The main staircase of the marble palace. Russian Museum. Marble Palace. The history of the creation of the Marble Palace

The construction of the Marble Palace lasted 17 years. The building harmoniously complemented the ensemble of the Neva embankment. Granite and multi-colored marble of various types have become the main materials for construction and interior decoration. The stone originality of the structure was eventually expressed in the name “Marble”.

In the three-story building, built of variegated stone, pilasters and columns alternate evenly with windows. The clock tower, attic, and pilasters of the two upper floors of the palace are made of pink Tivdian marble. The decor of the windows on the first and second floors is made of white Ural. The basement of the building is made of Vyborg pink granite – rapakivi – with a rough structure. The copper frames of all floors are gilded. The appearance of the times of Catherine II has been preserved in the interiors and decor of the central hall. Ural gray-silver marble dominated the design main staircase. The steps are made of Brusna sandstone in the color of an amulet. In the niches are marble sculptures by Fedot Shubin, embodying the autumn and spring equinoxes, as well as the times of day: morning, afternoon, evening, night.

Along the walls there are stucco high reliefs: “games of cupids” and four female figures on the sides, symbolizing “strength of spirit”, “justice”, “prudence” and “moderation”.

The marble hall has almost completely preserved its original stone decoration. Its walls are divided by fourteen pairs of vertical projections, on which are oblong gutters with gilded capitals and bases. On the white marble wall garlands are eagles, symbolizing the first owner of the palace. Rounded marble bas-reliefs are placed in lunettes and located along the walls of the hall. The decor is elegantly complemented by reliefs by the sculptor M. Kozlovsky - “The Return of Regulus to Carthage” and “Camillus Delivers Rome”.

White marble reliefs stand out in the bulkheads and above the vaults. The color variations of the marble around the panel are complemented by the dazzling lapis lazuli. The ceiling of S. Torelli “The Wedding of Cupid and Psyche” decorates the upper part of the hall.

During the reconstruction, the interfloor covering of the second and third floors was dismantled. Daylight began to penetrate into the hall from the windows on both sides. The ceiling was raised to the height of the third floor and bronze chandeliers with crystal were placed. The decorated stucco ceilings of the second floor remained from the time of reconstruction according to the design of A.P. Bryullov. Sculptures of knights and two-headed eagles were combined with national Russian motifs.

Received major changes - interior and architectural updates - the large White Hall. The arched openings and cross vaults were completely covered with ornaments sculpted in the Gothic style. Columns made of artificial white marble were installed. Six tall Palladian windows appeared above the attached Oak Gallery. From the Greek Gallery hall there is a winter garden.

In the ornamental sculpting of the White Hall, Bryullov managed to combine Gothic and original Russian motifs. The architect managed to leave the outer part of the building in the style of mature classicism of the 18th century and at the same time created the interiors in the neo-romantic style of those years.

The Marble Palace was built as a gift from Empress Catherine II to one of her favorites, Grigory Orlov. But the count died before finishing the decoration of the premises and was not able to see the palace in its full glory.

Under Emperor Nicholas I, the palace building was in disrepair. The major reconstruction was entrusted to the court architect A. Bryullov. He not only restored the building, but also partially remodeled it. Mostly the layout of the premises and the design of the facades have been preserved. The remaining decoration, including door panels and parquet, was dismantled. The interiors of the halls were decorated in different styles: classicism, rococo, gothic and late renaissance.

During the ownership of the palace by Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich, several new rooms were created on the ground floor: a music room in the Gothic style, a lower library, and an English study. The Grand Duke, being a famous translator and poet of the Silver Age, turned the palace into the center cultural life capital Cities. Intellectuals discussed books by Russian and foreign authors, musical evenings were held in the halls, and performances were staged in which the princely couple and their children participated.

The greatest damage was caused to the Marble Palace during the years when the exhibition of the branch of the Museum of V.I. Lenin. Architect N.E. Lanceray prepared the halls for museum premises and largely preserved the decorative decoration of historical interiors. But during operation, the architectural design of the second floor suffered the most. Wall paintings and artificial marble were painted over, unique fireplaces were broken, and finishing fabrics were destroyed.

Since the transfer of the Marble Palace as a branch to the Russian Museum, a detailed restoration of the interiors has been carried out, recreating the original layout and appearance of the premises. The color variety of perfectly crafted marble and the favorable location of the halls allow the palace to maintain the status of the most noble building of the 18th century.

Now permanent and temporary exhibitions of world artists are held here. The halls of the “Ludwig Museum in the Russian Museum” display paintings by contemporary artists donated to the Russian Museum by German collectors Irena and Peter Ludwig. In the halls of the second floor there is a large collection of the brothers Joseph and Yakov Rzhevsky.

Based on materials from www.culture.ru

The Marble Palace, a unique architectural monument of the 18th century, is located on Palace Embankment Neva in historical center St. Petersburg. It was built in 1768 - 1785. designed by the Italian architect Antonio Rinaldi (1709-1794). The palace was erected by order of Empress Catherine II and was intended for the Field Master General Count G.G. Orlova (1734-1783).

G. Orlov did not live to see the completion of the palace. After his death, Catherine II bought the palace from his heirs - the Orlov brothers, and gave it to her second grandson, Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich (1779-1831), for his wedding, which took place in 1796. After his death, Emperor Nicholas I assigns the palace to his second son, the great Prince Konstantin Nikolaevich (1827-1892).

In 1844 - 1849 The Marble Palace and the Service House that belonged to it were reconstructed according to the design of the architect Alexander Bryullov (1798-1877) for the wedding of the new owner of the palace. The main changes affected the second floor, where a new planning structure was created, and the front and residential interiors received new artistic decoration. On the site of what existed in the 18th century. A winter garden was created in the Hanging Garden.

In 1892, the Marble Palace was inherited by the son of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich - Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich (1858-1915). He lived in an apartment created for him on the ground floor of the palace, overlooking Millionnaya Street, artistic decorations of which have been partially preserved to this day. Currently, there is a memorial exhibition dedicated to Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich, a poet of the Silver Age who wrote under the cryptonym “KR”.

The sons of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich, who inherited the Marble Palace with the Service House after his death, for lack of funds to maintain the complex of buildings, were forced to sell it into national ownership. These events took place in the fall of 1917, when the Provisional Government was already in power in Russia and the Ministry of Labor was located in the palace.

From 1919 to 1936 The palace housed the State Academy of the History of Material Culture. This period in the history of the palace is characterized by the spontaneous adaptation of the ceremonial and residential interiors of the building for the needs of a large scientific institution. During this period, systematic restoration of the facades and grilles of the palace began.

