Jordan stairs
Jordan Staircase - the main staircase in the north-eastern part of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg .
Content
History
In the XVIII century, the staircase was called the Embassy, then it was called the Jordanian one, since during the Epiphany, the procession went down to the Neva, where an ice-hole, Jordan, was cut down in ice for the blessing of water.
Destroyed by the fire of 1837 , the staircase was recreated by V.P. Stasov , who, while restoring this half of the palace, managed to preserve the basic plan of Rastrelli. However, instead of columns of pink artificial marble, on the orders of the emperor, double columns of gray Serdobol granite were installed; instead of forged gilded railing grids, a marble balustrade appeared; the military attributes in the tympans of false windows are also classicist, not baroque. In addition, white became the leading color of the staircase instead of pink.
Architecture
It is here that the great talent of Rastrelli is revealed in all strength and expressiveness. Behind the majestic arched spans of the gallery of the first floor and the first, shaded, flight of stairs, a huge, shining space of staircase suddenly opens. Located at almost twenty meters height, a picturesque ceiling with the image of ancient Greek gods hovering in the sky enhances the baroque effect by illusory breaking the planes of the ceiling, and the light pouring from the windows, reflected in the mirrors, glides over the gilded stucco ornaments, white marble statues of gods and muses. On the ceiling there is a ceiling lamp by Gasparo Diziani “Olympus”, instead of the burned-out brush Valeriani .
Sculptural decoration
Alabaster statues are installed on the wall brackets: Wisdom and Justice (works of A. Terebenev ), Greatness and Abundance (slave N. Ustinov), Fidelity and Justice (slave N. Leppe), Mercury (slave A. Manuylova), Muse ( slave I. German). In the central niche of the lower platform is a marble sculpture of an unknown master of the 18th century, an allegory of the State.
modern look
modern look
modern look
Doors to the Armorial Hall
Literature
- The Hermitage / Under the general editorship. - M .: Ivan Fedorov, 2006.