Shurygin Alexander. Taming the Rebellious

They say that in the cultural capital of Russia there are only about 800 bridges, spanning many rivers and rivulets, streams, lakes, ponds and artificial reservoirs. Each of them has its own story. But according to the number of frank facts, beautiful stories, legends, myths, folk tales and anecdotes, from all this huge amount Only a few dozen bridges can be identified. Among them there is a small but very famous Anichkov Bridge.

It is located at the intersection of Nevsky Prospekt and the Fontanka River. He is depicted in many paintings, postcards, and engravings. Its main feature is famous sculptures"Horse Tamers" This best work sculptor P.K. Klodt, who brought him world fame. There are about 30 “horses” in St. Petersburg in total, and 11 of them are the work of the sculptor Klodt.

The bridge was named in honor of engineer-lieutenant colonel Mikhail Anichkov. It was his battalions that had the honor of erecting this structure on the orders of Peter I himself. But the inventors of St. Petersburg fell in love with the name “Anichk in bridge” - naturally, no Anechka or Anya is mentioned in the pedigree of the structure, but it sounds no less beautiful and mysterious.

Anichkov Bridge in the 19th century

Over time, the bridge was rebuilt several times. During the years of reconstruction of the Anichkov Bridge, sculptor Pyotr Karlovich Klodt, who already headed the academic foundry workshop, worked on one of the projects decoration pier on the Neva embankment, opposite the Academy of Arts. Then they were going to decorate it with sculptural groups of horses led by young men, like those that decorate the entrance to the Champs-Elysees in Paris.

"Horses of Marly" at the Place de la Concorde, Paris

But plans have changed. Sphinxes brought to St. Petersburg from ancient capital Egypt city of Thebes in the spring of 1832. The figures of the sphinxes were carved in the 13th century BC. e. Their faces - portrait images Pharaoh Amenhotep III.

Egyptian Bridge, 1896, Photo: F. Kratký

Klodt's horses seemed to be out of work. And the sculptor proposes to install his horses on the rebuilt Anichkov Bridge.

In the fall of 1841, the first pair of horses was installed on the western side of the bridge, from the side of the Anichkov Palace, and their plaster copies stood opposite.

Twice Klodt cast bronze compositions for the eastern side, and twice, shortly after installation, they were removed from their pedestals to be presented to European monarchs.

The first copies went to Berlin in 1843. It was an exchange of gifts between relatives: Frederick William IV ascended the Prussian throne, brother Princess Frederica-Louise-Charlotte, who became the wife of Nicholas I, Alexandra Feodorovna. Here they are - Klodt's horses in their original place at the royal castle in Berlin. Later they were moved to Kleist Park.

1860

And in 1846, the horses were removed from the pedestal and presented to the King of the Two Sicilies, Ferdinand II of Bourbon. 30 years were celebrated since the restoration of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies; however, they used to say that this was rather a sign of gratitude: shortly before this, the empress traveled to Italy to improve her health, and the Neapolitan tyrant gave her a luxurious reception. Here they are - Klodt’s well-known bronze horses and young men at the gates of the royal palace in Naples.

Photo: honestlil.livejournal.com

As a result, Klodt refuses to install copies on the eastern abutments of the Anichkov Bridge and decides to create two new original compositions, in development of the planned plot of “The Taming of the Horse.” In 1850 this grand vision was completely completed.

The public was delighted, Nicholas I was pleased.

During the ceremony on the occasion of the grand opening of the bridge, the emperor, who, as is known, was not known for the sophistication of his expressions, loudly declared with soldierly spontaneity, slapping the sculptor on the shoulder:

“You, Klodt, make horses better than a stallion,” such a dubious compliment to the proud Frenchman cost the emperor very dearly, but he will never know about it. Baron Peter Klodt turned out to be extremely vindictive...

Years passed, and it was he, Klodt, who was tasked with creating a statue of the emperor, who had already died by that time. Of course, the monument had to be equestrian. The maestro did his job superbly: his rider even surpassed the “copper” one, because the horse under Nikolai rests on only two points of support! No one in the world could have created this before Klodt.

Photo: fiesta.city

However, remembering previous grievances, the sculptor still took revenge on the monarch: on Nicholas’s neck he wrote Russian word of three letters, which everyone in Russia knows. This inscription is still alive. Take my word for it - you don’t need to climb the monument.

Probably, it was not only Klodt who was annoyed by the deceased Nicholas I. The day after the opening of the monument, a certain wit hung a board on the bend of the horse’s front right leg. On it was written in bright paint: “You won’t catch up.” All St. Petersburg residents understood the inscription: if it weren’t for the bulk of St. Isaac’s, Nicholas would have been looking at the back of Great Peter’s head. It is not for nothing that later St. Petersburg folklore was replenished with the saying “A fool catches up with a smart man, but Isaac gets in the way.”

By the way, dealing with enemies through his sculptures was not new for Pyotr Ivanovich Klodt. Walking across the Anichkov Bridge, pay attention once again to Klodt’s horses: an ardent anti-Bonapartist, the sculptor, in his spirit, “pricked” the “frantic Corsican” by minting a Napoleonic profile between the legs of one of the horses. According to another version, this is the face of his wife’s lover.

