Classicism in pink October 10th, 2017
Mansion at st. Myasnitskaya, 43 is another example of the classical style in Moscow architecture with all the characteristic features and one of the oldest buildings on Myasnitskaya Street. The central part of the main facade is made in the form of a Corinthian columned portico, topped with a massive attic with a semicircular mezzanine window in the form of a triumphal arch. The two side pilaster Ionic porticos are laconic. The classic symmetrical facade of strict proportions is decorated with bas-reliefs in round frames. During the latest restoration, the traditional classic-style combination of white and pink colors was chosen for the façade. The house also has an unusual detail - the mansion is located below the very level of Myasnitskaya Street.
This mansion changed owners many times, but it acquired its modern appearance when Prince A.I. became its owner in 1791. Lobanov-Rostovsky. The plans and facade of the Lobanov-Rostovsky house are included in the famous “Architectural Albums” by Matvey Kazakov.
The construction history of the building began in 1701, when the merchant of the Living Room Hundred Fyodor Kozmin built stone chambers. In 1763-1767, General-in-Chief of Catherine’s time P.I. Panin added two wings to the chambers and re-decorated the facades in the Baroque style. Since 1826, the house was owned by the historian A.F. Malinovsky, then watchmakers and mechanics, the Butenop brothers, after them - agricultural machinery and cement manufacturers Emil and Eduard Liphart. Before the revolution, there was the famous K.F. Real School. Voskresensky.
Prince Alexander Ivanovich Lobanov-Rostovsky (1754-1830) - Major General of the Russian Imperial Army, the founder of the senior line of Lobanov-Rostovskys, which continues to this day. The eldest of the three sons of Prince Ivan Lobanov-Rostov from his marriage to Princess Ekaterina Kurakina, niece of the courtier Nikita Panin. Due to the external dissimilarity with their father, there were rumors in society that the brothers Alexander, Dmitry and Yakov Ivanovich were the fruit of the princess’s relationship with a Kalmyk servant.
Perhaps for this reason, Prince Lobanov emphasized his origins from Rurik. According to P.V. Dolgorukov, having arrived in Rostov the Great, the prince reminded the mayor that he was the eldest descendant of the Rostov appanage princes, and demanded to meet him at the city gates when all the bells were ringing. This trick aroused the disapproval of the imperial court.
In 1797, he was elected Moscow provincial leader of the nobility, and in September 1800, he was removed from office by decree of Paul I. Judging by the letters of A. Ya. Bulgakov, he was a great fan of billiards and was extremely irritated when he lost a game. The harsh and eccentric character of Prince Lobanov did not allow him to make such a brilliant career as his younger brothers did.
Portrait of A. I. Lobanov-Rostovsky, hanging before the revolution in the Moscow Noble Assembly
The architect of this mansion is considered to be Francesco Camporesi (Franz Ivanovich Camporesi, 1747-1831), who worked mainly in Moscow. His Moscow buildings have hardly survived, and he is better known for his vedutes, reflecting the appearance of Moscow before the fire of 1812.
F.I. Camporesi. Panorama of the Kremlin, 1780s
The façade of the mansion has survived to this day almost unchanged. It is divided into five parts by three risalits, of which the central part, instead of the usual portico, is designed in the form of a giant arch resting on Corinthian columns. Most likely, according to Camporesi's design, the two-story mansion was extended along the street facade by adding additional volumes with state rooms to the east and west.
If you look behind the bars, you can see the mansion in all its splendor.
The architect hid the elongated facade of the building by erecting three porticos - a columned Corinthian one appeared in the center, and pilaster Ionic ones were built on the sides.
The columns of the central Corinthian portico support the massive attic.
The semi-circular built-in mezzanine window creates the illusion of a triumphal arch.
The main portico is decorated with symmetrically arranged stucco bas-reliefs.
During Soviet times, the unique monument was occupied by various institutions; many rooms were separated by temporary partitions, and the enfilade passage through the main halls was blocked.
By the mid-1980s, the estate fell into disrepair. Renovations that began in 1987 were never completed. And only in the mid-2000s, a complete comprehensive restoration was carried out by a new tenant, the Non-Profit Partnership for the Development of Culture and Art "Maecenas Club".
The estate is protected and included in the Unified State Register of Cultural Heritage Objects (historical and cultural monuments) of Russia.
House of Lobanov-Rostovsky(in everyday life house with lions) - an architectural monument, a former noble residence, erected in the 1817-1820s for Prince Alexander Yakovlevich Lobanov-Rostovsky according to the design of Auguste Montferrand in the classicism style. Located in St. Petersburg at Admiralteysky Prospekt, 12, Voznesensky Prospekt, 1 or St. Isaac's Square, 2. The sculptures on the facade (including the legendary lions at the main entrance) were made by Paolo Triscorni.
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✪ Church of St. Demetrius of Rostov in Ochakovo
✪ Alexander Garden in St. Petersburg
Until the 1710s, the space of the future St. Isaac's Square was occupied by a glacis (a flat earthen embankment in front of the outer moat of a fortress or castle) and an esplanade (a wide space in front of a fortification) of the Admiralty Fortress. Subsequently, these defensive elements were removed due to the loss of fortification significance by the Admiralty, and their place was taken by chaotic buildings of private houses: wooden or mud huts. The St. Petersburg fire of 1736 destroyed most of the city's wooden buildings. On St. Isaac's Square alone and in the surrounding areas, then called Morskaya Sloboda, the fire destroyed approximately 100 houses - almost all the wooden buildings on the site of the then square. The northern part of the square remained empty, taking the shape of an uneven trapezoid.
At the beginning of the 19th century. with the support of the Russian Emperor Alexander I, who wanted to make St. Petersburg “beautiful of all European capitals visited” It was decided to build a new, fourth St. Isaac's Cathedral on the site of the third, which was distinguished by poor quality construction. Active work on the design and construction of the temple began back in 1813, but for a number of reasons, the start of construction had to be postponed. In 1816, a Committee for Buildings and Hydraulic Works was formed (contemporaries called this structure the “Committee of Beauty and Architectural Discipline”), which, among other things, was ordered to deal with "settlement of streets and squares". In fact, construction of the colossal structure began only in 1818.
The break in the active development of St. Isaac's Cathedral was used by Montferrand and the Committee of Beauty and Architectural Discipline, headed by engineer A. A. Betancourt, to rethink the layout of the area around the temple being built. The northern part of St. Isaac's Square (that is, observed from the Senate and Bronze Horseman), according to the decision of the architects, became rectangular in shape. This was achieved, among other things, by cutting off from the northeastern corner of the area a triangular section formed by the future St. Isaac's Cathedral, Admiralteysky and Voznesensky Avenues. It is believed that this planning decision came from Alexander I himself. According to legend, while driving through the capital with Prince Alexander Lobanov-Rostovsky, the autocrat expressed dissatisfaction with the inappropriate appearance of St. Isaac's Square - the prince allegedly said nothing in response, but a year later he showed the monarch the mansion he had built on his own initiative and at his own expense.