In 1936, the Leningrad City Council decided to locate the Leningrad branch of the Central Museum of V.I. in the Marble Palace. Lenin. Work on designing the reconstruction of the palace and creating museum equipment was headed by N.E. Lanceray (1879-1942). The new museum within the walls of the palace was opened on November 7, 1937. Created in an extremely short time, the museum was one of the first examples at that time of a truly professional rethinking of an architectural monument in its new quality, meeting the requirements of the time.

A new period in the history of the Marble Palace began in December 1991, when, by decision of the St. Petersburg City Hall, the palace was transferred to the disposal of the State Russian Museum. Was developed new concept use of the Marble Palace - “Russian art in the context of world art.” Since that time, systematic study and scientific restoration of the unique monument has been carried out. The decor, historical layout and volumes of the premises are being restored.

The Marble Palace also houses permanent exhibition“The Ludwig Museum in the Russian Museum” is a collection of German collectors Peter and Irene Ludwig, who donated their collection, which presents works of domestic and foreign artists of the second half of the 20th century, to the Russian Museum.

The exhibitions, displayed in the constantly updated and restored halls of the Marble Palace, reflect the role and place of Russian art in the context of the world. Understanding this role allows us to better understand the uniqueness of national traditions and the identity of domestic masters and, at the same time, to feel the traditional pan-European roots.

Architecture and interiors

The Marble Palace is a unique monument of Russian architecture of the second half of the 18th century. Along with the Winter Palace, the Marble Palace is the main attraction in the panorama of the Neva Palace Embankment. It is one of the few examples of early classicism architecture in St. Petersburg. In the history of Russian architecture, the palace is a unique example of the use of natural stone in the decoration of a building; its external facades are of the main artistic value; they have come down to us, with few exceptions, in their original form.

The general composition of the facades consists in the solution of the first floor, faced with dark red granite, as the basis for a large order of the second and third floors of the building, faced with light gray granite.

The Corinthian order, which unites the second and third floors with the help of pilasters and three-quarter columns, made of pink Tivdian marble, with white marble bases and capitals, rhythmically alternate with window openings. The platbands and windows are made of gray Ruskeala marble. Between the windows of the second and third floors there are relief white marble garlands.

The northern and southern facades of the palace face the Neva embankment and the Field of Mars, respectively, and are designed to be viewed from a great distance. They have clearly defined central axes of symmetry with the doors of the balconies enclosed in niches with semi-circular endings and crowned with a cartouche on the attic. The balcony railings are made of marble with gilded bronze balusters. On the attic of the building along the entire perimeter of the external facades there are vases of gray dolomite.

Between the palace and the service house, a forged lattice with gilded decorative elements is installed on a red granite plinth. Granite fence posts are topped by marble vases, and the sides of the entrance gate are flanked by marble military fittings.

The main eastern facade of the palace, facing the front courtyard - the courtyard - has a rich sculptural decor. It is crowned by a clock pavilion, decorated with marble vases, which houses the palace chimes, recreated by the Russian Museum in 1999. On the sides of the pavilion there are two marble allegorical statues: “Generosity” and “Loyalty” by F. I. Shubin.

Since 1994, an equestrian statue of Emperor Alexander III by P. Trubetskoy has been exhibited in front of the main entrance to the Marble Palace. It has been kept in the collection of the Russian Museum since 1939, and earlier in 1909 - 1937 it was located on Znamenskaya Square (now Vosstaniya Square) in front of the Moscow Station. This work is an outstanding monument of Russian monumental sculpture of the early 20th century.

Upon entering the Marble Palace, we find ourselves in the space of the Grand Staircase - unique in the history of Russian architecture of the 18th century. interior, which has retained its original decoration almost unchanged. The decoration is made of various types of colored marble. Opposite the entrance on the wall there is a marble relief with a portrait of the architect A. Rinaldi, which appeared here at the request of the first owner, Count G. Orlov, in recognition of the architect’s merits. The authorship of this portrait has not yet been established.

The main artistic decoration of the main staircase is a sculpture made of Italian marble and installed in niches, as well as relief compositions on the walls of the third floor and stucco ceiling decoration.

The sculptures of the main staircase of the Marble Palace are the only allegorical ensemble of the 18th century preserved in St. Petersburg. In niches decorated with marble shells, between the first and second floors, there are four marble statues representing the time of day: Night - a female figure with traditional attributes: an owl; work of an unknown master ; Morning - female figure in the form of a goddess morning dawn Aurora; attributes: a solar disk at her feet and a garland of roses in the hands of the goddess; Noon is a female figure with its inherent attributes: the arrow is a symbol of the sun's rays, the sundial shows noon, and the signs of the zodiac (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn) remind of the constancy of this phenomenon throughout the year; Evening - a female figure in the image of the goddess of the hunt Diana, going out to hunt at dusk. Her attributes are a bow and a quiver of arrows. The author of these three statues is the sculptor Fyodor Shubin.

And in the rectangular niches, between the second and third floors, there are two statues that symbolize the Spring Equinox - a female figure with a flower garland in her hands, at her feet the head of a ram - the zodiac sign of Aries, which the sun enters after the onset of the spring equinox. And the Autumn Equinox - a male figure with a bunch of ripe grapes in his hand.

On the inner walls of the third floor landing there are relief images of the four main virtues: Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence and Justice. In the center of the western wall there is a composition: “Games of Cupids”. The clock dial completed the entire composition of the staircase space. Tower chimes of the palace in the 18th century. had two dials: one on the facade, and the second located horizontally in the ceiling. Currently, there is a ceiling lamp “The Judgment of Paris” by Joseph Christie, moved here from the palace hall in the middle of the 19th century.

The Marble Hall is unique in the history of Russian architecture of the 18th century. interior, the original decoration of which has largely been preserved to this day. The cladding of the hall walls is made of various types of domestic and Italian marble. Initially, the hall was one-story, but now, after reconstruction by A. Bryullov, it is two-tier. Its space is illuminated by windows on the second and third floors. The Corinthian order was used in wall decoration. The pilasters are made of Tivdian marble with gilded bronze bases and capitals. They rest on a plinth stretching along the perimeter of the walls, divided by panels of green Italian marble, which are filled with relief depicting vases with draperies.

