (three kopecks).

But this is a penny of Ivan V Vasilyevich the Terrible.

And here is the seal of Ivan III, known to everyone on Wikipedia.

The legend about lightning striking a stone, invented by the guides, is also embarrassing. The very name Thunder-stone appeared, allegedly due to a lightning strike. More precisely, the lightning is used to explain the front granite attachment to the pedestal, which, as it were, forms a very intricate crack.

Surprisingly, the crack runs exactly along the border of various color (chemical and crystalline) granite structures, and the strip of enlarged inclusions also abruptly and unnaturally breaks off at this border.

And most importantly ... The monument has not one such granite insert, there are two of them, in front and behind.

Look here

The historical version says: A stone was lying for itself, lightning struck it, and then, as in a fairy tale, a crack that ran through changed the color, structure, orientation of crystals, even the size of the grain ... Believe it? If - yes, then the whole fictional history of the construction of the city is also true. The added fragment looks more like the result of the restoration after the destruction of the front and rear parts of the monument's pedestal. The whole view of the pedestal, its processing and the undulating slabs laid around it indicate that it once depicted the crest of a wave, and not just a wild rock, but was destroyed.

Perhaps it initially looked something like this:

A sharp stone chip in the front looks very unnatural next to the smooth features of the base, they look more like sea ​​wave without comb.

In addition, the snake under the hoof looks more comical than symbolic.

Large scales are closer to dragons.

And a head without scales looks generally unnatural.

They were able to draw the details of the horse and rider in a delicate way, but the trash came out with the snake, maybe the snake is all that Falcone had the strength to do? Although, history says that he did not even cast a snake, he made it Fedor Gordeev. From official sources:The model of the equestrian statue of Peter was made by the sculptor Etienne Falcone in 1768-1770. Peter's head was sculpted by his student, Marie-Anne Collot. The snake was fashioned by Fyodor Gordeev according to Falcone's plan. The casting of the statue was carried out under the direction of the master Emelyan Khailov and was completed in 1778. Architectural planning solutions and general management were carried out by Yu. M. Felten.

Until 1844, no one knew at all that Catherine gave this monument to Peter I, in the painting by N.M. Vorobiev. there is no sign at all.

One more nuance is surprising. Peter on this monument, however, as well as on the other, which we will consider below, sits without pants, in a Roman toga, and neither the Russian nobility, nor the shipbuilders have ever worn such clothes.The Bronze Horseman's hand position also seems familiar.

only this is Marcus Aurelius in Rome.

Why would the sovereign-emperor have such an outfit? It is not good for the Russian Autocrat to flaunt without trousers! Moreover, Peter is sitting on a horse without stirrup , and what history says: the stirrup was invented in the 4th century. Hence, we can make an unambiguous conclusion that this rider lived no later than the 4th century, and the statue must also be cast much earlier than in the 18th century.

And when did the sovereign indulge in such weapons?

At the time of Peter 1, there were no swords in the armament of the army, there were sabers.

Hence the question: who armed the Bronze Horseman with a sword?

Does Bucephalus' stance remind you of anything?

This is how A. Macedonian on horseback has always been portrayed.

And here is a monument to Alexander the Great in Skopje

A sword, a horse, a cloak, a harness on a horse, and the rider's clothes itself remind you of nothing?

And here is the real Peter 1,

it was in this form that he had to sit on his beloved mare Lisette.

The Bronze Horseman from a different angle.

(not Pushkin, exactly)

Shining bronze over the Neva,

And pulling the loins of the clouds,

He is fed up with rainwater,

The land is alien to him.

Granite shackles itch

Far from enemy columns ...

And Macedonian Sasha again

Goes to ancient Babylon.

