Peering up at the Bronze Horseman, can you imagine the sheer ambition it took to create such a monumental tribute? This isn’t just any sculpture. This is the Bronze Horseman in Saint Petersburg.
The Bronze Horseman is an equestrian statue of Peter the Great. It stands proudly in Senate Square. Catherine the Great commissioned it. She wanted to connect herself to Peter the Great. This would give her legitimacy.
French sculptor Étienne Maurice Falconet created the statue. He arrived in Russia in 1766. The casting of the statue began in 1775. Emelyan Khailov supervised the casting. During the casting, the mould broke. Molten bronze caused several fires. Khailov risked his life to salvage the casting. It took 12 years to create the Bronze Horseman.
Marie-Anne Collot, a young sculptor, created the Tsar’s face. She was only 18 years old. She used Peter the Great’s death mask. The statue’s right hand was modeled from a Roman bronze hand.
The statue was unveiled on August 7, 1782. Thousands attended the ceremony. Falconet was absent. A misunderstanding caused a conflict. He left Russia before the project was complete. Catherine largely forgot about him. She saw the Bronze Horseman as her own creation.
Peter the Great sits heroically on his horse. His outstretched arm points towards the River Neva. The horse tramples a serpent. The serpent represents treachery and evil. The statue is about six metres tall. The pedestal adds another seven metres.
The pedestal is the Thunder Stone. It was found in Lakhta in 1768. Legend says thunder split a piece off the stone. Marinos Carburis moved the stone. He was a Greek engineer. It took 400 men nine months to move the stone. They used bronze spheres. The stone reached its destination in 1770. A medal commemorated its arrival.
A legend says that while the Bronze Horseman stands, enemy forces cannot conquer the city. During the Siege of Leningrad, the statue was protected. Sandbags and a wooden shelter shielded it. It survived 900 days of bombing.
Alexander Pushkin wrote a poem called The Bronze Horseman in 1833. The poem made the statue famous. The poem explores conflict. It shows the needs of the state versus the needs of ordinary citizens.
The Bronze Horseman stands as a symbol of Saint Petersburg. It represents Peter the Great’s vision. It embodies Catherine the Great’s ambition. It is a powerful image of Russian history.