St. Petersburg residents used to have a riddle about the Anichkov Bridge: how many eggs are there on the bridge? Now they answer - 16, and before 1917 they answered - 18, because a policeman was on duty there around the clock. And during the anti-alcohol campaign, Gorby said that in the whole city there are only 4 men who don’t drink - they have their hands full, they hold their horses.

About the sculptor

Pyotr Karlovich Klodt

Pyotr Karlovich Klodt is a Russian sculptor from the baronial family of Klodt von Jurgensburg.

Pyotr Klodt came from a poor background ancient family. He began his career in military service. But soon Klodt became interested in the art of sculpting, and, after graduating from artillery school, the young man entered the Academy of Arts. The sculptor was obsessed with creativity. His contemporaries recalled that Klodt constantly observed horses, their poses and movements, trying to convey in sculpture all the beauty of the animals to “flawless accuracy.”

Over time, Klodt's talent was highly appreciated in the world. The sculptor was elected to the Academies of Arts in Paris, Berlin and Rome. But success did not go to his head - until the end of his days, Klodt remained a modest and selfless man, distributing his income to needy people. There is still a legend about his death: supposedly unkind people told the sculptor that the two stallions in his compositions did not have tongues. This message saddened Klodt so much that he became seriously ill and soon died.

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The famous horses of Klodt, decorating the Anichkov Bridge, are the pride of St. Petersburg. And the author of these famous masterpieces is Pyotr Karlovich Klodt, who spent about 20 years on their creation. Now it seems that there is no better place for these magnificent sculptures. But in fact, the history of their installation did not begin with the Anichkov Bridge.

In 1832, it was decided to decorate the University embankment, opposite the Academy of Arts. greek style two sculptural groups of bronze horses with their tamers - the twin brothers Dioscuri, heroes ancient greek mythology.

The sculptor from St. Petersburg, Pyotr Klodt, was assigned to complete this order, and he began work. However, after some time, plans changed - and instead of horses, ancient sculptures of two sphinxes of the 13th century, delivered from the capital of Egypt, were placed on the embankment.

At that time he was working on the Palace Square ensemble famous sculptor Carl Rossi. And he decided to decorate the pier between the Winter Palace and the Admiralty with Klodt’s lions and horses. But Emperor Nicholas I did not approve of this idea; guard lions with balls and vases were placed on the pier. Pyotr Klodt began to independently look for a place to install them, and chose the Anichkov Bridge. They were installed there in 1841, on one side of the bridge, the western one. And on the other bank they temporarily placed copies of them made of plaster, painted bronze.

Over the course of a year, Klodt made two more sculptures, but they never reached the bridge. As a gift from Nicholas I to the Prussian king, the horses went to Berlin, where they were installed. After spending another year, Klodt cast new copies of the bronze horses, they were installed, but three years later, they were removed from their pedestals and sent to Naples. While copies were being given away as royal gifts, the sculptor was born new idea. He decided not to make any more copies, but to create two completely new compositions, combined with those already established by a single concept.

In 1851, the bridge, decorated with equestrian groups, appeared in all its glory. All compositions are combined into a single sequence, reflecting the stages of conquering an unbroken horse by man, and symbolizing the struggle of man with formidable forces nature and triumph over them. According to Klodt’s plan, the figures on the bridge are located in such a way that it is impossible to view them all at the same time from any point, but they should be viewed gradually moving from one to another. But depending on the starting point, the plot will look different.

For example, like this:

The young man, in anticipation of a confrontation, tensely holds back a rearing horse. The horse stands on its hind legs, trying to escape, but the young man holds him back. The horse threw off its blanket and almost escaped. The young man is defeated, but holds the horse, pulling on the bridle. Rising up and leaning on his knee, the young man subdues the wild horse.

Or like this:

The start of the fight... The young man is trying to grab a horse that is rearing up.
The horse almost managed to escape, but the young man held him back with all his strength.
The young man is already confidently restraining the horse, and it gradually submits to him.
The victorious young man confidently leads the submissive horse by the bridle.

But there is one interesting detail: both horses facing the Admiralty have horseshoes on their hooves, while the two horses on the other side are not shod.

Many explain it this way: in those days, there were foundries and forges on Liteiny Prospekt and Kuznechny Lane, so already shod horses move from the forges.

At the beginning of the fight, wild horses should be unshod, and only after man had tamed them could the horses be shod. Taking this fact into account, the plot is presented differently:

A young man, kneeling on one knee, stops a wild, not yet shod, horse.
The horse threw the young man and almost escaped from him. The horse, still trying to resist, begins to obey the will of the person. The horse is shod. The trainer and the bridled and shod horse confidently walk side by side.

