Oranienbaum Chinese palace painting the ceiling of the blue living room. The Chinese palace in Oranienbaum received a rebirth

03.05.2020

The Chinese Palace is part of the grandiose palace and park complex “Own Dacha” of Empress Catherine II. The construction of the palace was carried out by the architect Antonio Rinaldi. According to his design in front of the southern facade Chinese palace They dug a large rectangular pond, on the left bank of which they built a Maid of Honor house, and on the right bank they set aside a place for a coffee house (the project for this building was never implemented). At the eastern facade of the palace, already beyond the border of the Own Dacha, a Kitchen building was built.

In the middle of the 19th century, the Chinese Palace took on new shape. Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna is making great changes here. According to the design of architects L.L. Bonstedt and A.I. Stackenschneider, a second floor was added, a glazed gallery appeared, connected under the balcony that appeared at the same time and connecting two projections on the south side; small anti-chamber rooms were added to the end parts of the building on the east and west.

While the exterior of the palace has undergone changes, the interior decoration has been preserved, for the most part, from the 18th century. The Chinese palace embodied the fashionable influences and aesthetic preferences of the 18th century; all the decoration of the palace was made by European and Russian master artists with amazing imagination.

The Chinese Palace, a brilliant example of the Rococo style in Russia, is rightfully considered the pearl of the Oranienbaum palace and park ensemble. Absolute authenticity makes this diverse suburb unique, distinguishing it from all the imperial residences that frame the Northern capital like a brilliant necklace.

Earth on south coast Gulf of Finland, on which Oranienbaum would later be located, Emperor Peter I granted to his favorite, Prince Alexander Danilovich Menshikov, who at that time was in charge of the construction of the Kronstadt fortress on the island of Kotlin. The construction of the Great (Menshikov) Palace in the Baroque style began in 1711, and the date of the consecration of the palace church - September 3, 1727 - is considered its end. The authors of the project were architects J.M. Fontana, I.G. Shedel and I.F. Braunstein. In 1742, Empress Elizabeth Petrovna gave the estate to her nephew, the future Emperor Peter III. For him, the famous Italian architect Antonio Rinaldi built the “amusing” Peterstadt fortress and a miniature palace here. Later, Oranienbaum became the summer residence of Empress Catherine II. The so-called “Own Dacha” of the Empress consisted of the Chinese Palace (1762-1768), the Rolling Hill Pavilion (1762-1774), built by A. Rinaldi, as well as the Upper Park surrounding them.

Oranienbaum received its name from a German toponym. The legend brought to us the story of an orange tree cultivated here already at the beginning of the 18th century, which gave the name to the city and was included in its coat of arms.

Catherine II, while still a Grand Duchess, chose a “cherished” corner for herself in Oranienbaum. In her “Notes” she recalls the year 1757: “The fantasy came to me to plant a garden for myself... but I knew that the Grand Duke would not give me a single piece of land for this, and therefore I asked the Golitsyn princes to sell or cede to me 100 dessiatinas for a long time.” abandoned... land that they owned near Oranienbaum itself... They willingly gave it up to me. I began to draw plans and lay out the garden, and since this was the first time I was working on plans and buildings, everything turned out huge and awkward for me.”

Ekaterina Alekseevna was able to begin implementing her plan only five years later, with her accession to the Russian throne. In 1762, construction began on his own dacha, and, above all, “a stone house and a mountain.” All work was carried out “under the supervision” of A. Rinaldi and according to his drawings. Catherine II sometimes came to Oranienbaum to oversee the construction of the Dutch House, or Chinese Palace. The empress celebrated her housewarming in the Chinese Palace on July 27, 1768. This Sunday was marked by a divine liturgy in the Church of St. Panteleimon, and then a ceremonial meal was held in honor of the completion of the palace: the bishops and archimandrites, together with the nobles, dined and “drank to the health of Her Imperial Majesty.”

In the 1770s, the Empress often visited Oranienbaum and received distinguished guests here: not only “foreign” ministers arrived on visits, but also royalty - King Gustav III of Sweden, Austrian Emperor Joseph II. On July 17, 1780, Catherine II showed the palace to her grandchildren, Grand Dukes Alexander and Konstantin, for the first time. Since 1796, Oranienbaum belonged to Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich (future Emperor Alexander I), and in 1831 the residence became the sole possession of his brother Mikhail Pavlovich. Later, Mikhail Pavlovich’s wife Elena Pavlovna became the mistress of the estate, and then their daughter Ekaterina Mikhailovna, who married Duke Georg of Mecklenburg-Strelitz; their children - Georgy, Mikhail and Elena - owned Oranienbaum until 1917.

The Chinese summer pleasure palace was named due to the luxurious decoration of its four rooms, designed in the spirit of the ideas of the time about the art of the East. There are also other names: “The House in the Upper Garden”, “The Small House, Her Imperial Majesty’s Own”. And indeed, the loud definition of “palace” is least suitable for it - it rather resembles a park pavilion standing on a low stylobate forming a terrace.

The palace, modest in appearance, amazes with its interior decoration. Gilding and mirrors, shell ornaments, flower garlands, curls, intricately curved frames, stucco patterns whimsically running along the walls, arches and ceilings, exquisite paintings covered with a pearl haze - all this creates an atmosphere of delicacy and comfort. This is the Rococo style, which existed for a short time in the 18th century, but left a bright mark in Russia - the exquisite and intimate Chinese Palace in Oranienbaum. Stylized oriental decorative motifs and many original works of art from China and Japan add special sophistication to Rococo interiors. “The Chinese palace is a one-of-a-kind pearl, a work of art so complete, so harmonious, so amazingly executed - such a graceful, elegant trinket that, looking at it, one cannot help but admire it...” wrote the famous art historian A. Benoit. The interiors of the Chinese Palace preserve the original decoration of the 18th century: a rare collection of paintings by Italian artists, fine examples of Eastern and Western European porcelain, furniture by Russian and European masters. One of the main attractions of the palace are the unique parquet floors, made according to Rinaldi’s drawings; they have no equal in Russian decorative and applied arts. Initially, the floors in the palace were made of artificial marble. In the 1770s, they were replaced by inlaid parquet floors made of various types of wood (there are up to 36 of them) - oak, maple, birch, rosewood, boxwood, mahogany and ebony, Persian walnut, sacchardan (brown wood), amaranth and others. Parquets, which are not repeated in any room, amaze with their complex patterns and exquisite colors.

The Glass Bead Cabinet, the Damask Bedchamber, the Hall of the Muses, the Blue and Pink Living Rooms... These names themselves speak of the exclusivity of the palace premises and their enduring artistic and historical value. A journey through the halls of the palace meets the most demanding expectations: in the design of the interiors, Rinaldi used a rich arsenal of decorative forms inherent in the Rococo style, achieving a harmonious relationship between the decoration of the palace and its architecture.

The center of the symmetrical composition of the Chinese Palace is the Great Hall, from which the front enfilade rooms extend along the northern façade in both directions. Two wings, including small enfilades, adjoin the main volume of the building from the south at right angles; in the western suite there were the personal chambers of Empress Catherine II, in the eastern suite there were the rooms of her son, Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich.

The Front room originally served as a vestibule; here, in the center of the southern part of the palace, the entrance to the building is still located. After the addition of a covered glass gallery to this room in 1853, it began to be used as a dining room.

In the 18th century, the walls of the Front Hall were decorated with paintings by the Italian decorative painter Stefano Torelli, a student of the famous Neapolitan artist Francesco Solimena. Torelli arrived in Russia in 1758, leaving service at the Saxon royal court. In 1764, the painter worked on the design Winter Palace, and in 1765 he began work in Oranienbaum, and after a short time the interiors of the Chinese Palace were decorated with his talented works. In the 1850s, Torelli's wall paintings in the Front were replaced by architectural landscapes by an unknown 19th-century artist, “Diana and Actaeon” and “Landscape with Ruins.” In the Front, a picturesque ceiling by S. Torelli “Apollo and the Arts” has been preserved: the patron of the arts Apollo and images of female figures personifying “the three most noble arts” - painting, sculpture and architecture - a favorite subject in the art of that time. Above one of the doors is a painting by an unknown 18th-century Italian artist, Selene and Endymion. The mythological story about the vain shepherd Endymion, who fell asleep forever at the behest of Zeus, and the goddess of the night Selene, enchanted by his beauty, occurs three times in the Chinese Palace.

One of the walls of the Front Hall has preserved ornamental paintings of remarkable beauty in design by another Italian master, Serafino Barozzi, who, like Torelli, worked directly in the Chinese Palace. The interior decoration is complemented by stucco decoration of the hoops and ceiling: shells, acanthus leaves and other plants, flower garlands.

The front room is decorated with inlaid parquet from the 18th century, composed of several types of wood - walnut, amaranth, birch, sandalwood, apple, rosewood and mahogany; its drawing, created by Rinaldi, seems to be reflected in the stucco decoration of the ceiling, which adds completeness to the interior design. The fireplace, made of artificial marble, was created in the 18th century by the Italian “plasterer” Alberto Giani, who worked hard on the production of the original marble floors of the Chinese Palace. With its exquisite and elegant decoration, the Antechamber “sets the tone” for the appearance of subsequent chambers and sets the expectation for no less elegant decoration.

Following the Front is the Dressing Room; from the west it adjoins the Pink Living Room, connecting half of the heir Pavel Petrovich with the main entrance to the palace. Initially, the room was used for its intended purpose, but it is known that during the 18th and 19th centuries it also served as a pantry and library.

In the decoration of the Dressing Room, as well as other interiors of the Chinese Palace, paintings were widely used, embodying scenes from ancient myths. The central part of the ceiling is decorated with a picturesque ceiling “The Judgment of Paris”, executed by S. Barozzi; above the door to the Entrance Hall there is a panel “Venus and Mars”, and above the entrance to the Pink Living Room - “Hercules and Omphale” - desudeportes by unknown artists of the Italian school of the mid-18th century.

The interior of the Dressing Room was updated several times, and from its original decoration only the artificial marble wall above the fireplace has survived to this day. The exquisite carving with which it is decorated harmoniously combines with the applied molding ornament. The parquet floors of the Dressing Room with a somewhat monotonous geometric pattern were made later than the other parquet floors of the palace, in 1819, and are significantly inferior to them in the richness and complexity of the design.

The small eastern enfilade of the Chinese Palace includes the personal chambers of Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich, among which a spacious room called the Pink Living Room, originally called the Children's Room, is noteworthy. The room had another name, which perfectly defined the nature of its decoration in the 18th century - “Picturesque Antique”. In 1767, S. Barozzi decorated the walls of the Living Room with paintings on the theme of tragedy ancient city Herculaneum, which died in 79 during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Unfortunately, during the reconstruction of the palace in 1852-1853, the picturesque panels from all four walls were removed. It was not possible to restore them, and the walls were covered with paper wallpaper.

In 1894, the wallpaper was replaced with canvas painted light pink, after which the Living Room received its current name. At the same time, the walls of the Pink Living Room were framed with gilded stucco decoration, which gave the interior originality and sophistication.

The pink living room retains the original stucco decoration of the arches and ceiling. An elegant trellis mesh - the main motif in the ornament of the ceiling and over-door fragments - is “reflected” in the pattern of the inlaid parquet, which gives the interior a harmonious appearance and completeness.

The “must-have” lampshade of the Living Room “Diana and Aurora” was painted by the Italian artist Gasparo Diziani. The allegory of the change of night to morning is distinguished by a carefully thought-out composition and subtle pictorial elaboration. The desudéportes “Cupids Playing with a Bird” and “Cupids Playing with Soap Bubbles” were created by an unknown artist in the 18th century. They were probably moved to this room later; At the same time, their rectangular shape changed. Another composition above the door of the Dressing Room - “Cupids in the Clouds” - was made already in the 19th century.