In 1817, a plot of land in the north-eastern corner of St. Isaac's Square in approx. 5400 m² was given to the wife of Alexander Yakovlevich, Cleopatra Ilyinichna Lobanova-Rostovskaya, for the construction of a mansion designed by Auguste Montferrand. On August 10, 1817, the St. Petersburg City Council ordered 2 copies of the plan from the city surveyor Kashkin “for the place on St. Isaac’s Square, most graciously granted by His Imperial Majesty to the retired colonel Prince Lobanov-Rostovsky.” The document noted that the length of the section "down the street opposite Bulevar"- that is, along Admiralteysky Prospekt, located perpendicular to Konnogvardeysky Boulevard - was 44 fathoms 2¾ arshins, 55 fathoms “along the street opposite the church (St. Isaac)” and, finally, 70½ fathoms along Voznesensky Prospekt. Based on these data, Kashkin calculated the area of the “place” granted to the prince - 1235¼ square meters. fathoms On April 22, 1818, in the “Book for recording plans and facades issued to the inhabitants of the 1st Admiralty part” (edition for 1816-1821), which was filled out under the Committee for buildings and hydraulic works, a note was left that A. Ya. Lobanov of Rostov “wants to build a stone house using the attached facades” with a note saying that the owner of the plot “undertook to finish this [stone house], remove it and cover it without fail by November next year 1819”.
The initial designs of the house were not monumental and contained many sophisticated, refined, French elements - balconies, stucco decoration of front groups, balustrades, etc. The initial idea of the Lobanov-Rostovsky house is in many ways similar to the early designs of the Mikhailovsky Palace, which was built at the same time, but in a different way the architect, Carl Rossi. Perhaps this feature is associated with the role of Alexander I in the design of both structures, who was, apparently, not only one of the customers of these buildings, but also directly involved in the development of sketches and plans. The buildings differed slightly, but the design of the side projections and the central entrance and, in principle, the compositional idea were almost identical. However, the architects added monumentality to their designs by increasing the number of columns in the porticos and strengthening the central segments of the façade. In general, Montferrand abandoned elegant details and settled on the option most suitable for the urban planning role of the house being built, made in the Empire style.
The organization and coordination of financial and administrative issues related to the construction of the house was handled by the house office of the Lobanov-Rostovsky couple. Construction works - “digging pits, driving piles and laying foundations”, which took only one year, began in 1818, although back in October 1817 the office announced a contract for the supply of 5 million bricks by the spring of 1818, and already on April 15 of the same year plasterers were invited to the construction site, a competition for the supply of sand was announced, and Also "mist clay". Construction began with the installation of piles supporting the foundations, which were laid to a depth of 2.85 m (4 arshins) and made of rubble slab. The foundation - traditional for that time, strip - still supports the building, built on unfortunate, swampy soil near the bank of the Neva. The experience of working with unstable soil was useful to Auguste Montferrand in the construction of the colossal St. Isaac's Cathedral.
The beams supporting the floors were approx. 25 - 30 cm (i.e. 10 - 11 inches) and were made from "red pine". The ceilings themselves were made of oak. The details of the columns (capitals and bases) in the lobby of the house were cast from bronze at the Byrd factory. The doors were made from boards that were up to 7.5 cm (3 inches) thick. The roof is made of black iron produced at the Yakovlevsky factories, but all (except for the front) staircase railings with their specific type of meander in the upper belt and 3 balconies along Voznesensky Prospekt were cast from cast iron.
Already at the beginning of September 1819, the Lobanov-Rostovskys began to rent out rooms in the new building:
On St. Isaac's Square, in the house of the aide-de-camp of Prince Lobanov-Rostovsky, in addition to those expected to be released next year, 6 cellars, 4 shops and an apartment on the mezzanine with a large hall, convenient for establishing a club or other meeting, are being rented out, which will be completely decorated and delivered no later than September 1, 1820...
- // “St. Petersburg Gazette”.
However, the construction of the house was finally completed only in 1820, when all the finishing work inside the massive building was completed.
From the very beginning, the house on St. Isaac's Square was conceived by the Lobanov-Rostovsky couple as an apartment building - a residential building adapted for renting out apartments. At the same time, the idea of such a use of such a remarkable site was submitted by the prince’s wife, Cleopatra Ilyinichna. After the construction was commissioned, she was in charge of the affairs of the enterprise. The prince’s family, therefore, practically did not live there at first.
In the summer of 1821, the art store of the Leoncini brothers moved into the building, which sold, for example, “a very good collection of all kinds of alabaster vases of various sizes, lamps and other things”. The salon of entrepreneurs who arrived from Italy is located on the 1st floor. However, the mansion turned out to be little known among potential tenants, and therefore, already in the fall of the same year, an advertising campaign was launched, which, as it turned out later, bore fruit. An inventory carried out in 1824 provides detailed information about the tenants of the princely family. The annual income from this apartment building reached 100,000 rubles.
According to other evidence, the Provisions Department of the War Department also filled the spaces on the third and fourth floors, and the first housed a beer cellar. In general, the functions of certain premises were dictated by the layout of the building: enfilades of living rooms and state rooms stretched along the facades facing Admiralteysky Meadow and St. Isaac's Square, while the wing, whose facade faced Voznesensky Prospekt, was adapted for rented apartments.
Various kinds of social enterprises were regularly held in the Lobanov-Rostovsky house, many of which took place in the front suite overlooking the Admiralty Meadow. At one time, the building housed the Cosmorama of the painter Sur - a special exhibition capable of creating the effect of stereoscopic, in other words, volumetric perception of the displayed picture thanks to special optical equipment. Sur demonstrated, as a rule, views of German and some European cities (Berlin, Hamburg, Vienna, Rome); among them was Taganrog, then notorious as the place of death of Emperor Alexander I. Cosmorama was very popular among his contemporaries: “If these views do not contain important artistic merit, then the optical part has been brought to perfection,”- wrote the latest “Domestic Notes”. Another famous cosmorama of Sur is a panorama of the battle between the armies of Alexander the Great and Darius at the Granicus River - “and at that moment, when the Persians flee, pursued by the Macedonians, the bridge under them collapses.” A visit to this performance cost 2 rubles. 50 kopecks per person.
For lovers of the French language, Mister Saint-Maur continued his literary evenings during the current Lent. He reads the best passages from Corneille, Racine, Moliere and other dramatic writers, as well as from Boileau, Voltaire, Delisle and others. A subscription to 10 such evenings costs 75 rubles. from person. The reading takes place in the new house of Princess Lobanova-Rostovskaya.
- // "Domestic Notes".
Another entrepreneur who rented premises in the house was Angelo Toselli. He put on display in the front suite “Scenography of Jerusalem and the holy places around it,” about which the observer Svinin remarked: “This spectacle is very similar to a theater stage, only incomparably more lively.”, referring to the tricks that Toselli went to, trying to make the performances more exciting. Thus, according to eyewitnesses, the drawing of the Jerusalem spring of Silje was accompanied by sound design - the murmur of water. The entrance fee to Toselli’s “Scenography…” was 5 rubles. per person. Currently, Toselli is known to the public primarily as the creator of a watercolor panorama of St. Petersburg from the tower of the Kunstkamera, made around the same time when the Lobanov-Rostovsky house was being built. Now this watercolor is stored in the Hermitage.
