Chinese palace of Catherine II in Oranienbaum. Interior of the palace
The St. Peter's Fortress, built in the eastern part of the estate in 1757, was transformed into the Peterstadt Fortress two years later. In plan, the fortress was a fourteen-pointed star with four bastions, surrounded by earthen ramparts and ditches filled with water. The two-hectare fortress was complemented by a complex system of additional fortifications. The pond located near the northern front was called the "Pleasure Sea". Naval battles took place here with the participation of warships: the twelve-gun ship "Oranienbaum", the frigate "St. Andrew", the galleys "St. Catherine" and "Elizabeth".
On the territory of the fortress there was an arsenal, barracks for artillery, dragoon regiments and cuirassier trumpeters, houses for officers and regimental commanders, a guardhouse, sheds for horses and carriages, and an arsenal.
In Russia, the tradition of amusing battles and the construction of fortresses for military amusements of the heirs to the throne appeared under Peter I. The Semenovsky and Preobrazhensky regiments created by him played the role of amusing troops, and later became the main units of the guard.
Peter Fedorovich invited the regiments of the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein, where he was from, to participate in military games.
From the notes of Catherine II it becomes clear that she had a negative attitude towards the invitation of the Holsteiners:
...the number of Holstein troops and adventurers who occupied officer positions there increased from year to year.
The soldiers of the Ingria Regiment said: “Now we have become the lackeys of these damned Germans.” The palace lackeys said: “We are forced to serve this peasant.” When I saw and found out what was happening, I firmly decided to stay as far away from this dangerous childish game as possible.
The number of the Holstein garrison reached 1,500 people. The construction of the Peterstadt fortress was led by the Holstein master Förster and lieutenant engineer Savely Sokolov. The fortress occupied two hectares.
On the territory of the fortress there was the palace of Peter III, intended for his relaxation after military activities. 
For the first time in Russian architecture, a palace building appeared on the territory of a fortification, serving not military, but entertainment purposes. 
The first floor of the palace was for service. Several ceremonial rooms have been preserved on the second floor. The palace was built by the architect Antonio Rinaldi. 
There is a monkey on the armor. It is known that Pyotr Fedorovich had a monkey named Elizaveta Vorontsova, it is possible that this is her: 
As expected, there should be a secret staircase in the fortress: 
Peter III lived in this modest house until his arrest. Here on June 28, 1762, he signed an abdication of the throne, was arrested and taken to Ropsha, where he soon died of hemorrhoidal colic.
Over time, the wooden buildings of the fortress fell into disrepair and were dismantled at the end of the 18th century. Today, only the remains of earthen ramparts, a small palace and the main entrance gate have been preserved: 
Fortress layout: 
This is how Catherine II recalled life in Oranienbaum in her notes:
In general, I and all of us were disgusted with the boring life that we led in Oranienbaum, where there were five or six of us women who remained alone, face to face from morning to evening, while the men, for their part, reluctantly practiced the art of war .
This is the lifestyle that I led in Oranienbaum then. I got up at three o’clock in the morning, dressed myself from head to toe in a man’s dress; the old huntsman I had was already waiting for me with guns; on the seashore he had a fishing boat completely ready. We crossed the garden on foot, with a gun on our shoulder, and we sat down - he, I, the kicking dog and the fisherman who was taking us - into this shuttle, and I went to shoot ducks in the reeds bordering the sea on both sides of the Oranienbaum Canal, which goes two miles into the sea. We often went around this channel and therefore were sometimes in quite stormy weather on the open sea on this shuttle. The Grand Duke arrived an hour or two after us, because he always had to carry breakfast with him and who knows what else. If he met us, we set off together; if not, then each of us went and hunted separately. At ten o'clock, and sometimes later, I returned and dressed for dinner; After dinner I rested, and in the evening either the Grand Duke had music, or we went horseback riding.
For my rooms in this palace, I bought everything with my own money, in order to avoid any disputes and difficulties, for His Imperial Highness, although he was very extravagant in all his whims, was sparing of money on everything that concerned me, and was not at all generous; but since what I did for my rooms at my own expense served to decorate the house, he was very pleased with it.
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; since this piece of land belonged to eight or ten members of their family, they willingly gave it to me, without, however, receiving any income from it. 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.
The best thing about Oranienbaum is its own dacha, which Rinaldi built in 1762-1774 for Catherine II. His own dacha became the third palace and park ensemble (after the Menshikov Palace and the Lower Park; the Peterstadt fortress and the Petrovsky Park around it).
Having ascended the throne, Catherine II ordered that 10 thousand rubles be allocated for the construction of her own dacha and allowed A. Rinaldi to invite first-class Russian and Western European craftsmen. With their participation, according to the drawings and drawings of A. Rinaldi, an unrivaled interior beauty was built Chinese Palace (1762-1768).
The name "Chinese Palace" was first mentioned in 1774 in the Chamber Fourier magazine. Before this, the palace was called the “Dutch little house” (the same as the Monplaisir Palace in Peterhof), “the little house in the Upper Garden”, “the little house”. The name “Chinese” arose because a number of the palace’s interiors (the Large and Small Chinese Cabinets) were decorated in the spirit of Chinese art or using original works of art from China and Japan.
