TEREM QUARTET

The Catherine Palace

In 1717, when the city of St. Petersburg was just being built on the banks of the Neva river, Tzarskoje Selo saw the construction of a new, stone imperial manor, which became known as the "Stone Chambers" of Catherine I.
From the end of 1748 and through 1756, construction of the Tzarskoje Selo residence was directed by court architect Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli.
The palace was quite impressive with its size, powerful spatial dynamics and picturesque decoration in the style of the Russian Baroque. The wide, light blue ribbon of the palace with its snow-white columns and gilt ornament looked quite festive. The northern wing was topped by the five golden domes of the Palace Chapel, and the southern wing, which contained the formal, state rooms, was topped off by a golden dome with a star on the spire. Approximately 100 kilograms of gold were used to gild the exterior and interior ornaments. At this time the formal yard was also designed, surrounded by the palace’s service buildings placed in a semi-circle around the "circumference" of the yard. The galleries of the palace’s facade consisted of windows and columns, each of which bore a wooden, gold-leafed statue or vase. On the first floor, the large, semi-circular French doors were separated one from the next by sculptural figures of powerful, nude youths. Like the hero of ancient Greek myth, Atlantis, who was commanded by Zeus to hold up the heavens on his head and hands, they bear on their shoulders the colossal weight of the colonnades linking the upper floors. Atlantes, caryatids (feminine forms leaning near the windows of the second formal floor), cartouches on the pediments, lion’s masks, window frames and other plaster decorations were executed according to models by Johann Dunker.
Beginning in 1756, the Great Palace became the center of court life, where not only balls and masquerades were held, but important affairs of state were also carried out.
A new stage in the metamorphosis of the palace’s formal halls came in the1770s. The palace’s new owner, Empress Catherine II, with her penchant for antique art, demanded her own personal quarters in the palace, decorated by Charles Cameron.
The 19th century brought changes to the Catherine Palace ensemble. In 1817, by order of Emperor Alexander I, the architect Vasily Stasov created the Formal Study and several adjoining rooms unified by a single style. Here, everything speaks of pride in military victories in the War of 1812.
On June 9, 1918, the Catherine Palace was opened as a museum.