From the notes of Ivan Grigorievich Bakmeister, bibliographer of Catherine the Great, " she already had a sculpture the image of PETER the Great ", which is still preserved to this day, however, it did not satisfy the desired intention. An ordinary foot, on which most of such statues are approved, does not mean anything and is not capable of arousing in the soul of the viewer a new reverent thought. The monument, erected by Catherine, had to correspond to dignity in the noblest and most majestic way. The chosen foot to the sculpted image of the Russian Iroi should be a wild and unassailable stone on which he galloping on a horse with outstretched right hand ... A new, bold and expressive thought! The stone itself as an adornment should remind of the state of the state of that time and of the difficulties, which the creator had to overcome when making his intentions. How beautifully the chosen allegory resembles its subject is proved by the fact that PETER the Great had a seal on which he was depicted as a stonecutter carving a statue of a woman from the stone, that is, Russia. The calm position of the rider depicts the fearless courage and spirit of the Iroi, who feels his majesty and is not afraid of any danger. The gallop of a furious horse, reaching the top of a stone mountain, will show the speed of his affairs and successful success in the changes made by his tireless work in his power. The outstretched right hand is the sign of the commanding one, blessing his faithful subjects and the welfare of his possessions of the baking Father of the Fatherland. "- this is a quote from the" Historical news of the sculpted equestrian image of Peter the Great, composed by the collegiate assessor and librarian Imp. Of the Academy of Sciences by Ivan Bakmeister / Translated by Nikolai Karandashev. - SPb .: Type. Schnor, 1786. "The original text was in German.

What this text says, it says that the monument apparently bent over (or fell altogether), as they say, was in disrepair, which is why it was sent for restoration, as a result of which it was subject to a small alteration, namely: head and right hand sawed off, and completely new parts of a different shape were soldered to it.

Here is a version invented for posterity, which fits so well into academic work.

An excerpt from Falcone's letter to Catherine II:

Author Kaganovich A. The Bronze Horseman. The history of the creation of the monument. - 2nd ed., Add. - L .: Art, 1982. p. 150. It is quite a "suitable document" for posterity, who may have all sorts of questions about the presence of a seam in the head and shoulder area on the solid casting of the monument ...

The text below this picture also speaks for itself.

The pedestal also needed restoration, it was necessary to update the fallen off parts, a large piece in the front and a smaller piece in the back.

I was greatly puzzled by another incident, see for yourself

The Russian Emperor would have been more suited to his famous cocked hat, he not only did not wear laurel wreaths, but also did not allow paintings with his image in this form during his lifetime.

So Peter is on horseback or not Peter?

Whom do they still like to portray all over the world like that?

Let's remember the story: In 1798, when Napoleon I captured Malta during an expedition to Egypt, the knights of the order appealed to the Russian Emperor Paul I with a request to take on the rank of Grand Master of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, to which the latter agreed. At the very end of 1798, Russian emperor Paul I was proclaimed Grand Master of the Order of Malta. So, what I am leading to: at the end of the 17th century, the monument to A. Macedonian disappears, and in the middle of the 18th century, an updated monument to Peter 1 appears. Or maybe before the renovation it looked exactly like in the picture above? Another nuance, this warrior in Roman armor does not kill a snake, as we are used to, but a griffin - a symbol of Great Tartary.

What is it for?

Remains of building materials that were used for repairs have not yet been removed.

History does not hide this: the head of Peter was sculpted by the student of the sculptor E. Falcone, Marie Anne Collot. The snake was fashioned by Fyodor Gordeev according to Falcone's plan. The casting of fragments of the statue was carried out under the guidance of the master Emelyan Khailov and was completed in 1778. Architectural and planning decisions and general management were carried out by Yu. M. Felten ... and below the signature: The author of the monument is Etienne Falnone. Interesting, huh?

Falcone, who had never had to do such work himself before, refused to do the finishing of the monument on his own and waited for the arrival French master B. Ersman. The foundry worker, accompanied by three apprentices, arrived on May 11, 1772, having with him everything necessary to guarantee success: "earth, sand, clay ...". However, the long-awaited master could not fulfill the requirements of the sculptor and was soon fired at Felten's insistence. Ersman simply refused to deal with the task assigned to him. From now on everything preparatory work the casting was carried out by Falcone himself. To assess the tension of the situation and relationships actors, it is necessary to quote a letter from the sculptor dated November 3, 1774 to Catherine II, calling for her patronage: “The most merciful Empress, at the beginning of last month, Betskoy ordered me through Felten to write my demands regarding the completion of the casting (here it should read“ alterations ”) of the statue, although This formality seemed superfluous to me, nevertheless I immediately sent a letter from which I am attaching a copy, since then I have not received an answer. Without your august patronage, I am at the mercy of a man who hates me more every day, and if Your Majesty does not want to see me more, then I would have to live here worse than any stranger who finally finds a patron ... "

Here is what Falcone himself wrote about the monument: “My monument will be simple ... I will confine myself only to a statue of this hero, whom I do not interpret either as a great commander or as a winner , although he was, of course, both. The personality of the creator-legislator is much higher ... ”. Here at the expense "a great commander, and a winner" Falcone had clearly let it slip. For the reliability of the plan, on one of the folds of the Bronze Horseman's cloak, the sculptor engraved the inscription “Sculpted and cast by Etienne Falconet, a Parisian of 1778”.

