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1833: Creation of the Fieldmarshals' and Peter
I's (Small Throne) Rooms by architect
Auguste Montferrand
In April 1833, Emperor Nicholas I commissioned Auguste
Montferrand to restore the Great Suite of rooms
in the Winter Palace. Montferrand, who had won the
competition to build St Isaac's Cathedral, designed two rooms,
the Fieldmarshals' Room and the Memorial Room of
Peter I. The Emperor required that work
be carried out in the shortest possible time and Montferrand
made extensive use of wooden constructions.
One of the principal features of the Fieldmarshals'
Room was a group of full-length portraits
of Russian generals who had been awarded the rank
of fieldmarshal. This was an austere room with four-column
porticoes by the two main doors which stood opposite one another. White
imitation marble, polychrome parquet, an austere ceiling-painting and
plaster military attributes formed its decoration. Adjacent
to this room was the Memorial Room of Peter I, its decoration
sumptuous and solemn: crimson velvet covered the walls,
adorned with a thousand gilt bronze double-headed eagles,
later replaced by those embroidered with silver thread.
Surmounting the side walls are two paintings celebrating
Peter the Great's victories over Charles XII of Sweden:
The Battle at Poltava and The Battle
at Lesnaya. The allegorical painting Peter I with
Minerva by Jacopo Amigoni glorified Peter the
Great as the creator of a magnificent empire. The
gilt silver throne, made in 1731 in London by Nicholas
Clausen, and the silver candelabra and sconces were installed
here after the fire of 1837.
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Interiors of the Winter Palace. The Fieldmarshals’ Hall
Zaryanko, Sergei Konstantinovich
Image
in the Digital collection
Interiors of the Winter Palace. The Peter’s (Small Throne) Room
Zaryanko, Sergei Konstantinovich
Image
in the Digital collection
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