The Story of the Creation of Empress Elizabeth’s Coronation Album

Nina Markova

Article: 
HERITAGE
Magazine issue: 
#1 2011 (30)

The coronation album of the Russian Empress Yelizaveta (Elizabeth) Petrovna may appear to the general public as something that is both well-known and properly studied. However, this is not quite so. Since the end of the 19th century, when Dmitry Rovinsky published a full listing of the engravings printed in the catalogue, with brief comments1, we have learned little new. It took a long time to prepare the album: the work started in the autumn of 1742 and continued until the end of 1744. Over that entire period, active correspondence went on between Moscow, where the court continued to celebrate the coronation, and St. Petersburg, the seat of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, as the parties concerned tried to resolve numerous problems relating to the work. Their correspondence was published as part of “Materials for the History of the Imperial Academy of Sciences”.2 In the late 20th century, this body of documents increased significantly due to the addition of new papers published in the collected volume on the history of the Engraving Chamber.3

The story of the coronation album’s creation dates back to November 1742, when the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences received the Senate’s order from Moscow signed by General-Prosecutor Nikita Trubetskoi, the former Supreme Coronation Marshal. The order was accompanied by a list, which included 45 themes for engravings and some finished drawings representing triumphal arches, regalia, elements of interior design, and the like4; these were amateur drawings by an unknown nobleman based on the general concept and certain compositions from Empress Anna’s coronation album. More sketches and drawings were promised to arrive later “as they were so numerous it was impossible to finish them all in due time”5.

A small team of engravers employed by the Engraving Chamber at the Academy of Sciences was chosen to execute the design. In the first half of the 18 th century in Russia it was the only printing house producing illustrations for non-religious publications and utilizing contemporary European engraving techniques (there was another big printing house, in Moscow, run by the Synod, but that one applied quite archaic technology and specialized in engravings focused on traditional religious themes). Besides, the Engraving Chamber had accumulated by then quite a rich experience in this sort of work. In 1730 the Chamber’s artisans accomplished the coronation album of Empress Anna Ioannovna, and some of the contributors to the album were still permanent employees of the Workshop.6 First of all, this group included the German artist Christian Wortman, who stood at the head of the team of academic engravers since 1728. In 1742 he had two apprentices — his Russian assistants Ivan Sokolov and Grigory Kachalov, and five apprentices — Ivan Elyakov, Andrei Grekov, Yekim Vnukov, Yfim Vinogradov, and Yakov Vasilyev, who “still required supervision and therefore should be employed only as aides.”7

The engravers’ workload was already overwhelming and their timetable rigorous, so the new order demanded additional efforts. Wortman, an expert in the use of the engraving tool the burin, expected that the production of the album would require the application of these tools — the most complex and labour-consuming among engraving techniques, which was highly valued in European art of the 17th-early 18th centuries8. This sort of task required an all-out effort on the part of the workshop, which had already many other urgent assignments to handle: “There are many urgent orders that cannot be delayed, such as the fireworks, the ratification the Swedish print, drawings of the Moscow Triumphal Arches, correction of the Emperors’ portraits on copper. ... We have to promptly devise a vignette for the calendar, and there is yet much work to be done in the most expedient fashion.”9 It was more so given that the art of engraving required natural light and the order arrived in autumn when the days were already short. For this reason, the artisans from the Engraving Chamber instantly found themselves under severe time pressure.10

To further complicate the matter, various state departments always demanded the engravers’ services. In January 1743, the artists had to literally “rescue” Sokolov whom the Hof-Intendant’s department called to “repair decorative lights at the Smolny Palace”11. In February and March numerous requests were sent to the respective authorities to release an apprentice by the name Grekov who had been kept in custody by the committee investigating the case of Johann-Daniel Schumacher, Chancellor of the Academy.12 In May the engravers had to fight off demands from the King-of-Arm’s department who wanted to employ Kachalov to design coats of arms for the Life Guards, and so on.13