These were then the raging passions, but the attempt to falsify the origin of the monument, thanks to the poem of the same name by Pushkin, was a success for all hundred percent.

Most tourists who want to see all the sights of the Northern capital are interested in where exactly in St. Petersburg the legendary Bronze Horseman monument is located, depicting Peter 1. This symbol of the city has been going on for more than two centuries and is covered with many legends and myths.

Finding the famous statue, which is dedicated to the famous poem of the same name by A.S. Pushkin, will not be difficult. The Bronze Horseman monument is located on one of the central squares St. Petersburg - the former Decembrists' Square (now the Senate Square) - in an open park. It is very convenient to get to it through the Alexander Garden, passing through its western part.

The exact address of the Bronze Horseman in St. Petersburg: Senate Square, St. Petersburg, RF, 190000.

The Bronze Horseman the history of the creation of the monument

The idea of ​​creating a monument designed to perpetuate the memory of the outstanding monarch belongs to Empress Catherine II. She believed that such a responsible matter could only be entrusted true master... In search of such a person, Prince Golitsyn, the empress's confidant, turned to the venerable representatives of French culture of that time, Diderot and Voltaire, for help. The great philosophers advised their regal correspondent Etienne-Maurice Falcone - at that time the author of not very well-known sculptural compositions.

Falcone worked at a porcelain factory, but deep down he had long dreamed of trying his hand at monumental art. In 1766, he signed a contract with representatives of Catherine II for the creation of a bronze monument, according to which his remuneration was only 200,000 livres.

It is interesting that Etienne-Maurice came to Russia with the talented 17th student Marie-Anne Collot, who later married his son. For a long time there were various rumors about the relationship between the sculptor and his young assistant, and not always decent ones.

Opinions about what the symbol of the Russian autocracy should look like turned out to be very different:

• Chapter Imperial Academy Arts Belsky believed that Peter I should be portrayed majestically standing at full height and with a scepter in hand.
• Empress Catherine II wanted to see her predecessor on horseback, but always with the symbols of royal power in her hands.
• The enlightener Diderot intended to create a large fountain with allegorical figures instead of a statue.
• A modest official, Shtelin, sent a letter to the Academy of Arts in which he proposed to surround the statue of the emperor with images of virtues such as Honesty and Justice, trampling on vices (Bragging, Deception, Laziness, etc.).

However, the author of the future monument, the Bronze Horseman, had his own idea of ​​how his creation should look. Falcone abandoned the allegorical interpretation of the image of the emperor and intended to show him as a great legislator and guardian of the welfare of his country. According to the plan sculptural composition, she was supposed to demonstrate the triumph of human will and reason over the spontaneous natural forces.

The Bronze Horseman sculptor Etienne Maurice Falcone

Falcone approached the creation of the Bronze Horseman in St. Petersburg very responsibly. The model of the statue was created during 1768-1770 on the territory of the former summer residence of Empress Elizabeth. The prototype of the horse for the monument was the two Oryol trotters, Brilliant and Caprice, which were considered an adornment of the royal stables. At the request of the sculptor, a platform was made, the height of which practically coincided with the future pedestal. One of the officers on horseback flew up to its edge and put the horse on its hind legs, so that Falcone could sketch all the features of the structure of the body and musculature of the horse.

The head of the emperor was sculpted by Maria-Anna Collo since the options of her mentor were not approved by Catherine II. The face of Peter I with wide eyes reflected the basic qualities of the sovereign: courage, strong will, high intelligence, justice. For this work, the empress awarded the talented girl membership in the Imperial Academy of Arts and a life pension.

The horse on which the sovereign sits tramples with its hooves a snake made by the Russian master Gordeev.

