St. Petersburg. Peterhof. Lower park. Fountain "Danaida" in winter.

Svetlana Fedorovna Gurevich • Digital art, 2018
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About the artwork
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Art form: Digital art
Materials: Paper
Date of creation: 2018

Description of the artwork «St. Petersburg. Peterhof. Lower park. Fountain "Danaida" in winter.»

At the foot of the Grand Cascade of Peterhof, on both sides of the Sampsonievsky Canal, there are the eastern and western parterres "Big Flower Gardens" - examples of "flower painting" of the Baroque era.
In the far corners of the flower beds, in the west and east, in the shade of trees, there are two benches of the most valuable white Carrara marble, made in the Pompeian style. The high backs of the benches are decorated with a belt with a relief geometric ornament. The seat plates rest on eight massive legs, the outermost of which are shaped like armrests in the form of volutes, turning into powerful lion's legs. Behind the backs of the benches are hidden pools with pedestals, on which rest marble bowls with four lion mascarons on each. Gilded statues rise above the water surface.
In the west - "Nymph", the goddess of the source, in the east - "Danaida", the daughter of the mythical king Danaus.
Water, pouring out of the vessels, fills the bowls and flows through the drain holes decorated with lion mascarons into the pool.
These fountain compositions are called Marble Bench Fountains.
The harmony of the charm of antique motifs of compositions and the landscape of the park is amazing at any time of the year and in any weather.
The fountains of the marble benches are a delightful example of the "Nikolaev Pompeian style". Excellent works of Russian art in the style of "Nikolaev Empire", and in the style of "Nikolaev Gothic", and in the "Russian Nikolaev style". The architecture of that time, and most of all, the palace architecture of St. Petersburg and its environs, strongly and very noticeably reflected the features of the personal taste of Emperor Nicholas I. He sincerely considered it his duty to delve into everything, to decide everything for himself - not only in state affairs, but also in matters of art and even in matters of privacy.
During the reign of Nicholas I, large-scale works were carried out in Peterhof. The emperor was the customer and active participant in all these works. Emperor Nicholas I in the 19th century was rightly called the "Second Founder" of Peterhof.
In his beloved Peterhof, Nikolai Pavlovich managed to fulfill his desire to create cozy corners in the park.
The design process took place in a continuous dialogue between the architect and the customer. This was expressed in pencil sketches on numerous drawings of architects and on sheets of drawings, in resolutions on drawings and instructions of the emperor, transmitted to the architect by the ministers of the court, recorded in economic documents.
This is how the fountains of marble benches were created by a Russian architect with a German surname Andrei Stakenschneider.

The sculptures "Danaida" (according to the original of 1839 by Kh.D. Rauch) and "Nymph" (according to the antique original of the 3rd century BC) were cast according to the models of the sculptor I.P. Vitali at the St. Petersburg electroplating and foundry enterprise of the Duke Leuchtenberg. The castings are made of bronze by electroplating. The figures are hollow, which greatly lightens their weight.
"Danaida" was made in 1853, and the pair "Nymph" for it in 1856.
Stands for statues, benches, marble bowls and pedestals for bowls were made by masters of the Peterhof Lapidary Factory according to drawings by A. Stakenschneider in 1854. The statues were installed in 1856. These were the last fountains built in the central part of the Lower Park.
Nicholas I died on February 18, 1855. Before his death, saying goodbye to his loved ones, the emperor asked to convey greetings to "my dear Peterhof."
During the war years, the statues were taken out inland. The marble benches were broken, and there were signs of damage on the slabs. After the war, the stone cutter D. V. Ilyin restored the damaged figured details of benches, pedestals and bowls. Gold "Danae" and "Nymph" again took their places on the pedestals in marble bowls. The fountains came to life again in 1948.
Information:
https://peterhofmuseum.ru/assets/files/20180710/9a1959bbb0b450ab8d47b63aaf0679a4.pdf
https://ir-cha.livejournal.com/12373.html
https://www.citywalls.ru/house27268.html?s=t711hj6l7g24t7i28e4gqkb2g2
http://www.gardenhistory.ru/page.php?pageid=220
http://gosudarstvo.voskres.ru/tarasov/nic6.htm
https://peterhofmuseum.ru/assets/files/20180924/ae78c240e1e872231602f18967d29794.pdf
https://peterhofmuseum.ru/objects/peterhof/fontani_mramornih_skamey https://peterhofmuseum.ru/assets/files/20180926/dc439b02c1accac062b65ee30d7cb822.pdf
http://museums.artyx.ru/books/item/f00/s00/z0000019/st002.shtml
http://win-petergof.narod.ru/Peterhof.doc/shtakenshneider.htm


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