The Empresses Behind The Catherine Palace

I wanted to share a little bit of the history I learned about the Catherine Palace, that houses the famous Amber room which I shared with you in my last post. I also wanted to share what I learned about the Empresses(most notably, Elizabeth & Catherine II) that influenced the building and design of the palace.



The Catherine Palace located in Tsarskoye Selo in Saint Petersburg, Russia originated in 1717 as the summer palace for Catherine I of Russia. The architect was Johann Friedrich Braunstein. In 1733, Empress Anna Ivanovna, daughter of Ivan V and niece to Peter the Great, who succeeded Catherine I, commissioned Mikhail Zemtsov and Andrei Kvasov to expand the Catherine Palace.
However, it was Empress Elizabeth Petrovna's influence that catapulted the Catherine Palace to achieve international recognition.
Elizabeth was the daughter of Peter the Great and Catherine I(Martha Elena Scowronska). Elizabeth gained power by leading a palace revolt against Anna Leopoldovn a, regent and mother of the infant Ivan VI. She became Empress of Russia (1741 – 1762) who took the country into the War of Austrian Succession (1740 – 1748) and the Seven Years' War (1756 – 1763).Her domestic policies allowed the nobles to gain dominance in local government while shortening their terms of service to the state. She encouraged Lomonosov's establishment of the University of Moscow and Shuvalov's foundation of the Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg.
Under Elizabeth's rule, capital punishment ended in Russia. Although the Senate handed down capital sentences during her reign, she commuted all of them.
She called for the introduction of Russian porcelain, an industry that would expand rapidly and ensure a reputation for high quality craftsmanship throughout Europe.

She also spent exorbitant sums of money on the grandiose baroque projects of her favourite architect, Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, particularly in Peterhof and Tsarskoye Selo. Affairs of state were often left unattended while her greatest legacy might have been the 15,000 dresses she collected.





(Hall of lights at the Catherine Palace June 2007)


On May 10 1752 she signed a decree ordering a complete overhaul of the palace. She commissioned her court architect Rastrelli to begin the four year reconstruction project on what she described as an outdated and incommodious old structure.





In it's place, a much grander edifice in the Baroque & Rococo style. On July 30 1756 the brand-new 325-meter-long palace was completed.







The palace had gained fame for its obscenely lavish exterior. More than 100 kilograms of gold were used to gild the sophisticated stucco facade and numerous statues erected on the roof.
It was even rumored that the palace's roof was constructed entirely of gold. The galleries of the palace's facade consisted of windows and columns, each of which bore a wooden, gold-leafed statue or vase. In front of the palace a great formal garden was laid out. It centers on the azure-and-white Hermitage Pavilion near the lake, designed by Zemtsov in 1744, overhauled by Rastrelli in 1749 and formerly crowned by a grand gilded sculpture representing The Rape of Persephone.


The interior of the pavilion featured dining tables with dumbwaiter mechanisms.

The grand entrance to the palace is flanked by two massive "circumferences", also in the Rococo style. A delicate iron-cast grille separates the complex from the town of Tsarskoe Selo.


For twenty years, Elizabeth’s court architect, Rastrelli, would leave his mark on St. Petersburg, building the Winter Palace on the Neva River and introducing the distinctive Russian baroque style.
Generally, she was one of the best loved Russian monarchs, because she didn't allow Germans in the government and not one person was executed during her reign. On the eve of her death in 1762, the Russian empire spanned almost 4 billion acres.
The palace would be enlarged under the reign of Catherine II the Great. The new Empress Catherine the Great added a second story to the side wings and separate entrances to the same. With the exception of halting the completion of gilding the outside ornamentation(ordered by Empress Elizabeth) due expenses and because she thought it was too extravagant, She left the exterior unchanged. However, she renovated the interiors by commissioning Scottish architect Charles Cameron to incorporate the Neoclassical/Palladian and Greek revival styles. Of all the royal residences available to Catherine the Great, this was her favorite.


The Picture hall


The Music room



Looking down the hallway, through some of the many grand rooms at the Palace.

This room is furnished with a custom made bed that was reportedly a gift to Catherine the Great from one her lovers. This room is furnished with a custom made bed that was reportedly a gift to Catherine the Great from one of her lovers.








