Palace, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 196621
The Palace Church was built in 1799 according to the design of architect Brenna. It occupies a separate one-and-a-half-story building adjacent to the Cavalier Hall, from which one can access the church choir loft. The choir loft, which is a balcony-loggia, was intended for the palace owners (here was the imperial throne chair) and the most distinguished guests, who entered here from the Pre-Church Gallery, as the Cavalier Hall was officially called. One can enter the church itself from Sadovaya Street through a special church entrance and ascend by stairs. The church interior is characteristic of religious buildings of the Classicism era, when there was a departure from traditional Russian church decoration and an orientation towards Western European models. Thus, the Palace Church lacks a multi-tiered iconostasis, which with the royal doors forms a unified whole not only in artistic and architectural design but, above all, in artistic and symbolic meaning. The church also lacks icons of traditional style. In the iconostasis and on the walls are copies of famous works by Western European artists on Gospel themes, with compositions on the walls dominated by the theme of the Mother of God: "The Holy Family" (a copy of Batoni's work), "Holy Night" or "Adoration of the Shepherds" (a copy of Correggio), "Assumption of the Madonna" or "Immaculate Conception" (a copy of Murillo's work). In the upper row, in round medallions, are images of the holy apostles Peter (left) and Paul (right), in whose honor this church is consecrated (copies of works by Van Dyck). The ceiling painting features the composition "The Conversion of Saul," a key episode in the life of the Apostle Paul when he believed in Christ. This subject was chosen deliberately, as the apostle's name was associated with Emperor Paul I. The painting was done by the court decorator Mettenleiter, who reworked a composition by Rubens.
Sculpture plays a significant role in the church interior decoration, which is also unusual for Russian churches. On the tall pilasters of the iconostasis above the entrance to the altar part are figures of kneeling angels (sculptor Prokofiev). Sculptures are placed in niches in the church choir loft – "Faith with a Cross and Chalice" and "Religion with a Book." The author-performer is unknown. In the round niche above the choir loft are two angels with a cross, possibly originally made by Kozlovsky. Despite the strictness of the architectural solution, special solemnity is given by the carved gilded doors of the altar gates and large carved gilded torcheres installed on consoles along the walls. In this church, during the solemn services in the summer of 1799, Suvorov's reports on the victories of the Russian troops in Italy were announced, and on August 9 of the same year, a "many years" proclamation was made to the Commander-in-Chief of the army, General Field Marshal Prince of Italy and Russia, Count Suvorov-Rymniksky, with all the troops." Thus, Suvorov's new title – Prince of Italy – was first proclaimed here. Konstantin Konstantinovich, who died in Pavlovsk on June 2, 1915, was also buried here. The church's interior decoration, almost completely destroyed by the fire of war, was restored by 1977. From the original church furnishings, the chandelier, lamps, and silver panikadilo made by jeweler Bukh in 1799 according to Kazakov's design, as well as the only icon in the iconostasis "Immaculate Conception" (work by Drozhdin after Murillo's painting), have been preserved.
Currently, the church exhibits 18th-century church utensils from the historical collection of the Pavlovsk Palace Church.
Sources:
https://pavlovskmuseum.ru/about/palace/layout/10/682/