Last year, the restored Glass Cabinet from the Chinese Palace was exhibited at the Hermitage http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/html_Ru/04/2010/hm4_1_263.html.
From the Hermitage website:
The most famous chamber of the Chinese Palace is the Glass Cabinet, which has preserved the original decoration of the 1760s. The walls of the room are decorated with glass bead panels. These are canvases on which bugle bead embroidery is done. The glass beads were 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 in an equally fantastic landscape are embroidered in chenille (fleecy silk).
Initially, the floor in the glass bead office was made of multi-colored smalts, also made at the Ust-Ruditsk factory, but by the middle of the 19th century it fell into disrepair and the smalts were replaced with type-setting parquet while maintaining the same pattern.
The Chinese Palace is the only monument of the Rococo style in Russia. Most of the interiors of the palace have retained the original decoration of the mid-18th century. Of particular value to it are the unique objects of decorative and applied art from China and Japan from the late 17th to mid-18th centuries, as well as the preserved and extant typesetting parquet flooring from the second third of the 18th century (made according to sketches by Antonio Rinaldi).
Above the pond, at the southern facade of the palace, there are marble and bronze statues characters of ancient mythology - copies from ancient originals.
Pergola in the background: 
We didn’t get to the Chinese Palace because there is no heating there, so it is closed for the winter. As a consolation, we were informed that now in the palace, in addition to the Glass Beads Room, only two halls are open. The rest are under restoration. During Soviet times, the palace was completely open. Although it was quite shabby, you could still see everything.
The Chinese Palace, the pearl of the Oranienbaum palace and park ensemble, part of the Peterhof State Museum-Reserve, is the only surviving monument of architecture in the Rococo style in Russia. This year he celebrates his 250th birthday. The gift to the hero of the day was a multi-year restoration that brought back to life a unique creation of the 18th century.
“We have a very special relationship with the Chinese Palace,” said Elena Kalnitskaya, General Director of the Peterhof State Historical Museum, at the opening ceremony of the palace. “It is unlike anything else; it is an exceptionally valuable example of Russian Rococo.”
Interest in China first arose in Rus' at the end of the 15th century, when merchants began to bring Far Eastern fabrics to Moscow. And by the middle of the 18th century, all more or less wealthy St. Petersburg houses were furnished with Chinese things. The royal court set the tone for this fashion for “chinoiserie”, the Chinese style.
Since 1743, Oranienbaum was owned by Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich, the future Emperor Peter III. His wife Catherine II, after coming to power, erected a complex of buildings in the Upper Park - “Own Dacha”. The Chinese Palace is one of the most famous buildings of this complex. It got its name from the decoration of some of the rooms. There was a large collection of Chinese decorative arts and Japanese porcelain. The construction and decoration of the palace was carried out by the Italian architect Antonio Rinaldi.
The main attractions of the palace are the glass cabinet and unique parquet floors. The walls of the office are decorated with 12 panels - these are canvases on which embroidery is made with glass beads and multi-colored fleecy silk - chenille. The palace's unique parquet floors are made of mahogany and ebony, amaranth, boxwood, Persian walnut, and maple. “A true miracle, full of wonders of the eighteenth century,” wrote Igor Grabar about the Chinese Palace.
In the second half of the 19th century, the new owners of Oranienbaum - descendants of the family of Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich - significantly updated the buildings, changing their interiors according to the fashion of their time. During the Great Patriotic War, Oranienbaum was not destroyed; its buildings have been preserved and have survived to this day as authentic buildings of the 18th century.
The boudoir, called the Picturesque Study in the 18th century, completes the eastern suite of rooms in the Chinese Palace. Photo: State Museum "Peterhof"
“When we first entered these premises, they were very damp,” Mikhail Batakovsky, director of the St. Petersburg Restoration Company LLC, which carried out all the work in the Chinese Palace, told a TANR correspondent. “The air humidity was 80%, the contact humidity of the wood was 20%, like a freshly cut tree.”
The second stage of restoration work lasted four years. In the third year, they began general construction work - they reconstructed the subfloors and interfloor ceilings; A system for maintaining temperature and humidity conditions was installed in the building. And only the fourth year was spent on the actual restoration of the interiors. Three halls of the Chinese Palace were restored: the Shtofnaya bedchamber, the boudoir and the office of Paul I. “We carried out the most conservative restoration,” explained Mikhail Batakovsky. “There was no re-creation here!” According to Elena Kalnitskaya, each stage of work costs approximately 300 million rubles, now the total cost is approaching 1 billion rubles. The restoration will be completed by 2023, but the palace is already open to visitors. The picturesque panels have returned to the Shtofnaya bedchamber: they have also been restored. Decorative panels with paintings have been restored in the boudoir. In the office of Paul I, on the walls there is an original painting by Serafino Barozzi, which had to be completely removed during the restoration.