Besides, in the period following Schumacher’s dismissal Andrei Nartov, a State Councillor and the head of the Academy, decided to remove from its payroll some Academy employees who were regarded as “useless” and “redundant”. Thus, already in May 1742, immediately after taking office, he reduced the already slim staff of the Engraving and Printing Chambers, “dismissing from work on account of uselessness”, “on account of redundancy of workmen who received a salary from the Academy” an experienced word-cutter. Among those discharged were Georg Unverzacht, an expert engraver; Johann Koehler, a specialist in printing; and their apprentices Klink, Beckmann, and Plotzov.14 In the autumn of 1743, the work on the album was in full blast and the Senate was repeatedly issuing orders to accelerate the “carving” of sketches, “using as many engravers as could be found to do the work”15, Nartov, just as if nothing happened, wrote a “report” to Moscow informing that “... in the year of 1741, while the (Academy) President was absent, Chancellor Schumacher invited from Saxony Mr. Stenglin, an expert in engraving on copper. The Academy does not need services of the said Mr. Stenglin, as the Academy’s own engraver, Mr. Wortman, together with two Russian apprentices can do all his work.”16

To further exacerbate the situation, funds were insufficient to purchase even the bare minimum of requirements. That is why on January 19 1743, the Academy reported the problem to the Senate and requested financial support. To continue working on the album, the Academy needed “30 copper plates of 18 pounds each, and the cost of a pound is 35 kopecks.”17 Next followed a request to allocate the necessary funds, “since the Academy does not have the money not only for the mentioned items but also for salaries to pay to the Academy’s poorest workers.”18 In mid-November the engravers launched a complaint stating that they had received no salary for both the current year and for the last three months of the previous year. The artists asked to be paid at least for the year of 1742 and motivated their request by the urgent nature of their work as “engraving of Her Imperial Majesty’s Coronation Procession made it absolutely impossible to leave the workplace and search for money-lenders.”19

Within a year after the commencement of work, the Senate enquired about its progress. Wortman reported that seven
engravings had already been completed20, and nine more were still being worked on21.

On December 7 the Academy received from Moscow the remaining drawings, together with an order to provide German and French translations of the album’s texts and to advance the “carving” of sketches.22 Since the work took longer than expected, on December 13 Trubetskoi informed the Academy that a team of Moscow engravers would arrive in St. Petersburg to help their colleagues23. Also, an edict of Her Imperial Majesty was issued reinstating in their positions all experts and their apprentices dismissed by Nartov.24

The situation required consultation with specialists, so the Academy’s librarian Johann Taubert, together with Jacob Staehlin, professor and the head of the Arts Department at the Academy, the architect Johann-Jacob Schumacher (brother of Johann-Daniel Schumacher), and Elias Grimmel, an artist, were invited. The expert committee had to evaluate the quality of “sketches” (drawings) which would be used for engraving and decide “how they could be improved.”25 The experts accepted unconditionally the finished engravings featuring the crown, mantle, orders, armchairs, but they deemed unsatisfactory a considerable number of drawings, both recently received and sent in some time ago. The consultants apprised in their “report”: “All plates have been engraved, but the images have not been corrected. It is impossible to correct them now since no drafts are available, which could help engravers to find out what lines to fill and how deeply, and where to add shading. Therefore, the architects Michurin, Korobov, and Blank have to provide the original drawings of front elevations and of layouts so that the engravers could use them to correct the engraved plates or to engrave them anew..”26 The worst were those plates that depicted either multi-object “processions” or compositions requiring proper perspective (like “The Publication Procedure prior to Coronation”, “The Coronation at the Dormition Cathedral”, etc.). To correct those engravings, the expert committee advised to invite specialists in perspective painting, like the Italian artists Giovanni Bon and Bartolomeo Tarsi who were employed at the Russian Court. Elias Grimmel also agreed to participate in that work.

The engravers working on the album were by no means considered “ordinary artisans”. Thus, when the first batch of drawings was being processed, on their advice the decision was taken to group separate “small objects”, such as a canopy with its cover, staffs, a sword and the State Seal, and place them on one sheet, two or three together.27 Now the experts agreed with Sokolov’s opinion that compositions which were considered the most difficult in terms of perspective, should be “downsized and engraved on one plate”28, instead of being spread over several sheets as the drawings initially suggested.