But the options don’t end there; there is another interesting one:

A man is lying on the ground. So he got down on his knee. Now he is already on his feet. And now he is already walking at full height, taking the horse by the bridle. But can someone lying on the ground tame someone? A man can rise from the ground with the help of a horse, and then it turns out that this whole composition is not the Taming of the horse, but the Elevation of man, his rushing upward, thanks to the horse. And he convinces of this last group, where two of the most magnificent creatures on earth walk side by side, equally beautiful, strong and graceful. By the way, Klodt himself named his sculptures Horse with Driver; it is the Horse that comes first for him.

BONUS

Becoming by right side bridge with its back to the Admiralty, many tourists try to look under the horse, which is closer to the Anichkov Palace.

According to one of the most famous tales, Klodt sculpted the genitals of this horse in the form of a face - either Napoleon, or his wife’s lover. This hardly has anything to do with reality, but it amuses tourists.

Especially for those who are interested in the history and sights of St. Petersburg.

Awards Works on Wikimedia Commons

Boy, youth, officer[ | ]

The family of the future sculptor (not rich, but well-born) came from Baltic German aristocrats and consisted of hereditary military men. His great-great-grandfather was one of famous figures Northern War, was a major general in the Swedish army. The sculptor’s father was a military general who fought in the Patriotic War of 1812. The portrait of the famous general occupies a worthy place in the gallery of the Winter Palace.

Despite the fact that P.K. Klodt was born in 1805 in St. Petersburg, he spent his childhood and youth in Omsk, where his father served as chief of staff of the Separate Siberian Corps. There, far from the standards of metropolitan education, far from European culture The baron's penchant for carving, modeling and drawing emerged. Most of all, the boy liked to portray horses; he saw a special charm in them.

Like his ancestors, the boy was preparing for military career. In Omsk he studied at the Cossack military school. In 1822, at the age of 17, he returned to the capital and entered the artillery school. All free time What was left from learning the military craft, he devoted to his hobby:

It is also known that during this period Klodt devoted a lot of time to studying the poses, gaits and habits of horses. “Comprehending the horse as a subject artistic creativity, he had no other mentor than nature" .

After graduating from college, the future sculptor received the rank of second lieutenant. The officer served in the training artillery brigade until he was 23 years old, and after that in 1828 he left with military service and decided to continue to engage exclusively in sculpture.

Sculptor [ | ]

For two years Klodt studied independently, copied modern and ancient works of art and worked from life. Since 1830, he has been a volunteer student of the Academy of Arts, his teachers were the rector of the Academy I. P. Martos, as well as the masters of sculpture S. I. Galberg and B. I. Orlovsky. They, approving the work and talent of the young sculptor, helped him achieve success. All this time, Pyotr Karlovich lived and worked in one of the basements. He even brought horses there. There he painted them in the most different angles. Klodt studied the horse from all its sides and poses. The inside of his workroom was dirty, there were lumps of clay, drawings, and sketches lying around. The baron himself was well-fed. People were perplexed: “How can the baron live in such squalor?”

Klodt's talent and perseverance brought unexpected dividends: from the beginning of the 1830s, his figurines depicting horses began to enjoy great success.

Narva triumphal gate

Horses of the Narva Gate[ | ]

A strong continuation of his career was a large government order for sculptural decoration Narva Gate together with such experienced sculptors as S. S. Pimenov and V. I. Demut-Malinovsky. On the attic of the arch there is a set of six horses carrying the chariot of the goddess of glory, made of forged copper according to the model of Klodt in 1833. Unlike classical depictions of this plot, the horses performed by Klodt rapidly rush forward and even rear up. At the same time, the entire sculptural composition gives the impression of rapid movement.

After completing this work, the author received worldwide fame and the patronage of Nicholas I. There is a well-known legend that Nicholas I said: “Well, Klodt, you make better horses than a stallion.”

Anichkov Bridge [ | ]

At the end of 1832 - beginning of 1833, the sculptor received a new government order to create two sculptural groups to decorate the palace pier on the Admiralty Embankment. In the summer of 1833, Klodt made models for the project, and in August of that year the models were approved by the emperor and delivered to the Academy of Arts for discussion.

Members of the academic council expressed complete satisfaction with the sculptor’s work and it was decided to complete both first groups in full size.

After this success, there was a break in work on this project due to the fact that Klodt was completing work on the sculptural composition of the Narva Gate.

This hiatus ended in the mid-1830s and work on the project continued. Emperor Nicholas I, who oversaw the pier project, did not approve of the combination of lions and horses.

P. K. Klodt drew attention to the project for rebuilding the Anichkov Bridge and proposed placing the sculptures not on the piers of the Admiralteyskaya Embankment or on the Admiralteysky Boulevard, but moving them to the supports of the Anichkov Bridge.

The proposal was approved and new project provided for the installation of two pairs sculptural compositions on four pedestals on the western and eastern sides of the bridge.

By 1838 the first group had been realized in full size and was ready to be converted into bronze.

Suddenly an insurmountable obstacle arose: the head of the Foundry of the Imperial Academy of Arts, V. P. Ekimov, died suddenly without leaving a successor.

Without this person, the casting of sculptures was impossible, as a result of which the sculptor decided to independently manage the casting work.

Incarnation in bronze[ | ]

To carry out the work, he used the skills of the basics of foundry, which he was taught at the artillery school, practically mastered in the artillery service and applied in the lessons of V.P. Ekimov when Klodt was a volunteer student at the academy.