The blue and white Delft tile covers one of the many fireplaces that provided warmth in the frigid Russian winters. The same style fireplaces can be found in the royal residences of other Northern European nations such as Sweden and Denmark.


This is the grand hall which is also referred to as the hall of lights intended for formal dinners and masquerade balls.




Beautiful photo capturing the gilding work in the Amber room.


Close up of one of a pair of the gilded statues that flank the archways in the Great hall.











Amazingly beautiful wood parquetry throughout the palace.




A couple of the ceiling frescos in the palace.






The front gates to Tsarskoye Selo.

sources: saint-petersburg.com;wikipedia;alexanderpalace.org,britannica.com

The Amber Room At Catherine's Palace

In June 2007, My partner Dan, his parents and I spent 4 days in St. Petersburg, Russia. One of the highlights of that trip was our visit to the famous Amber room located inside Catherine’s Palace at the Tsarskoye Selo. Our tour guide was from Red October Tours which, by the way, if you ever plan to visit, is highly recommended. They're pricey, but well worth it. Red October provides private tours for very small groups (there was just the four of us and our guide and driver)that are given priority entrance without having to wait in the long lines. In addition, certain areas, such as the Hermitage treasury, are closed off to the public while you take your exclusive tour. Red October provides a truly VIP experience. The tour guides are well versed in their history and speak very good English.

There is a rich history involving the Amber room. It's been herald by some as one of the great wonders of the world.



The room's origin begins with King Frederick William of Prussia who gave Peter the Great the original inlaid amber panels after Peter admired them in a room in Frederick's palace. The 16-foot jigsaw-looking panels were constructed of over 100,000 perfectly fitted pieces of amber.

The original Amber Room represented a joint effort of German and Russian craftsmen. Construction of the Amber Room began in 1701 to 1709 in Prussia.

The room was designed by German baroque sculptor Andreas Schlüter and constructed by the Danish amber craftsman Gottfried Wolfram and remained at Charlottenburg Palace until 1716 when it was given by Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm I to his then ally, Tsar Peter the Great of the Russian Empire.

In Russia it was expanded and after several renovations, it covered more than 55 square meters and contained over six tons of amber.
During World War II the German army invaded St. Petersburg and looted the Amber room. The Nazis dismantled the amber panels and shipped them to Königsberg. Much mystery surrounds the fate of the amber room panels, and many Russians believe that they still exist somewhere in Germany.

(Original Amber room prior to the World War II invasion by Nazi Germany)

Knowledge of its whereabouts was lost in the chaos at the end of the war. Its fate remains a mystery, and the search continues.



RESTORATION



In 1979 a reconstruction effort began at Tsarskoye Selo, based largely on black and white photographs of the original Amber Room. Russian artists began recreating the amber panels using the old techniques that were archived.

Financial difficulties to the project were solved with USD $3.5 million donated by the German company Ruhrgas AG.[11]

By 2003 the titanic work of the Russian craftsmen was mostly completed. The new room was dedicated by Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder at the 300-year anniversary of the city of Saint Petersburg.

Click here for a video coverage by National Geographic.

Tsarina's Daughter by Carolly Erickson

The Tsarina’s Daughter, by Carolly Erickson, led me on a journey that I did not want to end. I was taken into the opulent world of Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra and their family. Despite the well known ending of the Romanov dynasty, this fictional tale that allowed Archduchess Tatiana to escape her family’s murder was suspenseful and dramatic. The story is told in the style of a memoir written by the Archduchess describing her upbringing in palaces of St. Petersburg and Tsarkoe Selo.
For those of us who love the decorative arts, this story brought to life the atmospheric glow cast by the candlelight in the gilded banquet halls of the various royal palaces that are setting for the Archduchess’ tale. Her
description of the Tsarina’s mauve salon, the Tsar’s library, the Sevres china and sparkling crystal were enchanting.

