Lot 425
  • 425

Monument to Catherine the Great: A bronze figural group, after the model by Mikeshin, late 19th century

Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 GBP
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Description

  • Monument to Catherine the Great
  • bronze
  • height 60cm, 23 5/8 in.
brown patina, the base inscribed with the names of the sitters (see catalogue note, below)

Condition

Generally very good-to-excellent condition. The most significant issue is that the Empress's sceptre is missing. (Ironically, the full-scale monument has frequently had its sceptre stolen by vandals.) One figure lacking his sword blade. The sculpture could do with a professional cleaning and waxing; it is in somewhat of an 'estate condition', coming from an old and dusty house. The figures are firmly attached. A very good, crisp casting and a highly interesting work of art.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

The reign of Empress Catherine II (1729-1796) is often referred to as the Golden Age of Russia. The work that began with Emperor Peter I of modernising the country towards European ideals earned both monarchs the moniker of Great. After taking power in dramatic circumstances (the coup d’état in 1762), Catherine strived towards stability without stagnation. She promoted economic growth and increased Russia’s influence abroad whilst advancing the arts and sciences at home. Her intelligence, ambition and industriousness didn’t go unnoticed by contemporaries. She viewed idleness – the privilege of monarchs – as the ultimate evil.

Although she had no ear for music or poetry, Catherine was a colossal patron of the arts. She established the Hermitage, founded the Russian Academy and purchased the libraries of French philosophers Diderot and Voltaire, with whom she maintained a correspondence. Diderot said she had “the soul of Brutus and the heart of Cleopatra”; Voltaire called her “the brightest star of the North”. The Empress was adept at finding talent in others and delegating wisely. Her art collection, for instance, was assembled by diplomats, philosophers, art dealers and the literati. In her memoirs, Catherine the Great emphasised the importance of her entourage: “I kept everyone in mind and have made it a rule to think that I need absolutely everyone, and to gain their love in every way.”

Representations of Catherine II as Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom and sponsor of the arts, began to appear during her lifetime. She was Minerva in Gregorio Guglielmi’s The Apotheosis of the Reign of Catherine the Great (1767) and in Stefano Torelli’s Minerva, Patroness of the Arts (1770). She was Minerva on Jean-Pierre Ador’s snuff box (1774) and again, this time in marble, as depicted by the sculptor Fedot Shubin (1789). Finally, she was Minerva atop the statue conceived by M.O. Mikeshin (1835-1896) and placed in Ostrovsky Square, St Petersburg, more than a hundred years after her reign began.

Mikeshin rose to national fame with his giant Novgorod sculpture The Millennium of Russia (1862). He had a gift for romanticising patriotism in complex, multi-layered compositions that projected glory and grandeur. For the monument of Catherine the Great, Mikeshin collaborated with M.A. Chizhov (1838-1916), who sculpted the monarch; A.M. Opekushin (1838-1923), who sculpted her distinguished entourage; and D.I. Grimm (1823-1898), who sculpted the base. Fifty tons of bronze were used resulting in a structure that sits almost fifteen metres high, with the towering Empress herself standing atop at 4.2 metres tall. Construction began in 1862, upon the orders of Emperor Alexander II, and the statue was erected in 1873. That same year, in An Art Tour of the Northern Capitals of Europe, J. Beavington Atkinson wrote: “I have nowhere witnessed so much power brought to bear as in the transit of the granite used in the immense memorial to the Empress Catherine.”

Falconet’s monument to Peter the Great depicts the monarch as a warrior atop a horse; Troubetzkoy’s monument to Alexander III depicts the monarch as a warrior atop a horse: Mikeshin’s monument to Catherine the Great depicts the monarch as a goddess atop an entourage of illustrious military men and intellectuals. Facing the same way as their Empress and engaged in conversation are military behemoths Prince A.V. Suvorov, Count P.A. Rumyantsev and Prince G.A. Potemkin; the last was Catherine’s lover and the man she shared her passions with most. Between them, they ensured that Russia gained access to the Baltic and Black Seas, strengthened itself in the West, and regained the lost Ukrainian and Belarusian lands.

To their left, inspecting a document, are Prince A.A. Bezborodko, the Chancellor of the Russian Empire, and I.I. Betskoi, the President of the Russian Academy of Arts. Also sat together are army men V.I. Chichagov and Count A.G. Orlov; the latter being one of the leaders of the coup d’état that brought Catherine to the throne. On his own stands the poet G.R. Derzhavin, a doyen to whom Pushkin tipped his hat in Eugene Onegin and who dedicated his breakthrough work, Ode to Felica, to his Empress. Also on her own, but sitting, is Princess E.R. Dashkova—the first female President of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Her presence reminds us of the progressive agenda Catherine the Great espoused, especially with regard to the emancipation of women through education.

In his essay ‘The Glory of Russia is My Glory’ Yuri Efimov argues that “one of the Empress’ greatest talents was being able to find gifted, energetic and loyal administrators, statesmen, military commanders and diplomats, who became her devoted supporters” (Catherine the Great: An Enlightened Empress, Edinburgh, 2012, p. 38). Even Pushkin, who was a sceptic of Catherine’s reign, wrote that, “If to govern is to understand the weakness of the human soul and to make use of it, then in this respect Catherine deserves the acclaim of posterity”. Whether her effectiveness with people was a cause to praise or else bemoan, there is little doubt that Catherine the Great established herself as Russia’s longest-reigning female monarch by surrounding herself with men and women whom she trusted and treated generously. Mikeshin’s monument, whilst elevating its protagonist in posture and stature, celebrates also the Empress’ powers of recruitment.

Small-scale versions of the monument, such as the present lot, were exhibited in Moscow (1869, 1882), London (1872), Chicago (1893) and St Petersburg (1910). Copies are at the Hermitage, at the State Russian Museum in St Petersburg, at the Historical State Museum in Moscow, at the Kabardino-Balkaria Fine Arts Museum in Nalchik, South-West Russia, and at the Tsarskoye Selo State Museum Preserve in Pushkin, south of St Petersburg.