The sculptural decoration of the Marble Hall was created by outstanding Russian sculptors. Along the perimeter of the walls of the hall there are 14 round bas-reliefs on the theme of “Sacrifice” made by sculptor Fyodor Shubin in collaboration with Italian sculptor Antonio Valli, two desudeportes above the doors were also executed by F. Shubin. On the western wall there are two bas-reliefs by M. Kozlovsky: “Return of Regulus to Carthage” and “Camillus delivers Rome from the Gauls.” The ceiling is decorated with a picturesque ceiling by S. Torelli “The Wedding of Cupid and Psyche”. A rare ornamental stone, lapis lazuli, was also used in the decoration of the hall. The window frames and balcony doors were made of gilded bronze. The door panels and inlaid parquet, which had a complex pattern, were made from various types of colored wood.

In 1844 - 1849 A reconstruction was carried out in the Marble Palace, the author of which was the architect A. Bryullov. Based on his designs, a new decoration of residential and formal interiors of the second floor was created. Their decoration was distinguished by both the variety of historical styles and the finishing materials used.

A. Bryullov was a representative of the “eclecticism” architectural movement, which was widely developed in the middle of the 19th century. This was reflected in his work on creating the interior decoration of the palace. During the reconstruction of the Marble Hall, the architect preserved the original decoration of the first tier, and, having dismantled the ceiling between the second and third floors, moved the picturesque ceiling of S. Torelli “The Wedding of Cupid and Psyche” to the new ceiling and created a different pattern of stucco gilded decor. At the same time, chandeliers made of gilded bronze with crystal decoration appeared. The architect left the door panels and parquet flooring as original.

The Russian Museum carried out in 2001 - 2010. restoration and renovation work to recreate the artistic decoration of the Marble Hall, which it had in the middle of the 19th century. The splendor of the interior is complemented by multi-colored inlaid parquet from the 18th century, reconstructed according to surviving drawings. with rare and complex ornaments. Also, based on historical photographs, two marble fireplaces with mirrors in gilded carved frames were recreated.

The main reception room, the central room of the Neva Enfilade, is another hall of the palace that has preserved original elements of historical decoration. Here there are eight monolithic columns of polished Serdobol granite, stucco decoration of the vaulted ceiling and fragments of inlaid parquet. In 2015, restoration work to reconstruct the decorative decoration of this interior was completed. There, marble fireplaces were recreated, parquet flooring made of valuable wood was recreated, the ceiling stucco was cleared and re-gilded, door panels were restored, and a gilded bronze chandelier was recreated. Doorways to adjacent rooms have been opened.

In the western part of the building, with windows facing Mramorny Lane, there is the largest room in the palace - a two-story hall created during the reconstruction of A. Bryullov. It received a new artistic decoration, and began to be called White or Gothic, due to the elements of the neo-Gothic style used in its design. Bryullov divided the space of the hall into three parts, installing supports supporting the ceiling vaults, decorated with bunches of thin “Gothic” columns turning into fan vaults. On the sides of the doorway of the southern wall of the hall, two marble columns were installed, on which figures of Russian knights were placed. A marble fireplace with a mirror in a carved gilded frame is located along the central axis of the northern wall. This is the only original fireplace from the mid-19th century. preserved on its own historical place in the Marble Palace to the present day.

In 2002, a comprehensive restoration and reconstruction of the White Hall was completed: the figures of Russian knights along the perimeter of the hall and sculptural images of double-headed eagles, the stucco decoration of the ceiling were recreated, and the second-light window openings on the eastern wall were opened. Chandeliers and sconces have been recreated from gilded bronze. Reconstruction of type-setting parquet was carried out.

Adjacent to the White Hall from the north is the Greek Gallery, in which the artistic decoration has also been recreated: the wall cladding with artificial marble has been restored, and the inlaid parquet flooring has been reconstructed. The stucco decor of the ceiling with color scheme was restored, and the bronze gilded chandeliers were recreated.

From the Greek Gallery, doors lead to the Winter Garden. A. Bryullov built it on the terrace of the Hanging Garden that was previously located here; it occupies the space of the second and third floors. The decorative arches of the vault are supported by cast iron columns and semi-columns, the metal ceiling above the third floor is decorated with coffers. The windows of the third floor rooms look out onto the garden, and on the eastern wall a small balcony with an elegant wrought-iron lattice has been recreated. In the middle of the garden, a marble fountain with three bowls rises on a mosaic stone floor. In the garden room, a fountain, a large three-leaf glazed door, three arched openings connecting the garden room with the Flower Garden and a balcony on the third floor level with a decorative lattice were recreated. In the Flower Garden, a marble fireplace with a mirror was recreated, and the doorway leading to the former library in the Nevsky Enfilade of the palace was opened.

On the ground floor of the palace with windows on Millionnaya Street, the interiors of the personal apartments of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich have been preserved; they were created in late XIX-beginning of the 20th century they visibly reflected the aesthetic preferences of their owner. The Grand Duke's office, decorated with mahogany panels, is made in the Jacobean style. Musical (Gothic) room, entirely made of oak. Its decoration is stylized based on motifs borrowed from samples typical of gothic architecture. There is also a living room with a five-part picturesque ceiling on a vaulted ceiling. The subject program of the ceiling lamp “Service to Art”, written by E. K. Ligart, was compiled with the direct participation of the customer himself - Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich. Adjacent to this room is the so-called Marble Living Room, the walls of which are lined with artificial marble. The interiors of the library and reception room of the Grand Duke were also preserved and restored. In these halls there is a memorial exhibition dedicated to the poet of the Silver Age, who wrote under the cryptonym “K.R.” - Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich Romanov.

In 1994, an agreement was signed on the formation of the “Ludwig Museum” in the Russian Museum. The owners of the collection - spouses Peter and Irene Ludwig - donated works by Russian and foreign artists of the 20th century to the museum. from your collection. This act marked the beginning of the development of the main concept of the Marble Palace: “Russian art in the context of world art.” Currently, the palace has a permanent exhibition of the Ludwig Museum, which presents works by artists whose work reflects development trends visual arts second half of the 20th century both in our country and abroad.

In 1998, St. Petersburg collectors Yakov Aleksandrovich and Joseph Aleksandrovich Rzhevsky donated their collection to the State Russian Museum. Most of collections - works of easel painting of the 18th - 20th centuries, including works by I.K. Aivazovsky, Yu.Yu. Klevera, I.I. Dubovsky, I.I. Mashkova, P.P. Konchalovsky and B.M. Kustodieva. A particularly rare part of the collection is the clock - mantel, floor and travel - made by various watchmakers from the late 18th century to the early 18th century. half of the 19th century V. Watches with unique clock mechanisms play several melodies when striking, and are also interesting for the decorative design of the dial and case. This private collection also includes graphics, sculpture, furniture, lighting, and artistic bronze.