Next to the Pink Living Room, on the axis of the small enfilade, there is the Shtofnaya Bedchamber. This room got its name in the 18th century, when its walls were covered with light green (celadon) damask with a pattern of wavy silver paths intertwined with white and pink flowers. The front bedroom of the heir to the throne, Tsarevich Pavel Petrovich, is divided into two parts, the smaller of which is an alcove. Being a purely intimate part, the alcove is decorated with exquisite carvings with delicate floral and plant motifs, but since the Bedchamber was intended for the heir to the throne, the future commander, military attributes were also included in the decor - trumpets, banners, arrows. In the depths of the alcove there is also a children's portrait of Pavel Petrovich by Alexei Antropov. On both sides of the alcove, crowned with a gilded cartouche in the form of a shell, in niches there are gilded shelves with small vases of Meissen porcelain from the mid-18th century.

In another part of the Shtofnaya bedchamber, a square one, of particular interest is the unusual ceiling in the form of a sail vault, lined with artificial marble. This is a rare example of the use of such material for decorative finishing of ceilings. Pale pink marble is complemented by floral and rocaille patterns in gilded and white molding.

The pattern of the parquet flooring of the Bedchamber, traditionally for the interiors of the Chinese Palace, is consistent with the decor of the ceiling. In addition, it also reminds of another important feature of the palace parquets - neither the composition of their set, nor the color combinations are repeated anywhere. The parquet of the Bedchamber made of walnut, amaranth, rosewood, boxwood, lemon, birch and ebony was made in 1772 by Russian craftsmen “under the supervision” of the talented master Johann Petersen.

The color palette of the interior is perfectly complemented by a pinkish-green faux marble fireplace. Among the examples of furniture are a ladies' bureau and a music table made by French masters of the mid-18th century.

Pavel Petrovich's office, adjacent to the Shtofnaya bedchamber from the alcove side, is separate from the rest of the premises. Because of its miniature size (less than six square meters), this room was also called the “Cabinet”. Its walls are decorated with ornamental paintings by S. Barozzi, which include Chinese marble and wooden tablets with carved figures, hieroglyphs and landscapes. The picturesque ceiling “Geometry” was made by G. Diziani: the allegorical female figure depicted on the canvas with a globe and compass in her hands and cupids drawing geometric figures indicate that the room was intended for the educational activities of the young heir. The enfilade of Pavel Petrovich's rooms is completed by the Boudoir. In the 18th century, this room, the walls of which were covered with paintings, was called the “Pictorial Study.” The Boudoir acquired its current appearance in 1853, when the paintings were replaced by walnut panels moved from the Kamerungfer (or Dressing Room) on the half of Empress Catherine II. The wooden panels include three paintings - allegorical paintings “Music”, “Painting” and “Drama”. Their authorship is attributed to Jacopo Guarana, who also performed the Boudoir ceiling “Zephyr and Flora”.

The furniture of the Boudoir consists of an elegant French rosewood bureau and Dutch chairs made in the 19th century. Porcelain predominates among the decorations of this interior: Chinese vases from the mid-18th century and English ones with paintings from the late 18th century.

The elegant and festive Hall of the Muses, which was intended for concerts, opens the enfilade of state halls of the Chinese Palace on the eastern side. It is symmetrical to the Great Chinese Cabinet, located in the western building of the palace. With its elongated proportions, this interior resembles a gallery, and six large glazed windows and doors located on three sides give it a resemblance to an elegant open park pavilion. Here the words of A. Benoit are perceived in a special way, who compared the Chinese Palace “in its purely musical effect... with the sonatas of Haydn and Mozart.” The Hall of the Muses, which retains its original decoration, is one of the most significant palace interiors of the 18th century.

In the 18th century, the Hall of the Muses was called the “Picturesque Gallery,” which corresponded to the dominant role of painting in its decoration. Tempera paintings by the decorative painter S. Torelli cover the walls and arches, and the lampshade by the same master, “Venus and the Graces” (“Triumph of Venus”), made in oil, crowns the hall. Small compositions on the arches and ceiling, painted in light colors, alternate with light ornamental modeling. All decorative design of the Hall of Muses is subordinated to a single artistic concept, which gives this amazing interior a harmonious appearance.

Particularly noteworthy among the furniture in the Hall are the carved gilded banquettes, made according to drawings by A. Rinaldi and designed specifically for this interior. Here you can also see a variety of objects from Chinese and Japanese porcelain, as well as the marble sculpture “Boy on a Dolphin” - a masterfully executed mid-19th century copy of a work by the 16th century Italian sculptor Lorenzo Lorenzetto, which in turn refers us to the drawing by Raphael, which was inspired by this job. On the sides of one of the doors are marble busts of Lucretia and Cleopatra from the 18th century Venetian work.

The most famous event that took place in the Hall of the Muses was the magnificent celebration of the arrival in Russia in 1818 of the Prussian King Frederick William III, “who came to bless the cradle of his newborn grandson,” the future Emperor Alexander II. On July 2, 1818, in this hall “after fireworks a brilliant ball was given.” Next to the Hall of Muses is the Blue Living Room, which connects the halls of the front suite with the rooms of Pavel Petrovich. Until the mid-1860s, the Living Room was covered in blue silk, which is how it got its name. At the same time, paintings by the Russian artist A. Beideman appeared in the interior: two canvases with images of cupids - with a cornucopia and a brush of grapes, as well as free copies from the Hermitage originals - a fragment of “Madonna with the Partridges” by A. van Dyck and “The Rape of Europa” F. Albani. Beideman’s brush is also attributed to the large original work “Triton and Nereid”, which decorates the space of the wall around the fireplace; however, this composition cannot be considered a creative success of the famous artist, since it lacks expressiveness and dynamics. The Blue Living Room is richly decorated with 18th-century paintings. The ceiling is decorated with a lampshade by the Italian artist Francesco Zuno, “Time Stealing Truth,” which also has a second title, “Time and Knowledge.” Like a number of other plafonds of the palace, Zuño’s work is a typical example of allegorical compositions with an abstract plot, very popular in the 18th century. The artist unfolds before us a dynamic scene of abduction, in the center of which two figures are depicted - a strong, muscular winged old man, personifying Time and its transience, and a woman, representing Truth (or Knowledge). The attribute of the old man is the scythe lying at his feet, and the woman holds a compass in her hands. Among the ten deportations are “Amphitrite” and “Neptune” by J. Guarana and “Italian Landscape” by F. Zucarelli; above the mirror is the painting “Two Cupids” by an unknown artist.

Objects of decorative and applied art are presented in the Blue Living Room in a variety of ways - Meissen porcelain, French watches of the 18th century, carved gilded furniture from the 1760s by Russian craftsmen. The molding of the arches and the ceiling, the parquet set on a palm background, and the exquisite fireplace bring to us the authentic look of the 18th century living room.

The interior of the Blue Living Room and other rooms of the Chinese Palace at the beginning of the 20th century was captured in a series of watercolors made for the last owner of the Chinese Palace, Grand Duchess Elena Georgievna, who wished to perpetuate its unique appearance. Watercolors with images of the palace halls and details of their decoration were included in the album entitled “Etchings, facades, plans and sections of the Chinese Palace in Oranienbaum, executed by former students of the St. Petersburg Central School of Technical Drawing of Baron Stieglitz,” formed in 1911 and stored in personal meeting of Elena Georgievna; the album is now in the State Hermitage.

The magnificent Glass Bead Cabinet, which precedes the Great Hall, is rightfully considered a world masterpiece of interior art. This brilliant example of the Rococo style is primarily famous for its glass bead panels. Twelve handmade panels were presumably made according to drawings by S. Barozzi in 1762-1764 by nine embroiderers: Anna Andreeva, Avdotya Loginova, Tatyana and Lukerya Kusova, Praskovya, Matryona and Avdotya Petrov, Cleopatra Danilova, Marya Ivanova under the direction of the Frenchwoman Marie de Chelles , a former actress who organized a workshop “for sewing wallpaper and other decorations for Her I.V.’s rooms.” The glass beads were made at the Ust-Ruditsk mosaic factory, which was founded by M.V. Lomonosov in the vicinity of Oranienbaum. Embroidered panels with exotic landscapes are enclosed in gilded frames of exquisite carving, imitating tree trunks, entwined with leaves, flowers and grapes and topped with figurines of dragons. If we remember that initially the floor in the Office was made of smalt (colored glass tiles), also made at the Ust-Ruditsk factory, then one can easily imagine the created effect of an extraordinary fairy-tale extravaganza, painted with oriental flavor. The original unusual decoration of the floor gave the Cabinet its second name - “Mosaic Peace”. Work on installing mosaic floors, which began in 1763, lasted four years. The head of the work, J. Martini, reported on December 12, 1767 about their completion: “The Maasai floors available in Oranienbaum are ready and laid in place, and the artisans are not at that work.”

Catherine II, proudly showing the palace to her guests, especially singled out the Glass Cabinet, which had, in the words of that era, an “excellent appearance.” The Empress often received distinguished visitors here: for example, on July 27, 1774, “in a room with glass bead wallpaper, she received the Tsar’s (Austrian - Yu. M.) ambassador, Prince Lobkovich, for an audience.”

By the middle of the 19th century, the mosaic floor became unusable due to dampness, and in 1856 it was replaced with type-setting parquet, however, even in the new material it retained the same pattern.

The Glass Beads Cabinet houses two genuine masterpieces of decorative and applied art - unique tables made at the Peterhof Lapidary Factory under the direction of master Jacob Martini. Tabletops with wavy edges are decorated with complex compositions made from colored Lomonosov smalts; even the bases and legs of these elegant tables are trimmed with orange smalt. The tabletop of one of them represents a landscape composition framed by geometric patterns: a narrow pyramid, reminiscent of park obelisks, is surrounded by fragments of the ruins of ancient buildings. On another table are depicted with amazing accuracy geographic Maps, notes, books, compass, globe.

The Great Hall, the central room of the palace, is also called the Reception, Round, Oval or simply the Hall in documents of the 18th century. Decorated in the spirit of solemn elation, it was intended for official receptions and meals. Most visits to Catherine II's own dacha ended with dinner in the Great Hall. Entries about this" are often found in the Camerfourier journal: for example, on July 19, 1769, "... at 10 o'clock EIV (Her Imperial Majesty. Yu. M.) deigned to eat the evening meal in the Round Hall, in which they were placed in the four corners. .. at the table, at each there were 8 persons with tickets." Among the "persons" then were the Austrian, Prussian, Swedish, Danish, Dutch envoys, the English ambassador, the Saxon minister, as well as their spouses and the noble circle close to the empress. 27 July 1774, the empress “in the hall favored ... foreign ministers,” and then a gala dinner took place with “four round tables” with the participation of diplomats, given in honor of the conclusion of the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi peace, which secured Russia’s victory in the Russian-Turkish war 1768-1774.

Unlike other rooms of the palace, the interior of the Great Hall bears the features of a new style - classicism - and anticipates subsequent interiors created by Rinaldi in St. Petersburg, Tsarskoe Selo, and Gatchina. The appearance of this main hall is strict and majestic, its decor is exquisitely noble and laconic. The walls and three-quarter Corinthian columns are decorated with artificial marble of different shades. The large hall is covered with a low dome, cut through round windows- skylights that serve as a source of natural light. Through large doors, glazed all the way to the floor, a picturesque view of the parterre garden and meadow opening into the park opens up.