The cultural life of the house at that time was not limited to the Cosmorama Sur and exhibitions like “Scenography...” by Toselli.
On November 7, 1824, during a devastating flood, St. Isaac's Square was flooded so that only one building was visible from the water. This was reflected in urban folklore and art. So, in the first third of the 19th century, there was a story in the capital about a certain Yakovlev, who, supposedly, on the eve of a catastrophic flood, was walking around the city. When the natural disaster began and the water began to rise, Yakovlev headed home, however, having reached Lobanov-Rostovsky’s house located on the square, he realized that it was simply impossible to go further. As a result, Yakovlev climbed one of the lion sculptures “looking” at the flooded city “with a raised paw, as if alive”. Yakovlev escaped because he was on a lion "sat through the flood". In the end, the legend was reflected in the poem “The Bronze Horseman” by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin:
...On Petrova Square,
Where a new house has risen in the corner,
Where above the elevated porch
With a raised paw, as if alive,
There are two guard lions standing,
Riding a marble beast,
Without a hat, hands clasped in a cross,
He sat motionless, terribly pale,
Eugene…
Despite the income brought by the tenants, 9 years after the completion of construction of the house, the Lobanov-Rostovsky couple found themselves in debt. On July 1, 1824, the 1st and 2nd floors of the mansion were rented out to the Ministry of War for 63,000 rubles per year for the use of only some departments of the military department, including the office of the Minister of War, the commission of provision affairs and Finnish provision affairs, the provision department and medical departments.
Based on the file on the reconstruction of a house for the War Ministry, which is still stored in the Military Historical Archive, conclusions can be drawn about the number, location and size of halls, chambers and other premises rented by the department. 21 chambers located "under the arches"(that is, in the semi-basement), was intended "for ministers". On the ground floor there were 20 chambers, and on the mezzanine (on the second, most prestigious) - 39, among which there were 4 large halls, of which three rooms were 11 fathoms long (23.5 m) and 4 fathoms 2 arshins (10 m ) in width, and one of the halls stretched 8 fathoms (17 m). The remaining rooms on the mezzanine, having a similar “depth” (4 fathoms 2 arshins ≈ 10 m), were located “on the facades: Admiralteysky and Isaac”. The third floor was adapted for 26 rooms, most of which had a length from 4 to 6 fathoms (8.5 - 10.6 m), and a width from 3 fathoms to 4 fathoms 2 arshins (6.4 - 10 m ). At the very top "mezzanine" 8 chambers were prepared on the floor, "which may be consumed for ministers". In general, the ministry rented 114 rooms and halls for its offices, in other words "almost two thirds of the house". The certificate of restructuring also affected premises not occupied by the department. So, "on the cellar floor" the building contained 3 apartments, consisting of 11 living rooms, and 3 dry cellars; on the ground floor there are 4 apartments with 24 rooms; on the mezzanine there is one apartment of 7 rooms; on the third - 5 apartments for 23 rooms. In total, 65 rooms were rented out to third parties, which turned out to be “income up to 30,000 rubles.” In addition to living quarters, there were also household premises: 6 sheds, a stable with 30 stalls, 2 "large hay attic" and 2 oat pantries.
In 1828, the owner of the property, the famous bibliophile and collector A. Ya. Lobanov-Rostovsky, decided to play it in a lottery. For this purpose, a million lottery tickets with a face value of one ruble were issued. One of those who bought the ticket was, according to the prince’s idea, to become the new owner of the mansion. But Emperor Nicholas I banned this commercial scam and invited the prince to sell the house and a unique library to the treasury, known for its collection of works about Mary Stuart and a collection of rare canes and sticks. The cost of the transaction was 1,005,000 rubles in banknotes; for the cession of the valuable library, Lobanov-Rostovsky was awarded a lifelong pension, and it was finally decided to house the Military Department in the house itself on a lease basis due to the constant growth of the latter’s needs. Such a transfer of real estate from bankrupt nobles to the state that patronized them, but objectively did not need to use the close noble estates, was a very common practice in St. Petersburg in those years. Due to the fact that the house was not adapted to the needs of a state institution, a reconstruction of the building was undertaken in 1829 under the leadership of the architect E. H. Ahnert.
However, at the beginning of 1907, researcher N.A. Danilov, in his “Historical sketch of the activities of the Chancellery of the War Ministry and the Military Council,” wrote that the exterior of the former Lobanov-Rostovsky mansion has been preserved since the time of its former owners "without the slightest change". The lion's share of changes, according to Danilov, took place in the interiors. At the same time, only the main entrance (from Admiralteysky Prospekt) and the main staircase remained untouched. The decoration of all other premises was subjected to significant changes, designed to accommodate the offices and apartments of Military Department employees. After the transfer to the ministry, the large hall was occupied by the office of the Minister of War, his reception room, and also "2nd economic office work" authority. Initially, the large hall was double-height (occupying the space of the 2nd and 3rd floors), and only later the space on the 3rd floor level was separated from the rest of the hall by ceilings "for the arrangement of apartments". In general, the paintings that once decorated the walls and ceilings in 26 rooms were also lost.
In 1829, the architect E. H. Ahnert rebuilt the “House with Lions” to suit the needs of the new owner. From 1824 to 1917, the Russian Military Ministry was located in the house with lions.
After October 1917, the house was taken under state protection. From 1918 to 1964 there was a school in the house. The school changed its numbers and name several times. Since 1941, it received the name Secondary School No. 239 of the Oktyabrsky District of Leningrad, which became a physics and mathematics school in 1961. During the blockade, the school continued its educational work. The school occupied the entire half of the house to the right of the central entrance, the facade facing St. Isaac's Cathedral, as well as the corner facing Bolshaya Morskaya Street. The part of the building facing Voznesensky Avenue was occupied by residential premises. There was a stable in the yard. During the blockade, the solid basement of the building was converted into a bomb shelter. The school used the alleys of the Alexander Garden for sports activities. Since 1964, the school gave way to Design Institute No. 1, which existed in this building until 2004.
In 2002, the house with lions passed to the Presidential Administration, which intended to adapt it for the Constitutional Court, which was moving to St. Petersburg. However, later it was decided to create within its walls the most fashionable hotel in the city, ready to receive senior government officials. The building was leased for 49 years to Tristar Investment Holdings CJSC.
Since the Lobanov-Rostovsky House is included in the federal list of protected cultural heritage sites, issues of its reconstruction caused heated controversy both in the architectural community and in the press.
“This is a gross violation of current legislation in the field of historical heritage protection. The Lobanov-Rostovsky House is a federal monument in the very center of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where there could be no talk of any reconstruction - such a building can only be restored,” said Alexander Margolis.
