Selected Work Monument to Peter The Great, St. Petersburg, Etienne-Maurice Falconet, Completed 1782 Pg Azalia Martinez Azalia Martinez

Patronage Monument to Peter the Great- The Bronze Horseman  Represents Peter the Great  Was commissioned by Catherine the Great  Installed in 1782  Why? She was married into the Romanov family  Making connection shows desire for surpassing Peter  “Petro Primo Catherina Secunda MDCCLXXXII” (Latin for Catherine the second to Peter the first, 1782)

 Location: Looks over River Neva  Importance: River shows growth of the city, Peter built his first home by the river’s bank, location is renovated later on and becomes a public square close to St. Isaac’s Cathedral, Winter Palace, and Hermitage  Square is supposed to represent the church and the state

Artist’s Biography  Catherine always looked for sculptors and architects from France  Etienne- Maurice Falconet ( )  First task in Russia  Born to a poor family in Paris  Received help from Jean Baptiste Lemoyne  Joins Academie des Beaux- Arts, 1757

 serves as the director of sculpture at Sevres porcelain factory  Traveled to Russia in 1766  Worked with pupil Anne-Marie Collot  She worked on Peter’s face  Became very well known in St. Petersburg  Has several exhibits at the Heritage Museum  Collot and Falconet went back to Paris  Collot marries Falconet's son, Pierre- Etienne: also an artist

 Does not see the installation of the sculpture because he is no longer one of Catherine's favorites  Becomes successful academic sculptor  Director of the Academie de Beaux- Art  Wrote several texts on sculpture

The Bronze Horseman

Visual Analysis  Peter the Great on horseback  Even though the horse is on its hind legs, Peter remains calm  Right hand extended towards river  Has classical attire and laurel wreath on his head  Face is calm with idealized feature of Peter the Great

 Sculpture is about 20 feet high  Cast bronze  Lost- Wax Casting Technique- laborious and expensive  Pedestal- carved from a red gigantic red granite boulder  25ft tall  Boulder known as Thunder Stone  Locals believed it got its form after being struck by lightning  Creates illusion of Peter looking out of a cliff

Artistic Influences  Influenced by Western art (leaders on horseback)  The sculpture of Marcus Aurelius  Both have an outstretched hand, which might be a symbol for a blessing or clemency  Neither have armor= comes in peace not war

 Equestrian Sculpture revived in European Renaissance  Form of classic art  Popular in France  Horse represents the state  Leader on its back controls the state  Horse on its hind legs represents the difficulty of the task

Contextual Analysis  Became known as the Bronze Horseman in the 19 th Century  Alexander Pushkin refers to it as the Bronze Horseman in a poem he wrote  Poem is about the conflict between the power of the state and the needs of the people  Sculpture has a protective role over the city