The eastern part of the palace's front enfilade is opened by the Plaster Room (also called the Lilac Living Room), which has retained its original stucco design, which is reflected in the name of the interior. The character of this cozy room, its size and decorative decoration differ significantly from the solemn Great Hall, since it was intended for relaxation and intimate conversations, which was fully consistent with its artistic decoration.

The design of the Plaster Chamber is richly picturesque: the six canvases that decorate its walls and ceiling depict gallant scenes with the participation of mythological and literary heroes. All paintings are dedicated to the theme of love and reflect the sublime feelings of the characters. Among them is the work of S. Torelli “Selena and Endymion”, which is considered one of the best works of the Italian master. The author of the painting “Aphrodite and Adonis”, presented in the Plaster Room, was the 18th century Italian painter Pietro Rotari. Even before his arrival in Russia, the artist enjoyed European fame thanks to the many intimate portraits he executed, similar to those that make up the picturesque decoration of the Portrait Room of the palace. “Aphrodite and Adonis” is a rare example in Rotary’s work of a large canvas with a complex composition on a mythological subject.

The desudéportes of the Plaster Repose - “Venus” and “Yearing Mars” - also belong to the brush of Torelli. Placed opposite each other, these paintings are plot-related: according to myth, Mars, having forgotten about military exploits, is in love-sickness, dreaming of Venus. It is known that the model who posed for the artist was his niece, a beautiful young native of Bologna. The myth of Venus also echoes the picturesque plafond of F. Zuno “Orpheus Meeting the Sun,” which was also interpreted as a “Hymn to Venus”: the young man Orpheus, playing the harp, glorifies the beauty of the goddess of love.

The furniture of the Plaster Room consists of carved gilded banquettes and stools made in Russia in the 1760s, as well as a French bureau of typesetting wood from the same time. The living room is decorated with Meissen porcelain groups made in the 1770s based on models by M.V. Asier. The set of parquet flooring, made according to a drawing by A. Rinaldi, uses red and pink wood, rosewood, palm, birch, and apple.

The “Chinese” style, which was widespread in the art of palace interiors of the 18th century, was vividly embodied in the Great and Small Chinese Cabinets of the palace. A peculiar understanding of distant exotic culture by Russian and European masters was expressed in the architecture and design of the Small Chinese Cabinet, the penultimate one in the enfilade of ceremonial chambers. Its interior is in a certain contrast with the previous premises of the palace, which leave an impression of elegance, smoothness, and calm sophistication due to light colors and rounded shapes. Clear rectangular architectural planes, contrasting, sonorous colors and strict geometric patterns, combined with intricate floral patterns and finely drawn scenes from Chinese life, create the unique look of this interior.

The walls of the Cabinet are covered with green silk recreated from the surviving original samples, painted with images of exotic birds, butterflies and flowers. Lacquer furniture from China and Japan of the 18th century corresponds to the character of the decoration of the Small Chinese Cabinet: a Japanese cabinet-secretary in red lacquer with gold painting and a cabinet-chest in black lacquer with applied chased decorations, made in China.

In the mid-18th century, Russian craftsmen made a black furniture set, decorated with oriental ornaments, in the “Chinese” style. Oriental porcelain perfectly complements the decorative ensemble of the Cabinet: on the fireplace are figurines and a vase of the “green family” from the late 17th century; the console is decorated with an 18th century vase.

The floor of the Small Chinese Cabinet, made by master Jacob Lang based on a drawing by Rinaldi, is one of the best examples of inlaid parquet both in the richness of the pattern and in the brilliant mastery of the use of color shades of various types of wood - red, pink, black, brown wood, sandalwood, ebony, striped walnut, lemon, boxwood, amaranth, rosewood, birch, apple. The parquet flooring includes shaped inserts with Chinese characters and a skillful image of a low vase with a branch of a blossoming fruit tree. On the wall there is a picturesque portrait “Catherine II in front of the mirror”, an original copy of the Swedish artist Vigilius Eriksen. The office is crowned with a lampshade by G. Diziani - an allegorical image of “Fortification”.

The Small Chinese Cabinet in the 18th century also had a second name - the Bedchamber, since it precedes the bedroom of Catherine II - the Chinese Bedchamber, which opened up the small (western) enfilade of her chambers. The Chinese bedchamber also belongs to the brilliant examples of the Chinoiserie (Chinese) style. The walls of the room, covered with white satin, were painted in the “Chinese taste” in the late 1760s and early 1770s by masters Fyodor Vlasov, Fyodor Danilov (who became an academician of painting twenty years later) and Yakim Gerasimov; the paintings subtly harmonize with the design of the ceiling decorating the Bedchamber. “A graceful decorative fantasy of the 18th century” was called by A. Benois the ceiling “Chinese Sacrifice”, performed by J. Guarana - a unique theatrical composition, which is distinguished by the beauty of the design and the richness of color.

The Great Chinese Cabinet, or “Chinese Gallery,” an interior symmetrical to the Hall of the Muses, closes the front enfilade of the palace from the west. The unusually impressive and original appearance of this hall is determined by the fact that elements of the Rococo style are intertwined here in the most bizarre way with oriental motifs.

The ceiling of the Great Chinese Cabinet is decorated with a picturesque lampshade representing the allegorical image of the “Union of Europe and Asia”, which is also interpreted as the “Chinese Wedding”; its author is considered to be S. Barozzi. On the sides of the ceiling there are images of Chinese rulers, Bogdykhan and Bogdykhanshi, made using the technique of painting on a plaster base. Carved oriental ornaments, stucco images of birds and dragons on the canopies enrich the decorative palette of this unique hall, the author of the artistic design of which is S. Barozzi.

The walls of the Great Chinese Cabinet are decorated with stacked wooden panels made using the marquetry technique. A mosaic made of thin plates of different types of wood depicts gallant scenes from the life of the Chinese against the backdrop of waters and mountains, pagodas and pavilions, flowering trees, hanging shoots and flying birds. These compositions are designed not spatially, but planarly, in accordance with the canons of Chinese painting; their plots should be read from top to bottom. The panels are made of several types of wood - Karelian birch, amaranth, rosewood, Persian walnut, boxwood, maple, pear, apple, plane tree; people's faces and tree leaves are made of walrus ivory. These unique compositions were created by a group of masters led by G. Stahlmeer. Equally exotic is the inlaid parquet flooring of the Cabinet, made of more than ten types of wood, made in 1773 by I. Petersen. It is known that for the manufacture of parquet in this and other rooms of the Chinese Palace in 1771, twenty types of overseas wood were supplied from “...the store of the Office of the Building.”

As is known, in the second half of the 18th century there continued to be an intensive influx of objects of Far Eastern art into Russia, which filled special halls and cabinets of country palaces. By order of Catherine II, a special caravan was sent to China in 1762 and 1775, from where furniture was brought - tables, cabinets, screens, as well as porcelain, trays, wallpaper - to decorate the Chinese Palace, mainly the Great Chinese Cabinet. The varied furnishings of the Cabinet include Chinese black lacquer chairs with gilded ornaments, Japanese black lacquer cabinets with painting and chasing, red and black lacquer boxes and boxes, wooden sculptures - images of the god Shou Xin and the goddess Xi-Wanmu, bronze and enamel incense burners - traditional Chinese objects export, an almost obligatory element of “oriental” interiors. The mantels display exquisite Chinese and Japanese porcelain vases.

The large Chinese cabinet was used by Catherine II for card games, of which she was a big fan. In the Chamber-Fourier journal there are often entries similar to the one made on July 28, 1774: “...playing cards in the Chinese Corner on 6 tables.” The card games were attended by ambassadors of Spain, Prussia, Sweden, Saxony, France, England, Denmark and Tsesarsky (Austria), heir Pavel Petrovich and his wife, princes A. M. Golitsyn, A. A. Vyazemsky, counts G. G. Orlov, N. I. Panin, Z. G. Chernyshev, A. K. Razumovsky.

The small enfilade of Empress Catherine II, in addition to the Chinese bedchamber, consists of the Camerjungfer and Portrait. The Camerjungfer is decorated with magnificent images of the court ladies of the “Small” (Grand Duke) court, presented in fancy dress and personifying the seasons, parts of the world and the elements. These eleven portraits do not pretend to have psychological depth but are full of liveliness, their heroines are pretty and flirtatious. The author of these works is the French artist Jean de Sampsois (Sansois), who came to Russia in 1755. The images are made using a complex pastel technique - as they said in the 18th century, “dry paints”. The cool range of silver, blue, and pale pink tones allows us to convey the sophistication of the young ladies who made up the court of the heir to the throne Peter Fedorovich and his wife Ekaterina Alekseevna (the future Empress Catherine II). The fact that the portraits were ordered by Sampsua was reported in a letter from Ekaterina Alekseevna to the English ambassador Charles Williams dated September 17, 1756.

Initially, the pastel portraits were located in the Great (Menshikov) Palace of Oranienbaum. In 1820, they were restored (“corrected”) in the Imperial Hermitage, and black and gilded frames were also made. Only in 1853 did the paintings take their current place: the architect L. Bonstedt introduced them into the decoration of the Kamerungferskaya, transferring the walnut panels that had previously decorated its walls to the Boudoir on the half of Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich.

In Kameryungferskaya, parquet flooring made by masters J. Lang and I. Petersen in the 1770s has been preserved; its set is composed of palm, birch, walnut, plane tree, rosewood, maple, amaranth, mahogany and rosewood.

The main decoration of the room, called the Portrait Room, or the Rotary Cabinet, are twenty-two female portraits by the Italian artist Pietro Rotari. This master of salon painting created hundreds of intimate portraits, many of which were purchased by Catherine II for her country palaces. Small paintings are mounted on the wall of the Portrait Room and connected with decorative stucco patterns. Shallow in content, but elegant and pleasing to the eye, fashionable pictures depict female half-figures and “heads”.

The small enfilade of Catherine II’s private chambers ends with her Study. A desk made in France in the mid-18th century, as well as part of a set of mid-19th century furniture made in the form of Rinaldi furniture, make up the decoration of this room. A small personal library of Northern Semiramis, as French philosophers called the Russian Empress, was kept here for a long time. In 1792, the books were transported to St. Petersburg, to the Winter Palace.

The Chinese palace is located in the southwestern part Upper Park. In front of the palace there is a clearing with flower beds, and centuries-old oak trees serve as the side scenes and background. In the 18th century, the park was designed in a regular French style, and a swimming pool of regular geometric shape was “inscribed” into its composition. By the middle of the 19th century, the character of the parklands had changed: the layout became free, and the Upper Park acquired a romantic appearance. The reservoir turned into a pond, and its banks took on softer contours.

The Chinese Palace opened as a museum in 1922. During the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, Soviet troops defended the “Oranienbaum patch”, which did not allow German army occupy Oranienbaum. The damage caused by the war did not distort the appearance of his monuments, and the skillful skill of the restorers only emphasized their highest artistic merits. In the summer of 1946, the Chinese Palace was the first among other historical and artistic objects of Oranienbaum to receive visitors. In 1983, the State Museum-Reserve was created, which included three ensembles - the Big (Menshikov) Palace with the Lower Garden, Peterstadt and the Own Dacha. In 1990, due to their uniqueness, these artistic objects were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. cultural heritage humanity.

Today in Oranienbaum, in addition to the Chinese Palace, the Grand Palace, the Palace of Peter III, the Rolling Hill Pavilion, the “Stone Hall”, and Chinese cuisine are available to the public. Getting to know these monuments provides a unique opportunity to feel the atmosphere of bygone times and become familiar with the priceless artistic heritage, world and Russian. Significant restoration work is planned for the coming years, which will allow Oranienbaum to worthily celebrate its three hundredth anniversary.