Investors demolished the historic outbuilding in the courtyard (2007), designed, like the entire building, by the architect Auguste Montferrand. The outbuilding in the courtyard of the building was also designed by Montferrand; the first floor was built in 1817-1820, built on by the architect E. H. Ahnert. , the interiors of the main building were damaged and lost, the outline of the roof was changed. This was actively opposed by the city community, including professionals such as the architect-restorer D. A. Butyrin.
Another violation was the construction of an attic, which turned out to be 18 centimeters higher than the original roof. Initially, it was supposed to be even higher - 80 centimeters, but under public pressure, Tristar Investment Holdings decided to lower it. Nevertheless, even now the superstructure is clearly visible.
“This violates the traditional appearance of the monument. In general, this kind of attic is not typical for a monument of high classicism, and therefore is not acceptable. Members of the Council for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage unanimously spoke out against the attic, but despite this, this attic was made,” says Mikhail Milchik.
The main architect of the project is the head of his own workshop, Evgeniy Gerasimov. The restoration of the security zones was carried out by Rafael Dayanov. The design of the premises was carried out by the Californian company Cheryl Rowley and the Japanese studio Spin Design Studio.
The main question that worried the public was: how the new functions of the building are consistent with its historical “shell”, what will be preserved and restored, and what will have to be sacrificed. In the case of Lobanov’s house, the concept of “original interiors” is quite arbitrary. Already in 1829, when the War Ministry moved into the house, it began to redevelop it for its needs. It is possible that even the design of the main staircase with a wide sculptural frieze depicting military armor was made for the ministry, and not for the first owner - also, incidentally, a gallant general who distinguished himself in the campaign against Napoleon. Spacious offices were built for ministerial employees, which served as secondary school classrooms in Soviet times, and then Design Institute No. 1 was located in them. As a result, the security zone of the new hotel includes the front lobby from Admiralteysky Prospekt, a two-flight main staircase with a fireplace on landing 2- 1st floor, an enfilade of the 2nd floor and another room, the historical value of which was established during the restoration process.
The presidential suite with an area of 152 m² was planned to be located with windows facing the Admiralty, directly above the lions, above the 1st floor arcade. The apartment includes two bedrooms, a dining room for 8 people, an office, a sitting area and a terrace overlooking the garden. In total, the hotel has 177 rooms: 151 standard, 26 luxury. There is a spacious ballroom in the underground part of the building. For business meetings - 5 conference rooms on the 1st floor and the Xander bar overlooking the Alexander Garden. The 4-storey outbuilding in the courtyard will house a spa complex, and in the atrium there will be a cafe-restaurant “Tea Lounge”, always open to both hotel guests and citizens. A similar range of services and a first-class selection of rooms will allow the Four Seasons Saint Petersburg hotel to host the leaders of the Big Eight. The stated opening date is autumn 2013.
Subsequently, architectural critic Mikhail Zolotonosov (“City 812”) called the house reconstruction project one of the worst examples of architecture in the city in 2010:
The house was built in 1817-1820 according to the design of the architect Auguste Montferrand (1786-1858). The building has a triangular plan. Its main façade, facing Admiralteysky Prospekt, is decorated with an 8-column portico of the Corinthian order. The portico rises above a protruding arcade. Ramps (sloping slopes) made it possible for carriages to drive directly to the front entrance. The lions standing on the sides of the entrance are carved from white
Voznesensky Ave., 1 - Isaakievskaya Sq., 2 - Admiralteysky Ave., 12
1817-1820 - arch. O. Montferrand
The house was erected in 1817-1820. for Prince A. Ya. Lobanov-Rostov architect. O. Montferrand. The building, triangular in plan, faces the Admiralteysky Prospekt with its main facade. The main facade is decorated with an 8-column portico, on the sides of the central arch there are white marble figures of lions (sculptor P. Triscorni). The facade facing St. Isaac's Square almost repeats the main one. The façade along Voznesensky Prospekt is designed more modestly.
The main rooms are located on the second floor. According to Montferrand's design, there were supposed to be spacious halls and a small theater here, but the project was not implemented; the interiors received a more modest decoration. The original decoration of the lobby and main staircase has been preserved.
1830s - 1917 - War Department
1936-1937 - Society "Old Petersburg - New Leningrad"
In 1926-1928. biologist, geneticist, academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov (1887-1943) lived in the house.
www.citywalls.ru/house2793.html
The owner of the house, famous bibliophile and collector A.Ya. Lobanov-Rostovsky, having lived in it for several years, decided to play it in the lottery. For this purpose, a million ruble lottery tickets were issued; one of them was supposed to win - the prince's house. But Nicholas I banned this commercial scam and invited the prince to sell the house and the unique library to the treasury, for which Lobanov-Rostovsky was awarded a lifelong pension.
Until 1917, the Russian War Ministry was located in the house with lions. After October, he was taken under state protection.
In 2002, the house with lions passed to the Presidential Administration, which intended to adapt it for the Constitutional Court, which was moving to St. Petersburg. However, later it was decided to create within its walls the most fashionable hotel in the city, ready to receive senior government officials. The building was leased for 49 years to Tristar Investment Holdings CJSC.
Since the Lobanov-Rostovsky House is included in the federal list of protected cultural heritage sites, issues of its reconstruction caused heated controversy both in the architectural community and in the press. Leading experts were involved in the development of the project: architect Evgeny Gerasimov (reconstruction) and Rafael Dayanov (restoration of security zones).
The main question that concerns the public is: how the new functions of the building are consistent with its historical “shell”, what will be preserved and restored, and what will have to be sacrificed. In the case of Lobanov’s house, the concept of “original interiors” is quite arbitrary. Already in 1829, when the War Ministry moved into the house, it began to redevelop it for its needs. Perhaps even the design of the main staircase with a wide sculptural frieze depicting military armor was made for the ministry, and not for the first owner - also, incidentally, a gallant general who distinguished himself in the campaign against Napoleon. Spacious offices were built for ministerial employees, which served as high school classrooms in Soviet times, and then Design Institute No. 1 was located in them. As a result, the security zone of the new hotel includes the front lobby from Admiralteysky Prospekt, a two-flight main staircase with a fireplace on the second floor landing , an enfilade on the second floor and another room, the historical value of which was established during the restoration process.
The story of the arrangement of the attic caused great resonance, although the silhouette of the building, which was familiar to the townspeople - a low flat roof - was the result of a post-war alteration. After long consultations with the security departments of St. Petersburg, the investor managed to find a compromise option: to “disguise” the attic floor as a historical exterior. Presidential Suite 250 sq.m. m will be located with windows facing the Admiralty, directly above the lions, above the arcade of the first floor. The apartment includes two bedrooms, a dining room for 14 people, an office, a sitting area and a terrace overlooking the garden. In total, the hotel has 183 rooms: 157 standard, 26 luxury. There is a spacious ballroom in the underground part of the building. For business meetings there are 6 conference rooms on the ground floor and the Library bar overlooking Palace Square. The four-story outbuilding in the courtyard will house a spa complex, and in the atrium there will be a cafe-restaurant “Winter Garden”, always open to both hotel guests and citizens. A similar range of services and a first-class selection of rooms will allow the Four Seasons Saint Petersburg hotel to host the leaders of the Big Eight.