Having headed the Foundry in 1838, he began to improve, introducing technological innovations and modern methods into the production work.

The fact that the sculptor became a foundry brought unexpected results: most of the cast statues did not require additional processing (chasing or corrections).

To achieve this result, careful work was required on the wax original, reproducing the smallest details and casting the entire composition (up to this point, such large sculptures were cast in parts). Between 1838 and 1841, the sculptor managed to make two compositions in bronze and began preparations for casting the second pair of sculptures.

On the side pedestals there were two pairs of sculptural compositions: bronze groups were located on the right bank of the Fontanka River (from the Admiralty side), and painted plaster copies were installed on the pedestals on the left bank.

In Berlin [ | ]

Horses in front of Berlin Castle

Repeated castings were made in 1842, but did not reach the bridge; the emperor presented this pair to the Prussian king Frederick William IV and, on his instructions, the sculptures went to Berlin to decorate the main gate of the royal palace.

In Naples [ | ]

In 1843-1844 copies were made again.

From 1844 until the spring of 1846 they remained on the pedestals of the Anichkov Bridge, then Nicholas I sent them to the “King of the Two Sicilies” Ferdinand II (to the Royal Palace in Naples).

Also, copies of sculptures are installed in gardens and palace buildings in Russia: in the vicinity of St. Petersburg - at the Oryol Palace in Strelna and Peterhof, as well as on the territory of the Golitsyn estate in Kuzminki near Moscow, the Kuzminki-Vlahernskoye estate.

Since 1846, plaster copies were again placed on the eastern side of the Anichkov Bridge, and the artist began to create a further continuation and completion of the ensemble.

The participants in the composition were the same: the horse and the driver, but they had different movements and composition, as well as a new plot.

It took the artist four years to complete the copies, and in 1850 plaster sculptures finally disappeared from the Anichkov Bridge, and in their place the soldiers of the Sapper Battalion under the leadership of Baron Klodt erected new bronze figures. Work on the design of the Anichkov Bridge has been completed.

Plot [ | ]

In the first group the animal is submissive to man - a naked athlete, squeezing the bridle, restrains the rearing horse. Both animal and man are tense, the struggle is intensifying.
- This is shown using two main diagonals: the smooth silhouette of the horse's neck and back, which can be seen against the sky, forms the first diagonal, which intersects with the diagonal formed by the athlete's figure. The movements are highlighted by rhythmic repetitions.
In the second group the head of the animal is raised high, the mouth is bared, the nostrils are flared, the horse beats the air with its front hooves, the figure of the driver is deployed in the shape of a spiral, he is trying to rein in the horse.
- The main diagonals of the composition come closer together, the silhouettes of the horse and driver seem to intertwine with each other.
In the third group the horse overcomes the driver: the man is thrown to the ground, and the horse tries to break free, victoriously arching its neck and throwing the blanket to the ground. The horse's freedom is impeded only by the bridle in the driver's left hand.
- The main diagonals of the composition are clearly expressed and their intersection is highlighted. The silhouettes of the horse and driver form an open composition, unlike the first two sculptures.
In the fourth group a man tames an angry animal: leaning on one knee, he tames the wild running of a horse, squeezing the bridle with both hands.
- The horse's silhouette forms a very gentle diagonal; the driver's silhouette is indistinguishable due to the drapery falling from the horse's back. The silhouette of the monument again became closed and balanced.

Prototypes [ | ]

The direct prototype of Klodt’s horses were the figures of the Dioscuri in the Roman Forum on Capitol Hill, but these antique sculptures there was an unnatural motive for the movement, and there was also a violation of proportions: in comparison with the enlarged figures of the young men, the horses look too small.

Horses Marley

Another prototype was "" French sculptor Guillaume Coustou, created by him around 1740, and located in Paris at the entrance to the Champs Elysees from the Place de la Concorde. In Coustu's interpretation, horses personify the animal nature, symbolize swift, untamed ferocity and are depicted as giants next to short drivers.

Klodt, in turn, depicted ordinary cavalry horses, the anatomy of which he studied for many years.

Service house [ | ]

In the 1845-1850s, Klodt took part in the reconstruction of the “Service House” of the Marble Palace: according to the design of A.P. Bryullov, the lower floor was intended for palace stables, and the building facing the garden was supposed to become an arena.

In connection with this purpose, to decorate the building along the facade, above the windows of the second floor, along the entire length of the middle part of the building, a seventy-meter-high relief “A Horse in the Service of Man” was made.

It was made by Klodt according to the architect’s graphic sketch; it consisted of four blocks, not united by a common plot or idea:

Art historians believe that this relief was made by Klodt in the image and likeness of the horses on the Parthenon frieze.

This opinion is supported by the Roman clothing of the people depicted on the reliefs.

Klodt was able to use an innovative technique: he made a monument that was unlike the plastic images of commanders, kings, and nobles who in his time decorated St. Petersburg and Moscow, abandoning the usual language of allegories and creating a realistically accurate portrait image.