Marble

Cupid and Psyche
XVIII century
Copy from an ancient original of the 2nd century BC.
Marble

Three Graces
Unknown sculptor. France
First half of the 19th century
Copy of a marble group by J. Pilon, made for the tombstone of King Henry II, XVI century
Bronze

And she
Unknown sculptor. Italy
XVIII century
Copy from the work of L. Lotto (Lorenzetto). 16th century
Marble

Years

Status Object of cultural heritage of the peoples of the Russian Federation of federal significance. Reg. No. 781710667480376(EGROKN). Object No. 7810305042(Wikigida DB) Website peterhofmuseum.ru Media files on Wikimedia Commons

In 1852-1853 the southern facade was rebuilt (a second floor appeared) according to the designs of A. Stackenschneider and L. Bonstedt. The palace was opened as a museum in 1922.

History of creation

The composition of the eastern part indicated a departure from the type of regular parks characteristic of the 17th-18th centuries. In such parks there was always one or several central alleys that approached the central part of the main palace. The triple linden alley, the main axis of the Own Dacha, extending from the Stone Hall, faces the Chinese Palace not to its center, but to the eastern part. Thus, the perspective of the palace from the central alley is not visible. In the western part there was a labyrinth of shaped ponds with sixteen small islands connected by drawbridges. There were five small gazebos on the islands.

In 1766, sculptures made by Italian masters D. Marchiori, I. Morleitr and Giuseppe Toretti were received from Venice for the Own Dacha (the works of these sculptors can also be found in the Great Gatchina Palace (high reliefs) and in the Gatchina Palace Park (sculptures))

Thus, if in the regular part there were features that made it similar to the landscape park, then in the landscape part it is easy to find features of the regular style. This is due to the fact that in the middle of the 18th century there was a gradual transition in architecture from Baroque to Classicism. This was reflected not only in the appearance of Oranienbaum’s palaces, but also in the layout of his park.

Differences in interior treatment

The shape and decoration of each room are different depending on its purpose. Moreover, furniture and other objects of decorative and applied art are part of the decor of this particular interior. It is not for nothing that in the Chinese Palace the furniture was most often made specifically for a particular room according to the sketches of Rinaldi (an architect and at the same time a room decorator).

These three features to some extent explain the amazing harmony of the interiors of the Chinese Palace, its connection both with the external appearance and with the nearby pond and park.

Architecture of the Chinese Palace

The Chinese palace stands on a low protruding stylobate, which forms a kind of terrace. It is lined with Pudost stone and granite. From the west and east, parterre gardens adjoin the residential premises located in the projections. They are fenced with openwork metal bars.

The palace stretches along the west-east axis and is shaped like the letter P in plan. Its facades have different architectural solution. To this day, only the northern façade has remained unchanged (a second floor was built on the southern façade in the 19th century).

The northern facade looks more solemn and elegant. Its center is highlighted in the form of an oval risalit with four pilasters. The projection is completed by a pediment and a figured attic of the Baroque type. Three white decorative sculptures are installed on it (in the 18th century, the roof of the palace was bordered by a balustrade with vases and statues). Along the axes of the three sculptures there are windows and doors with semi-circular endings. The same doorways are located in the side projections of the palace. They are completed with sandriks with a relief ornament - a shell and garlands.

During the war, the Chinese Palace was mothballed, museum valuables were evacuated (some to Novosibirsk and Sarapul, some to Leningrad, which was already in the besieged ring under the so-called “ small road life" (Oranienbaum - Bronka - Kronstadt - Fox Nose), where the exhibits were kept in St. Isaac's Cathedral. In particular, glass bead panels were kept in the basements of St. Isaac's Cathedral. Later, due to their poor condition, they were moved to the Hermitage for storage.

The Chinese Palace itself did not receive any serious damage from shelling during the war, with the exception of a shell that hit the second floor of the palace. The exhibition premises and interiors were not damaged by this shell. However, according to eyewitnesses, the condition of the palace was quite deplorable:

The glass of the windows was broken... Through the cracks of the shutters and broken glass, the remains of snow drifted into the halls of the palace. Now it was melting on the floor, and the parquet, saturated with moisture, rose in many places in mounds... Magnificent publications on art in the form of books and tables. engravings lay on the floor among many porcelain vases, furniture, and marble sculptures. Everything was collected in bulk in the Great Hall - the museum workers were preparing the property for evacuation, but did not have time to take it out.

In 1946, after minor restoration work, the palace reopened as a museum. This was of great importance for the post-war suburbs of Leningrad - while other palaces lay in ruins, the Chinese Palace received visitors and instilled faith in the restoration of other suburbs.

Restoration work in the palace

From the very first time of its existence, the Chinese Palace constantly suffered from dampness. Antonio Rinaldi probably failed to accurately appreciate the harsh northern climate and high humidity, or did not count on the long existence of the palace and built it more as a park pavilion than a living space. Already from the 1770s. Numerous restoration works are being carried out in the palace. The artificial marble floors were the first to suffer from dampness. They were replaced with parquet ones that currently exist. A decade later, restoration of the paintings located in the palace was carried out.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the floors were restored again (but now parquet) under the leadership of the architect L. Ruska. In the middle of the 19th century, when rebuilding the southern façade, renovation work was also carried out. The floors in all rooms, as well as the furniture, are being renovated again. In the glass bead office, the mosaic floor is being replaced with parquet while preserving the original pattern. The walnut decoration from the Walnut Chamber on half of Catherine II is transferred to the Boudoir, and in the Walnut Chamber the walls are refinished and 11 portraits of Catherine’s court ladies by the artist J. de Sampsois are placed on them.

In the 1870-1890s. restoration work continues under the supervision of the architect G. G. Preuss. During this period, the original 18th-century decoration was partially lost in the Dressing Room and the Blue Drawing Room. At the same time, the drainage system, stone flooring around the palace and the roof balustrade are being repaired. At the beginning of the 20th century, the parquet was restored again.

The next stage of restoration is associated with the existence of the palace as a museum (since 1922). In 1924, Hermitage restorers began working with paintings that were in poor condition. The restoration included plafonds, desudéportes and canvases by G. Groot, portraits by P. Rotary and Jean-François Samsois. The work also affects the painting of the western wall of the Hall of the Muses, the complete restoration of which ends in 1940.

During the period 1947-1949. Work is underway in the Front Room, Dressing Room, Pink Living Room, Damask Bedroom, and Boudoir. These interiors opened to visitors in 1949. A year later, the facades of the palace were painted, and the forged gratings of the parterre gardens were restored. In the early 60s. The Great Hall and the Hall of Muses are being restored in the 20th century. Work is being done on parquet floors again.

In 1980, in the Great Hall, instead of the plafond by D. B. Tiepolo “Rest of Mars”, which was lost during the war, the plafond “Day Dispelling Night” by S. Torelli appeared on the ceiling (it was received from the Marble Palace).

Since 2007, restoration work has been carried out in the palace, which resulted in the opening of four halls (Great Anti-Chamber, Blue Living Room, Glass Bead Cabinet, Hall of Muses) of the palace in September 2011 (300th anniversary of Oranienbaum). In addition to cosmetic restoration, large-scale engineering and drainage work is being carried out to prevent groundwater from leaking into the palace basements.

From December 8, 2010 to March 20, 2011, restored glass bead panels from the glass bead cabinet of the palace are exhibited at an exhibition in the State Hermitage, whose specialists worked on the unique panels for a year and a half. According to the General Director of the Peterhof Museum E. Ya. Kalnitskaya, the Glass Bead Cabinet is on a par with the Amber Room of the Grand Palace in Tsarskoye Selo, with the difference that the glass bead panels are original from the mid-18th century.

Interiors

General characteristics of interior decoration

1 - Front

2 - Dressing room

Half of Paul:
3 - Pink living room
4 - Damask bedchamber
5 - Boudoir
6 - Pavel's office

Front suite:
7 - Hall of Muses
8 - Blue living room
9 - Glass bead cabinet
10 - Great Hall
11 - Plaster rest
12 - Small Chinese Cabinet
13 - Large Chinese Cabinet

Half of Catherine II:
14 - Chinese bedchamber
15 - Kameryungferskaya
16 - Portrait
17 - Cabinet of Catherine II.

The interior decoration of state buildings of the 18th century is characterized by an enfilade system of arrangement of rooms. There is also an enfilade in the Chinese Palace, but it occupies only the middle part of the building - it is formed by the Hall of Muses, the Blue Living Room, the Glass Bead Study, the Great Hall, the Plaster Room, the Small Chinese Study and the Great Chinese Study. The risalits of the southern façade of the palace contain the living rooms of Catherine II (Chinese Bedchamber, Kamerungferskaya, Portrait Room, Catherine II's Study Room) and Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich (Pink Living Room, Damask Bedchamber, Paul's Study Room, Boudoir). Two more rooms - the Front Room and the Dressing Room - connect the interiors of Paul's (eastern) half with the Great Hall. In total there are 17 rooms in the palace.

Each interior in all its details is completely independent, thanks to this there is no feeling of infinity in the front gallery in the Chinese Palace. All rooms are characterized by a synthesis of painting, decorative sculpture and all types of applied art - monumental and decorative painting, modeling, cladding, type-setting parquet flooring, gilding, carvings, and decorative fabrics are harmoniously combined.

The ornamental modeling of the palace is white, low relief. The use of gilding in comparison with the interiors of Baroque palaces by Rastrelli (in Peterhof, Tsarskoe Selo) is very insignificant. It only accompanies the main modeling pattern, emphasizing the main details. The basis of stucco compositions everywhere is a floral ornament: they are composed of stylized garlands, flowers and leaves.

The furniture in the palace fully corresponds to the character of the decoration of the premises. Most often these are custom-made headsets for a specific interior. Also in the furniture collection there are unique pieces made in Japan and China in the 17th-18th centuries.

Stacked parquet floors

Of particular value are the inlaid parquet floors of the palace, created in the 60-70s of the 18th century. They were made according to Rinaldi’s drawings by Russian carpenters under the guidance of European foreign masters. Initially, in most of the rooms the floors were made of artificial marble, but a decade after the construction of the palace was completed, the marble was replaced with parquet, preserving the original pattern. Patterned dies of colored wood 5-8 mm thick were glued onto shields assembled from pine boards using fish glue. A variety of wood species were used - maple, linden, birch, pear, walnut, apple, pine, alder, oak, as well as expensive “overseas” varieties of wood: lemon, tobacco, black ebony, amaranth, pink and red sandalwood, boxwood , rosewood, yew, thuja, etc.

The techniques of marquetry and intarsia were used in the technique of parquet sets. Carving and burning were also used, as well as tinting and smoking (burying in hot sand until the wood browned). The color scheme of parquet floors is dominated by warm ocher and reddish-brown shades. The basis of the compositions, just like in modeling, is floral ornament.

V. G. Klementyev conventionally divides the parquet floors of the palace into three categories. The first is the dark background of the parquet and the predominance of dark exotic types of wood of different shades. A typical example of parquet of the first group is the Great Hall, where only the central part of the floor is made in light colors, and towards the walls the color of the wood intensifies. The second category is a light background and a predominance of light wood tones. The majority of such interiors (Hall of Muses, Pink Living Room, Damask Bedchamber, etc.). He includes parquet floors in small rooms in the third category - the Cabinets of Catherine II and Paul, the Chinese bedchamber. These parquet floors are very similar in character, but their compositional solutions are different. The main feature of these floor patterns is the absence of a rigid framework for a strictly thought-out composition (and the main reason for this is the small size of the rooms).