After making the plaster model, Falcone started casting the statue, but faced a number of problems:

• Due to the size of the monument, even foundry workers with a good reputation refused to engage in casting, because they could not vouch for the quality of the work.
• When the sculptor finally found an assistant, a gun maker Khailov, it turned out to be very difficult to find the correct alloy composition. Since the monument had only 3 support points, the walls of its front part had to be no thicker than 1 cm.
• The first casting of the sculptural composition in 1775 was unsuccessful. While working in the workshop, a pipe burst through which molten bronze was flowing. The catastrophic consequences were averted thanks to the courage of Khailov, who plugged the hole own clothes and covered it with clay. For this reason, the upper part of the monument had to be re-filled two years later.

The origin of the Bronze Horseman pedestal is covered with many legends. It is popularly known as the Thunder Stone. In alternative historical theories concerning the construction of St. Petersburg, he occupies key location... Some researchers suggest that the official version, according to which the Thunder-stone was transported to the city from the vicinity of the small settlement of Horse Lakhta, was falsified.

However, historical documents and eyewitness accounts, including those of foreign origin, refute the assumption that a giant granite block for the Bronze Horseman monument was located on the territory of St. Petersburg before processing. Any attempts to connect it with the mythological civilization of the Atlanteans, who allegedly were the founders of the city in this place, are groundless. The technologies of that time made it possible to transport even such a huge rock to the site of the monument.

The thunder stone weighed more than 1600 tons, and its height exceeded 11 meters, so it was delivered to the shores of the Gulf of Finland on a special platform. She moved along 2 grooves located strictly parallel to each other. They housed three dozen large balls made of copper alloy. Moving the platform was only possible in winter time when the ground froze and could withstand a heavy load better. The transportation of this natural pedestal to the coast took about six months, after which it was transported by water to St. Petersburg and took its place on the square in 1770. As a result of the chipping, the dimensions of the Thunder Stone have been significantly reduced.

12 years after Falcone's arrival at Northern capital his relationship with the empress worsened significantly, so he was forced to leave the country. Work on the completion of the statue was supervised by Felten, and in 1782 it was inaugurated.

Symbols and legends of the monument

Falcone portrayed Peter I in a simple and light attire, without the excessive luxury befitting his status as emperor. By this, he sought to show the dignity of the monarch as a person, and not as a great commander and victor. Instead of a saddle, the horse is covered with an animal skin, symbolizing the arrival in the country thanks to Peter I of enlightenment and the benefits of civilization.

The head of the statue is crowned Laurel wreath, and a sword is attached to the belt, which indicates the readiness of the ruler at any time to defend the Fatherland. The rock denotes the difficulties that Peter had to overcome during his reign. The pedestal is decorated with an inscription, which is a tribute to Empress Catherine II to her great predecessor, in Russian and Latin... Another inscription is hidden in the folds of the cloak, testifying to the authorship of the monument. The weight of the monument is 8 tons, and the height is 5 meters.

Many legends are associated with the Bronze Horseman, one of which was reflected by Pushkin in the poem of the same name. According to some of them:

• Allegedly, even before the installation of the sculptural composition, the ghost of Peter I met the future Emperor Paul I at the place where the monument is now located. The late monarch warned his heir about the imminent danger.
• In 1812, the Bronze Horseman was about to be evacuated, as the city was threatened by the French. However, the emperor appeared in a dream to Major Baturin and said that while he remained in place, nothing threatened St. Petersburg.
• Some people believed that the monument was Peter I himself, who decided to jump on his beloved horse to the Neva with the words "All God and mine." However, he confused and said "All mine and God", for which he was punished higher powers and instantly petrified right on the square.

Where is the Bronze Horseman

The monument is available for free visits. Fascinating story about the creation of the statue and the legends associated with it, you can listen to by taking part in sightseeing tours across St. Petersburg. Their cost is on average from 780 RUR per person to 2800 RUR - 8000 RUR per group (depending on the duration of the tour).

There are several ways to get to the monument:

• From the Admiralteyskaya metro station, turn left towards Malaya Morskaya street, then turn left onto Dekabristov Avenue and then turn right towards the banks of the Neva. The journey will take no more than 10 minutes.
• From the Nevsky Prospekt metro station, walk along the Griboyedov Canal to the end of Nevsky Prospekt and walk towards the Aleksandrovsky Garden.
• Buses No. 27, 22 and 3, as well as trolleybus No. 5 also run to Senate Square.

The Bronze Horseman is the most popular attraction of St. Petersburg, without which it is impossible to get a complete picture of the city.