The sculptor depicted the fabulist sitting on a bench, dressed in casual clothes in a natural, relaxed position, as if he had sat down to rest under the linden trees of the Summer Garden.

All these elements focus attention on the poet’s face, in which the sculptor tried to convey the characteristics of Krylov’s personality. The sculptor managed to embody the portrait and general likeness of the poet, which was recognized by his contemporaries.

The artist's idea went further simple image poet, Klodt conceived the idea of creating a sculptural composition by placing high relief images of fable characters along the perimeter of the pedestal.

The images are illustrative in nature, and to create the composition, Klodt in 1849 attracted the famous illustrator A. A. Agin to work.

Klodt transferred the figures to the pedestal, carefully checking the images with living nature.

Work on the monument was completed in 1855.

Criticism of the monument[ | ]

Klodt was criticized for his petty pickiness in order to achieve maximum realism in depicting animals on high relief; the author was pointed out that the characters in the fables in the imagination of readers were more likely to be allegorical than to represent real crayfish, dogs, and foxes.

Despite this criticism, descendants highly appreciated the work of the sculptors, and the monument to Krylov took its rightful place in the history of Russian sculpture.

Monument to Prince Vladimir of Kyiv[ | ]

The work culminated in the presentation of the project to the President of the Imperial Academy of Arts in 1835.

For unknown reasons, work on the project was suspended for a decade.

In 1846, Demut-Malinovsky died, after which the architect K. A. Ton took over the management of the work.

At the end of the same year, information appears that “the project has been accepted for execution”. Ton re-arranged the project, taking as a basis the sketch of the Demut-Malinowski model and designed the pedestal in the form of a tall tower-shaped church in the pseudo-Byzantine style.

Klodt at that time headed the foundry of the Academy of Arts, he was entrusted with casting the monument in bronze. Before casting, he had to reproduce a small figurine made at one time by Demut-Malinovsky on the gigantic scale of the monument.

When performing this work, it is inevitable to make changes regarding the model.

It is impossible to assess these differences, since the sketch model has not survived.

Klodt did a lot of work on the face of the sculpture, giving it an expression of spirituality and inspiration.

The monument represents bronze statue 4.5 meters high, mounted on a pedestal 16 meters high. The monument is laconic and strict, belongs to typical examples of Russian classicism. Prince Vladimir is dressed in a long, flowing cloak, in his hand is a cross, which he extends over the city.

Klodt did his job very conscientiously, transported the statue from St. Petersburg to Kyiv and very well chose the place for it: the statue is inscribed in the high mountainous landscape of the banks of the Dnieper.

Monument to Nicholas I[ | ]

Monument to be installed on Isaac's Square in St. Petersburg was designed by Auguste Montferrand in 1856-1859. Designed as a unifying center of different styles architectural ensemble large area between the Mariinsky Palace and St. Isaac's Cathedral.

	An object cultural heritage, object No. 7810032000 object No. 7810032000

Several sculptors worked on the design of the monument: Klodt himself created the figure of the emperor. The pedestal was designed by sculptors:

The pinnacle of the composition is the equestrian figure of the emperor. The original sketch created by Klodt represented a rider on a calmly standing horse. The author, with the help of facial expressions and gestures, planned to reflect the character of the emperor, but this option was rejected by Montferrand due to the fact that it could not serve the original purpose of combining spatial ensembles.

The sculptor created a new sketch. In it, abandoning the idea of characterizing the character, he depicted a horse in motion, resting only on its hind pair of legs. At the same time, the swift pose of the horse is opposed by the ceremonial figure of the emperor, elongated into a string. To realize this sketch, the sculptor precisely calculated the weight of the entire equestrian figure so that it would stand, resting on only two points of support. This option was accepted by the architect and embodied in bronze.

Technical mastery of execution Herculean task- placing the horse on two points of support. For their strength, Klodt ordered iron supports (weighing 60 pounds, costing 2,000 rubles in silver) from the best factory in Olonets.

Job evaluation in Soviet times[ | ]

Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow[ | ]

USMARTERNIE OF THE DISOBEDIENTS

(to the history of the creation of PK Klodt’s sculptural groups “Taming of Horses”)