For those of us who enjoy drama, this fictional account of the lives of the royal family, the failures of the Tsar and Tsarina, the revolution and its destruction of all this beauty does the not disappoint. Through the Tsarina’s Daughter, I traveled on the Royal Yacht to the Solent to attend the races hosted by King Edward II of England. I bumped along the frozen roads of the St. Pertersburg’s factory suburb, far from the fancy Nevsky Prospekt where the royals shopped and dined. There, in the stench of the tenements the Archduchess learned of the revolutionary foment of her father’s subjects.

This was a page turner that I recommend.

Critic reviews:
“Suspenseful and detailed, the novel captures a dramatic moment in history and will sear you with sorrow for this doomed daughter of the last tsar.” —People magazine


“A top-notch narrative …Erickson creates an entirely convincing historical backdrop, and her tale of a family’s fall from power and a country in transition is both romantic and gripping.” —Publishers Weekly


“Erickson . . . never lets harsh fact impede a good story. . . . Although the particulars of the Romanovs’ fall are familiar from other treatments, including Erickson’s biography of Alexandra, the suspense never flags . . . More entertainment than history, but all the better for it.” —Kirkus Reviews


“Erickson weaves historical details into this imaginative account of how Tatiana Romanov . . . escaped the Bolshevik assassins who killed Russia's royal family in 1918. . . . Despite knowing the real Tatiana's fate, readers will rejoice in the fictional version's survival. A sure winner.” —Library Journal


“Lovingly told, The Tsarina's Daughter is a story with a bittersweet ending, as real history sometimes is. Beautifully written, this is a terrific book to curl up with on a chilly autumn day.” —Romance Reviews Today


“This historical novel is the romantic story of doomed Tatiana Romanov.” —OK! magazine (4 of 5 stars)


“[C]lever and enchanting . . . [Erickson] has spun a sensitive and entirely believable story of the young woman's coming of age in the maelstrom of World War I and the ensuing collapse of the dynasty. It is a love story, to be sure, but what makes this book remarkable (and a compulsive read) is the author’s superb understanding of the fascinating personalities of the Imperial Family and the Russian court. Highly recommended.” —Star Tribune (Minneapolis)


From the bestselling author of The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette comes a dramatic novel and powerful love story about the last Russian imperial family.

It is 1989 and Daria Gradov is an elderly grandmother living in the rural West. What neighbors and even her children don’t know, however, is that she is not who she claims to be—the widow of a Russian immigrant of modest means. In actuality she began her life as the Grand Duchess Tatiana, known as Tania to her parents, Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra.

And so begins the latest entrancing historical entertainment by Carolly Erickson. At its center is young Tania, who lives a life of incomparable luxury in pre-Revolutionary Russia, from the magnificence of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg to the family’s private enclave outside the capital. Tania is one of four daughters, and the birth of her younger brother Alexei is both a blessing and a curse. When he is diagnosed with hemophilia and the key to his survival lies in the mysterious power of the illiterate monk Rasputin, it is merely an omen of much worse things to come. Soon war breaks out and revolution sweeps the family from power and into claustrophobic imprisonment in Siberia. Into Tania’s world comes a young soldier whose life she helps to save and who becomes her partner in daring plans to rescue the imperial family from certain death.

Decorative Details For Less

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ORMOLU 19TH CENTURY NEOCLASSICAL FURNITURE ART DECOR
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Raquel Bitton....The Great Escape

Raquel Bitton performing J'm'en fous pas mal(I shouldn't care)

Whenever Dan and I get the urge to mentally and emotionally escape to the Paris of yesterday, the "Raquel Bitton Sings Edith Piaf" CD is the perfect choice for us. The entire CD is terrific. However, our favorites are 1)Hymne a l'amour(A hymn to love),2)Non,je ne regrette rien(No, I have no regrets) and 3)Les Amants d'un jour(Lovers for a day). Listening to the CD with a bottle(or two)of red, a tray of fromage frais and some Parisian bread by candle light is perfectionne l'évasion à Paris(I hope that came out right). Her French accent just flows beautifully.
Phil Elwood of the San Francisco Examiner/Chronicle wrote:“MAGNIFICENT, EMOTIONAL, MESMERIZING…. Musically stunning' Bitton’s impassioned delivery has a trance-like effect on a listener. Piaf and Billie Holiday share a poignancy that few others have mastered; Bitton, here, is one.”
Phil Elwood
S.F. Examiner/Chronicle

“BITTON’S VOCALS…HONORED PIAF’S STYLE without strictly imitating it. No one could live up to a legend so inflated, but a bright interpreter like Ms. Bitton certainly can illuminate it.”
Ann Powers,
The New York Times


Biography:
French jazz singer and recording artist Raquel Bitton is recognized as the foremost singer of French music in America today and has been internationally reviewed as the greatest interpreter of the music from the Edith Piaf repertoire.