The Marble Palace is an integral part of the State Russian Museum and a masterpiece of Russian architecture of the 18th - 19th centuries. Its cultural and historical significance is comparable to the collections kept by the State Russian Museum.

Owners

Grigory Grigorievich Orlov (1734 - 1783) count, prince since 1772. Participant in the coup of 1762, which brought Catherine II to power, since 1765 - General-Fieldmaster, Director General of the Cavalry Corps, Her Imperial Majesty's Adjutant General and Acting Chamberlain, Chief of the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment , President of the Office of Foreign Guardians and Knight of various orders. Subordinate to him was the chief jägermeister office, which was in charge of the imperial hunt and the arrangement of fireworks. He remained in service until his death. Died in Moscow.

The Empress noted G. Orlov’s participation in historical events and his services to the Fatherland by issuing a commemorative medal: “For ridding Moscow of the plague,” the creation of the Triumphal Gate in Tsarskoye Selo, and the construction of the Marble Palace, above the entrance of which there was an inscription: “Building of Gratitude.”

After the death of the Count, Catherine II bought the Marble Palace from his brothers for two hundred thousand rubles, and separately acquired a collection of paintings and miniatures that were in the palace for the imperial collection.

In 1796, Catherine II gave the Marble Palace to her second grandson, Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich. From 1797 - 1798 The palace served as the residence of the last king of Poland, Stanisław August Poniatowski.

Stanislav August Poniatowski (1732 - 1798). King 1764 - 1795 In St. Petersburg, S.A. Poniatovsky was invited to participate in the work of the “Debt Commission”, which was involved in the distribution of debts of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth between Russia, Prussia and Austria for annexed lands and to liquidate the loan of 1777 received under Russian guarantees. The king arrived in St. Petersburg with a small court, in which 160 people served.

The king's personal apartments were located on the second floor of the northeastern part of the building, including the Marble Hall. In February 1798, S.A. Poniatovsky died suddenly of an apoplexy. A specially established “Sad Commission” prepared the burial of the monarch. Funeral ceremonies took place in the Great Hall, designed by V. Brenna.

Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich (1779 - 1831) He was brought up with his older brother, the future Emperor Alexander I, and was fond of military sciences. Colonel, chief of the St. Petersburg Grenadier Regiment, chief of the Life Guards of the Izmailovsky Regiment, chief of cadet corps, inspector general of cavalry. Participated in the Italian and Swiss campaigns of A.V. Suvorov. Commander of the Guard during the wars of 1805 - 1807. He was in the military campaigns of 1809 - 1812. At the Battle of Austerlitz he commanded the Guards Corps. Since 1814, troops in the Kingdom of Poland were subordinate to him. Since 1816, the commander-in-chief of the Polish army was constantly in Warsaw. Since 1818, deputy of the Polish Sejm (from the Warsaw suburb of Prague). Since 1826, after the death of the governor of Poland, he actually performed his duties. In 1831, fleeing the uprising in Warsaw, he went to St. Petersburg, died of cholera in Vitebsk, was buried in Peter and Paul Fortress. For decades, the Marble Palace was occupied by employees of the Grand Duke's court and their families. With a large population, the palace premises needed reconstruction and repairs. These works were supervised by A.N. Voronikhin, who served as the court architect of the Grand Duke in 1803 - 1810.

In 1832, after the death of the owner Konstantin Pavlovich, Emperor Nicholas I, by personal decree, granted the Marble Palace into the possession of his second son Konstantin Nikolaevich. The young Grand Duke was raised in the family, but the palace remained residential building for courtiers.

Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich (1827 - 1892), Admiral General, manager of the Naval Ministry, carried out a number of reforms of the Russian fleet, participated in the preparation of the famous “Manifesto”, which freed peasants from serfdom.

In 1848, the marriage of Konstantin Nikolaevich to Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna, née Princess of Saxe-Altenburg, took place. The grand ducal family moved to the palace after reconstruction carried out according to the design of A.P. Bryullov in December 1849.

On December 20, 1849, the Highest Decree from reported: “The rebuilt Marble Palace with all the decorations and the service house belonging to it, the Sovereign Emperor, most graciously deigned to give as a gift to His Imperial Highness Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich into the eternal and hereditary possession of His Highness and ordered this palace to be called Konstantinovsky "

The Grand Duke showed great interest in music and played several musical instruments himself. Knowing and loving literature, he contributed to the publication of the first posthumous collected works of N.V. Gogol. The works of I.A. Goncharov, V.I. Dahl, A.N. Afanasyev, A.I. Ostrovsky, D.V. Grigorovich were published for the first time in the departmental magazine “Morskoy Sbornik”.

Many writers and musicians visited the Grand Duke in the Marble Palace. Concerts with the participation of E. Balakirev, A. Rubinstein, N. Rimsky-Korsakov were held in the White Hall of the palace. Here, on May 2, 1856, the first performance in St. Petersburg by I. Strauss took place.

Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna (1830-1911), née Princess of Saxe-Altenburg, wife of Konstantin Nikolaevich. The marriage produced 6 children.

Alexandra Iosifovna was a bright personality among the outstanding women of her time. She stood at the origins of the emergence of the Red Cross in Russia, the service of nurses in hospitals, and the construction of hospitals. With her funds during the Russian-Turkish War of 1877 - 1878. sanitary warehouses were organized, medicines and equipment for hospitals were purchased, and a special sanitary train was created. For 25 years, the Grand Duchess headed the St. Petersburg Council of Orphanages of the Empress Maria's Department of Institutions, whose meetings were often held in the palace drawing room.

The Grand Duchess took an active part in the activities of the Imperial Russian Musical Society and the creation of the Conservatory. At her request, in 1889 the St. Petersburg Conservatory was given the building of the Imperial Bolshoi Theater. Funds for the reconstruction of the building were allocated from the office of Her Imperial Highness.

In 1892, after the death of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, the Marble Palace was inherited by his son, Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich.

Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich (1858 - 1915) known as a poet and translator, who signed with the cryptonym “K.R.”, from 1889 he was president of the Academy of Sciences. Through his efforts, the “Class of Fine Literature” was established at the Academy. He began his military service in the navy and was later transferred to the army. In 1882, he was the commander of a company of the Life Guards Izmailovsky Regiment, where he organized “Izmailovsky Leisures,” a kind of theatrical, musical and literary association of officers. Poems were read at meetings of officers, including famous poets A.N. Maikov and Y.P. Polonsky.

Musical works were performed there and plays were staged. The best production of “The Tragedy of Prince Hamlet,” translated by Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich, took place in the Marble Palace, in the Great Hall, where the stage was built. The main role was played by the Grand Duke himself. Members of the Imperial family were present at the performance.