Chinese Palace in Oranienbaum after restoration. Photo: State Museum "Peterhof"
“We managed to return many original objects to the palace and reveal for viewing the paintings that were hidden under layers of paint,” Tatyana Syasina, curator of the Chinese Palace, shows the Shtofnaya bedchamber. “Although we purchased many items anew.” Inventories from the 18th century have not survived; they appeared only in the 20th century. But there are descriptions of things that were bought by the last owners of Oranienbaum - the Mecklenburg-Strelitzskys.
The damask of the 19th century has been preserved; the upholstery of the bedchamber was recreated based on its model. The mirror, the fireplace screen, and other original things were returned here. Friends of the museum donated porcelain vases produced by the Meissen manufactory - similar ones stood here 250 years ago. A lampshade by Maggiotto has been installed in its original place. On the wall panels under the windows, authentic paintings from the 18th century are revealed.
Until the restoration is fully completed, it will be possible to take an excursion to the Chinese Palace by appointment.
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 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.
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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.
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Externally, the Chinese Palace is quite simple, but its interior amazes visitors with its diversity and richness. Among interior spaces arouse great interest.
To mark the 250th anniversary of the Chinese Palace, after restoration, the halls of Pavel Petrovich’s half are open to the public: the Shtofnaya Bedchamber, the Boudoir and the Study.
Date of construction:late 1750s - 1768
Architect: Antonio Rinaldi (1709-1794)
The Chinese Palace, located in the depths of the Upper Park and surrounded on all sides by greenery, is part of the grandiose palace and park complex “Own Dacha” of Empress Catherine II. The definition of “own” in court terminology meant that this or that building, pavilion or garden, was intended for imperial persons, and only selected persons were invited here. This was the case with the Chinese Palace and its surroundings - the personal residence of Catherine II.
Erected in 1762–1768 according to the design of the Italian architect A. Rinaldi, the palace was one-story and only acquired new features in the middle of the 19th century. According to the design of architects L. L. Bonstedt and A. I. Stackenschneider, a second floor was built, a gallery was glazed, connected under the balcony that appeared at the same time and connecting two projections on the south side, and small anti-chamber rooms were added to the east and west.
For a long time, the palace, like Monplaisir, was called the “Dutch House”. It was only in 1774 that the name “Chinese Palace” appeared in the Chamber Fourier magazine, which arose because a number of the palace’s interiors were decorated in the spirit of Chinese aesthetics or using original works of Chinese art.
Despite the external restraint and some severity, the interior decoration of the palace is elegant and surprisingly elegant. In the middle part there is a suite of ceremonial chambers: Glass Bead Study, Damask Bedchamber, Hall of Muses, Blue and Pink Living Rooms, Large and Small Chinese Cabinets. These names themselves speak of the exclusivity and originality of the palace premises. The large enfilade is complemented by small enfilades: in the western one are the living quarters of Catherine II, in the eastern are the rooms of Grand Duke Paul. In the palace there are no repeating frames of doorways, panels, doors; each interior is completely independent.
The main highlight of the Chinese Palace is the Glass 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 is made with bugles (milk glass tubes) and multi-colored fleecy silk - chenille. Complex compositions depicting fantastic birds, plants, and fluttering butterflies are presented against a sparkling background. The panels are enclosed in frames with gilded carvings imitating tree trunks entwined with leaves, flowers and bunches of grapes.
First-class works of fine and applied art were purchased to decorate the interiors of the palace. The most significant part of the painting collection consists of lampshades painted specifically for the Chinese Palace. None of the surviving Russian palaces has such a collection of lampshades. Most were executed by special order in Venice by leading masters of the Academy of Painting and Sculpture. Two major Italian painters Stefano Torelli and Serafino Barozzi worked on painting such extensive interiors as the Hall of the Muses, the Great Chinese Cabinet, the offices of Catherine II and Paul, the Boudoir, etc.
The parquet floors of the palace with a total area of 722 square meters are unique in their artistic significance. meters. They are made from domestic and “overseas” wood species - mahogany and ebony, amaranth, boxwood, Persian walnut, maple, birch, oak. Individual sets contain up to 15 different types of wood. The parquet floors of the Chinese Palace have no equal in the world in terms of the richness and variety of wood species, the complexity of the pattern of the set and the craftsmanship.
The Chinese palace embodied the fashionable influences and aesthetic preferences of the 18th century. The decoration of the palace was made by European and Russian artists with exceptional skill and has no analogues. “A true miracle, full of wonders of the eighteenth century,” said art critic I. E. Grabar about the Chinese Palace.
Years
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 figured 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 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 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 general director State Museum "Peterhof" by E. Ya. Kalnitskaya, the Glass Bead Cabinet stands on the same level as the Amber Room of the Grand Palace in Tsarskoe Selo, with the difference that the glass bead panels are original from the mid-18th century.
Interiors
General characteristics of interior decoration
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1 - Front 2 - Dressing room Half of Paul: Front suite: Half of Catherine II: |
For interior decoration State buildings of the 18th century are 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
Hall of muses in its own way architectural solution and its state of preservation belongs to 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 Cabinet 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.
