ARTS
SQUARE
Arts Square is one of the most interesting
architectural ensembles in St Petersburg as all the buildings
facing the square are connected to arts.
The center of the ensemble is the Mikhailovsky Palace, designed
by architect Rossi in 1819-1825 for the grand duke Michail
Pavlovich, brother of Emperors Alexander I and Nicolas I.
The palace is separated from the square with monumental cast-iron
wrought. In the center of the facade of the palace there is
a portico decorated with columns. The frieze with 44 high
relieves were made according to the design of sculptor Demut-Malinovsky.
On the sides of the granite stair-case there are two bronze
statues of lions. The opposite facade of the Mikhailovsky
Palace is shaped as grandeur twelve-column loggia above the
arcade, with side porticos and pediments. The facade looks
like the buildings by architect Gabriel on Agreement Square
in Paris. In 1895, the Mikhailovsky Palace was purchased by
the state, and in 1898 the Museum of Russian Art, housed in
the palace interiors, was officially opened to the public.
Today the Russian museum contains the largest collection of
works of Russian art in the world. In 1912-1916 the new building,
designed by architects Benua and Ovsyannikov was added to
the Mikhailovsky Palace. It was intended for temporary exhibitions,
but nowadays Benua building houses part of the permanent exposition
of the Russian Museum.
Planning the ensemble of Arts Square Rossi thought that the
Mikhailovsky Palace will be the landmark of the composition,
thus the rest of the buildings facing the square feature relatively
modest architectural characteristics. To the left from Benua
building there is the Maly Opera and Ballet Theater named
in honor of Mussorgsky. It's housed in the building of the
former Mikhailovsky Theater built in 1831-1833 according to
the design of architect Brullov. Today the repertoire of the
theater includes operas and operettas by outstanding Russian
and foreign composers, performed by genre masters.
On Arts Square, there is another building, closely connected
to the musical life of St Petersburg. It is the Bolshoy Hall
of St Petersburg Philharmonic named after Dmitry Shostakovich,
built in 1839 by architect Jacquot. The building used to house
the Assembly of the Noble. Starting from the 40s of the 19th
century, the Bolshoy Hall of Philharmonic became the center
of the musical culture of Petersburg: it was the place where
world-famous musicians such as Liszt, Berlioz, Wagner, Schumann
and others gave concerts. The date of August, 9, 1942 had
gone down in history of the city: that's when composer Dmitry
Shostakovich performed his famous Seventh Leningrad symphony,
dedicated to Leningrad defenders, on the philharmonic stage
of the sieged city. The citizens of the blockade Leningrad
called the symphony "the salvo in Reichstag".
Next to the Mikhailovsky Palace there is the building of
the Ethnographic Museum, constructed by architect Svinyin.
The exposition of the museum includes the collections of the
life items of ethnographic groups of Russia and former USSR,
as well as works of modern folk arts and crafts.
The ensemble of the square also includes the eclectic building
of the Europe Hotel, built in 1873-1875 by Fontana and reconstructed
by architect Lidval. In different times such outstanding persons
as Straus, Debussy, Turgenev, Gorky, Mayakovsky and others
stayed in the rooms of the hotel. Nowadays the hotel is one
of the best in St Petersburg.
In 1957, a monument to the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin
was put up on Arts Square. It was designed by sculptor Anikushin
in 1957, and nowadays it harmonically completes the square
ensemble.
|
|
