Animals Literature

Fable writer Ivan Krylov monument in Saint Petersburg

Fragment of Bas-relief. Fable writer Ivan Krylov monument in Saint Petersburg
Fragment of Bas-relief. Fable writer Ivan Krylov monument in Saint Petersburg

Fable writer Ivan Krylov monument in Saint Petersburg

In 1845, when Ivan Krylov died, almost immediately, began collecting funds for the installation of the monument in his honor. Citizens and municipal authorities met this idea enthusiastically. Soon, a special committee was established, which in the three years of its existence has managed to collect a huge amount. Once the funds have been collected, the Academy of Arts has announced a competition for the best project of the monument. So, in the competition took part the best sculptors of St. Petersburg. Choosing the best project took about a year and a half, and as a result, November 26, 1849 the committee approved the monument, designed by Peter Clodt. The sculptor worked on the monument for about five years, and in the spring of 1854 the monument was cast and began chasing the bas-reliefs.
They depict scenes from famous works of Krylov. Here you will find the fox and the crow, and a frog with an ox, and an elephant in the fable “The Elephant in the province”, and a rooster and a grain of pearl, and of course, the famous quartet of animals, musicians and many characters created by Krylov. Every image is expressive and naturalistic, which is not surprising, because the “models” for sculptor were very real animals!

Ivan Andreyevich Krylov. Monument. Summer Garden, Kutuzov embankment, St. Petersburg
Ivan Andreyevich Krylov. Monument. Sculptor Peter Clodt. Summer Garden, Kutuzov embankment, St. Petersburg

In 1855, the authorities unveiled a monument, and a few years later to protect from vandals, they installed an elegant fence. During the siege of Leningrad, wooden shields covered the monument, but fragments of shells still damaged the sculpture. After the war, in 1945, they removed the billboards, and the monument was restored.

Ivan Krylov (13, 1769 – November 21, 1844). Artist Konstantin Bryullov
Ivan Krylov (13, 1769 – November 21, 1844). Artist Konstantin Bryullov

Ivan Krylov (13, 1769 – November 21, 1844) was and is the most famous fable writer in Russia. By the way, he discovered the talent of a fabulist only when he was 40. Before, he used to work as a journalist and dramatist. In addition, he is Russia’s best known and most epigrammatic of all Russian authors.

Moscow Monument to Krylov
Moscow Monument to Krylov

Meanwhile, there is also a monument to Krylov in Moscow, which consists of several compositions:
The original monument – the creation of two sculptors, Daniel Mitlyansky and Andrey Drevin, with the participation of the architect Armen Chaltykyan. According to their plan, Ivan Krylov depicted with a distinct and characteristic portrait similarity – stolidly seated on a chair in a few untidy. Such an interpretation of the image of the fabulist has its reasons – many of his contemporaries describe Krylov as a balanced, good-natured, and a bit of a lazy person. The statue of the poet was placed on a low pedestal, made of red granite.

On the right side of the figure are other members of the sculptural ensemble – four bronze sculptures in the form of open books. On their pages flaunt characters of 12 most famous fables of Ivan Krylov. Among them – Quartet, Mirror and Monkey, Elephant and the Pug, Donkey and the Nightingale, Cuckoo and Rooster, Monkey and glasses, The Wolf and the Lamb, pig under the oak, Crow and the Fox and others.

Moscow monument:

A pig under an oak tree
A pig under an oak tree
Bronze quartet
Bronze quartet
Characters of Krylov fables
Characters of Krylov fables
Detail of sculptural composition, Moscow monument to Krylov
Detail of sculptural composition, Moscow monument to Krylov
Fabulous detail of Moscow monument
Fabulous detail of Moscow monument
Fox and Crow, Fable story, fragment of monument
Fox and Crow, Fable story, fragment of monument
Monkey
Monkey
Peacock
Peacock
Wolf and lamb
Wolf and lamb

Fable writer Ivan Krylov monument in Saint Petersburg

Fable writer Ivan Krylov monument in Saint Petersburg
Musicians of Krylov fable Quartet
Fable writer Ivan Krylov monument in Saint Petersburg
And this Moscow monument to Ivan Krylov
Fable writer Ivan Krylov monument in Saint Petersburg
Bas-relief, detail. Monument to fable writer Ivan Krylov
Fable writer Ivan Krylov monument in Saint Petersburg
Characters of fable writer Ivan Krylov
Fable writer Ivan Krylov monument in Saint Petersburg
Characters of fables by Ivan Krylov
Fable writer Ivan Krylov monument in Saint Petersburg
Detail of Bas-relief. Saint Petersburg monument to fable writer Ivan Krylov
Fable writer Ivan Krylov monument in Saint Petersburg
Fable stories depicted in bas-relief. Monument to fable writer Ivan Krylov
Fable writer Ivan Krylov monument in Saint Petersburg
Fabulous monument to Ivan Krylov in St. Petersburg
Ivan Krylov on the monument ‘1000 years of Russia’ in Veliky Novgorod
Fable writer Ivan Krylov monument in Saint Petersburg
Sculptor Peter Clodt (1805 – 1867), details of bas-relief
Fable writer Ivan Krylov monument in Saint Petersburg
Summer Garden, Saint Petersburg. Details of Monument to Ivan Krylov. Work by talented sculptor Peter Clodt (1805 – 1867)
Fable writer Ivan Krylov monument in Saint Petersburg
The statue of Ivan Krylov in the Summer Garden in Saint Petersburg. Sculptor Peter Clodt (1805 – 1867)
Fable writer Ivan Krylov monument in Saint Petersburg
Tomb of Krylov at the Tikhvin Cemetery at the Alexander Nevsky Lavra
Moscow Monument to Krylov
Moscow Monument to Krylov

sources
rusmuseum.ru
wiki/Peter_Clodt_von_Jürgensburg