While walking through the central part, voluntarily or involuntarily, the attention of its visitors is attracted by the sculptural groups of horses with counselors, majestic both in their monumentality and in their magnificent artistic performance, at the Horse Yard in front of the Music Pavilion, which adorns the northern part of this architectural monument. These groups are the creation of the sculptor Pyotr Karlovich Klodt, well known to us from his outstanding creations, the most famous of which decorate the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow (quadriga with Apollo on the pediment of the theater) and the Anichkov Bridge in St. Petersburg. The history of the creation of Klodt's sculptural groups "Taming of Horses", which were installed in mid-19th century here in Kuzminki and on the Anichkov Bridge, is not devoid of interest. Art, politics are intertwined here, historical events, human relations. Tell us in any detail about Kuzminki - former estate princes Golitsyn (before the marriage of Mikhail Mikhailovich Golitsyn to Anna Alexandrovna Stroganova, this estate belonged to the Stroganov barons), this article makes no sense - after all, the history of Kuzminki itself is very rich in events, there are many outstanding architectural monuments. This story is beautifully presented in many special publications, including the books by N.V. Rutman “A Walk in Kuzminki and Lyublino” (M., 2002) and M. Korobko “Kuzminki-Lublino”, excerpts from which are available on the Internet. I will briefly mention here only some of the events related to the history of the appearance of PK Klodt’s sculptures in Kuzminsky Park. The horse yard where these sculptures are installed was built on the banks of the Upper Pond back in the time of the Stroganovs. But then he had a slightly different appearance than now. In particular, its shape resembled the letter “P”, the bases of the legs of which in the form of two wings were located near the shore of the pond, and the facade with the winter arena was on the opposite side, in the crossbar of the letter “P”. Thus, the inner part of the courtyard with the summer outdoor arena was clearly visible from the palace part of the estate, located on the other side of the pond. In 1819, the horse yard of the Golitsyn estate was reconstructed according to the design of Domenico Gilardi and A.A. Grigoriev, who connected the wings with decorative brick wall with the Music Pavilion located in the center. It was then that the Horse Yard became almost the same as we see it now (with the exception of the sculpture of Apollo with the muses, which at that time was installed in a niche above the colonnade of the pavilion according to the plans of the authors of the reconstruction, and some other details). A wide staircase descends from the pavilion, on the sides of which at that time there were plaster centaurs. Only in the middle of the 19th century, instead of them, cast-iron sculptural groups were installed, which were cast at the Ural iron foundries of the Golitsyns according to the models created by P.K. Klodt for the Anichkov Bridge in St. Petersburg. The horses in Kuzminki differ only in their “cast iron” origin from the famous St. Petersburg bronze prototypes. By the way, cast iron was widely used for decoration of the entire Kuzminskaya estate. First of all, we probably need to talk about the monumental entrance gate to its territory, the casting of which took about 300 tons of cast iron. All that remains from them is the name of the street Cast Iron Gates, which takes its name from the place where the gate arch was previously located. The cast iron gates in Kuzminki are a copy of the gates that were cast in 1826 at the Golitsyn factories according to the design of K. Rossi, created for the gates of the royal palace in Pavlovsk, near St. Petersburg. The gates of the Golitsyn estate were cast in 1832, and they were distinguished from the Pavlovsk gates only by the coat of arms that crowned them - in Pavlovsk this is the coat of arms Russian Empire, in Kuzminki - the coat of arms of the Golitsyn family. View a photo of the Cast Iron Gate and a copy of the engraving from the drawing Austrian artist Zh.N. Rauch with an image of the gate can be found in the photo essay. To this day, other cast-iron decorative decorations have been preserved in Kuzminki - sculptures of lions on the fence of the master's courtyard, beautiful griffins at the entrance to the courtyard, fences in the form of cast-iron support posts connected by massive chains (previously posts with chains were located on both sides along the 800-meter Linden Alley , which went from the Cast Iron Gate to the princely palace). Finishing this part of the story, I am posting here several photographs of the Horse Yard, the Music Pavilion and the “Taming of Horses” sculpture groups, taken in 2007 (photos of the equestrian sculptures are given from several angles).