The experts advised to “draw two vignettes at the beginning and at the end of text, one depicting a Moscow boulevard and another masquerades arranged to close the coronation celebration, and to commission the order to the Court artist Tarsi.”29 “The portrait of Her Imperial Majesty must be engraved on copper using ‘schwarzkunst’ or etching techniques instead of engraving with a burin, as these techniques suit better for urgent work and for portraits, and to do the work with a burin will take more than two years.”30 They also recommended the same technique — a combination of engraving and etching — for “The Fireworks and Decorative Lights Design”31. The suggested album run amounted to “600 copies in Russian, 300 in French, and 300 in German, with half of the said copies to be printed on the best Dutch paper and the other half — on the locally manufactured Alexandrian paper.”32

Trubetskoi, who had to approve the recommendations of the expert committee, wanted to introduce corrections33 as well, albeit of a different kind. In his opinion, the images had to conform to the protocol in every detail: “Of 100 Horse Guards only 72 persons are present. The missing 28 have to be painted as well wherever appropriate”34; “Of the Smolensk gentry 66 persons participated in the procession, in threes, followed by two elders; the drawing, however, depicts only 65, followed by one elder dressed like a German; therefore, two elders should be painted, both in a regular, not German-style, dress.”35

On January 9 1744 a team of Moscow engravers from the Synod printing house arrived to assist in “engraving work for the Coronation Album”. They included Alexei Rostovtsev36, Martin Nekhoroshevsky, Ivan Lyubetsky, Klim Saburov, and two merchant sons — Ilya Medovschikov and Ivan Nazhivin, both “totally unfamiliar with engraving.”37 As for Moscow specialist engravers, they knew only calligraphic etching and were not familiar with European copperplate print. The quality of their work did not satisfy the Engraving Chamber experts and in February they returned to Moscow.38 Thus, from the Moscow school representatives, only Martin Nekhoroshevsky contributed to the creation of the album to a certain extent, as he was entrusted with engraving four simple designs.39
On February 13 1744 the engravers reported to the Academy of Sciences that the printing press invented by Nartov was not suitable for their work40. They considered that several new presses had to be made based on the design of the press brought from Berlin which they used. The engravers also requested “the Dutch-made Alexandrian paper for the album and the best quality black paint for printing drawings to be purchased abroad with due advance.”41

While the illustrations were being engraved, another group of specialists worked on the text for the album. Johann Taubert prepared the description of the coronation ceremony and celebration; given that “the Academy then did not employ a qualified German translator”, one of the Academy students, a German named Zellius42, had to translate the text. Jacob Staehlin, who had witnessed the coronation celebration and could ensure the reliability of the description, undertook to edit the text.43

On February 14 1744 the Academy sent to Moscow the first sample copy of the bound album, apparently incomplete.44 The artists had not yet finished the engraving of a coronation medal as they could not find any original medal with the Empress’s profile portrait that was sufficiently elaborate and bore no traces of wear. At last, in March a suitable medal was found at the Mint Office but the artists still could not receive it to make the necessary drawings as “Mr. Nartov, the Councillor, argued against it and refused to give out anything...”45 Only the Senate’s order46 made Nartov produce the required medal. Thus, as late as on June 4 the Academy sent to Trubetskoi “for the purpose of approbation” the Coronation Portrait finished by Johann Stenglin and approved by Louis Caravaque, the author of the original work, and promised to forward the drawing of fireworks in a short time.47

While the printing date was approaching slowly yet inevitably, the engravers discovered that local factories did not produce paper of the required quality. So, they had to order paper from Augsburg as “the paper produced there was the most suitable for shading, and such paper was not available here”48; “the black paint was ordered from Frankfurt and from Berlin — the large-size printing press, to print drawings, since they could not promptly manufacture such a press here...”49

Early in August the Academy requested from Trubetskoi a sample album with drawings done in watercolour. Trubetskoi, however, replied that in Moscow no skilled artists were available and suggested to use the Academy’s own employees for watercolour painting. He also notified the Academy that the Empress Elizabeth approved her portrait done by Stenglin and issued permission to print it.50

Late in August the printing started, and it was decided to first print 12 copies for colouring, then 100 copies on the Dutch paper, and 200 copies on the Russian-made Alexandrian paper. “As for samples, which apprentices could use, Mr. Schumacher, the architect, should prepare a sample architectural drawing; Mr. Grimmel, the artist, should prepare sample drawings of processions, boulevards, and decorative lights. Mr. Grekov, the apprentice, and Mr. Lurzenius, the expert artist, should make regalia and similar golden and silver articles. An order is to be issued for Mr. Stenglin, the expert artist, to colour the portrait of Her Imperial Majesty as well as the fireworks.”51 The order suddenly provoked a scandal, as Johann Stenglin refused to colour the engravings, stating expressly that he was not “a painter”.52

In autumn 1744 work on the illustrative part of the album was completed; the editors, however, continued working on the text53. The finished coronation album appeared early in 1745. The final version of the album represented something of a compromise between an ideal concept and its practical implementation.