Many researchers have noted the uniqueness of the floors of the Chinese Palace: 18th-century parquet floors of such a high artistic level have been preserved in Russia only in this palace. These are the only floors of their kind that have no analogues in either European or Russian palaces.

Front

The antechamber is located in the center of the southern facade of the palace and in the 18th century it was a kind of vestibule - the first room at the entrance to the palace. In the 19th century, after the addition of a covered glass gallery, it began to be used as a dining room. The room's plan is a square, its walls are covered with oil-painted canvases. This is a painting by an unknown artist of the 19th century, replacing the lost paintings of S. Torelli. On the northern wall to the right and left of the doorway are ornamental paintings with bunches of greenery and flowers, made by S. Barozzi.

The parquet of the mid-19th century completely repeats the pattern of the parquet of the 18th century. Some details of the floor pattern echo the stucco decoration of the ceiling, which adds completeness to the interior. The authentic decoration of the 18th century - stucco decoration of the arches and ceiling - was made using floral patterns characteristic of the Rococo style, with the introduction of rocaille motifs and acanthus leaves. The painting of the ceiling lamp “Apollo and the Arts” was done by S. Torelli.

The interior is complemented by two carved gilded tables made in Russia from the mid-18th century.

Wardrobe

The dressing room follows the Front Hall and adjoins the Pink Living Room from the west, connecting Pavel Petrovich’s half with the main entrance to the palace. In the 18th century, the room was used according to its name, but it is known that later it also served as a library and pantry.

The central part of the ceiling is decorated with the lampshade “The Judgment of Paris” by S. Barozzi. The plot of ancient myths is also used in two desudeports - “Venus and Mars” and “Hercules and Omphale”. Both picturesque panels are the work of an unknown Italian artist of the 18th century. The original decoration that has been preserved is the decoration of the wall above the fireplace. Exquisite carvings with gilded plaster molding are used here.

The parquet, compared to the other rooms of the Chinese Palace, has a more simplified and uniform pattern, in which geometric shapes predominate. This is due to the fact that the floor was replaced in 1819, but the original design was not preserved. V. G. Klementyev notes that the parquet, like the decoration of the pads using the grisaille technique, was made in the second half of the 19th century.

Half Paul

Pink living room

The pink living room is located on Paul's half, so in the 18th century it was called the Children's Room, as well as the Picturesque Antique. This name stems from the fact that in 1767 Serafino Barozzi painted the walls with oils on the theme of the ruins of the Roman city of Herculaneum. The paintings were replaced with paper wallpaper in the mid-19th century, and in 1894 the walls were covered with pink canvases. The interior was called the Pink Living Room.

Of the original decoration, the molding of the arches and the ceiling and the lampshade “Diana and Aurora” by the artist G. Dizziani have been preserved. On the walls hang portraits of Catherine II (painted by P. Rotary, as well as a copy of a painting by V. Eriksen) and physician I. G. Lestocq.

Damask bedchamber

This State Bedroom follows immediately after the Pink Living Room. It got its name when, in the 18th century, the bedroom walls were covered with pale green damask. Now the interior uses fabric that was placed here in the middle of the 19th century. The damask pattern is a silvery winding path intertwined with white and pink flowers on a pale green background. The furniture included in the interior decoration, as well as the fireplace screen, are covered with fabric with the same pattern.

The bedchamber is divided into two parts, the smaller of which is an alcove. It is decorated with exquisite carvings with floral and plant motifs. This part of the bedroom is also decorated using military paraphernalia - battle flags, trumpets, arrows - which corresponded to the name of the room for the heir to the throne, Paul. In the center of the alcove on the wall hangs a portrait of him as a child by the artist A.P. Antropov.

The ceiling is decorated with a plafond by D. Maggiotto “Urania Teaching a Young Man”, while the parquet flooring, which in many ways echoes the sculpting of the ceiling and the carved decoration of the alcove, is considered one of the best in the palace. It is made of walnut, rosewood, boxwood, lemon, birch and ebony.

The northern wall is decorated with unique examples of chenille embroidery and glass beads on straw. The seven compositions presented by Russian craftswomen demonstrate rarest species decorative arts that appeared in France during the Rococo era. Scenes of hunting, rural life in the lap of nature and pastoral scenes are presented against a background of golden rice straw. Small size compositions; they are enclosed in gilded wooden frames.

Boudoir

In the 18th century, the boudoir was called the Painting Cabinet - the walls were covered with canvases with paintings. In the 50s of the 19th century, walnut carved panels were transferred here from Kamerungfer (from the half of Catherine II). They still decorate the walls of the room.

The walnut panels, authentic 18th-century decoration, are decorated in the center with paintings by C. Barozzi. The wooden panels include three paintings - allegorical paintings “Music”, “Painting” and “Drama”, made by the same artist as the lampshade on the Boudoir ceiling - Jacopo Guarana. Despite this, it is believed that the vertical lines and dark tones of the walnut panels conflict with the light and free decoration of the ceiling. Thus, moving the panels from one room to another only distorted Rinaldi's original plan.

Pavel's office

Next to the Shtofnaya bedchamber (from the alcove side) there is an office. This is a very small room with windows in the south and west walls. At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, the room was used as a bathroom. The isolation of Paul's office from the rest of the premises of the Chinese Palace is the result of alterations in 1853, when the door leading to the Boudoir was sealed (a doorway tightly sealed with brick was discovered in 1964).

The walls are decorated with canvases with paintings performed by S. Barozzi. The painting included small overlay compositions on marble and wooden tablets with soapstone carvings, landscapes and hieroglyphs (China, 18th-19th centuries). The ceiling has the shape of a hemisphere, in its center there is a lampshade by G. Dizziani “Mathematics”. The complex pattern of the parquet partly echoes the sculpting on the ceiling.

Front suite

Hall of Muses

The Hall of the Muses, in terms of its architectural design and preservation, is one of the best palace interiors of the 18th century. It opens the front suite of halls of the Chinese Palace. In layout, the Hall of the Muses is symmetrical to the Great Chinese Cabinet in the western part of the palace. The decoration of the Hall is subordinated to one theme - the community of arts.

This is an oval-shaped room with large glazed windows and doors. The somewhat elongated proportions make it look like a gallery - it is no coincidence that in the 18th century the hall was called the Picturesque Gallery. The decoration is dominated by smooth lines - these are rounded corners and gently sloping ceiling vaults, semi-circular completions of windows and doors.

The later name of the hall, which has survived to this day, is due to the fact that nine muses are depicted on the walls - Terpsichore, Calliope, Urania (eastern wall), Euterpe, Clio (south wall), Thalia, Melpomene (western wall), Polyhymnia and Erato (northern wall). The wall paintings were done by S. Torelli using tempera paints. The muses are depicted in the spaces between the windows on a pink-purple or light blue background; Each pictorial composition is framed with gilded and white stucco ornaments. The elegant decoration of the walls is coordinated with the stucco and picturesque decoration of the ceiling, with a lampshade (also by S. Torelli). The ceiling depicts Venus seated on a cloud and surrounded by Cupids and the Three Graces. This ceiling, along with the wall paintings, was extremely highly appreciated by the sculptor Falconet in his letter to Catherine II.

The parquet flooring of the Hall of the Muses is considered by researchers to be one of the most successful in design in the entire palace. Its central medallion stands out against the background of a birch tree. In contrast, its edges are made of mahogany with a golden tint and decorated with long leaves of cattail reeds. The color weakens from the middle to the edge of the composition. The soft transition to the central plane of the medallion is made of walnut. The composition around the perimeter ends with a frieze made of red-brown rosewood, and on it along the edges are presented musical instruments- attributes of music. In the rounded corners there are complex elegant compositions made of golden-pink wood. Maple was also used, tinted with copper sulfate to give it a greenish tint. The parquet pattern is distinguished by its refined colors and high craftsmanship. The ornamental motifs correspond to the theme of the hall. The light tones of the parquet correspond to the overall pinkish-bluish coloring of this elegant room, full of light and air, designed in typical Rococo forms. The floors in the Hall of the Muses were made in 1772 by a group of Russian carpenters under the direction of I. Petersen.

It was in the Hall of Muses that balls and receptions of the 18th and 19th centuries took place, held in Oranienbaum. Its decoration was admired by the Swedish king Gustav III, Emperor Joseph II, and the Prussian king Frederick William III.

In the interior of the hall there are three sculptures - these are marble busts of Cleopatra and Lucretia from the Venetian work of the 18th century and the group “Boy on a Dolphin” (a copy of the work of the sculptor L. Lorenzetti).

The last restoration of the Hall was completed in 2011.

Blue living room

The name of the living room comes from the decoration of the interior with blue silk material, which was used to decorate the walls until the 1860s. At this time, the dilapidated fabric was replaced with paintings on canvas by the artist A. Beideman. These are “Triton and Nereid”, as well as copies of the famous Hermitage works “Madonna with Partridges” by A. van Dyck and “The Rape of Europa” by F. Albani. All that remains of the original decoration are the ducédeportes, the moldings on the ceiling, the lampshade “Time Stealing Truth” and the parquet floor, the design of which is one of the most elegant in the palace.

Glass bead cabinet

The most famous chamber of the Chinese Palace is the Glass Bead Cabinet, which has preserved the original decoration of the 1760s. The walls of the room are decorated with twelve glass bead panels. These are canvases on which embroidery was made with glass beads, made at a mosaic factory founded in the vicinity of Oranienbaum (in Ust-Ruditsa) by the Russian scientist M.V. Lomonosov. Against a background of bugles, complex compositions with images of fantastic birds, plants, and fluttering butterflies are embroidered in chenille (fleecy silk) in an equally fantastic landscape. For a long time it was believed that the panels were made in France according to the sketches of the French ornamentalist Jean Pilman, but it has now been established that they were embroidered by nine Russian gold seamstresses (A. Andreeva, A. Loginova, T. and L. Kusov, P. and M. Petrov, A . Petrova, K. Danilova, M. Ivanov) under the leadership of the former French actress at the Russian court Maria de Chelles (de Chen). At the same time, the author of the drawings for the panel is S. Barozzi, who also painted in the Rolling Hill pavilion. The fireplace screen of the office was made using the same technique (chenille embroidery on a glass bead background). On one side there is a basket with flowers and fruits, and on the other there is a bird against the background of two Chinese pagodas.

The panels are enclosed in frames with gilded carvings imitating tree trunks entwined with leaves, flowers and bunches of grapes. Gilding is done in various techniques (matte and shiny), which gives the effect of additional volume.

The parquet pattern of the mid-19th century repeats the pattern of the mosaic floor (which was originally in the Glass Beads Cabinet), which was made from smalt from the Ust-Ruditsk factory of M.V. Lomonosov. At the same time, the middle part of the parquet is designed in the shape of a square, while the ceiling lamp is oval. D. A. Kucharians, a researcher of the work of A. Rinaldi in Russia, notes that such a discrepancy in the decoration of the floor and ceiling is unusual for Rinaldi, and considers the root cause to be that the mosaic floor was made at least 10 years later than the work on interior decoration in the Glass Beads office itself.

The glass bead cabinet is a unique example of an 18th century interior. After restoration carried out by the Hermitage staff, the glass bead panels regained their original appearance - they were cleaned of layers of dust and dirt, later layers of color were removed from the chenille embroidery, and the glass bead tubes were fixed (since over time they began to crumble).