The Grand Duke was the Chief Chief, and later the Inspector General of the Military Educational Institutions of Russia. Under his leadership, a lot of work was carried out to develop training in military educational institutions, as well as to improve education in general.

In 1889, Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich, having become a trustee of the Two-Year Women's Pedagogical Courses, contributed to their reorganization into a higher educational institution - the Women's Pedagogical Institute.

Also under the patronage of the Grand Duke were Agricultural courses, organized in 1899, whose students were housed in the Service House of the Marble Palace. The courses were open to everyone from different classes aged 10 to 18 years. 5 thousand children attended them, but the interest in them was so great that the number of those who wanted to attend them reached 14 thousand.

Since 1884, Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich was married to Grand Duchess Elizaveta Mavrikievna, née Princess of Saxe-Altenburg, and nine children were born into the family.

Grand Duchess Elizaveta Mavrikievna (1865 - 1927), née Princess Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg, Duchess of Saxony.

Grand Duchess Elizaveta Mavrikievna devoted her energies to creating a large family and charity. The Grand Duchess took under her wing many of Empress Maria's institutions in Pavlovsk. She was the Patron of the Society for the Care of Poor and Sick Children. Thanks to her efforts in the early 1900s. The company introduced into circulation in all major cities Russian Consumer books. The books listed companies that agreed to make discounts when selling goods for cash.

In 1906, replacing Alexandra Iosifovna, she headed the Council of Children's Shelters, becoming a trustee of the Alexandrovsky Children's Shelter and a Society for helping poor women of the city. Under her patronage, the first overnight workhouse for homeless children and adolescents was opened in St. Petersburg, providing them with assistance in acquiring a specialty and finding employment.

Grand Duchess Elizaveta Mavrikievna lived in the palace until 1918, and together with her young children and grandchildren left Russia. Her three sons - John, Konstantin and Igor - were executed in 1918 in Alapaevsk.

Marble Palace

The first building on this site between Palace Embankment and Millionnaya Street appeared in 1706.The Postal Yard was built here on the banks of the Neva.: “The postmaster shared this house with an innkeeper from Danzig, with whom he could live and who often also hosted large parties.”

Unknown artist. First Postal Yard

On May 8, 1714, the Hanoverian envoy Weber reported: “His Royal Majesty has now recognized that it is necessary to establish an inn and a hotel, which have not existed until now and are very inconvenient for visitors.” From June 1714 to autumn 1716 here according to the project Domenico Trezzini A new Postal Yard ("Post House") was built with a pier for two "mail frigates" that made regular trips between St. Petersburg, Danzig and Lübeck.

Domenico Trezzini

The new building was a two-story mud-brick building with a large courtyard where horses and carts were parked. There was a restaurant on the ground floor, and a hall on the second floor where Peter I held assemblies and other ceremonial events. There was also a hotel there, the guests of which were moved out in any weather when the king arrived here. In addition to the guards and servants, a postmaster, a secretary, a translator and three postmen worked here.

Kirsanov N. Postal yard

To organize the postal service, postmaster Heinrich Krauss was invited to St. Petersburg. In 1716, he was fired due to bribery, and Friedrich Asch was appointed to replace Krauss. This man played the role of not only the postmaster, but also the censor and hotel administrator.

By decree of Peter I, 12 musicians came out to the gallery surrounding the Postal Court every day at 12 o'clock, who, with their loud playing of wind instruments, notified St. Petersburg residents about the onset of noon. The postal yard was one of the places where the famous Peter's assemblies were held. Peter I and Catherine I came here on foot from Summer Garden.

The embankment near the Postal Yard was called Pochtovaya, now it is Palace embankment.

The mud-built building quickly fell into disrepair. In September 1720, the cabinet secretary of Peter I, A.V. Makarov, wrote to U.A. Senyavin:“Her Majesty the Empress Tsarina ordered you to order that the upper mud huts in the Postal Yard be repaired, and at the bottom you were ordered to place stands so that the floor does not break off, and in the upper floors in the salo and in the other large one, where there are tables, to be upholstered with some kind of wallpaper. Also Please consult with the architect, if these mud huts are not durable, then in the spring it is necessary to make canopies for the Neva in the front wall, and for this purpose, prepare the materials in advance.”

In January 1726, an Academic School was opened at the Postal Court, which was organized according to the design of the French artist Louis Caravaque. For the first time in Russia, teaching drawing began here from a living model, as was usual for European schools. One of the rooms served as a full-scale classroom, where Foma Andreevich Bykov, a peasant from the estate of the synodal government of the Ostashkovskaya Sloboda, posed naked.

Louis Caravaque

On August 7, 1731, Trezzini received instructions from Field Marshal Minich to demolish the old Postal Yard and in its place to build a guardhouse and stables for the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment. Two weeks after this, the architect was already requesting bricks for construction. The postal yard was transferred to St. Isaac's Church. The Manege was built here by 1732. A fire in 1737 destroyed this building. The vacant space was cleared and called Upper Embankment Square. It adjoined Tsaritsyn Meadow.

Makhaev M.I. Prospect of the old winter palace with a canal connecting the Moika to the Neva. 1750

Beggrov K.P. Palace embankment. 1826 Copy from a drawing by K. Sabbat and S. Chifflard

Lamoni D. F. Neva embankment near the Summer Garden. Late 1780s.

The section of Palace Embankment from the Lebyazhye Canal towards the Marble Palace is shown. The house of Betsky (Dvortsovaya embankment, 2) is depicted with a building that has not survived to this day. hanging garden. The artist made perspective inaccuracies: the distance between the Marble Palace and the house of F. I. Groten (Dvortsovaya embankment, 4) was reduced.

Makhaev M.I. Millionnaya Street Avenue from the Main Pharmacy. 1751

Montferrand O. Millionnaya street. 1830s - early 1840s

In 1768-1785, the architect Antonio Rinaldi built a palace here, called Marble.

Antonio Rinaldi

The Marble Palace was erected on the orders of Catherine II as a gift to the Empress’s favorite Grigory Grigorievich Orlov.

Vigilius Eriksen. Catherine II Alekseevna (Great). 1716-1749

Grigory Orlov. Portrait by Fyodor Rokotov, 1762-1763

The gift was made for Orlov’s active participation in the events of 1762, as a result of which Catherine found herself on the Russian throne. At first she intended to put the inscription on the pediment: “Erected by grateful friendship,” but in the end she replaced it with “Gratitude Building.” The Count's reciprocal gesture was the huge Persian diamond "Nadir Shah" weighing 189.62 carats and costing 460,000 rubles. The price of the precious stone was quite a bit short of the cost of the palace itself. Now this diamond is known as “Orlov”.