Well, now we can go directly to the history of the creation of the sculptural groups “Taming of Horses” by P.K. Klodt. *** Pyotr Karlovich Klodt (1805-1867) was born in St. Petersburg. His father, born Karl Gustav Klodt, heir to the old baronial family of the von Jurgensburgs, moved to Russia in the 18th century and founded the Russian branch of this dynasty. He gave almost his entire life during the reigns of Catherine II, Paul I and Alexander I to the Russian army, participated in many military campaigns and battles, including the Battle of Borodino (his portrait is in the gallery of prominent participants in the war of 1812 in the Hermitage). He rose to the rank of general, was awarded the Orders of St. Vladimir and St. Anne, and the golden sword “For Bravery.” One of his sons, Peter, initially also followed in his father’s footsteps - he studied at the Mikhailovsky Artillery School, graduated from it and received the rank of ensign. But soon due to illness he was expelled from military service. Contemporaries noted that even in childhood and during his years of study, Peter was fond of drawing and wood carving, and his passion was horse figurines, a love for depicting which his father instilled in him. After his resignation, Pyotr Klodt became seriously interested in drawing, carving and modeling. As before, the main object of his work was figurines of horses, the figures of which he studied with particular care. One of these figures, carved from wood, came to Nicholas I, interested him, and the young carver was invited to an audience with the emperor. The consequence of this audience was the recommendation of the Academy of Arts to enroll young man among the students of the academy with payment of benefits during his years of study from the Society for the Encouragement of Artists. Klodt's first serious work, which gave him recognition and fame, was the six horses for the chariot of Victory at Narva triumphal gates in St. Petersburg. The model of the chariot had already been sculpted by V. Demut-Malinovsky, and the figures of the horses were prepared by S.S. Pimenov, but the king did not like the horses, he suggested that two professional and already famous sculptors, S.I. Galberg and B.I. Orlovsky, but they refused this work. And then the choice fell on the practically unknown P.K. Klodt, and Klodt managed to surprise everyone - he, who had never worked with clay and plaster, and with figures of such large sizes, created models of four horses that the members of the Commission liked. They were cast at the St. Petersburg Foundry Yard and installed on the attic of the Narva Gate. And it immediately became clear that four horses was not enough; it did not quite correspond to the splendor of the structure. Klodt was asked to replace the four with a six - and soon, in 1834, the work was completed, and Narva Gate solemnly opened. As a result, in 1838 P.K. Klodt received the title of academician and was appointed professor of sculpture at the Academy of Arts. Soon Klodt received an order for sculptures of horses, which were supposed to decorate the Admiralty Boulevard between the Admiralty and Winter Palace, at the exit to Palace Square. The designs for the sculptures and their location had already been approved by the king. However, Klodt did not like the idea of choosing a place for the sculptures, and after repeated reflections and walks around St. Petersburg, he came to the conclusion that the best place for them - Anichkov Bridge on Nevsky. His proposal was accepted by Nicholas I. Apparently, this was facilitated by the fact that by that time a decision had already been made to expand and reconstruct the bridge. By the end of the 30s, the models of the two sculptural groups were ready, but by this time he had died best master Foundry Dvor Vasily Petrovich Ekimov, and P.K. Klodt were offered to head the Foundry Dvor and cast bronze sculptures himself according to the models he had prepared (while still studying at the Academy of Arts and soon after graduation, Pyotr Karlovich studied foundry art from Ekimov, succeeded in this matter and constantly improved in it). So, P.K. Klodt himself supervised the casting of his first two bronze sculptures from the “Taming of Horses” series. Due to limited time, by the time the restored Anichkov Bridge was opened, a second, similar pair of horses was made of plaster and tinted bronze. Bronze groups were installed on the western abutments of the bridge, on the Admiralty bank of the Fontanka (where they stand now), plaster ones - on the eastern ones, i.e. on the bank of the river from which Nevsky continues to the Moskovsky station. Grand opening bridge with Klodt's sculptures took place on November 20, 1841 with a large crowd of admiring audiences. At the first of these works, the horse reared up, he was excited, his nostrils were flared, he was trying to escape, but the young driver bridled him and covered him with a blanket. On the second, the horse is still excited, but has obeyed the man, the young man leads him next to him - bridled, shod and covered with a blanket. Already in 1842, two more bronze copies of these sculptures were cast for installation on the eastern part of the bridge. However, they did not make it to the bridge - Nicholas I ordered to give them to the Prussian king Frederick William IV, who really liked the sculptures (Nicholas’ wife, Alexandra Feodorovna - Native sister Frederick William IV). Pyotr Karlovich was sent to Berlin along with his creations. The sculptures were installed at the gates of the royal palace, and P.K. Klodt was awarded the title of Knight of the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle, III degree, and was granted an audience with the king, who presented him with two thousand gold thalers and a snuffbox with diamonds. Well, in 1845, Frederick, to his colleague Nicholas I, as a token of gratitude for this gift, gave allegories of glory that were installed on columns at the beginning of Horse Guards Boulevard. Returning to Russia, Klodt continued to work on casting copies of the first sculptural groups he created, and completed this work in 1844. Bronze copies were installed on the eastern abutments of the bridge, but they did not stand there for long - Nicholas I decided to make a gift to the King of the Two Sicilies, Ferdinand II of Bourbon. The sculptures were sent to Naples and installed there at the entrance to the palace garden. Their place on Anichkov was again replaced by plaster copies. And again Klodt is working on sculptures. But now he decided to change the plan, and for the eastern part of the bridge he sculpted two new groups, symbolizing the first stages of taming an unbroken horse by man. The first of them is the beginning of the struggle: the horse rears up, tries to free itself, and the young man, falling on his knee, tries to hold him back. On the second - the culmination of the struggle, the horse has almost broken free, his head is thrown back victoriously, the young man is thrown to the ground, but still he holds the reins with his last strength. These new sculptural groups were cast and installed on the eastern bank of the Fontanka only in 1850. This is how the sculptural ensemble of four groups of horses with leaders, known as the “Taming of Horses,” was completed. They decorate the Anichkov Bridge even now, in our days. Here is a photo of the Anichkov Bridge, taken from the Internet, as well as photographs of sculptures taken on Anichkov in the summer of 2007.
You undoubtedly noticed the external identity of the two bronze sculptural groups installed on the Anichkov Bridge and the cast iron sculptures of the Kuzminsky Park in Moscow. In one of these groups there are also some minor differences in minor details (for example, a blanket made of tiger skin on the St. Petersburg copy). These differences are most likely due to the need to make new models for the next castings of sculptures. They also testify to the tireless creative thought of Pyotr Karlovich in the manufacture of models and repeated castings. *** Somewhat later, copies of Klodt’s “Taming of Horses” sculptures were installed in Peterhof, as well as in Strelna (near St. Petersburg) near the palace of Count Alexei Fedorovich Orlov. During the Great Patriotic War the palace was largely destroyed, and Klodt's sculptural groups were stolen. *** Well, now briefly about the fate of Klodt’s works, which were presented at one time to Frederick William IV and Ferdinand II of Bourbon. The Neapolitan horses were restored in 2002 and ceremoniously installed in front of the former Equestrian Court of the former royal palace in Naples. I managed to find a photo of one of these Neapolitan sculptures on the Internet. Success in finding both the first and second Neapolitan sculptural groups came later and completely unexpectedly. I was lucky - on the Internet I became acquainted with the interesting photographic works of Dmitry Makhaev. Among those taken in Naples were photographs of Klodt’s horses. After reading this article, Dmitry kindly provided photocopies of these photographs for publication, and now we can not only admire each of them, but also examine in detail the dedicatory inscriptions of Nicholas I, carved on the sculptural pedestals (photos of the two sculptural groups were taken from different angles).

