The monument to Nicholas I is one of the most significant sculptural structures of St. Petersburg. It is located on one of the main squares of the northern capital and serves as its magnificent decoration. Recalling the externally famous “Bronze Horseman”, it nevertheless has its original features, primarily from an engineering and technical point of view, and also differs from it in appearance.
general characteristics
The monument to Nicholas I was erected at the initiative of his successor and son Alexander II. The author was O. Montferrand, or rather, the latter designed the composition and created a pedestal, and the figure of the emperor was invented and cast by P. Klodt. Casting and creation lasted three years, and the opening took place in 1859. During its construction, valuable materials were used, for example Italian marble. Initially, the sculptor planned to make the figure of a ruler on a calmly standing horse, but this project was rejected by Montferrand, who wanted to combine two parts of the square in the composition, which were solved in different architectural styles. As a result, the monument to Nicholas I acquired the form that exists now. The emperor is riding a horse in motion, which is opposed to the calm figure of a rider.
Location
The sculptural composition is located on the square between St. Isaac's Cathedral and the Mariinsky Theater. It is on the same axis as the famous “Bronze Horseman”, which is a kind of allegory: after all, it is known that the emperor tried to imitate Peter I during his lifetime, and such an arrangement, obviously, should emphasize this continuity in politics. However, one should also take into account the fact that the creators sought to turn the square into a single cultural and archaeological ensemble, and for this they decided to put a monument in this place. For the final registration of the space at the indicated place, a monument was erected to Nicholas I on St. Isaac's Square. St. Petersburg was thus decorated with yet another sculptural composition dedicated to one of the emperors.
Appearance
At first glance, the new composition is very reminiscent of the famous statue of Peter I, whom Nikolai Pavlovich really wanted to imitate during his reign. That is why the composition has explicit references to this monument, but at the same time differs from it. This primarily refers to the pose of the rider. In the first composition, the king is depicted in dynamics: he sits with outstretched hand, his body is directed forward, and the rotation of his head symbolizes aspiration for the future. The monument to Nicholas I, on the contrary, presents it calm and majestic, which is also emphasized by the ceremonial pedestal on which the figure is located. The king himself is represented in the uniform of the Horse Regiment, which also emphasizes the official nature of the sculpture, while the Bronze Horseman was more symbolic. It was carried out in the spirit of educational ideals and was to mark the victory of reason and the progressiveness of Peter's reforms. But the monument to Nicholas I on St. Isaac's Square personified the power and greatness of imperial power. This was consistent with the spirit of the government of this king, who cared about the strengthening of absolutism.
Jewelry
Separately, it should be said about allegorical images located on the pedestal of the monument. First of all, these are four female figures that symbolize strength, wisdom, justice and faith. Their faces are portrait portraits of the empress and the daughters of this king. Their author is R. Zaleman. There is a coat of arms between the two figures. It is also worth mentioning the bas-reliefs that depict the most significant events of the Nikolaev reign: the Decembrist uprising, cholera riot, Speransky's reward for publishing a code of laws and the opening of a railway bridge by the emperor. Three bas-reliefs were made by Romazanov, one by Saleman. At first, the monument to Nicholas I on St. Isaac's Square in St. Petersburg did not have a fence, but later it was added.
Technical advantages
The sculpture is unique from an engineering point of view. The fact is that the statue stands on a pedestal, leaning on only two points - these are the hind legs of a horse. It was the only structure of its kind in Europe. A similar design was applied only in the United States in the construction of sculptures by E. Jackson. At first, it was assumed that the monument to Nicholas I in St. Petersburg is stable due to the fact that a metal fraction was placed in the horse’s statue in order to make the fulcrum heavier. However, during the restoration work in Soviet times, nothing of the kind was found. It turned out that the construction is stable due to special heavy metal beams, which were ordered by the sculptor at one of the best plants.
Further fate
In Soviet times, the question arose of demolishing a monument to Nicholas I on St. Isaac's Square. Instead, it was planned to put a sculpture of one of the leaders of the Red Army: Frunze or Budyonny. However, when discussing the issue, we took into account the important circumstance that the design is unique from a technical point of view, and that it will be very difficult to dismantle it, and therefore they decided to leave the structure. Subsequently, the project was also rejected to replace it with another structure. Only the fence was removed, which, however, was restored after some time.