Alekseev F. Ya. View of the Palace Embankment from the Peter and Paul Fortress. 1790s

Jacotte L. Marble Palace. Ser. XIX century

Sadovnikov V. S. Neva embankment near the Marble Palace. 1847

Bianchi I. K. Marble Palace. View from the Palace Embankment. Before 1872

Bachelier S. Panorama of the city of St. Petersburg. 1853 View taken from the bell tower of the Peter and Paul Cathedral

Malton T. Bolshaya Millionnaya Street and the Marble Palace. 1790 Copy from a drawing by J. Hearn

According to one legend, the empress herself made a sketch of the future building and showed it to the architect. Knowing that the project was drawn up by Catherine, Rinaldi highly appreciated this work and immediately received a building permit. The building was founded on October 10, 1769; a marble box with coins was walled into its foundation. Construction work was led by artillery colonel M.I. Mordvinov. Architectural supervision was carried out by Antonio Rinaldi and Pyotr Egorov. About 100 masons and from 100 to 300 artillery fusiliers from Mordvinov’s unit worked daily on the construction of the Marble Palace. Catherine II periodically visited the construction site and personally awarded particularly distinguished workers.

Huge slabs of marble and granite were delivered along the Neva. They began to be brought here already in 1768. Brick vaults and walls were built in 1769, after which the primary processing of natural stone began. This work was carried out in 1770-1774. In 1774, work began on decorating the facades of the Marble Palace with marble and granite and finishing the interior.

Shortly before the completion of the work, Antonio Rinaldi fell from the scaffolding and was seriously injured. Without waiting for the completion of the construction of the Marble Palace, he left Russia for Italy.

The lower part of the façade of the Marble Palace was faced with granite, and instead of plaster, at the architect’s suggestion, it was decided to use 32 types of marble for cladding the walls. Hence its name - "Marble Palace". By the way, at first the building was called the “Stone House at the Postal Pier”.

White marble was brought from Italy; it turned out to be cheaper than bringing it from Altai or the Urals. The rest of the facing material was mined in quarries near Lakes Ladoga and Onega. Marble was also used in the decoration of ten interior halls of the building. The Marble Palace became the first St. Petersburg building lined with natural stone.

Marble Hall in the Marble Palace

Rinaldi stone flower

In 1780-1788, the service building of the Marble Palace was built in the eastern part of the site.

Service building of the Marble Palace

In 1780, the Red Canal, connecting the Neva and Moika, was filled in, which passed on the site of the courtyard between the main and service buildings. Between the houses, a lattice by P. E. Egorov was installed, reminiscent of the fence of the Summer Garden.

Since 1780, the finishing of the two upper floors has been carried out. All work was completed by 1785. A clock turret was installed on the attic. On the sides of the tower were placed two figures by the sculptor F.I. Shubin - Loyalty (right) and Generosity (left). In total, the palace housed about 40 works by this master.

Copper sheets were produced for the roof in Sestroretsk. Their fitting and soldering were carried out so carefully that the roof did not leak until the renovation in 1931.

The main staircase of the Marble Palace is decorated with statues of Morning, Day, Evening and Night. On the site from the second to the third floor there are sculptures representing the autumn and spring equinox.

Main staircase

The staircase is decorated with sculptures of nymphs

On the ground floor there were kitchens, boiler rooms and a church, consecrated in the name of the Entry into the Temple of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The service rooms were equipped with various mechanisms and devices. In the building on Millionnaya Street there was a machine for supplying water, a well with two pumps for supplying water to the ceremonial baths on the second floor. In the building on Marble Lane there is a well with a pump for supplying water to the kindergarten. In the Nevsky building there is a swimming pool for cleaning mechanisms.

In the northern part of the second floor of the Marble Palace there was the Great Nevsky Enfilade. You got here from the Grand Staircase through the Front and Oval entrances. From the Oval entrance you could get to the Lacquer Hall, or bypassing the Buffet and the Great Dining Room to get to the Marble Hall - the main room of the palace. In the Marble Hall there are bas-reliefs "Sacrifice", made for St. Isaac's Cathedral by A. Rinaldi. Behind this hall was the Orlovsky Hall, glorifying the activities of the Orlov brothers. Behind him is Catherine's, glorifying Catherine II. From the south, the personal chambers of Grigory Orlov adjoined the Catherine Hall: the State Bedroom, the Garden with five apple trees, five cherries and a fountain. In the south-eastern part of the palace there was an Art Gallery with 206 masterpieces of painting by Rembrandt, Titian, Raphael, Correggio, Poussin, Groot, van Dyck and others. In the southwestern part of the palace there are Greek and Turkish baths. In the northwestern part there are spare rooms of the Malaya Nevskaya Enfilade: Study, Bedroom, Boudoir and Living Room.

On the third floor of the Marble Palace there were living quarters, a Library, two living rooms for playing cards, and a Chinese sofa. In the building on Marble Lane there was a ball game hall.

Chistyakov I.F. Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary into the Temple. Fragment of the iconostasis

The Marble Palace took so long to build that Count Orlov died before the work was completed, on April 13, 1783. By the time of the death of Grigory Grigorievich, Catherine II had another favorite and the palace aroused unpleasant emotions in the count. Together with his wife, he lived in one of the modest St. Petersburg houses, which was also given to him by the Empress.

One of the St. Petersburg legends says that there was a secret door on the side of Marble Lane, which Catherine II allegedly used when visiting Orlov. This legend is refuted by the fact that the count never lived in the palace.

After the death of Orlov, Catherine II bought the Marble Palace from the descendants of the count and gave it to her six-year-old grandson, Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich. The building has been empty for more than 10 years. The Grand Duke settled in the palace only after his marriage to Princess Saxe-Saafeld-Coburg (in Orthodoxy Anna Fedorovna) in February 1796. Later, the empress evicted her grandson from the palace for bad behavior. Konstantin Pavlovich, who was 16 years old at the time of the wedding (his wife was 14), shot live rats from a cannon in the premises and mocked his wife.

Konstantin Pavlovich. Portrait of the young Grand Duke by Borovikovsky

In 1795-1796, the captive leader of the Polish Confederates, Tadeusz Kosciuszko, lived in the Marble Palace.

Portrait of Tadeusz Kosciuszko by Kazimierz Wojniakowski

After the death of Catherine II, it was vacated by Paul I. In 1797-1798, the Marble Palace was occupied by the former Polish king Stanislav August Poniatowski.