Big hall

The Great Hall serves as the compositional center of the palace. It was intended for formal receptions, so its decoration was done in a more formal style than the other rooms. The hall is an oval in plan, which gave rise to another name for it - Round.

A significant part of the walls of the hall is free of any decor, and this is no coincidence. The walls are treated with artificial marble of various colors - this material in itself has a sufficient decorative effect, without creating excessive saturation in color and finish. Windows, doors and columns also add rigor and solemnity to the room. The presence of columns makes the interior somewhat classic. On the eastern and western walls, above the doors to the Plaster Room and the Glass Beads Room, there are desudeports, in the center of which are marble bas-relief images of Peter I and Elizabeth Petrovna. They were performed by M.-A. Collo, student of E. Falcone, by special order of Catherine II. The bas-reliefs are included in oval-shaped medallions made of red and blue smalts.

Plan
Introduction
1 History of creation
1.1 Ensemble of the Own Dacha
1.2 Architecture of the Chinese Palace

2 The fate of the palace after 1917
3 Restoration work in the palace
4 Interiors
4.1 general characteristics interior decoration
4.1.1 Stacked parquet floors

4.2 Front
4.3 Dressing room
4.4 Pink living room
4.5 Damask bedchamber
4.6 Boudoir
4.7 Pavel's office
4.8 Hall of Muses
4.9 Blue living room
4.10 Glass bead cabinet
4.11 Great Hall
4.12 Plaster rest
4.13 Small Chinese Cabinet
4.14 Great Chinese Cabinet
4.15 Chinese bedchamber
4.16 Camerjungfer
4.17 Portrait
4.18 Cabinet of Catherine II

Bibliography
Chinese Palace

Introduction

The Chinese Palace is a palace located in the southwestern part of the Oranienbaum palace and park ensemble (Lomonosov). It was built according to the design of the architect Antonio Rinaldi in 1762-1768. for Empress Catherine II. It is part of the ensemble of the Own Dacha in Oranienbaum. It got its name due to the fact that several of its interiors were decorated in Chinese style (chinoiserie), which was very fashionable at that time.

In 1852-1853 the southern facade was rebuilt (a second floor appeared) according to the designs of A. Stackenschneider and L. Bonstedt. The palace was opened as a museum in 1922.

Of all the buildings of Oranienbaum in the mid-18th century (the palace of Peter III, the Rolling Hill pavilion), it was in the Chinese Palace that the Rococo style (which was not widespread in Russia anywhere except Oranienbaum) manifested itself most fully. This, along with the absolute authenticity of the palace (Oranienbaum was not captured by the Nazis during the Great Patriotic War, unlike other suburbs of St. Petersburg), lies its uniqueness.

The palace is currently being restored for 2011, the 300th anniversary of Oranienbaum. By September 2011, it is planned to open 4 halls - the Large Anti-Chamber, the Hall of Muses, the Blue Living Room and the Glass Bead Cabinet.

1. History of creation

Oranienbaum, the estate of Prince A.D. Menshikov, after his disgrace in 1727, was under the jurisdiction of the Office of Buildings. In 1743, Empress Elizabeth Petrovna donated these lands, along with all the buildings, to her nephew and heir, Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich, the future Emperor Peter III. Here the amusing fortress of Peterstadt is being built for him, and in the fortress there is a palace (designed by Rinaldi). After the marriage of Peter Fedorovich, a small grand-ducal court was established in Oranienbaum.

While still a Grand Duchess, the future Catherine II plans to build a summer house for entertainment in Oranienbaum.

Having become empress, on September 1, 1762 (that is, 2 months after accession to the throne), she issued a decree to release money for the construction of her own dacha, the architect of which was Antonio Rinaldi. The main work was completed in the mid-1770s.

1.1. Ensemble of the Own Dacha

According to Rinaldi's plan, the ensemble of the Own Dacha should consist of two parts - regular and landscape. In the eastern regular part there were the main park structures (Stone Hall, Chinese Palace, Rolling Hill pavilion). The large western part was close to the landscape “English” park. With all this, there was no clear boundary between them; one part seemed to smoothly pass into the other.

The composition of the eastern part indicated a departure from the type of regular parks characteristic of the 17th-18th centuries. In such parks there was always one or several central alleys leading to the central part of the main palace. The triple linden alley, the main axis of the Own Dacha, extending from the Stone Hall, faces the Chinese Palace not to its center, but to the eastern part. Thus, the perspective of the palace from the central alley is not visible. In the western part there was a labyrinth of shaped ponds with sixteen small islands connected by drawbridges. There were five small gazebos on the islands.

The manifestation of the Rococo style in the Oranienbaum buildings of A. Rinaldi appears not in individual details, but in the totality of the features of this style. It is clearly expressed both in the facades and plans of palaces, and in the decor of the premises.

· Contrast between exterior and interior decoration

All of Rinaldi’s buildings are distinguished by their severity and simplicity of appearance and at the same time luxury, sophistication, and variety of interior decoration.

· Large glazed door and window openings

The combination of the interior and the surrounding nature is a proven technique of the Rococo style.

· Differences in interior treatment

These three features to some extent explain the amazing harmony of the interiors of the Chinese Palace, its connection both with the external appearance and with the nearby pond and park.

1.2. Architecture of the Chinese Palace

The palace stretches along the west-east axis and is shaped like the letter P in plan. Its facades have different architectural designs. To this day, only the northern façade has remained unchanged (a second floor was built on the southern façade in the 19th century).

The southern facade, facing the pond, looks completely different. Two strongly protruding projections were attached to the building, which were intended for residential quarters. In the 18th century, risalits formed a miniature courtyard, in the center of which was the entrance to the palace. However, in the 50s of the 19th century, a second floor was built on the southern facade according to the designs of architects A. Stackenschneider and L. Bonstedt. At the same time, a glass gallery appeared on the first floor. Small rooms - anti-chambers - were attached to the end parts of the palace on the inlet and west.

2. The fate of the palace after 1917

In 1925, the palaces and parks were transferred to the Museum Department of the Leningrad Branch of the Main Science and were subordinated to the Administration of Peterhof Palaces, Museums and Parks. The Chinese Palace is the only one of Oranienbaum's buildings that was turned into a museum before the war. The remaining buildings were rented out to the Forestry Technical College, Zagotzern and other offices. In 1935, Oranienbaum was taken under state protection as a unique historical and cultural complex. The park was subject to a restricted zone regime - it was almost impossible to enter its territory. In 1940 this regime was lifted and Oranienbaum received his own administration.

During the Great Patriotic War, Oranienbaum, located on the territory of the so-called Oranienbaum bridgehead, was not destroyed by the Nazis, unlike other suburbs of Leningrad. The 48th Order of the October Revolution Red Banner Ropshinskaya Rifle Division named after was located on the territory of the park. M.I. Kalinin under the command of General Safonov, who took over the protection of the entire palace and park ensemble.

During the war, the Chinese Palace was mothballed, museum valuables were evacuated (some to Novosibirsk and Sarapul, some to Leningrad, which was already in the besieged ring along the so-called “small road of life” (Oranienbaum - Bronka - Kronstadt - Fox Nose), where the exhibits were stored in St. Isaac's Cathedral. In particular, glass bead panels were kept in the basements of St. Isaac's Cathedral. Later, due to their poor condition, they were moved to the Hermitage for storage.

3. Restoration work in the palace

From the very first time of its existence, the Chinese Palace constantly suffered from dampness. Antonio Rinaldi probably failed to accurately assess the harsh northern climate and high humidity, or did not count on the long existence of the palace and built it more as a park pavilion than a living space. Since the 1770s, numerous restoration work has been carried out in the palace. The artificial marble floors were the first to suffer from dampness. They were replaced with the parquet ones that currently exist. A decade later, the paintings located in the palace were restored.

St. Petersburg is famous for its palaces and parks, located not only in itself, but also in its surroundings. Thus, one of the architectural attractions of this region is the Chinese Palace in Oranienbaum, interesting for its history, external and internal decoration.

Where is the Chinese Palace in Oranienbaum?

The settlement of Oranienbaum no longer exists since 1948, so those who want to visit the Chinese Palace will face the problem of how to get there. In fact, everything is very simple, you should go to the city of Lomonosov. Since this town is one of them and is located only 40 km from it, tourists should first come to the northern capital, and then take a bus, train, minibus or ferry to the Oranienbaum palace and park ensemble.

There are several options:

from the Avtovo metro station - bus No. 200 and minibuses No. 424a and No. 300;
from the Baltiysky railway station - by train;
from the Prospekt Veteranov metro station - minibus No. 343;
from the port: ferry St. Petersburg – Kronstadt – Lomonosov.

You can find the Chinese Palace in the western part of the Upper Park (or Own Dacha), at the end of the Triple Linden Alley.

What is interesting about the Chinese Palace?

This elegant structure was created as the personal residence of Empress Catherine II and her son Paul. The Chinese Palace was built in 1768 according to the design of Antonio Rinaldi in the Rococo style, but using Chinese motifs and works of art from this country in the interior, for which it received its name.

Northern part The facades were almost completely preserved in their original form, despite the addition of the second floor, while the southern side was completely changed.

Externally, the Chinese Palace is quite simple, but its interior amazes visitors with its diversity and richness. Among interior spaces arouse great interest.

Tatiana Syasina

Magazine number:

The fate of one of the main masterpieces of Russian decorative art of the 18th century - the Glass Bead Cabinet - is extraordinary. Located in the front suite of the Chinese Palace, it was conceived as the main audience hall of Catherine II in Oranienbaum. This amazing, one-of-a-kind interior is rightfully considered an unsurpassed example of the Rococo style in Russia, the main feature of which was the use of attributes of Chinese art.

The period of creation of the Glass Bead Cabinet was a time of passion for oriental exoticism. The fashion for everything “Chinese” came to Russia from Western Europe back at the beginning of the 18th century, was reflected in the creation of not only individual rooms or offices in the chinoiserie style (translated from French as “Chinese”), but also entire architectural ensembles built in Oranienbaum to please and at the whim of Empress Catherine the Great.

The very idea of building “the house in the Upper Garden,” as the Chinese Palace was called in the 18th century, arose from the future empress during her youth: “I then decided to build a garden for myself in Oranienbaum and, since I knew that the Grand Duke would not give me a single piece of land for this, I asked the Golitsyn princes to sell or give me a space of one hundred fathoms of uncultivated and long-abandoned land that they had very close to Oranienbaum<...>I began to make plans on how to build and plant, and since this was my first venture in terms of planting and construction, it took on quite extensive dimensions<...>

Catherine entrusted the implementation of her plan to the Italian architect Antonio Rinaldi (1709/1710-1794). A student of the outstanding architect Luigi Vanvitelli, after his move to St. Petersburg, he quickly won the favor of the future empress. The Italian's designs, made in accordance with all the latest fashion trends, were distinguished by their undoubted elegance and even some refinement. Catherine, tired of the pomp and splendor of the Elizabethan court, wanted to become a trendsetter in European fashion and create something that would testify to her refined taste and intellect. Taking an active part in the implementation of the plan, she personally monitored all stages of the work and even controlled the purchase of objects of applied art.

HER. MEYER. Chinese Palace in Oranienbaum. 1840s
Paper, watercolor

The 18th century, which gave us the idle and sensual Rococo style, the aesthetics of which included the creation of a new refined and courtly culture, assigned a special role to the weaker sex. It was the ladies at this time who became the rulers of thoughts, ideas and court etiquette. The palace erected in Oranienbaum was an example of the taste preferences and hobbies of an amazing and ambiguous woman, who at the same time could combine a penchant for constant pleasure with exorbitant hard work, and the greatness of a monarch with simplicity in everyday life. A lover of “building and planting,” Catherine would create many palaces and parks during her life, but it was here, in Oranienbaum, that her very first bold ideas and dreams were realized. Undoubtedly, the idea of creating an interior almost entirely made of glass also belonged to the empress. Rooms using beads and embroidery for decoration already existed in Europe, and Catherine herself, as a child, could see a similar one in the castle in Arnstadt. However, the scope and luxury of what was planned in Oranienbaum could not be compared with what was previously executed.