Prince Alexander Yakovlevich Lobanov-Rostovsky (1788-1866) - the son of a major dignitary Yakov Lobanov-Rostovsky, the elder brother of Lieutenant General Alexei Yakovlevich. The heir to his parents' substantial fortune, Prince Lobanov increased it in 1811 by marrying one of the richest brides in Russia, the daughter of Count Ilya Andreevich Bezborodko - Cleopatra Ilyinichna (1791-1840).
Lobanov-Rostovsky gained the greatest fame as the founder and first commander of the Imperial Russian Yacht Club. The prince was also interested in history and collecting rare objects, many of which turned out to be scientifically useful. The prince had no descendants; his only daughter Anna died in infancy. He was buried at the Lazarev cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
The house of Alexander Yakovlevich Lobanov-Rostovsky, built by the author of St. Isaac's Cathedral, occupies the entire triangular block and is a majestic structure that plays an important role in the design of St. Isaac's Square.
The facades of the building, facing Admiralteysky Prospekt and St. Isaac's Square, are decorated with magnificent eight-column Corinthian porticoes. On the sides of the wide staircase on the side of Admiralteysky Avenue there are two lions made of white Carrara marble, made by the sculptor Paolo Triscorni in the 1810s.
It was on one of these lions in A. S. Pushkin’s poem “The Bronze Horseman” that Eugene escaped from the flood:
“….On Petrova Square,
Where a new house has risen in the corner,
Where above the elevated porch
With a raised paw, as if alive,
There are two guard lions standing,
Riding a marble beast,
Without a hat, hands clasped in a cross,
He sat motionless, terribly pale,
Eugene…"
In 1827, the Lobanov-Rostovsky house was transferred to the jurisdiction of the War Ministry, which was located here until 1917. To accommodate the military department, internal reconstruction was required, carried out in 1829 under the direction of the architect E. H. Ahnert. As a result of these works, not much has been preserved from the original decoration of the mansion, made according to Montferrand’s sketches.
During Soviet times, the former mansion of Prince Lobanov-Rostovsky housed a dormitory, a school and a design institute, which also had a negative impact on the historical interiors of the building. Nowadays the lobby and the main staircase are of particular interest in the interiors.
In 2002, the mansion was transferred to the Presidential Administration. Initially, it was planned to adapt the buildings for the Constitutional Court, which was moving to St. Petersburg, but later it was decided to place a hotel here.
Literature and sources
1. Architectural guide to Leningrad. A. A. Borovkov and others. Moscow: Stroyizdat, 1971. - P. 53.
1 or St. Isaac's Square, 2. The sculptures on the facade (including the legendary lions at the main entrance) were made by Paolo Triscorni.
Until the 1710s, the space of the future St. Isaac's Square was occupied by a glacis (a flat earthen embankment in front of the outer moat of a fortress or castle) and an esplanade (a wide space in front of a fortification) of the Admiralty Fortress. Subsequently, these defensive elements were removed due to the loss of fortification significance by the Admiralty, and their place was taken by chaotic buildings of private houses: wooden or mud huts. The St. Petersburg fire of 1736 destroyed most of the city's wooden buildings. On St. Isaac's Square alone and in the surrounding areas, then called Morskaya Sloboda, the fire destroyed approximately 100 houses - almost all the wooden buildings on the site of the then square. The northern part of the square remained empty, taking the shape of an uneven trapezoid.
At the beginning of the 19th century. with the support of the Russian Emperor Alexander I, who wanted to make St. Petersburg “beautiful of all European capitals visited” It was decided to build a new, fourth St. Isaac's Cathedral on the site of the third, which was distinguished by poor quality construction. Active work on the design and construction of the temple began back in 1813, but for a number of reasons, the start of construction had to be postponed. In 1816, a Committee for Buildings and Hydraulic Works was formed (contemporaries called this structure the “Committee of Beauty and Architectural Discipline”), which, among other things, was ordered to deal with "settlement of streets and squares". In fact, construction of the colossal structure began only in 1818.
The break in the active development of St. Isaac's Cathedral was used by Montferrand and the Committee of Beauty and Architectural Discipline, headed by engineer A. A. Betancourt, to rethink the layout of the area around the temple being built. The northern part of St. Isaac's Square (that is, observed from the Senate and Bronze Horseman), according to the decision of the architects, became rectangular in shape. This was achieved, among other things, by cutting off from the northeastern corner of the area a triangular section formed by the future St. Isaac's Cathedral, Admiralteysky and Voznesensky Avenues. It is believed that this planning decision came from Alexander I himself. According to legend, while driving through the capital with Prince Alexander Lobanov-Rostovsky, the autocrat expressed dissatisfaction with the inappropriate appearance of St. Isaac's Square - the prince allegedly said nothing in response, but a year later showed the monarch the mansion he had built on his own initiative and at his own expense.
In 1817, a plot of land in the north-eastern corner of St. Isaac's Square in approx. 5400 m² was given to the wife of Alexander Yakovlevich, Cleopatra Ilyinichna Lobanova-Rostovskaya, for the construction of a mansion designed by Auguste Montferrand. On August 10, 1817, the St. Petersburg City Council ordered 2 copies of the plan from the city surveyor Kashkin “for the place on St. Isaac’s Square, most graciously granted by His Imperial Majesty to the retired colonel Prince Lobanov-Rostovsky.” The document noted that the length of the section "down the street opposite Bulevar"- that is, along Admiralteysky Prospekt, located perpendicular to Konnogvardeysky Boulevard - was 44 fathoms 2¾ arshins, 55 fathoms “along the street opposite the church (St. Isaac)” and, finally, 70½ fathoms along Voznesensky Prospekt. Based on these data, Kashkin calculated the area of the “place” granted to the prince - 1235¼ square meters. fathoms On April 22, 1818, in the “Book for recording plans and facades issued to the inhabitants of the 1st Admiralty part” (edition for 1816-1821), which was filled out under the Committee for buildings and hydraulic works, a note was left that A. Ya. Lobanov of Rostov “wants to build a stone house using the attached facades” with a note saying that the owner of the plot “undertook to finish this [stone house], remove it and cover it without fail by November next year 1819”.
The initial designs of the house were not monumental and contained many sophisticated, refined, French elements - balconies, stucco decoration of front groups, balustrades, etc. The initial idea of the Lobanov-Rostovsky house is in many ways similar to the early designs of the Mikhailovsky Palace, which was built at the same time, but in a different way architect, Carl Rossi. Perhaps this feature is associated with the role of Alexander I in the design of both structures, who was, apparently, not only one of the customers of these buildings, but also directly involved in the development of sketches and plans. The buildings differed slightly, but the design of the side projections and the central entrance and, in principle, the compositional idea were almost identical. However, the architects added monumentality to their designs by increasing the number of columns in the porticos and strengthening the central segments of the façade. In general, Montferrand abandoned elegant details and settled on the option most suitable for the urban planning role of the house being built, made in the Empire style.