The Italian artists had not worked on the album at all54. Schumacher and Elliger of the expert committee had to correct drawings and design missing compositions, including the lovely vignettes at the beginning and the end of the album’s text55. As a result, Grimmel simply borrowed the “Coronation Ceremony in the Dormition Cathedral” and “View of the Dormition Cathedral and the Cathedral Square” from Anna Ioannovna’s coronation album, slightly modifying its staffage. At the same time, trying to meet the challenges of their work, the artists had to design new compositions that were not part of the initially- approved list. For example, the drawing representing the coach of the Empress with a military escort became a separate composition only because from the point of perspective the grand scene entitled “The Entry into Moscow” could not accommodate all members of the escort without obscuring the coach itself.56 In some cases, the compositions added later can be identified by missing numbers or by numbers duplicating those of earlier compositions.

Under the circumstances, the idea to have all the engravings made with burins proved utterly impractical. Many of the engravings were accomplished using simpler techniques allowing to have the work completed more or less within the given time frame.

In fact, the two assistants, Ivan Sokolov and Grigory Kachalov, had to do most of the work. Employees of the Academy Georg Unverzacht, an expert engraver, and Mikhail Makhaev, an apprentice, engraved numerous inscriptions on the plates.57 For many of the plates, the artists had to use a technique that combined the use of a burin with etching, and the mixed technique enabled them to finish the album. Speaking of the engravings done by Sokolov, they stood as equal to Wortman’s two plates engraved with a burin, and showed their author’s superb skill as well as distinctive carving style.

As for Ivan Sokolov, he played a remarkable part in the creation of the album. After the Academy dismissed Wortman from his office in 1745, Sokolov was justly appointed the head of the Engraving Chamber.

The coronation album of Empress Elizabeth is a truly unique monument of 18th-century Russian art and represents both the most outstanding example of 18th-century Russian engraving art, remarkable for its conceptual integrity, great size and impressive volume, and a memorial to the unrivalled will of its authors manifested dramatically as they strove to bring their shared vision to reality.

List of Engravings in the Coronation Album

The dating as well as the corrected information about the attribution of the engravings and original drawings, are based on the archival documents referenced in this article.

1. Johann STENGLIN
Coronation Portrait of the Empress Yelizaveta (Elizabeth) Petrovna. 1744 After Louis Caravaque’s original Mezzotint. 41.3 x 25.2 cm

2. Unknown engraver
(Georg UNVERZACHT?) Title Page. 1744. Monogramme after Johann-Daniel Schumacher’s drawing Burin, etching. 41.3 x 25.7 cm The image is outlined.

3. Ivan SOKOLOV
View of Moscow. 1744. Title piece to the text “The Description of the Coronation” after Johann-Daniel Schumacher’s drawing Etching, burin. 11.4 x 18.6 cm The image is outlined.

4. Unknown engraver "К”. 1744
Illustration to the text “The Description of the Coronation” after Johann-Daniel Schumacher’s drawing Burin, etching. 5.9 x 5.7 cm

5. Ivan SOKOLOV The Ball. 1744
End piece of “The Description of the Coronation” after Elias Grimmel’s drawing Etching, burin. 17 x 18.3 cm

6. Grigory KACHALOV
No 1. Triumphal Arches on Tverskaya Street. 1743 (?) Burin, etching. 41.8 x 25.7 cm

7. Grigory KACHALOV
Pictures to the side of the Triumphal Arches in Kitai-Gorod. 1744 (?) Burin, etching. 41.8 x 26 cm

8. Grigory KACHALOV
No 2. Triumphal Arches in Kitai-Gorod near the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan. 1744 (?) Burin, etching. 41.8 x 25 cm

