It is better to reflect ourselves, than to suffer others to reflect for
us. A philosopher has a system; he views things according to his theory;
he is unavoidably partial; and, like Lucian's painter, he paints his
one-eyed princes in profile.
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[Illustration: STATUE OF PETER THE GREAT.]
This superb work of modern art stands in one of the finest squares of St.
Petersburgh, and of Europe, according to Sir Robert Ker Porter. It was
erected by command of the Empress Catherine, and, like all her projects,
bears the stamp of greatness. The name of the artist is Falconet: "he was
a Frenchman; but," adds Sir R.K.P. "this statue, for genius and exquisite
execution, would have done honour to the best sculptors of any nation. A
most sublime conception is displayed in the design. The allegory is finely
imagined; and had he not sacrificed the result of the whole to the
prominence of his group, the grand and united effect of the statue and its
pedestal striking at once upon the eye, would have been unequalled in the
works of man. A mass of granite, of a size at present most immense, but
formerly most astonishing, is the pedestal. A steep acclivity, like that
of a rugged mountain, carries the eye to its summit, which looks down on
the opposite side to a descent nearly perpendicular. The figure of the
hero is on horseback, supposed to have attained the object of his
ambition, by surmounting all the apparent impossibilities which so arduous
an enterprise presented. The victorious animal is proudly rearing on the
highest point of the rock, whilst his imperial master stretches forth his
mighty arm, as the father and protector of his country. A serpent, in
attempting to impede his course, is trampled on by the feet of the horse,
and writhing in all the agonies of expiring nature. The Emperor is seated
on the skin of a bear; and habited in a tunic, or sort of toga which forms
the drapery behind. His left hand guides the reins; his right is advanced
straight forward on the same side of the horse's neck. The head of the
statue is crowned with a laurel wreath." It was formed from a bust of
Peter, modelled by a young French damsel. The contour of the face
expresses the most powerful command, and exalted, boundless, expansion of
thought. "The horse, says Sir Robert, is not to be surpassed. To all the
beauties of the ancient form, it unites the easy grace of nature with a
fire which pervades every line; and gives such a life to the statue, that
as you gaze you expect to see it leap from the pinnacle into the air. The
difficulty of keeping so great a mass of weighty metal in so volant an
attitude, has been admirably overcome by the artist. The sweep of the
tail, with the hinder parts of the horse, are interwoven with the
curvatures of the expiring snake; and together compose a sufficient
counterpoise to the figure and forepart of the animal."[6]
[6] Travelling Sketches in Russia and Sweden. By Sir Robert Ker
Porter, 4to.
Our representation of this masterpiece of art is copied from a Russian
medallion presented to our ingenious artist, Mr. W.H. Brooke, by M.
Francia.
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