“Paintings, Emblems and Inscriptions” for Catherine II’s Coronation Triumphal Arches
From Invention to Execution
Keywords:
ceremonial culture, coronation, festive decoration of the city, triumphal arch, invention, program, allegory, emblem, Catherine II, M. M. KheraskovAbstract
The artistic decoration of state celebrations in Russia was a matter of great political significance. From the very beginning of the 18th century, the authorities took the preparation of festive decoration very seriously, enlisting the country’s leading creative forces to contribute to this work. The article considers the model of creating a panegyric using the example of the decoration of the triumphal arches of 1762. In this case, the researcher has a unique source base at his disposal, which allows him to trace the process of implementing the idea from the invention to its execution, including a comparison of the initial design of the arch program with its approved version. The inventors of “paintings, emblems and inscriptions” for the festive ensembles were the literati — M. M. Kheraskov, I. F. Bogdanovich and A. A. Rzhevsky. The decoration project they proposed deviates far from the canons of Russian triumphal art during the previous period. It is distinguished by its narrative elements, the presence of complex allegorical scenes and images, and vivid emotional coloring. The revisions made by the Аpprobation Commission, which presumably included Catherine II, N. Y. Trubetskoy, G. N. Teplov, G. V. Kozitsky, J. Staehlin, turned out to be very significant. Their version of the arch program, on the contrary, was quite typical for European court culture of the time and is based on well-established iconographic patterns. The analysis of archival documents has enabled the reconstruction of the triumphal arches’ appearance and tracing their fate.
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