9. Grigory KACHALOV
No 3. Triumphal Arches on Myasnitskaya street. 1743 (?) Burin, etching. 40.3 x 38 cm

10. Grigory KACHALOV
No 4. Triumphal Arches by the Yauza 1743-1744 (?)
Burin, etching. 41.5 x 27.1 cm

11. Ivan SOKOLOV
No 5. The Ceremony of the Entry of Her Imperial Majesty to Moscow. 1744 After Elias Grimmel’s and Johann-Daniel Schumacher’s drawing Etching, burin. 41.6 x 83.5 cm

12. Ivan SOKOLOV
No 6. The Coach of Her Imperial Majesty. 1744 After Elias Grimmel’s drawing Etching, burin. 24.2 x 53.5 cm

13. Grigory KACHALOV
No 7. The Publication Procedure prior to the Coronation. 1744 After Johann-Daniel Schumacher’s drawing Etching, burin. 40.1 x 25.1 cm

14. Ivan SOKOLOV
No 8. The Throne Armchairs in the Cathedral. 1743 Burin, etching. 41.9 x 27 cm

15. Unknown engraver
No 9. The Outline of the Dormition Cathedral 1744
After К. Blank’s draft Burin, etching. 41.3 x 25.7 cm

16. Martin NEKHOROSHEVSKY
No 10. The Outline of the Kremlin Palace indicating the Seats of those Participating in the Ceremony 1744
After Johann-Daniel Schumacher’s drawing Etching. 41 x 23 cm

17. Ivan SOKOLOV
No 11. The Chairs in the Audience-Chamber.
No 12. The Rods of the Masters of Ceremonies.
No 13. The Rods of the Marshals of Ceremonies. 1744
Burin, etching. 40.5 x 25.6 cm

18. Ivan SOKOLOV
No 14. The Rod of the Supreme Master of Ceremonies.
No 15. The Rod of the Herald.
No 27. Headquarters of the Team Horse Guards Officers. 1744 Burin, etching. 41 x 25.2 cm

19. Ivan SOKOLOV
No 15. Herald in His Headwear. 1744 After Elias Grimmel’s drawing Burin, etching. 41 x 25.5 cm

20. Grigory KACHALOV
No 16. Pannir, or State Banner. 1744 Burin, etching. 45.3 x 40.2 cm

21. Ivan SOKOLOV
No 17. State Seal. No 18. State Sword. 1744 Burin, etching. 64.5 x 37.7 cm

22. Christian-Albert
WORTMAN No 19. The Imperial Mantle. No 20. Agraf, or Badge of the Mantel. 1744 Burin. 35.5 x 49 cm

23. Ivan SOKOLOV
No 21. Imperial Orb. 1744 Burin. 40.1 x 25.4 cm

24. Ivan SOKOLOV
No 22. Imperial Scepter. 1743-1744 Burin, dry-point, etching. 70.8 x 19.8 cm

25. Christian-Albert WORTMAN
No 23. Imperial Crown. 1743 Burin. 37.2 x 33.5 cm

26. Ivan SOKOLOV
No 24. The Rod of the Grand Marshal. The Rod of the Supreme Marshal of the Coronation. The Rod of the Marshal (Hofmarschall). 1744 Burin, dry-point, etching. 40.3 x 34.8 cm

27. Ivan SOKOLOV
No 25. Portable Canopy. Plafond of the Portable Canopy. 1743-1744 Etching, burin. 43 x 28 cm

28. Ivan SOKOLOV
No 26. Coronation Procession to the Dormition Cathedral. 1744 After Elias Grimmel’s drawing Etching, burin. 41.8 x 54 cm

29. Ivan SOKOLOV
No 28. Vessel and Struchets for Chrismation 1744
Burin, etching. 41 x 25.4 cm

30. Grigory KACHALOV
No 29. Coronation Ceremony in the Dormition Cathedral. 1744
After Elias Grimmel’s drawing. Etching, burin. 41.6 x 55.5 cm

31. Ivan SOKOLOV
No 30. View of the Dormition Cathedral and the Cathedral Square. 1744. After Elias Grimmel’s drawing Etching, burin. 42.1 x 55.5 cm

32. Ivan SOKOLOV
No 31. The Interior of the Faceted Chamber After Johann-Daniel Schumacher’s drawing Etching, burin. 24.1 x 39.5

33. Martin NEKHOROSHEVSKY
No 31. The Outline of the Dining Chamber. After Johann-Daniel Schumacher’s drawing Etching. 40.3 x 25 cm