Born in Marrakesh, Morocco, Ms. Bitton was already enthralling audiences at the Casino de Marrakesh (where the classic film Casablanca was partially shot) at the age of 11. When she was a teenager, Raquel and her family moved to San Francisco where she began her American career, focusing on the songs from the French l’Age d’Or. She discovered her French repertoire by dusting off her father’s old records that he brought with him to America.
Raquel was drawn to the passionate melodies and lyrics of the romantic period of the 1930’s and 1940’s and quickly mastered many of the songs from the era of Charles Trenet, Jean Sablon, and Josephine Baker, to name a few. Raquel’s insatiable appetite for songs of the heart led her to the Edith Piaf songbook. Raquel became not only an expert historian on the life and songs of Edith Piaf, but also a renowned interpreter of her music, singularly able to capture the complete essence of one of the great vocalists of the 20th Century.
Raquel performed her hit show, Raquel Bitton sings Edith Piaf, her story…her songs, at notable concert halls throughout North America. The tour opened in January 2000 with 3 sold-out performances at Carnegie Hall(Capacity 3000 seat theater).

In the presentation, Bitton celebrates the extraordinary life of the legendary Piaf through her songs. A 20-piece orchestra backs Bitton’s one-woman tribute to the “little sparrow.” Elegant orchestrations are arranged by long-time collaborator Bob Holloway. Bitton tells stories of Piaf’s life that mirror the timeless songs that catapulted Piaf from singing in the streets of Paris as a child to becoming the highest paid entertainer in the world at the time. Bitton’s unique, heartfelt renditions (sung in French) and her powerful delivery take her audience on an intensely moving and emotional journey.

Singing in French and English, Raquel has developed a variety of additional elegant French-themed presentations including “Pops goes to Paris,” “Postcards from Paris,” “Chansons d’Amour,” and “In a Jazzy Mood.”


Raquel Bitton has recorded 6 albums to date: “I Wish You Love”, “Changes”, “Dream a little dream” and “In a Jazzy Mood” (in collaboration with the legendary composer Paul Misraki), and most recently, Raquel Bitton Sings Edith Piaf: The Golden Album. Liz Smith, Syndicated Columnist, said, “RAQUEL BITTON’S CD TRIBUTE TO EDITH PIAF IS TERRIFIC!”
This recording can be found on the OMTOWN label of Higher Octave Music, a division of NARADA records.
And “Dream a little dream”
Critics unanimously agree that passion is at the core of Raquel Bitton’s extraordinary talent. Her powerful delivery is deeply moving and an unforgettable experience for her audience.

“BITTON OFFERS TOUCHING TRIBUTE TO PIAF. Bitton delivered a performance that would surely have been touching even to someone who’d never heard of Piaf. Classic pieces such as Sous le ciel de Paris; Milord; Non, je ne regrette rien; and, of course, La vie en rose triggered ecstatic applause from a packed crowd.” Don Heckman, Los Angeles Times

“THERE IS THE UNMISTAKABLE PASSION Ms. Bitton brings to her invocation of the Piaf vocal spirit.” Barry Singer, The New York Times

“PIAF IS BORN AGAIN – RAQUEL BITTON BRINGS A LEGEND BACK TO LIFE. Raquel Bitton went straight to the audience’s heart like Piaf before her…. [Carnegie Hall] was packed with people far as the eye could see. Raquel Bitton’s show was well and truly sold out! This singer doesn’t simply imitate, she performs in her own right and performs with the same burning passion of the one and only Madame Piaf! That Saturday night, another star was born.” Myriem Wong, France Amerique/Radio France International/Figaro