With the help of the architect Antonio Rinaldi, the future empress managed to bring to life the design of not only the palace, but also a whole complex of buildings with different purposes, which later received the name “Own Dacha”. Thanks to the architect’s album that has come down to us and the axonometric plans of 1775 made by P.-A. de Saint-Hilaire, one can imagine the full scale and grandeur of the created residence. In addition to the main structure - the palace - Katalny Mountains with a pavilion were erected on the territory of the Own Dacha, greenhouses and a park with many entertainment buildings appeared.

Both parts of the garden - the eastern, with a complex radial layout, and the western, with whimsically winding paths - amazed the imagination. Repeatedly intersecting alleys turned the space into a huge labyrinth, in which, however, it was impossible to get lost. The paths certainly led to small cozy cavalier and Chinese houses, intended for love affairs. Openwork “Chinese” gazebos - there were eighteen of them, in the drawing by P.-A. de Saint-Hilaire, they were called “summer Chinese cabinets” - they were conducive to having lunch in the open air. Near Katalnaya Gora, a water labyrinth was built with figured ponds with many islands connected by 17 bridges with five gazebos. To the north of them, for theatrical costume celebrations in the spirit of the gallant 18th century, long Carousel Galleries were built, apparently intended for equestrian lists that imitated medieval knightly tournaments. (“The Chinese” pavilions and galleries were dismantled in 1792.)

Buildings, elements and compositional techniques made in the chinoiserie style helped create the effect of escaping real life into a fairy-tale world of dreams and fantasy, turning the palace park into a magical land.

Much of what was created according to Catherine’s plans was lost over time, but fate saved the main building of the residence - the Chinese Palace with its luxurious interior decoration - from destruction and oblivion.

Hidden in the depths of the park, the palace initially surprises with the simplicity and austerity of its appearance. There is nothing even remotely reminiscent of “Chinese” in the building’s exterior. Devoid of pomp and monumentality on the outside, on the inside it amazes with its elegance and sophistication of design. The architecture itself acquires here the softness of transitions of various complex structural forms. Corners and walls are smoothly rounded. Increasing in size, the hoops, decorated with artistic modeling, play a significant role. The Baroque principle of the enfilading arrangement of rooms is still preserved here, but there is no longer the impression of the infinity of the gallery, so characteristic of the work of architects of the previous era. Each room has its own solution, and most importantly, in the interior decor of the Chinese Palace we see a combination of different materials and various textures - varnish, porcelain, glass beads, embroidery, smalt, walrus ivory, wood carving, stacked floors, picturesque lampshades, thin low-relief molding various patterns, gilding and, of course, artificial marble (stucco).

Elements of imitation of oriental art - images of smoking oriental incense burners, gushing fountains, trellises, magical birds, Chinese hats, umbrellas and fans - are found in almost all the interiors of the palace, both in the painting of the picturesque decoration and in the design of stucco compositions. The most vividly eastern motifs are embodied in the interiors located in the western part of the palace, on the half of Catherine II. Thanks to the names of these rooms - the Large and Small Chinese Cabinets, the Chinese Bedchamber - the empress's "newly built house" acquired the name "Chinese" by the end of the 18th century.

Speaking about the influence of the East, one cannot help but talk about the Glass Bead Cabinet of Catherine II, which has almost completely preserved its original decoration. Created in the era of the sophisticated Rococo style, its interior reflects the very idea of a “gallant age”, where a person does not know boredom and fatigue, where everything strives for carefreeness, pleasure and unbridled fun.

“Unlike anything,” “amazing,” “fabulous” - there are many epithets, but none of them can convey the magical feeling that covers when visiting Catherine’s mysterious, enchanting office. It is here that that “sense of history” arises, when it seems that the empress will now enter here and we will hear the voices and laughter of the courtiers accompanying her.

Rocaille ornamentation with an abundance of floral decor and the use of delicate pastel colors gives the office decoration a festive, elegant, sophistication and lightness. Its decoration reflected the fascination with “Chinese” at that time. True, the task here was not so much to show the life of the East in its real embodiment, but, using objects and elements of oriental decor, to convey one’s idea of those distant countries that few people have visited. Imitation of the so-called “Chinese style” helped to achieve a fantasy, almost fairy-tale atmosphere in the perception of decorativeness.

The glass bead room (later it became known as the “office”) got its name from the panels that decorate its three walls. There are twelve of them - ten large panels and two desudeportes, two more were made to decorate the fireplace screen. The basis of these decorative paintings is an unbleached canvas (there are 16 cells in one centimeter of fabric), on which bugles are sewn - cylindrical tubes of milk glass of various lengths (from 2-3 to 15 mm) with a hair hole inside, and also embroidered with multi-colored fleecy silk - chenille (from the French "chenille"). The glass beads themselves have a pearl shade and are sewn to the base with one thread of canvas picked up, while the tubes are located parallel to each other so that each subsequent one protrudes slightly, and the viewer does not have the impression of strict vertical lines. Thanks to this technique, an additional flickering effect is achieved through the play of reflected light.

Bugle beads are only a background that emphasizes and enhances the impression of the embroidery itself, made with amazing skill and grace: on a sparkling background framed by floral ornaments - fancy decorative compositions depicting fairy-tale birds in a fantastic landscape. Decorative elements include the constant attributes of “Chinese”: light umbrellas, bridges, pagodas, trellises and arbors entwined with flowers, and the birds themselves vaguely resemble the paintings of birds on vases brought from this distant country. The panel contains many images of one of the most important talismans of China - bells. Hanged in the garden or in the house, they attracted good luck, success and harmony, while emitting a subtle chime, delighting the ear and designed to bring a feeling of complete harmony. Twisted fleecy silk creates the impression of three-dimensional design not only of the birds’ plumage, but also of the entire decorative pattern. The choice of color palette of silk threads is also impeccable. In contrast to the cold shine of the bugles, the embroidery is made in soft pastel colors, among which golden beige is dominant.

Cardboard drawings for glass bead panels were made in 1762 by the “free master of painting” Serafino Barozzi, who worked in St. Petersburg for more than 10 years - from the late 1750s to 1771. The panels were embroidered over two years, from July 1762 to April 1764, by nine Russian gold seamstresses: Anna Andreeva, Avdotya Loginova, Avdotya Petrova, Tatyana and Lukerya Kusova, Praskovya and Matryona Petrov, Cleopatra Danilova, Marya Ivanova, under the direction of the former actress of the French troupe Maria de Chelles. (De Chelles is a stage name, her real surname is Foch.) Just one month after her accession to the throne, Catherine II issues a decree “on handing over the gold seamstresses at court to Madame de Chelles for the supervision and correction of their positions.” In February 1763, Catherine II paid Maria de Chelles “4,100 rubles for all the work performed,” and in May 1764 she imposed a resolution: “Give 1,000 rubles for the work and release her to the fatherland...”.

Bugle beads were made based on the Russian scientist M.V. Lomonosov in the vicinity of Oranienbaum Ust-Ruditskaya mosaic factory, which at that time produced a variety of glass products, including beads and glass beads. To create the panel, more than 2,000,000 glass tubes of pearl color with various shades were used: pink, yellowish, light green. Compared to the money paid for embroidery work, the price of bugles looks insignificant. By decree of Catherine II in 1765, M.V. Lomonosov was paid “18 rubles for glass beads made at his factory to decorate his summer house.” (The only summer house under construction for the empress at that time was the Chinese Palace.)

All panels, like paintings, are enclosed in carved gilded frames in the form of tree trunks, palm trees, entwined with acanthus leaves and flowers. The relief of the carving is very deep and complex, because some leaves extend 15-20 centimeters from the trunk. The frames of the five panels are topped with ten figures of dragons - constant attributes of the interior in the “chinoiserie” style. These fabulous creatures seem to guard the peace and prosperity of the magical garden depicted on the walls.

From documents of 1763 it is known that the carver Ivan Selivanov was sent from the office of the Buildings to Oranienbaum. In the report of 1764-1765 on the Own Dacha, titular councilor Andrei Snetkov noted that “for carved work in two rooms, in which there will be French and Chinese wallpaper, and for carved sofas and chairs” to pay 3845 rubles. At the same time, “carving master” Knikhin worked for 250 rubles under another contract.

Gilding work was carried out by goldsmiths' apprentices from Jacobo Martini's team: Gavriil Tubolkin, Nikolai Kholshchevnikov, Mikhail Krivonogov and others. Thanks to the use of two techniques for applying gilding to frames - glue gilding and polyment gilding - the craftsmen achieved a decorative effect that was new for that time, where matte and shiny surfaces alternated. The surface of the floor and lower part of the cabinet panels in the 18th century, lined with smalt in ocher, blue and azure colors, was glass. Especially according to Antonio Rinaldi’s idea, three smalt tables were created for this interior, the surface of which was set using the Florentine mosaic technique and decorated with semi-precious Ural stones. These works were carried out by masters of the Peterhof lapidary factory under the leadership of Jacobo Martini. The beauty and unusualness of the interior, almost entirely made of glass, could not leave anyone indifferent.

The composition of the molding of the ceiling arches and the panel above the fireplace is in complete unity with the character of the embroidery and carving patterns. The enchanting decoration, made by Alberto Gianni using the technique of spread sculpting, becomes a wonderful frame for the lampshade “Fortune and Envy” by Gaspare Diziani. In an allegorical form, the author depicts the struggle of two opposite principles: the light, good - in the form of the goddess of fate Fortuna and the dark, evil - in the form of the figure of Envy. Moreover, Envy is depicted prostrate at the feet of Fortune. The choice of plot, apparently, was not accidental - it is an instruction to those who came here and were impressed by the brilliance and luxury of the decoration of these apartments. And there were a lot of guests here. True, this has always been a select circle. Since the grand opening of the palace, which took place on July 27, 1768, Catherine II more than once invited her closest people here and gave audiences to ambassadors. During their official visits, the palace was inspected by the Prussian Prince Henry and the Swedish King Gustav III. On July 27, 1774, in the Glass Beads Study, the Empress gave an audience to the Austrian ambassador, Prince Lobkovich. She was well aware of the exquisite luxury and artistic value of the interior of her “rare precious toy,” and she was especially pleased to see the admiration of foreign guests.

After the death of Catherine II, great celebrations still took place in the Chinese Palace, accompanied by the display of the Glass Bead Cabinet. So, in 1818, a ball was held here in honor of the arrival of the Prussian King Frederick William III to Oranienbaum on the occasion of the birth of his grandson, the future Russian Emperor Alexander II. However, there were fewer and fewer guests - constantly changing owners rarely visited the palace.

