Schenker Alexander M. The Bronze Horseman: Falconet's Monument to Peter the Great

Yale University Press, 2003. — 416 p. – ISBN 9780300097122, 0300097123.This book is the first comprehensive treatment in any language of the most consequential work of art ever to be executed in Russia ― the equestrian monument to Peter the Great, or The Bronze Horseman, as it has come to be known since it appeared in Alexander Pushkin’s poem bearing that title.
The author deals with the cultural setting that prepared the ground for the monument and provides life stories of those who were involved in its creation: the sculptors Etienne-Maurice Falconet and Marie-Anne Collot, the engineer Marin Carburi, the diplomat Dmitry Golitsyn, and Catherine’s «commissar» for culture, Ivan Betskoi. He also touches upon the extraordinary resonance of the monument in Russian culture, which, since the unveiling in 1782, has become the icon of St. Petersburg and has alimented the so-called «St. Petersburg theme» in Russian letters, familiar from the works of such writers as Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Gogol, and Bely.List of illustrations
Preface
Introduction
Paris: The Early Years
Sculptor of the king
Sculptor of madame de pompadour
Maverick genius
Pro and con
Mademoiselle victoire
Between Paris and St. Petersburg
A bit of prehistory
Friendship with prince D.A.Golitsyn
To Russia with love
Sculptors of the Empress.
Guest of honor
The case of collot
The feud with betskoi
Large model
Thunder Rock
Rolling Stone
Marin Carburi alias chevalier de Lascaris
Gathering Clouds
Madame Falconet
In the shadow of the Marcus Aurelius
Diderot in St. Petersburg
Falconet le difficile
From Plaster to Bronze
Preliminaries to casting
To cast or not to cast?
First casting
The pomel affair
Second casting
Denouement
Farewell to Russia
Unveiling
Last years
Aftermath
The Monument
Conceit
Horse and snake
Horseman
Pedestal and inscription
Epilogue
Plan of the admiralty district of St. Petersburg in 1766
Note on translations, transliteration, nomenclature, and dates
List of abbreviations
Notes
Bibliography
Index