Empress Catherine II

Samuel Friedrich Ivanovich Hallberg|A. Ambyen|B. Ekimov

1837 · Bronze · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Hallberg, a sculptor of Swedish origin, studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Saint Petersburg and in Rome. In 1831 Czar Nicholas I commissioned from him a large marble statue of Catherine II for the conference hall of the Saint Petersburg Academy. This commission gained Hallberg a permanent appointment as professor at this prestigious institution. The bronze is a reduced version of the marble. The empress is depicted as a classical Roman ruler or deity wearing a laurel wreath and a richly draped robe and holding a scroll. The klismos throne chair, stripped to its bold essentials and strikingly beautiful in its curving and absolute purity, refers reassuringly to a settled past. It underlines Catherine's characterization as the embodiment of stately authority. Combined with her heroic appearance all'antiqua (in the antique manner), all this strongly emphasizes her reputation as "The Great Catherine."

Artist

Samuel Friedrich Ivanovich Hallberg|A. Ambyen|B. Ekimov

Date

1837

Medium

Bronze

Culture

Russian

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Purchase, The Caleb and Julia Dula Educational and Charitable Fund, Rogers Fund, funds from various donors, and Gift of George Blumenthal, by exchange, 1986