The organization and coordination of financial and administrative issues related to the construction of the house was handled by the house office of the Lobanov-Rostovsky couple. Construction works - “digging pits, driving piles and laying foundations”, which took only one year, began in 1818, although back in October 1817 the office announced a contract for the supply of 5 million bricks by the spring of 1818, and already on April 15 of the same year plasterers were invited to the construction site, a competition for the supply of sand was announced, and Also "mist clay". Construction began with the installation of piles supporting the foundations, which were laid to a depth of 2.85 m (4 arshins) and made of rubble slab. The foundation - traditional for that time, strip - still supports the building, built on unfortunate, swampy soil near the bank of the Neva. The experience of working with unstable soil was useful to Auguste Montferrand in the construction of the colossal St. Isaac's Cathedral.
The beams supporting the floors were approx. 25 - 30 cm (i.e. 10 - 11 inches) and were made from "red pine". The ceilings themselves were made of oak. The details of the columns (capitals and bases) in the lobby of the house were cast from bronze at the Byrd factory. The doors were made from boards that were up to 7.5 cm (3 inches) thick. The roof is made of black iron produced at the Yakovlevsky factories, but all (except for the front) staircase railings with their specific type of meander in the upper belt and 3 balconies along Voznesensky Prospekt were cast from cast iron.
Already at the beginning of September 1819, the Lobanov-Rostovskys began to rent out rooms in the new building:
On St. Isaac's Square, in the house of the aide-de-camp of Prince Lobanov-Rostovsky, in addition to those expected to be released next year, 6 cellars, 4 shops and an apartment on the mezzanine with a large hall, convenient for establishing a club or other meeting, are being rented out, which will be completely decorated and delivered no later than September 1, 1820...
- // “St. Petersburg Gazette”.
However, the construction of the house was finally completed only in 1820, when all the finishing work inside the massive building was completed.
From the very beginning, the house on St. Isaac's Square was conceived by the Lobanov-Rostovsky couple as an apartment building - a residential building adapted for renting out apartments. At the same time, the idea of such a use of such a remarkable site was submitted by the prince’s wife, Cleopatra Ilyinichna. After the construction was commissioned, she was in charge of the affairs of the enterprise. The prince’s family, therefore, practically did not live there at first.
In the summer of 1821, the art store of the Leoncini brothers moved into the building, which sold, for example, “a very good collection of all kinds of alabaster vases of various sizes, lamps and other things”. The salon of entrepreneurs who arrived from Italy is located on the 1st floor. However, the mansion turned out to be little known among potential tenants, and therefore, already in the fall of the same year, an advertising campaign was launched, which, as it turned out later, bore fruit. An inventory carried out in 1824 provides detailed information about the tenants of the princely family. The annual income from this apartment building reached 100,000 rubles.
According to other evidence, the Provisions Department of the War Department also filled the spaces on the third and fourth floors, and the first housed a beer cellar. In general, the functions of certain premises were dictated by the layout of the building: enfilades of living rooms and state rooms stretched along the facades facing Admiralty Meadow and St. Isaac's Square, while the wing, whose facade faced Voznesensky Prospekt, was adapted for rented apartments.
Various kinds of social enterprises were regularly held in the Lobanov-Rostovsky house, many of which took place in the front suite overlooking the Admiralty Meadow. At one time, the building housed the Cosmorama of the painter Sur - a special exhibition capable of creating the effect of stereoscopic, in other words, volumetric perception of the displayed picture thanks to special optical equipment. Sur demonstrated, as a rule, views of German and some European cities (Berlin, Hamburg, Vienna, Rome); among them was Taganrog, then notorious as the place of death of Emperor Alexander I. Cosmorama was very popular among his contemporaries: “If these views do not contain important artistic merit, then the optical part has been brought to perfection,”- wrote the latest “Domestic Notes”. Another famous cosmorama of Sur is a panorama of the battle between the armies of Alexander the Great and Darius at the Granicus River - “and at that moment, when the Persians flee, pursued by the Macedonians, the bridge under them collapses.” A visit to this performance cost 2 rubles. 50 kopecks per person.
For lovers of the French language, Mister Saint-Maur continued his literary evenings during the current Lent. He reads the best passages from Corneille, Racine, Moliere and other dramatic writers, as well as from Boileau, Voltaire, Delisle and others. A subscription to 10 such evenings costs 75 rubles. from person. The reading takes place in the new house of Princess Lobanova-Rostovskaya.
- // "Domestic Notes".
Another entrepreneur who rented space in the house was Toselli. He put on display in the front suite “Scenography of Jerusalem and the holy places around it,” about which the observer Svinin remarked: “This spectacle is very similar to a theater stage, only incomparably more lively.”, referring to the tricks that Toselli went to, trying to make the performances more exciting. Thus, according to eyewitnesses, the drawing of the Jerusalem spring of Silje was accompanied by sound design - the murmur of water. The entrance fee to Toselli’s “Scenography…” was 5 rubles. per person. Currently, Toselli is known to the public primarily as the creator of a watercolor panorama of St. Petersburg from the tower of the Kunstkamera, made around the same time when the Lobanov-Rostovsky house was being built. Now this watercolor is stored in the Hermitage.
The cultural life of the house at that time was not limited to the Cosmorama Sur and exhibitions like “Scenography...” by Toselli.
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On November 7, 1824, during a devastating flood, St. Isaac's Square was flooded so that only one building was visible from the water. This was reflected in urban folklore and art. So, in the first third of the 19th century, there was a story in the capital about a certain Yakovlev, who, supposedly, on the eve of a catastrophic flood, was walking around the city. When the natural disaster began and the water began to rise, Yakovlev headed home, however, having reached Lobanov-Rostovsky’s house located on the square, he realized that it was simply impossible to go further. As a result, Yakovlev climbed one of the lion sculptures “looking” at the flooded city “with a raised paw, as if alive”. Yakovlev escaped because he was on a lion "sat through the flood". In the end, the legend was reflected in the poem “The Bronze Horseman” by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin:
...On Petrova Square,
Where a new house has risen in the corner,
Where above the elevated porch
With a raised paw, as if alive,
There are two guard lions standing,
Riding a marble beast,
Without a hat, hands clasped in a cross,
He sat motionless, terribly pale,
Eugene…
Despite the income brought by the tenants, 9 years after the completion of construction of the house, the Lobanov-Rostovsky couple found themselves in debt. On July 1, 1824, the 1st and 2nd floors of the mansion were leased to the War Ministry for 63,000 rubles per year for the use of only some departments of the military department, including the office of the Minister of War, the commission of provision affairs and Finnish provision affairs, the provision department and medical departments.
