Contents
Introduction …………………………………………
The Bronze Horseman ………………………………
An Equestrian Statue of Peter the Great……………..
A Monument to Nicholas I …………………………..
Horse Tamers ………………………………………...
The Narva Gate ………………………………………
Horses on the General Staff Building …………………
Glossary………………………………………………..
Bibliography …………………………………………...
Introduction
St. Petersburg, Petrograd,
Leningrad and now, again, St. Petersburg – the city’s succession of names
mirrors Russia’s turbulent history. Founded in 1703 as a ‘window on the West’
by Peter the Great, St. Petersburg was for two centuries the capital of the
Tsarist Empire, synonymous with excess and magnificence.
This is the city that stands out
for its architectural complexes. People who created them were not only
architects but poets as well; they managed to combine columns and portals,
arches and domes, Baroque lavishness and Classical austerity, monuments and
equestrian statues to produce the impression of perfect harmony.
The names of Carlo Rossi,
Bartolomeo Rastrelli are the first to be mentioned among them. Others, Andrian
Zakharov, Giacomo Quarenghi, Thomas-de-Thomon, Vallin de la Moth, Peter Klodt
possessed no less individuality and exhibited great tact towards their
predecessors.
The topic of our tour
is Horse Sculptures. Today you will
see three horse statues, a four horse sculptural group and two horse chariots.
They are:
the Bronze Horseman on Decembrists’ Square,
a
monument to Peter the Great in front of the Engineer’s Castle,
an
equestrian Statue of Nicholas I on St. Isaac’s Square,
the Horse Tamers on the Anichkov Bridge,
the Narva
Gate,
and the
horses on the Building of the General Staff.
The
famous Russian poet Alexandre Puskin composed a poem the ‘Bronze Horseman’ in
1833, which he dedicated to St. Petersburg and its Founder. He wrote:
I
love thee, Peter’s proud creation,
Thy
princely stateliness of line,
The
regal Neva coursing patient
‘Twixt
sober walls of massive stone;
The
iron lacework of thy fences,
Thy
wistful, moonless, lustrous nights,
Dusk-clothed
but limpid…
……………………………………………
Stand
though, O Peter’s citadel,
Like
Russia steadfast and enduring…
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