Lumpy-st. Johann Baptist. Portrait of Stanisław August Poniatowski

He lived here with his court of 167 people and 83 members of his retinue. To receive the king and his entourage, part of the Marble Palace was rebuilt V. Brenna.

Vincenzo Brenna

However, even after this Poniatowski complained about the cramped conditions. After his death on February 12, 1798, Konstantin Pavlovich returned to his residence. Despite this, it was in the Marble Palace that Paul I posthumously crowned Poniatowski.

Emperor Paul I. Artist V. L. Borovikovsky

Under Konstantin Pavlovich, the Marble Palace housed a large art gallery, library, and porcelain collection. In the Ball Game Hall, the Grand Duke placed an Arsenal of Russian and foreign weapons and uniforms. In 1806-1807 A. Voronikhin remodeled a small suite of rooms along the Neva and a number of rooms along Millionnaya Street.

Andrey Nikiforovich Voronikhin

Konstantin Pavlovich had not actually lived in the Marble Palace since January 1813, when he joined the active army and made a foreign campaign with it. In April 1814, he became the governor of the Kingdom of Poland and left St. Petersburg.

After the departure of Konstantin Pavlovich, the Marble Palace was transferred to the Court Chancellery. Here apartments were rented to court officials. In 1830, the building was examined by architects V. Ochakov and H. Meyer. They declared it unsafe and began major repairs.

On March 6, 1832, Nicholas I handed over the Marble Palace to his second son, Konstantin Nikolaevich.

Nicholas I Konstantin Nikolaevich

After the fire in Winter Palace In 1837, silverware and a foreign library were kept here. On August 20, 1845, the project for the reconstruction of the Marble Palace was approved, which was carried out A. P. Bryullov.

Karl Bryullov. Portrait of Alexander Pavlovich Bryullov

The ceiling of the Marble Hall was raised by one floor. Next to it is the State Dining Room. One could get into the Front Office of Konstantin Nikolaevich through the first hall of the Reception Room. Next to it, Bryullov created a Library, from which there was a passage to the Winter Garden, created on the site of the Sadik.

Winter garden in the Marble Palace

Further - Big hall, where concerts were held with the participation of M. Balakirev, A. Rubinstein, N. Rimsky-Korsakov. Nearby, Bryullov created a Bathroom in the antique style and restored the Turkish and Greek baths liquidated by Voronikhin. The Arsenal was rebuilt in the Gothic style and was named the White Hall. Dance and music evenings were held here. In 1857, an organ by G. Metzel was installed in the White Hall.

White Column Hall in the Marble Palace

An entrance appeared from Marble Lane. Later, a legend appeared that it was through him that Catherine II went on dates with Orlov. The “Judgment of Paris” ceiling lamp was moved from the former Lacquer Hall to the Main Staircase. All work was completed by 1849. On December 29 of this year, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich and his wife Alexandra Iosifovna moved into their new residence. By decree of December 20, 1849, the Marble Palace was ordered to be called “Konstantinovsky”, but this name was rarely used in everyday life.

In the middle of the 19th century, a marble fountain group “Putto with a branch” by an unknown sculptor was installed in the garden between the Marble Palace and the service building.

The Marble Palace was rebuilt again in the 1860s. New offices, dining rooms, and children's rooms were built here. A power station appeared that provided electricity not only to the premises of the palace, but also to the lanterns on the Champ de Mars. We equipped lifting machines - elevators. In 1883, a telephone appeared here. The inhabitants of the palace amused themselves by listening to opera performances through it.

Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich was a supporter of the reforms of 1860-1870. In public life, the expression “party of the Marble Palace” even arose.

After the death of Konstantin Nikolaevich, the palace was owned by his son, Konstantin Konstantinovich, known under the pseudonym "K.R."

Konstantin Konstantinovich

During his time, chamber concerts, literary readings, and amateur performances were staged here. In 1884-1886, the architect A.K. Dzhiorguli remodeled the ground floor premises on Millionnaya Street: Reception, Bedchamber, Gulevaya, Gorenka. They were decorated in the old Russian style, painted by the artist F. Sedov. The Bedroom, Living Room, Music Room, and Study have also changed. In 1898, on the initiative of Konstantin Konstantinovich, a meeting of the Imperial Council was held in the Marble Palace Geographical Society, at which the decision was made to build the icebreaker "Ermak" according to the design of Admiral S. O. Makarov. D. I. Mendeleev and S. Yu. Witte were present at the meeting.

Bulla K.K. Marble Palace. Corner living room in the personal chambers of Grand Duke K.K. Romanov

Bulla K.K. Marble Palace. Musical (Gothic) room in the personal chambers of Grand Duke K.K. Romanov

Musical

Library K.R. in the Marble Palace

K.R.'s room in the Marble Palace

In addition to Konstantin Konstantinovich, Grand Duke Dmitry Konstantinovich also had apartments in the Marble Palace.

Dmitry Konstantinovich

During the First World War, the palace housed a hospital for wounded officers. At the beginning of the revolution, the widow of Konstantin Konstantinovich (he died in 1915) still lived here. In 1917, she and her children had to move to Zherebtsov’s house on Palace Embankment.

After the February Revolution, the Ministry of Labor of the Provisional Government was located in the ground floor of the Marble Palace. An agreement was even prepared for the government to purchase the entire palace for ten million rubles. However, after October 1917 the building was nationalized. Most of the art collections were transferred to the State Hermitage. At first, the People's Commissariat of Labor worked here. After the government moved to Moscow in 1918, the palace housed the office of the authorized People's Commissariat of Education, the Administration of Palace Museums, the Academy of the History of Material Culture (in 1919-1936), the Society of Sociology and Theory of Art, and the Central Bureau of Local History.

After the liquidation of the Academy, the Marble Palace was transferred to the Leningrad branch of the Central Museum of V. I. Lenin. The building was rebuilt for museum purposes according to the design of N. E. Lansere and D. A. Vasiliev. The Main Staircase and the Marble Hall were preserved. In some rooms the artistic decoration was preserved. The museum opened on November 8, 1937. On January 22, 1940, an armored car was installed at the entrance, from which Lenin spoke on the day of his arrival in Petrograd, April 3, 1917. In 1983, it was restored and placed again in front of the Marble Palace on April 15 of the same year.

In 1992, the Marble Palace was transferred to the Russian Museum. V.I. Lenin's armored car was sent to the Artillery Museum.

In 1994, the famous German conceptual artist Schult (H. A. Schult - pictured on the left) installed the composition “The Age of the Motor”, which was a marble Ford Mondeo, in the space vacated by Lenin’s armored car in front of the Marble Palace.