I learned about the Berlin copies from Elena Lopushanskaya’s publication “Anichkov Bridge. “Horse Tamers” and the history of their wanderings.” In particular, E. Lopushanskaya in this publication prepared in Düsseldorf writes: “The horse tamers were not harmed in the war and shortly before its end they were dismantled from the pedestals near the palace. Now they are located in Kleist-park near Potsdam Street "(Potsdamer Strasse) in West Berlin in front of the former building of the Control Council of the Four Allied Powers. The condition of the sculptures is very good and after the reconstruction of the palace they will take their original place." *** In her comment to this article, reader Anastasia Yagodina recalled that two copies of Klodt’s sculptures, cast by his grandson, decorated Begovaya Alley in Moscow, along which we approached the Moscow Hippodrome. And now they are “decorating” it, although almost nothing remains of the alley, and the third Moscow transport ring passes nearby. In this comment, Anastasia also provided a link through which she was able to find on the Internet an old photograph taken in 1909 of the beginning of Begovaya Alley with Klodt’s sculptures.
Indeed, in 1899-1900. K.A. Klodt, the grandson of P.K. Klodt, together with the sculptor S.M. Volnukhin (the author of the Moscow monument to the first printer Ivan Fedorov) installed two sculptures here, cast according to the sketches of P.K. Klodt. In the above photograph you can see that these are copies of the same two equestrian sculptures that were installed near the Equestrian Yard in Kuzminsky Park. *** The name of Pyotr Karlovich Klodt is well known to our contemporaries not only from the sculptures “Taming of Horses” and the previously mentioned quadriga with Apollo on the building Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. P.K. Klodt participated in interior decoration St. Isaac's Cathedral(high relief "Christ in Glory"). He is the author of the monument to I.A. Krylov in Summer Garden in St. Petersburg, statues of Saint Vladimir in Kyiv. The last of his great works is a monument to his patron, Emperor Nicholas I of St. Petersburg. But the history of these and other works by P.K. Klodt is the topic of independent stories. *** P.K. Klodt died on November 8 (20), 1867 at his estate on the Halala manor in Finland. Death overtook him while he was doing what he loved - carving animal figures. The funeral took place in St. Petersburg at the Smolensk Lutheran Cemetery. In 1936, the remains of the sculptor, as a sign of recognition and veneration by his descendants, were reburied in the Necropolis of Art Masters at the Tikhvin Cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. At the same time, a new tombstone was installed over the grave of the great sculptor. Note: See also photo essay

One of the most beautiful and most photographed sculptural compositions in,. Many people know the bridge across the Fontanka, but few know where the four giant horses with tamers came from. The composition is called “Horse Tamers” and it has long been business card St. Petersburg.

The sculptures were made in the 19th century by P. K. Klodt, whose works were widely known. By order of Nicholas the First, in 1841 he cast horses led by young men to decorate the Neva Embankment. However, his horses found another use and were soon transported from the foundry of Vasilyevsky Island to Fontanka. At first there were two bronze sculptures, and the other two were plaster, but the sculptor quickly created bronze copies of them, which decorated the eastern bank of the river.

However, the fate of Klodt's sculptures was changeable. Soon Nicholas the First decided to present these figures to the Prussian king Frederick William, so they were transported to Berlin. Then Klodt created new figures of young men and horses, but they also became a gift, this time for the King of Sicily. The strange fate of the “horses” forced the sculptor to take a fresh look at the theme of the conquest of nature by man. By 1850, he created a sculptural group in which four images symbolized the stages of taming a horse.

The first exhibit shows an athlete restraining a rearing horse, taking it by the bridle. The second exhibit demonstrates the struggle between an animal and a person. In the third sculpture, the horse has almost escaped, and the young man is defeated and lies on the ground. And finally, in the fourth, the athlete still conquers the knight. So outstanding sculptor managed to convey the whole range of relationships between man and nature. This time the sculptures remained on the Anichkov Bridge, and the Tsar praised the master for his prompt and high-quality work.

It is known that at the opening ceremony of the bridge, he patted the sculptor on the shoulder in a friendly manner and said the following words: “Well, Klodt, you make horses better than a stallion!” The closest metro station to the attractions is Gostiny Dvor.