34. Martin NEKHOROSHEVSKY
No 31. The Outline of the Upper Seni (Inner Pouch) of the Faceted Chamber.
After Johann-Daniel Schumacher’s drawing Etching. 41.1 x 25.3 cm

35. Martin NEKHOROSHEVSKY
No 31. The Outline of the Faceted Chamber with the plan of the Arrangement of the Banquet Tables After Johann-Daniel Schumacher’s drawing Etching. 40.7 x 25 cm

36. Ivan SOKOLOV
No 32. Canopy Above the Throne in the Faceted Chamber. 1743-1744 Burin, etching. 40.9 x 25.2 cm

37. Ivan SOKOLOV
No 33. The Throne Chairs in the Faceted Chamber. 1743-1744. Burin, dry-point, etching. 41 x 25 cm

38. Ivan SOKOLOV
No 34. Coronation Medals and Tokens. 1744 Grigory KACHALOV No 35. The Small Crown. 1743-1744 Burin, etching. 10.2 x 16.2; 14.8 x 16.5 Two prints on a sheet

39. Ivan SOKOLOV
No 36. Imperial Mantel, Woven with Gold Threads Resembling a Grid.
After Elias Grimmel’s drawing Etching, burin. 25.1 x 41.4 cm

40. Ivan SOKOLOV
No 37. Fountain with Red Wine. The Locker with the Roasted Bull. 1743-1744 After Elias Grimmel’s drawing Burin, etching. 41.5 x 25.4 cm
41. Ivan SOKOLOV
No 37. Fountain with White Wine. The Locker with the Roasted Bull. 1743 After Elias Grimmel’s drawing Burin, etching. 41.7 x 26.2 cm

42. Grigory KACHALOV
No 38. Ceremonial Procession of Her Majesty the Empress to the Faceted Chamber for an Audience. 1744. After Elias Grimmel’s drawing. Etching, burin. 23.3 x 43.5 cm

43. Grigory KACHALOV
No 39. Ceremonial Procession of Her Majesty the Empress from the Kremlin Palace to the Annenhof Winter Palace. 1744 After Elias Grimmel’s drawing Etching, burin. 43 x 147 cm

44. Ivan SOKOLOV
No 40. Facade of the Court Hall of the Annenhof Palace. 1744 Etching, burin. 24,3 x 40,9

45. Unknown engraver

No 40. The Outline of the Court Hall of the Annehof Palace. 1744 After Johann-Daniel Schumacher’s drawing Etching, burin. 43.5 x 34.5 cm

46. Ivan SOKOLOV
No 41. The Order of St. Andrew with a Star. 1744 Burin, dry-point, etching. 56.8 x 44.3 cm

47. Ivan SOKOLOV
No 42. The Order of St. Alexander with a Star 1743-1744
Burin, dry-point, etching. 40.8 x 25.1 cm

48. Ivan SOKOLOV
No 43. The Order of St. Catherine with a Star 1743-1744
Burin, dry-point, etching. 41 x 25.5 cm

49. Unknown engraver
No 44. The Outline of the Faceted Chamber with the Arrangement of the Tables with the Imperial Regalia. 1744 After Johann-Daniel Schumacher’s drawing Etching, dry-point, burin. 39 x 23.7 cm

50. Johann STENGLIN
No 45. Fireworks and Decorative Lights at the Annenhof Palace. 1744 Mezzotint. 46 x 42 cm

51. Grigory KACHALOV No 46. Decorative Lights
at the Amusement Palace. 1744 Burin, etching. 25.7 x 41.5 cm

52. Grigory KACHALOV
No 47. Decorative Lights in the Terem Palace of the Moscow Kremlin. 1744 Etching, burin. 41.5 x 25 cm

53. Grigory KACHALOV
No 48. Decorative Lights in Front of the Golden Lattice. 1744 After Elias Grimmel’s drawing Etching, burin. 40.2 x 24.7 cm

54. Grigory KACHALOV
No 49. Decorative Lights in Front of the Golden Lattice. 1744 After Elias Grimmel’s drawing Etching, burin. 40.6 x 25 cm

 