Based on the file on the reconstruction of a house for the War Ministry, which is still stored in the Military Historical Archive, conclusions can be drawn about the number, location and size of halls, chambers and other premises rented by the department. 21 chambers located "under the arches"(that is, in the semi-basement), was intended "for ministers". On the ground floor there were 20 chambers, and on the mezzanine (on the second, most prestigious) - 39, among which there were 4 large halls, of which three rooms were 11 fathoms long (23.5 m) and 4 fathoms 2 arshins (10 m ) in width, and one of the halls stretched 8 fathoms (17 m). The remaining rooms on the mezzanine, having a similar “depth” (4 fathoms 2 arshins ≈ 10 m), were located “on the facades: Admiralteysky and Isaac”. The third floor was adapted for 26 rooms, most of which had a length from 4 to 6 fathoms (8.5 - 10.6 m), and a width from 3 fathoms to 4 fathoms 2 arshins (6.4 - 10 m ). At the very top "mezzanine" 8 chambers were prepared on the floor, "which may be consumed for ministers". In general, the ministry rented 114 rooms and halls for its offices, in other words "almost two thirds of the house". The certificate of restructuring also affected premises not occupied by the department. So, "on the cellar floor" the building contained 3 apartments, consisting of 11 living rooms, and 3 dry cellars; on the ground floor there are 4 apartments with 24 rooms; on the mezzanine there is one apartment of 7 rooms; on the third - 5 apartments for 23 rooms. In total, 65 rooms were rented out to third parties, which turned out to be “income up to 30,000 rubles.” In addition to living quarters, there were also household premises: 6 sheds, a stable with 30 stalls, 2 "large hay attic" and 2 oat pantries.
In 1828, the owner of the property, the famous bibliophile and collector A. Ya. Lobanov-Rostovsky, decided to play it in a lottery. For this purpose, a million lottery tickets with a face value of one ruble were issued. One of those who bought the ticket was, according to the prince’s idea, to become the new owner of the mansion. But Emperor Nicholas I banned this commercial scam and invited the prince to sell the house and the unique library, known for its collection of works about Mary Stuart and a collection of rare canes and sticks, to the treasury. The cost of the transaction was 1,005,000 rubles in banknotes; for the cession of the valuable library, Lobanov-Rostovsky was awarded a lifelong pension, and it was finally decided to house the Military Department in the house itself on a lease basis due to the constant growth of the latter’s needs. Such a transfer of real estate from bankrupt nobles to the state that patronized them, but objectively did not need to use the close noble estates, was a very common practice in St. Petersburg in those years. Due to the fact that the house was not adapted to the needs of a state institution, a reconstruction of the building was undertaken in 1829 under the leadership of the architect E. H. Ahnert.
However, at the beginning of 1907, researcher N.A. Danilov, in his “Historical sketch of the activities of the Chancellery of the War Ministry and the Military Council,” wrote that the exterior of the former Lobanov-Rostovsky mansion has been preserved since the time of its former owners "without the slightest change". The lion's share of changes, according to Danilov, took place in the interiors. At the same time, only the main entrance (from Admiralteysky Prospekt) and the main staircase remained untouched. The decoration of all other premises was subjected to significant changes, designed to accommodate the offices and apartments of Military Department employees. After the transfer to the ministry, the large hall was occupied by the office of the Minister of War, his reception room, and also "2nd economic office work" authority. Initially, the large hall was double-height (occupying the space of the 2nd and 3rd floors), and only later the space on the 3rd floor level was separated from the rest of the hall by ceilings "for the arrangement of apartments". In general, the paintings that once decorated the walls and ceilings in 26 rooms were also lost.
In 1829, the architect E. H. Ahnert rebuilt the “House with Lions” to suit the needs of the new owner. From 1824 to 1917, the Russian War Ministry was located in the house with lions.
After October 1917, the house was taken under state protection. From 1918 to 1964 there was a school in the house. The school changed its numbers and name several times. Since 1941, it received the name Secondary School No. 239 of the Oktyabrsky District of Leningrad, which became a physics and mathematics school in 1961. During the blockade, the school continued its educational work. The school occupied the entire half of the house to the right of the central entrance, the facade facing St. Isaac's Cathedral, as well as the corner facing Bolshaya Morskaya Street. The part of the building facing Voznesensky Avenue was occupied by residential premises. There was a stable in the yard. During the blockade, the solid basement of the building was converted into a bomb shelter. The school used the alleys of the Alexander Garden for sports activities. Since 1964, the school gave way to the Design Institute of Architecture.
In 2002, the house with lions passed to the Presidential Administration, which intended to adapt it for the Constitutional Court, which was moving to St. Petersburg. However, later it was decided to create within its walls the most fashionable hotel in the city, ready to receive senior government officials. The building was leased for 49 years to Tristar Investment Holdings CJSC.
Since the Lobanov-Rostovsky House is included in the federal list of protected cultural heritage sites, issues of its reconstruction caused heated controversy both in the architectural community and in the press.
“This is a gross violation of current legislation in the field of historical heritage protection. The Lobanov-Rostovsky House is a federal monument in the very center of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where there could be no talk of any reconstruction - such a building can only be restored,” said Alexander Margolis.
Investors demolished the historic outbuilding in the courtyard (2007), designed, like the entire building, by the architect Auguste Montferrand. The outbuilding in the courtyard of the building was also designed by Montferrand; the first floor was built in 1817-1820, built on by the architect E. H. Ahnert. , the interiors of the main building were damaged and lost, the outline of the roof was changed. This was actively opposed by the city community, including professionals such as the architect-restorer D. A. Butyrin.
Another violation was the construction of an attic, which turned out to be 18 centimeters higher than the original roof. Initially, it was supposed to be even higher - 80 centimeters, but under public pressure, Tristar Investment Holdings decided to lower it. Nevertheless, even now the superstructure is clearly visible.
“This violates the traditional appearance of the monument. In general, this kind of attic is not typical for a monument of high classicism, and therefore is not acceptable. Members of the Council for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage unanimously spoke out against the attic, but despite this, this attic was made,” says Mikhail Milchik.
The main architect of the project is the head of his own workshop, Evgeniy Gerasimov. The restoration of the security zones was carried out by Rafael Dayanov. The design of the premises was carried out by the Californian company Cheryl Rowley and the Japanese studio Spin Design Studio.
The main question that worried the public was: how the new functions of the building are consistent with its historical “shell”, what will be preserved and restored, and what will have to be sacrificed. In the case of Lobanov’s house, the concept of “original interiors” is quite arbitrary. Already in 1829, when the War Ministry moved into the house, it began to redevelop it for its needs. It is possible that even the design of the main staircase with a wide sculptural frieze depicting military armor was made for the ministry, and not for the first owner - also, incidentally, a gallant general who distinguished himself in the campaign against Napoleon. Spacious offices were built for ministerial employees, which served as secondary school classrooms in Soviet times, and then Design Institute No. 1 was located in them. As a result, the security zone of the new hotel includes the front lobby from Admiralteysky Prospekt, a two-flight main staircase with a fireplace on landing 2- 1st floor, an enfilade of the 2nd floor and another room, the historical value of which was established during the restoration process.
