The exhibition features about 40 engravings of St. Petersburg, made by British artists in the XVIII - the beginning of the twentieth century

spbmuseum.ru

The State Museum of History St. Petersburg (Peter and Paul Fortress, St John Ravelin) opened the exhibition "St. Petersburg through the eyes of Englishmen." The exhibition features about 40 engravings of St. Petersburg, made by British artists in the XVIII - the beginning of the twentieth century, as well as pictures and porcelain. The images on display at the exhibition reflect the specific British perspective on the capital of the Russian Empire - Saint-Petersburg.

first artist of the new capital on the Neva River were foreigners. Among them are already in the XVIII century in St. Petersburg worked and British masters. In particular, the court engraver James Walker : he introduced the Russian public with the new technique of engraving - mezzotint do not accidentally get in Russia called "English style».

stepson Walker was a draftsman and etcher John Atkinson. He created one of the first panorama of Petersburg - the four sheets, depicting views of the city early nineteenth century with the tower of the Academy of Sciences (Cabinet of Curiosities). Panoramic series was published in 1805 in London, with a dedication to Emperor Alexander I. These sheets can be seen at an exhibition in the fortress.

views of St. Petersburg since the end of XVIII and the beginning of XX century performed many English painter. Most of these works were published in the form of engraved series, coming out on their own or as part of albums and guides to the Russian imperial capital. The exhibition is presented like a series of St. Petersburg, Joseph Hearn, engraved in London by Thomas Meltonom in 1798-1790.

special attention in the exposition deserves the first calendar series of twelve kinds of Petersburg, in which every month of the year is illustrated appropriate landscape overlooking the city. This calendar suite, known as the "Year of St. Petersburg" or "Twelve Months", was engraved by Matthew Dubourg, in 1812, and then repeated Dubourg and Clark in 1815 for the publisher and the merchant's etchings of Edward Orme (1774-1848). Images of the engravings of surprise and delight of foreigners not only architectural views of St. Petersburg, but also etched on their winter crews and city types. All of the above products are made in the technique of aquatint - a form of etching, transferring the gradation of tone and thus resembles watercolor painting.

Engraved views of the city are also often decorated with a British travel notes and booklets, travel guides, unreleased in London and designed for British travelers and business people visiting the capital of the Russian Empire. Several of these editions of XIX - beginning of the twentieth century became part of the exhibition.

exhibition will run until February 27, 2011.

Source: spbmuseum.ru