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Photographer's Note

Pavlovsk Palace is an 18th-century Imperial residence built by Paul I of Russia in Pavlovsk, it's located over 30 km south of St. Petersburg. After his death, it became the home of his widow, Maria Feodorovna. The palace and the large English garden surrounding it are now a state museum and public park. Monument of Paul I is in front of it.

The palace is built with classical elegance and harmony, painted in the deep yellow and white color scheme typical of St. Petersburg neo-classicism.
The palace was conceived as a much smaller building, with the design expanded and embellished during construction. The task of designing the palace was originally assigned by Catherine the Great to Charles Cameron, the Scottish-born architect who had won the Empress's lasting favour with the work he did at Tsarskoye Selo. Construction began in 1782, but Cameron's modest design and his penchant for the absolute simplicity of Palladianism were not to the liking of Pavel and his wife Maria Feodorovna, and they charged Cameron's assistant, Vincenzo Brenna, with the task of extending the palace and creating a more imposing and regal building.
The central block of the palace shown here is austerely neoclassical. While the lower floor is rusticated, with a row of simple arched windows and two niches containing bronze statues, the upper two storeys are decorated with four pairs of large Corinthian columns stretching up to a Pompeian cornice. The whole is crowned by a large colonnaded drum supporting a copper dome.

Inside, the Palace is considerably more ornate, with state rooms designed by some of St. Petersburg's most famous architects, including Quarenghi, Rossi and Voronikhin, the first Russian-born architect to make a significant contribution to one of the Imperial palaces.
The Palace at Pavlovsk was a victim of wanton destruction during the Nazi occupation, like many other palaces of St. Petersburg, and the extraordinary restoration project was not completed until the mid-1950s. Fortunately, there were extensive blueprints available for all aspects of the estate.

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Photo Information
  • Copyright: Jenna Estelle (EstelleJ) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 53 W: 0 N: 119] (921)
  • Genre: Places
  • Medium: Color
  • Date Taken: 2009-07-00
  • Categories: Architecture
  • Exposure: f/4.8, 1/250 seconds
  • Photo Version: Original Version
  • Date Submitted: 2013-03-22 6:32
Viewed: 441
Points: 10
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Additional Photos by Jenna Estelle (EstelleJ) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 53 W: 0 N: 119] (921)
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