  1. Comprehensive Dictionary of Russian Engraved Portraits. In four volumes. Compiled by Dmitry Rovinsky. St.Petersburg, 1889. Vol. IV. Columns 28-31; Comprehensive Dictionary of Russian Engravers of the 16th-19th centuries. In two volumes. Compiled by Dmitry Rovinsky. St.Petersburg, 1895. Vol. 2. Columns 949-952 (“Sokolov I.A").
  2. Materials for the History of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. In 10 volumes. St. Petersburg, 1889; Vol. 7. 1885, Vol. 7. St. Petersburg, 1895 (Hereinafter - Materials).
  3. Engraving Chamber of the 18th-century Academy of Sciences, the collected volume. Authors: Alekseeva M, Vinogradov Yu, Pyatnitskiy Yu., Leningrad, 1985. Pp. 74-75 (Hereinafter - Engraving Chamber).
  4. Materials. Vol. 5. Pp. 410-413, № 360, 361.
  5. Ibid, № 360.
  6. To this day the “Coronation Album of Empress Anna Ioannovna" remains an unexplored cultural artefact. The book was a collective effort of the engraver of “perspective drawings and architectural views" Ottomar Elliger (c. 1703-1735), the artisan from the Engraving Workshop Christian Albert Wortmann (1692-1760), and the map maker and word cutter Georg Ivanovich Unverzagt (1701-1767). See: Comprehensive Dictionary of Russian Engraved Portraits... Columns 18-23; Comprehensive Dictionary of Russian Engravers of the 16th-19th centuries. Vol. 1. Columns 299-300 (“Elliger, O").
  7. Materials. Vol. 5. Pp. 924-925. No 844. Over the period of the 1750s and 1760s all the apprentices became renowned engravers, and the “Views of St. Petersburg and Its Suburbs" series based on original drawings by Mikhail Makhaev vividly demonstrated their skill.
  8. Materials. Vol. 7. P. 22. No 32.
  9. Materials. Vol. 5. Pp. 924-925. No 844.
  10. In: Materials. Vol. 5. Pp. 925-926. No 845.
  11. Materials. Vol. 5. P. 484. No 442.
  12. In: Materials. Vol. 5. P. 528, No 491; Pp. 555-556. No 520. Upon Empress Elizabeth's accession to the throne, Johann Schumacher who officially headed the Academy's chancery, and de facto the entire Academy, was dismissed from office following corruption charges. The Investigating Committee later found his actions to constitute only minor violations of the law, and in 1744 Schumacher was reinstated in his former office.
  13. Ibid. Vol. 5. Pp. 678-679. No 623.
  14. Ibid. Pp. 1010-1011. № 926.
  15. Ibid. P. 986. No 909.
  16. Ibid. Vol. 5, No 855; P. 934. At that time artists for the most part used three main engraving techniques: the first one envisaged engraving with a burin. Christian Wortman at the Engraving Chamber used that technique himself and taught it to his assistants and apprentices. Another technique used for engraving combined engraving with etching. Artists considered it the most “swift" and apprentices used it for the greater bulk of orders. The third technique was mezzotinto, also known as “schwarzkunsf ’ or “black style”. Since there was no expert in that technique at the Academy, Jacob Staehlin who then headed the Arts Department, with Johann-Daniel Schumacher's consent, invited Johann Stenglin from the leading European mezzotinto center located in Augsburg.
  17. Materials. Vol. 5. P. 490. No 451.
  18. Ibid.
  19. Materials. Vol. 5. P. 962. No 878.
  20. “The Crown of Her Imperial Majesty”, “Triumphal Arches on Tverskaya Street”, “Triumphal Arches in Kitai-Gorod”, “Triumphal Arches on Myasnitskaya Street”, “Design of the Throne Armchairs in the Cathedral”, “Fountain with White Wine. The Locker with the Roasted Bull”, “The Outline of the Fireworks and Illumination at Her Imperial Majesty's Court in Moscow” (In: Materials. Vol. 5. P. 924. No 844; P. 925. No 845.)
