Coronation of paul i and maria feodorovna. Saratov state art museum the famous moravian painter of the 18th century, martin ferdinand quadal, who received his education at the vienna and paris academies of fine arts, worked at the courts of many european monarchs. Researchers believe that it was there that the future emperor paul became acquainted with the works of this artist, which served as the reason for inviting quadal to russia. Throughout his short reign, paul i attached special importance to ceremonies. Of course, his coronation, being a sacrament designed to reveal the divine nature of monarchical power, acquired a special sacred and symbolic meaning and became the point of the highest expression of the emperor's religious and philosophical views. The date of the celebrations was not accidental: on palm saturday, paul rode into moscow on horseback, thereby likening this event to the lord's entry into jerusalem. And the coronation itself took place on easter sunday - april 5, 1797. And the culmination of the entire ceremony was the reading of the decree on succession to the throne – the main russian state law, the draft of which was drawn up by grand duke pavel petrovich back in 1788. The decree abolished the order of succession “by will” established by peter i and introduced succession by right of primogeniture in the male line from father to eldest son. Thus, the system of transfer of power was clearly regulated. The painting by m. F. Kvadal depicts one of the most striking moments of the ceremony, which took place in the assumption cathedral of the moscow kremlin: emperor paul i, having removed the great imperial crown, touches the head of the empress with it: at this time, the emperor appears as the head of both secular and ecclesiastical authority. It is no coincidence that the figure of paul i is placed not only in the exact geometric center of the canvas, but also as if on the border of two worlds – the earthly world, inhabited by the participants of the ceremony, and the heavenly world – revealed to us in the frescoes of the assumption cathedral. The painting, in addition to its purely historical value, is also of artistic interest, being a group portrait of the imperial family and the top officials of the state. The researchers were not able to "personify" all the participants of the ceremony. In addition to the central characters - the emperor with his wife, both grand dukes, metropolitan platon - the grand duchess elizabeth alekseyevna, grand duchess alexandra pavlovna, prince n. I. Saltykov, count f. V. Rostopchin and some others are also easily recognizable due to their undoubted portrait resemblance. Many of the characters in the painting can be identified by the role they played during the ceremony (prince a. A. Bezborodko, who presented the great imperial crown on a red morocco pillow, prince n. B. Yusupov - the supreme marshal of the ceremony, grand duchesses elena and maria pavlovna, grand duchess anna feodorovna, etc. ) this exhibition belongs to the genre of "one-picture exhibition", but in addition to the "coronation of paul i and maria feodorovna" itself, it presents materials related to both the event itself (the coronation rite of emperor paul i; the list of persons who participated in the coronation; the score of the works performed during the ceremonial ball) and the history of the creation and existence of the painting. It is known that when painting "the coronation of paul i and maria feodorovna" m. F. Kvadal used ready-made portraits of the ceremony's characters, some of which are exhibited at this exhibition (one of the most likely prototypes is the portrait of the grand duchess elizabeth alekseyevna by m. -l. -e. Vigee-lebrun from the collection of the state hermitage). 2004 is also a kind of anniversary of the work itself: 200 years ago, a “picture hut” was set up on nevsky prospect – the first personal exhibition of m. F. Quadal in russia, where the public saw “an excellent composition of a painting in figures, representing the coronation of his imperial majesty the sovereign emperor paul i <…>, which <…> had never been painted in russia before. ” canvas, oil 336 x 310 inventory number: ж-979 signature: right in the center: mf quadal pinxt 1799 receipt: in 1886 as a gift from prince f. A. Kurakin. Previously: collection of prince f. A. Kurakin in the nadezhdino estate of the saratov province. Date: 1799.
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