In 1831, Oranienbaum, together with the Chinese Palace, was transferred to the sole ownership of Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich. With the arrival of the new owner, the wife of the Grand Duke Elena Pavlovna, the second, no less significant stage in the life of the Glass Bead Cabinet began - it is undergoing one of its first restorations, as a result of which the azure-colored panels that had fallen into complete disrepair and the famous “mosaic work” smalt floor were dismantled . The Grand Duchess tried to carry out her transformations in the Chinese Palace quite restrainedly and carefully, so during the reconstruction the original plan of the architect Antonio Rinaldi was preserved. During the work, master Huton creates a wooden parquet that completely repeats the pattern of the previous smalt floor. As for the panels themselves, the renovations affected them too. Apparently, due to the impossibility of completely clearing the canvases of emerging contaminants and in an attempt to add brightness to the faded and faded silk threads, priceless embroidery is painted with bright colors. After such an “update,” the three-dimensionality of the design disappears, and crimson becomes the dominant color of the interior. It is this color that is used to color embroidered flowers and decorative patterns on panels. A furniture set upholstered in crimson fabric appears in the interior; curtains for the windows are sewn from the same color of material, and, as a result, since 1862, along with the old name, a new one has come into use - “Crimson Cabinet”. In 1897, the name changed again - now the office is referred to as the “Bead Room”.

After the death of Elena Pavlovna, the palace became the property first of her daughter, Grand Duchess Catherine Mikhailovna, Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, then of her granddaughter, Princess Elena Georgievna, married to Saxe-Altenburg.

The original beauty of the office could not leave indifferent the new government, which came as a result of revolutionary events full of chaos and horror, during which much was lost, damaged or simply stolen. Oddly enough, salvation came from the Council of People's Commissars. On August 30, 1918, the palace was nationalized and all its property, including priceless glass bead decoration, was registered. But the main thing happened later - on July 1, 1922, a museum was opened here, and it was from that moment that work began not only on systematization, study, but also on restoration of the palace collections. Throughout 1925, the workshops of the State Hermitage restored the ceiling of the “Fortune and Envy” cabinet, which by that time had fallen into a deplorable state. The office came to life, the feeling of fear and uncertainty was replaced by the calm, measured life of the museum with its plans and routine work. For new visitors, mostly inexperienced, the usual curiosity that arose upon entering the halls of the palace was invariably replaced by a feeling of admiration when what they saw, once amazing, forever takes a strong place in the person’s soul. The glass bead room continued to give people genuine aesthetic pleasure. It seemed that it would always be like this.

However, the Great Patriotic War suddenly cut short the recently begun life of the museum. The palace continued to operate for another month; conservation and evacuation of exhibits, and primarily glass bead panels, began on July 23, 1941. The priceless embroideries were wrapped in cloth and rolled onto eleven rollers, which were placed in two boxes. Apparently, the fireplace screen panel and two desudeportes were rolled onto one shaft. For the first time since their creation, the panels left the palace; they were taken on a barge to St. Isaac's Cathedral in Leningrad, where they remained in this state throughout the blockade. Only once, on June 9, 1943, the boxes were disturbed by museum workers Balaeva, Tikhomirova and Maksimova to inspect their safety. Now it is difficult to imagine how three women, exhausted from hunger, were able to pull out the shafts, however, they examined the panel and drew up a report in which they recorded a satisfactory condition and no signs of dampness. The situation was worse with carved frames. They were also stored in St. Isaac's Cathedral in boxes numbered 14 and 15, but in 1946, upon opening, severe mold damage was discovered there.

The glass bead cabinet, like the entire museum, was in very poor condition after the difficult siege period and required restoration. Fortunately, during the war years this amazing palace of the Rococo era was not destroyed or looted, since the Germans were never able to enter Oranienbaum, but significant damage was caused to the monument. Air strikes, bomb explosions, which resulted in losses and damage, and the dampness that spread during the war years had a detrimental effect on the safety of both the building itself and the interior decoration. Defender of the Oranienbaum bridgehead V. Gorbachev, who crossed the threshold of the Chinese Palace in 1943, wrote: “... in winter, through the cracks of the shutters and broken glass, drafts blew islands of snow into the halls of the palace. Now they were melting on the floor, and the parquet, saturated with moisture, rose in many places in lumps. Streams of water flowed down the walls. The snow melted on the roof and, through numerous holes in the roof from a hail of anti-aircraft fragments falling from the sky when repelling enemy air raids, streams of water penetrated into the interiors of the palace.”

By June 27, 1946, only conservation and restoration work had been carried out without preliminary research. Qualified cabinetmakers, led by foreman I.I. Kartoshkin restored the typesetting floors in all rooms, including the Glass Beads Study, however, due to the lack of the necessary types of wood, without adding new material in places of loss. Experienced carver I.N. Baldasev restored the carvings of the frames of the Glass Bead Cabinet, which were broken in many places. The carved gilded baguette was assembled by selecting and gluing the fallen fragments of the ornament and installed in place, but without replacing the missing parts. Only the head, two wings and three tails of the dragons, bronzed due to the lack of gold, were again carved from linden. A team of marble workers led by foreman I.I. The butler restored the fireplace and panels made of artificial marble. Painters (foreman A.V. Kryuchkov) and gilders (foreman A.N. Kabanov) did a complex and extensive job of restoring the finishing of the ceilings, arches and walls. Since it was not possible to carry out field surveys, the ceiling and panels above the window were simply painted in three colors - pink, pistachio and cream, the molding above the fireplace was whitewashed and the carvings in the lower part of the walls were repaired, and the lampshade was also restored. Since the glass bead panels themselves did not receive significant damage, they were placed in their original place after drying.

The leaders of these works were the architect I.I. Varakin, who was also the author of a series of engravings dedicated to Oranienbaum in the first post-war years, and researcher L.I. Vasilyeva.

Just a year after the end of the war, in the summer of 1946, museum visitors were able to see the Glass Bead Cabinet again. And although the work carried out was rather of a conservation nature, against the backdrop of the suburban palaces torn during the war, this was already a great victory for the restorers and employees over the devastation, meaning a return to peaceful museum life.

In the post-war years, restoration work continued in the palace, but it did not affect the Glass Bead Cabinet. For more than 60 years, the interior has been waiting in the wings.

In 2009, thanks to the financial support of Gazprom, BASF and Wintershall Holding GmbH, for the first time in the history of the museum, full-scale research, conservation and restoration work began in the halls of the palace with an integrated approach, including primarily changing the climatic condition of the palace. Widespread dampness and mold in interiors are the main problems that experts and restorers once again had to face. different directions. Now, after installing a conservation heating system, positive temperatures are maintained here in winter and, depending on the time of year, air dehumidification and humidification devices are constantly operating.

Thanks to the coordinated work of the staff of the KGIOP, the Peterhof State Museum-Reserve and the State Hermitage, in the summer of 2009 a long-awaited event took place - the restoration of unique museum objects. Back in the winter at the beginning of 2008, for the development of a technique, the first panel - a desudeport of the eastern wall of the Glass Beads Cabinet - was transferred to the laboratory of scientific restoration of fabrics of the State Hermitage. By July 2008, after a survey, a restoration methodology was being developed, and a year after the start of work, the first six panels (three from the east, two from the west, one from the south) were accepted by the commission. Thanks to a unique and labor-intensive restoration, which included not only cleaning and strengthening the threads, but also removing later layers of the 19th century, the embroidered designs are restored to their original color, as it was in the 18th century. In the winter of 2010, employees of the company Daedalus LLC completed a set of works on the restoration of the gilded baguette of the Glass Bead Cabinet, during which the craftsmen managed to recreate the lower carved frame and two figurines of dragons that had previously been lost on the western wall by the fireplace. During this time, the artists of the company "Petrrestkom" LLC carried out priority emergency conservation work on decorative artistic finishing, made clearings to reveal the original colors on the walls and ceiling arches to determine the appropriate colors, and completed the restoration of the ceiling. On the stucco panel above the fireplace under the whitewash made in 1946, the restorers managed to discover and restore the historical silver-pearl shade, thanks to which, when the light flickered, the light spread molding in the form of flowers and birds began to sparkle again, like luxurious embroidery against a background of bugles.

In 2011, for the grand opening of the interiors of the first stage of the Chinese Palace, painstaking work was carried out to install glass bead panels and frames on the preserved historical stretchers. But the interior cannot be perceived holistically and completely without objects of decorative and applied art that complement it. Therefore, the last important event, which put a long-awaited end to the restoration work, was the return of the famous smalt tables of the 18th century, specially conceived by Antonio Rinaldi for the office. Only after this final “touch” did it become possible to see and understand the original author’s intention, the main task of which was to achieve amazing consistency and integrity in the perception of decorative elements of such an unusual interior, even for its era, that were different in their artistic embodiment.

E. Guslyarov. Catherine II in life. P. 82 // From the notes of Catherine II. 1755
The glass bead room can be seen in museum complex"New Castle" in Germany in the city of Arnstadt in Thuringia. Its creation supposedly dates back to the 1730s.
Gorbatenko S. Architecture of Oranienbaum. Western distance of the Peterhof road. St. Petersburg, 2014. P. 348.
Right there. P. 148.
Desudeport (French) dessus- de- porte- above the door) - decorative compositions located above door or window openings.
Archives of the Peterhof State Historical Museum. N-1459. P. 616 (3). Art. Researcher V.V. Eliseeva. Information on the restoration of the Glass Bead Cabinet of the Chinese Palace. 1965 L. 2. (Next: Archives of the Peterhof State Historical Museum.)
Klementyev V.G. Oranienbaum. Chinese Palace. St. Petersburg, 2007. P. 55.
KGIOP (Committee on State Control, Use and Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments). P. 616-7. Inv. No. N-7282. Historical note. Chinese Palace in Oranienbaum. Comp. Klementyev V.G. 2005. P. 15. (Hereinafter: KGIOP.)
Right there.
Right there.
Voronov M. Works of Russian craftswomen. Pearl necklace of Leningrad // Leningrad worker. 1983. January 25
Archives of the Peterhof State Historical Museum. N-1459. P. 616 (3). L. 4.
Right there.
Right there.
Right there.
Pieces of smalt were placed on a wooden base and glued close to each other, then they were smoothed and polished, the seams were sealed completely unnoticeably.
Two of the three tables are decorated with semi-precious Ural stones (agate, onyx): a console table and a table with images of books.
Benois A.N. Chinese Palace in Oranienbaum // Artistic Treasures of Russia. 1901. No. 10. P. 204.
KGIOP. P. 616-7. Inv. No. N-7282. Historical note. Chinese Palace in Oranienbaum. Comp. Klementyev V.G. 2005. P.53.
Right there.
Klementyev V.G. Oranienbaum. Chinese Palace. St. Petersburg, 2007. P. 11.
Archives of the Peterhof State Historical Museum. L. 8.
KGIOP. P. 616-7. Inv. No. N-7282. Historical note. Chinese Palace in Oranienbaum. Comp. Klementyev V.G. 2005. P. 66.
Archives of the Peterhof State Historical Museum. L. 9.
Archives of the Peterhof State Historical Museum. L. 9. Act of June 9, 1943. In his certificate V.V. Eliseeva indicates the surnames (without initials) of the museum employees who opened the boxes.
KGIOP. P. 616-7. P-1190. Current correspondence 1946-1956 Act of December 20, 1946 On the technical condition of the building of the Chinese Palace and establishing the scope of repair and restoration work for 1947. P. 2.
Archives of the Peterhof State Historical Museum. L. 8.
Right there. L. 6.
KGIOP. P. 616-7. P-1190. Current correspondence 1946-1956 Newspaper “Forward” of Oranienbaum, July 7, 1946. Article by Z. Elzengr (senior researcher) “Today the Chinese Palace Museum opens.” L. 146.
Archives of the Peterhof State Historical Museum. L. 8.
Archives of the Lenproektrestavratsiya Institute. Chinese Palace. Journal of work 1946 L. 6.
Mudrov Yu.V., Lebedinskaya M.P.“Oranienbaum. Forties..." St. Petersburg, 2005. P. 20.