Ford did not stand for long; it was soon replaced by the long-suffering, heavy monument to Alexander III, using the same pedestal on which Lenin’s armored car stood. Currently, the Marble Palace hosts temporary exhibitions of contemporary art and exhibitions of foreign artists. The premises are being restored.

Monument to Alexander III in front of the eastern facade of the palace

On January 24, 2002, the White Hall was shown to journalists after renovation. On June 7 of the same year, a meeting of the leaders of Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan took place here. They signed the Shanghai Charter regional organization cooperation.

Nikolai Konstantinovich with his mother, Alexandra Iosifovna and sister Vera

In April 1874, Nikolai Konstantinovich’s mother, Alexandra Iosifovna, discovered in the Marble Palace that three expensive diamonds were missing from the setting of one of the icons, with which Emperor Nicholas I had once blessed the marriage of his son Konstantin with the German princess, who in her marriage became Alexandra Iosifovna. Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich called the police, and soon the diamonds were found in one of the pawn shops in St. Petersburg.

First, they found the person who took the diamonds to the pawnshop - the adjutant of Grand Duke E.P. Varnakhovsky, the opinion of whose guilt has been preserved to this day. During interrogation on April 15, he categorically denied involvement in the theft and said that he only took the stones given to him by Grand Duke Nikolai Konstantinovich to the pawnshop.

Nicholas, who was present at the interrogation, swore on the Bible that he was not guilty, which, as they said, aggravated his sin. He told his father that, in rescuing Varnakhovsky, not just an adjutant, but his comrade, he was ready to take the blame upon himself. Emperor Alexander II, who took the case under personal control, involved the chief of the gendarme corps, Count Shuvalov, in the investigation.

Shuvalov interrogated the arrested Nikolai Konstantinovich for three hours in the Marble Palace in the presence of his father, who later wrote in his diary: “No repentance, no consciousness, except when denial is no longer possible, and then I had to pull out vein after vein. Bitterness and not a single tear. They conjured everything that was holy to him to ease the fate ahead of him with sincere repentance and consciousness! Nothing helped!".

Ultimately, they came to the conclusion that the diamonds were stolen by Nikolai Konstantinovich, and the proceeds were to be used as gifts for the prince’s mistress, the American dancer Fanny Lear. At the “family council” - a general meeting of members of the royal family, after long debates (options were offered - to be sent to the army, put on public trial and sent to hard labor), a decision was made that caused minimal harm to the prestige of the royal family. It was decided to recognize Grand Duke Nicholas as mentally ill, and then, by decree of the emperor, he was forever expelled from the capital of the empire. Fanny Lear was expelled from Russia and was forbidden to ever return here. She never met the Grand Duke again.

In fact, two sentences were announced to Grand Duke Nikolai Konstantinovich. The first - for the public - was to declare him insane. From which it followed that from now on and forever he would be in custody, subject to compulsory treatment, in complete isolation. The essence of the second verdict - the family one - was that it was forbidden to mention his name in papers relating to the imperial house, and the inheritance that belonged to him was passed on to his younger brothers. He was also stripped of all ranks and awards and deleted from the lists of the regiment. He was expelled from St. Petersburg forever and was obliged to live under arrest in the place where he would be indicated...

In the memoirs of Fanny Lear there is an entry that very eloquently characterizes this woman herself, who was born and raised in the family of a Protestant priest: “If such a loss were to occur in a family of ordinary people,” wrote Miss Lear , - they would have hidden her there; here, on the contrary, the police were raised to their feet...”

There is one more oddity in this matter. Despite the fact that Nikolai Konstantinovich’s parents and his august relatives were still convinced that Nikolai Konstantinovich was ruined by his love for a courtesan and the lack of funds to satisfy her whims, it remains inapplicable that during a search a sum of money was found in Nikolai Konstantinovich’s desk , much big one, which was received for stolen diamonds pawned in a pawnshop.

He was taken from St. Petersburg in the fall of 1874. Before his last “stop”, in Tashkent in the summer of 1881, that is, in less than 7 years, he changed at least 10 places of residence...

The prisoner’s younger brother, Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich, did not approve of the hard line of the imperial house: “Will the painful situation from which poor Nikola is given no way out soon end? The meekest person could be driven out of patience in this way; Nikola still has enough strength to endure her imprisonment and moral prison.”

Having finally heeded the arguments of common sense, the cousin of the disgraced Grand Duke, Emperor Alexander III, allowed Nikolai Konstantinovich to go to the Turkestan region, to Tashkent...

In the three-story building, built of variegated stone, pilasters and columns alternate evenly with windows. The clock tower, attic, and pilasters of the two upper floors of the palace are made of pink Tivdian marble. The decor of the windows on the first and second floors is made of white Ural. The basement of the building is made of Vyborg pink granite – rapakivi – with a rough structure. The copper frames of all floors are gilded. The appearance of the times of Catherine II has been preserved in the interiors and decor of the central hall. Ural gray-silver marble dominated the design of the main staircase. The steps are made of Brusna sandstone in the color of an amulet. In the niches are marble sculptures by Fedot Shubin, embodying the autumn and spring equinoxes, as well as the times of day: morning, afternoon, evening, night.

Along the walls there are stucco high reliefs: “games of cupids” and four female figures on the sides, symbolizing “strength of spirit”, “justice”, “prudence” and “moderation”.

During the reconstruction, the interfloor covering of the second and third floors was dismantled. Daylight began to penetrate into the hall from the windows on both sides. The ceiling was raised to the height of the third floor and bronze chandeliers with crystal were placed. The decorated stucco molding of the ceilings of the second floor remained from the time of perestroika according to the design of A.P. Bryullov. Sculptures of knights and two-headed eagles were combined with national Russian motifs.

During the ownership of the palace by Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich, several new rooms were created on the ground floor: a music room in the Gothic style, a lower library, and an English study. The Grand Duke, being a famous translator and poet of the Silver Age, turned the palace into the center of the cultural life of the capital. Intellectuals discussed books by Russian and foreign authors, musical evenings were held in the halls, and performances were staged in which the princely couple and their children participated.

The greatest damage was caused to the Marble Palace during the years when the exhibition of the branch of the V. I. Lenin Museum was located. Architect N. E. Lanceray prepared the halls for museum premises and largely preserved the decorative decoration of historical interiors. But during operation, the architectural design of the second floor suffered the most. Wall paintings and artificial marble were painted over, unique fireplaces were broken, and finishing fabrics were destroyed.