  21. “The Small Crown for Her Imperial Majesty”, “Triumphal Arches by the Yauza”, “Pannir, or State Banner”, “The Imperial Mantle, and Agraf, or Badge of the Mantel”, “Portable Canopy. Plafond of the Portable Canopy”, “Canopy at the Faceted Chamber”, “The Order of St. Alexander, and the Star to the Order”, “The Order of St. Catherine, and the Star to the Order”, “Fountain with Red Wine aDrawing of a Bull”. (In: Materials. Vol. 5. P. 924. No 844; P. 925, No 845).
  22. In: Materials. Vol. 5. Pp. 986-987. No 909.
  23. In: Materials. Vol. 5. Pp. 990-991. No 914; P. 1012. No 928.
  24. In: Materials. Vol. 5. P. 1012. No 928; Vol. 7. Pp. 10-11. No 16.
  25. In: Materials. Vol. 5. Pp. 986-987. No 909. Main document with the Commission's recommendations: Ibid. Pp.1025-1031. No 939; subsequent documents with resolutions of the Senate concerning the Commission's findings: Ibid. Pp. 990-996. No 114, 115; Materials. Vol. 7. Pp. 36-42. No 52; Pp. 189-190. No 250.
  26. Materials. Vol. 5. Pp. 1025-1026. No 939. The catalogue of the exhibition “Empress Elizabeth and Moscow” contains a reprint of the outline of the Uspensky Cathedral, drawn by KBlank, from which the Engraving 9 in the coronation album was made and which is held at the RGADA [Russian Archive of Ancient Documents] (Fund 17. Item 166. Sheet 34). (In: Empress Elizabeth and Moscow. Moscow, 2010. P. 54 (illustration), 60, No 59).
  27. In: Materials. Vol. 5. P. 425. No 383.
  28. Ibid. P. 994. No 915.
  29. Ibid. P. 1025. No 939.
  30. Ibid. P. 1025. No 939.
  31. Ibid. P. 1031. No 939.
  32. Ibid. P. 1025. No 939.
  33. Ibid. Pp. 996-1001. No 916.
  34. Ibid. P. 997. No 916.
  35. Ibid. P. 998. No 916.
  36. Alexei Rostovtsev (c. 1690- after 1746) was a renowned artist-engraver of Petrine Russia, with a distinctive style. He worked with Alexei Zubov in the St. Petersburg printing house. After the printing house was closed, Rostovtsev found employment with the Academy of Sciences (17281729). He had to move to Moscow after his dismissal from the Academy.
  37. In: Materials. Vol. 7. Pp. 4-6. No 5,7; P. 8. No 12.
  38. Ibid. P. 8. No 11; P. 22. No32; Pp. 27-28. No 39; P. 34. No 48.
  39. Ibid. P. 73. No 102; Engraving Chamber. Pp. 74-75. No 26. Among the drawings in the coronation album, indeed, only four engravings are pure etchings: “The Outline of the Kremlin Palace with the Arrangement of the Participants at the Ceremony", “The Outline of the the Dining Room", “The Outline of the Lobby on the Upper Floor of the Faceted Palace" and “The Outline of the Faceted Palace with the Layout of Banquet Tables Inside".
  40. In: Materials. Vol. 7. Pp. 17-18. No 26.
  41. Ibid. P. 28. No 40; Pp. 35-36. No 51.
  42. In: Materials. Vol. 5. P. 986. No 909.
  43. In: Materials. Pp. 986-987. No 909.
  44. In: Materials. Vol. 7. Pp. 29-30. No 42.
  45. Ibid. Pp. 50-51. No 66.
  46. Ibid. P.51. No 67.
  47. In: Materials. Vol. 7. P. 91. No 133.
  48. Ibid. No 66. P.50.
  49. Ibid. P. 50. No 66.
  50. Ibid. Pp. 125-127. No 181.
  51. Ibid. Pp. 138-139. No 201.
  52. Ibid. P.244. No 286.
  53. Ibid. Pp. 175-180. No 232, 233.
  54. Their names are missing from the list of persons who produced the album. (In: Engraving Chamber. Pp. 74-75. No 26). The drawings sent to Bon and Tarsia for correction were returned to the Faceted Palace (In: Materials. Vol. 7. P.119. No 170).
  55. In: Engraving Chamber. Pp.74-75. No 26.
  56. In: Materials. Vol. 7. P. 1026. No 939.
  57. In: Engraving Chamber. Pp.74-75. No 26. Mikhail Ivanovich Makhaev (c. 1717-1770), since 1742 was an apprentice in “mapmaking and word-cutting", and in 1756 became an artisan. He made perspective drawings because he “fancied" it. He was also the creator of a popular series of views of St.Petersburg and its environs engraved in the late 1740s-early 1760s in the Engraving Chamber.

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