Monument to Paul I

The sculpture of Paul I is installed on a four-sided polished shaped pedestal made of Finnish granite. The emperor is depicted in a ceremonial uniform and a tricorn hat, leaning on a cane. The emperor’s pose, the tilt of his head, and the expression on his face give the monument an air of dignity and grandeur. In Gatchina, the statue is placed on the parade ground in front of the Grand Gatchina Palace, near the parapet, facing the palace and the parade ground, as if the emperor were receiving a parade. In Pavlovsk, the statue stands in the center of the Parade Ground in front of the Pavlovsk Palace, with the emperor facing the entrance alley, “welcoming guests” to his summer residence.

The model of the statue was created by the famous Russian sculptor Ivan Petrovich Vitali based on a ceremonial portrait of the emperor painted by Stepan Semyonovich Shchukin. The portrait of Paul I was painted in 1796 and approved by the emperor himself. The portrait likeness of Paul I is preserved both in the painting and in the monument. In the center of the canvas, against a smooth, empty gray-green background, the tsar is depicted in the uniform of the Preobrazhensky Regiment with a blue St. Andrew’s sash, wearing a large black tricorn hat. The portrait of Paul I by S. S. Shchukin is housed in the Tretyakov Gallery. For the monument to the emperor, Ivan Petrovich Vitali was awarded the Order of St. Anna, 2nd class. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the authorship of the monument was often mistakenly attributed to other sculptors — Peter Karlovich Klodt von Jürgensburg and Louis Jean Jacques.

The first statue, cast in bronze at the St. Petersburg Galvanoplastic Factory, was installed in Gatchina on a granite pedestal with a base on August 1, 1851, during the reign of Emperor Nicholas I, son of Paul I. A copy of the sculpture, made by the galvanoplastic method by master Sokolov, was installed in Pavlovsk in 1872 on a reduced metal pedestal without a projecting base.

In honor of the unveiling of the Gatchina monument on August 1 (14), 1851, a parade was held in front of the Gatchina Palace, involving the Pavlovsky, Jäger, Cavalier Guard, and Hussar regiments. Emperor Nicholas I was present at the parade. This event was captured by the court “painter of His Majesty” Adolf Charlemagne, who depicted the future heir to the Russian throne, Grand Duke Alexander Nikolaevich, standing behind a sentry near the monument in the uniform of the Life-Guards Pavlovsky Regiment in the painting “Consecration of the Monument to Emperor Paul I in Gatchina” (1851).

In 1919, the monument faced the threat of demolition — city authorities decided to remove the figure of the monarch. However, the monument was saved, largely thanks to the museum custodian Vladimir Kuzmich Makarov.

After the war, from 1953 to 1960, the palace housed the Higher Naval Engineering Radio-Technical School, and its cadets had a tradition — every graduation day, the monument to the emperor was dressed in a specially sewn telnyashka (striped sailor’s shirt).

The monument to Paul I in Gatchina is one of the unofficial symbols of the city — its image can often be found on souvenir products and on the covers of books dedicated to the city.

Sources:

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monument_to_Paul_I_(Vitali)