Robert, Paul

Paul Robert was born in 1867 in the Swiss city of Friborg . In 1885, after the death of his father, he came to Petersburg . He was a merchant - grocer , home teacher of the French language. He was engaged in drawing, painting, singing, studied Russian. Soon he entered the French state-owned drama troupe, performing on the stage of the Imperial Mikhailovsky Theater . He took advantage of the location of his colleagues and the public, the talent of the artist was noted by Emperor Nicholas II , who made valuable gifts to Robert. The theater’s historians note “representative appearance”, charm, “impeccable manners” and “beautiful diction” ^{[1] [2] [3]} as Robert’s acting features.

In his free time from the theater, he was engaged in fine art, worked in the techniques of oil painting and graphics . During periods of long vacations, he improved the technique of drawing and painting at the Julian Academy in Paris. Participated in exhibitions of the St. Petersburg Society of Artists . The paintings were put up for sale; several works were purchased by Empress Maria Fedorovna for a personal collection. Robert collaborated with the illustrated periodicals in St. Petersburg — the Shutter magazine of cartoons (1897–1901), the Petersburg newspaper (1902–1917), and some works were published in other publications. Released two albums of cartoons (1896, 1903) ^{[4] [2] [3]} .

He was married to “St. Petersburg Swiss” Leon Bernard, who owned a confectionery on Bolshaya Morskaya Street , 26 in the 1900s. The couple had a son ^[5] .

Robert worked at the Mikhailovsky Theater for over 30 years, at the beginning of 1917 he received a full life pension for his seniority. After the October Revolution, lost his pension, property was confiscated. In connection with the revolutionary events, the actors began searches, followed by the threat of arrests. Robert did not leave the theater, March 3, 1918 participated in the last performance of the French troupe. After the theater closed, he returned to Switzerland . He taught diction in higher educational institutions, earned a living by selling paintings and caricatures. He died in Friborg in 1934 ^{[5] [2] [3]} .

In 1896, Robert released an album of cartoons, Our French Artists. Cartoons and autographs of artists of the Mikhailovsky Theater "( Fr. " Nos artistes français. Caricatures et autographes des artistes du Théâtre Michel " ). In 1897-1901 he collaborated with the art magazine of cartoons "Jester", made plot cartoons dedicated to the premiere performances of the Mikhailovsky Theater . Over the years, the magazine published about 80 color lithographs made according to his drawings, representing “colorful multi-figure cartoons with a complex and expressive composition” ^[4] .

From the fall of 1902 until the beginning of 1917, he collaborated with the Petersburg newspaper , headed by theatrical and ballet historian S. N. Khudekov . In 1902-1905, over 150 works by Robert were published in the publication, sometimes drawings were printed 2-3 times a week ^[6] .

In 1903, Robert released his second album - "All Petersburg in caricatures", which included about 70 portrait cartoons of famous contemporaries. The publication was printed on vellum paper with a circulation of 200 numbered copies. Based on the indication “Series 1 ^I ” on the cover, the researchers suggest the intention of the ongoing publication, the continuation was not followed for unknown reasons. Many of the works included in the album were first published in the Petersburg newspaper, the rest were executed in a stylistically similar manner. Researchers note a change in Robert’s artistic manner - the transition to the Art Nouveau style : in the drawings “color is not used, tone transitions are not used, and the image is created due to a solid black spot and a wide contour line” ^[7] .

From 1902 to 1917, more than 380 drawings by Robert were published in the Petersburg newspaper , mainly portrayed portraits, a minority were plot cartoons. The objects of the cartoons were famous contemporaries - theatrical figures (artists, directors, entrepreneurs, employees of the Directorate of the Imperial Theaters), figures of the music world (composers, professors of the conservatory, performers, conductors), artists, writers, figures of city government ( vowels of the city ​​council , members of the city ​​council ) ^[8] .

Among the heroes of Roberian cartoons are opera singers F. I. Chaliapin , N. N. Figner , V. I. Kastorsky , L. V. Sobinov , F. V. Litvin , M. I. Dolina ; ballet dancers A. P. Pavlova and O. I. Preobrazhenskaya , directors N. F. Baliev , V. E. Meyerhold , K. M. Miklashevsky ; composers N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov , E. F. Napravnik , C. A. Cui , A. K. Glazunov ; artists I. E. Repin , K. E. Makovsky , writers P. D. Boborykin , M. Gorky , V. A. Krylov , I. A. Grinevskaya , critic S. A. Vengerov , lawyers S. A. Andreevsky , V.N. Gerard , N.P. Karabchevsky ; figures of city self-government: vowels of the City Duma P.P. Durnovo , V.D. Glazunov , P. I. Lelyanov , N. A. Reztsov , I. I. Tolstoy , engineers K. D. Griboedov and E. B. Kontkovsky et al. ^{[9] [10]}

Critics note the lightness of the pen, the "tenacious look" and observation of Paul Robert, the artist’s kindness and an extraordinary sense of humor ^{[10] [2] [11]} .

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  Anna Pavlova

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  Fedor Chaliapin

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  Rimsky-Korsakov , Headmaster , Cui and Glazunov

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  Ilya Repin

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  Petersburg Duma ("right")

• Robert P. Our French artists. Cartoons and autographs of artists of the Mikhailovsky Theater = Nos artistes français. Caricatures et autographes des artistes du Théâtre Michel / Paul Robert. - SPb. , 1896.
• Robert P. All Petersburg in caricatures / Paul Robert. - SPb. : T. R. Golike and A. Wilborg, 1903. - 48 p. - (Series 1). - 200 copies.

In the XXI century, the work of Paul Robert is the subject of research by historians. The works of the cartoonist are exhibited at the exhibitions - in the Mikhailovsky Theater (2012), the St. Petersburg Museum of the Press (2015), etc. ^{[3] [10] [2] [12]} Some of the artist's works are in the Literary and Memorial Museum of N. A. Ostrovsky in Sochi ^[11] .

• Ernie A. Paul Robert - cartoonist and artist in the Russian Empire // Swiss in St. Petersburg: collection of books. st / sost. M.I. Luti, E. Meder, E. Tarhanova; per. with him. R. Danilevsky, with Fr. E. Tarkhanova, with Italy. M. Talalaya. - SPb. : Petersburg Institute of Printing, 2002. - S. 231–237. - 623 p. - (To the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg). - 1000 copies. - ISBN 5-93422-002-0 .
• Ansberg O. N., Petrova S. I. “Gallery of Petersburgers” by Paul Robert on the pages of the Petersburg newspaper // St. Petersburg - Switzerland: 200 years of Russian-Swiss diplomatic relations: Sat. Art. - SPb. : European House, 2016 .-- 562 p. - (St. Petersburg and the world; issue 14). - ISBN 978-5-8015-0366-0 .
• Ansberg O. N. Cartoons of Paul Robert in the Petersburg newspaper // Fontanka: cultural-historical almanac. - SPb. , 2016. - No. 19 . - S. 48-56 .
• Rukhlya S. According to the pages of the Petersburg newspaper // New News : Newspaper. - M. , 2015. - Issue. February 26th .

• Exhibition of cartoons by Paul Robert (Neopr.) . Mikhailovsky Theater (July 20, 2012). Date of treatment June 10, 2017.
• New arrivals in the museum funds (neopr.) . Literary and Memorial Museum of N. A. Ostrovsky (August 13, 2015). Date of treatment June 10, 2017.
• Gallery of St. Petersburg Paul Robert on the pages of the Petersburg newspaper (neopr.) . Museum of the History of St. Petersburg (2015). Date of treatment June 10, 2017.