The presidential suite with an area of 152 m² was planned to be located with windows facing the Admiralty, directly above the lions, above the 1st floor arcade. The apartment includes two bedrooms, a dining room for 8 people, an office, a sitting area and a terrace overlooking the garden. In total, the hotel has 177 rooms: 151 standard, 26 luxury. There is a spacious ballroom in the underground part of the building. For business meetings - 5 conference rooms on the 1st floor and the Xander bar overlooking the Alexander Garden. The 4-storey outbuilding in the courtyard will house a spa complex, and in the atrium there will be a cafe-restaurant “Tea Lounge”, always open to both hotel guests and citizens. A similar range of services and a first-class selection of rooms will allow the Four Seasons Saint Petersburg hotel to host the leaders of the Big Eight. The stated opening date is autumn 2013.
Subsequently, architectural critic Mikhail Zolotonosov (“City 812”) called the house reconstruction project one of the worst examples of architecture in the city in 2010:
The house was built in 1817-1820 according to the design of the architect Auguste Montferrand (1786-1858). The building has a triangular plan. Its main facade, facing Admiralteysky Prospekt, is decorated with an 8-column portico of the Corinthian order. The portico rises above a protruding arcade. Ramps (sloping slopes) made it possible for carriages to drive directly to the front entrance. The lions flanking the entrance were carved from white Carrara marble by the sculptor P. Triscorni.
(destroying the interiors of the house with lions is) a crime against culture, not only Russian, but also European
The wind died down, black clouds hung low over the battlefield, merging on the horizon with gunpowder smoke. It was getting dark, and the glow of fires was all the more clearly visible in two places. The cannonade became weaker, but the crackle of guns behind and to the right was heard even more often and closer. As soon as Tushin with his guns, driving around and running over the wounded, came out from under fire and went down into the ravine, he was met by his superiors and adjutants, including a staff officer and Zherkov, who was sent twice and never reached Tushin’s battery. All of them, interrupting one another, gave and passed on orders on how and where to go, and made reproaches and comments to him. Tushin did not give orders and silently, afraid to speak, because at every word he was ready, without knowing why, to cry, he rode behind on his artillery nag. Although the wounded were ordered to be abandoned, many of them trailed behind the troops and asked to be deployed to the guns. The same dashing infantry officer who jumped out of Tushin’s hut before the battle was, with a bullet in his stomach, placed on Matvevna’s carriage. Under the mountain, a pale hussar cadet, supporting the other with one hand, approached Tushin and asked to sit down.
“Captain, for God’s sake, I’m shell-shocked in the arm,” he said timidly. - For God's sake, I can't go. For God's sake!
It was clear that this cadet had more than once asked to sit somewhere and was refused everywhere. He asked in a hesitant and pitiful voice.
- Order him to be imprisoned, for God's sake.
“Plant, plant,” said Tushin. “Put down your overcoat, uncle,” he turned to his beloved soldier. -Where is the wounded officer?
“They put it in, it’s over,” someone answered.
- Plant it. Sit down, honey, sit down. Lay down your overcoat, Antonov.
The cadet was in Rostov. He held the other with one hand, was pale, and his lower jaw was shaking with feverish trembling. They put him on Matvevna, on the very gun from which they laid the dead officer. There was blood on the overcoat, which stained Rostov's leggings and hands.
- What, are you wounded, darling? - said Tushin, approaching the gun on which Rostov was sitting.
- No, I’m shell-shocked.
- Why is there blood on the bed? – Tushin asked.
“It was the officer, your honor, who bled,” answered the artillery soldier, wiping the blood with the sleeve of his overcoat and as if apologizing for the uncleanness in which the gun was located.
Forcibly, with the help of infantry, they took the guns up the mountain, and having reached the village of Guntersdorf, they stopped. It had already become so dark that ten steps away it was impossible to distinguish the uniforms of the soldiers, and the firefight began to subside. Suddenly, screams and gunfire were heard again close to the right side. The shots were already sparkling in the darkness. This was the last French attack, which was answered by soldiers holed up in the houses of the village. Again everyone rushed out of the village, but Tushin’s guns could not move, and the artillerymen, Tushin and the cadet, silently looked at each other, awaiting their fate. The firefight began to subside, and soldiers, animated by conversation, poured out of the side street.
- Is it okay, Petrov? - one asked.
“Brother, it’s too hot.” Now they won’t interfere,” said another.
- Can't see anything. How they fried it in theirs! Not in sight; darkness, brothers. Would you like to get drunk?
The French were repulsed for the last time. And again, in complete darkness, Tushin’s guns, surrounded as if by a frame by buzzing infantry, moved somewhere forward.
In the darkness, it was as if an invisible, gloomy river was flowing, all in one direction, humming with whispers, talking and the sounds of hooves and wheels. In the general din, behind all the other sounds, the moans and voices of the wounded in the darkness of the night were clearest of all. Their groans seemed to fill all the darkness that surrounded the troops. Their groans and the darkness of this night were one and the same. After a while, there was a commotion in the moving crowd. Someone rode with his retinue on a white horse and said something as they passed. What did you say? Where to now? Stand, or what? Thank you, or what? - greedy questions were heard from all sides, and the entire moving mass began to push on itself (apparently, the front ones had stopped), and rumors spread that they were ordered to stop. Everyone stopped as they were walking, in the middle of the dirt road.
The lights lit up and the conversation became louder. Captain Tushin, having given orders to the company, sent one of the soldiers to look for a dressing station or a doctor for the cadet and sat down by the fire laid out on the road by the soldiers. Rostov also dragged himself to the fire. A feverish trembling from pain, cold and dampness shook his entire body. Sleep was irresistibly beckoning him, but he could not sleep from the excruciating pain in his arm, which ached and could not find a position. He now closed his eyes, now glanced at the fire, which seemed to him hotly red, now at the stooped, weak figure of Tushin, sitting cross-legged next to him. Tushin’s big, kind and intelligent eyes looked at him with sympathy and compassion. He saw that Tushin wanted with all his soul and could not help him.
From all sides the footsteps and chatter of those passing, passing and infantry stationed around were heard. The sounds of voices, footsteps and horse hooves rearranging in the mud, the near and distant crackling of firewood merged into one oscillating roar.
Now, as before, the invisible river no longer flowed in the darkness, but as if after a storm, the gloomy sea lay down and trembled. Rostov mindlessly watched and listened to what was happening in front of him and around him. The infantry soldier walked up to the fire, squatted down, stuck his hands into the fire and turned his face away.
- Is it okay, your honor? - he said, turning questioningly to Tushin. “He got away from the company, your honor; I don’t know where. Trouble!
Together with the soldier, an infantry officer with a bandaged cheek approached the fire and, turning to Tushin, asked him to order the tiny gun to be moved in order to transport the cart. Behind the company commander, two soldiers ran to the fire. They swore and fought desperately, pulling out some kind of boot from each other.
- Why, you picked it up! Look, he’s clever,” one shouted in a hoarse voice.
Then a thin, pale soldier approached with his neck tied with a bloody wrap and in an angry voice demanded water from the artillerymen.
- Well, should I die like a dog? - he said.
Tushin ordered to give him water. Then a cheerful soldier ran up, asking for a light in the infantry.
- A hot fire to the infantry! Stay happily, fellow countrymen, thank you for the light, we will pay you back with interest,” he said, carrying the reddened firebrand somewhere into the darkness.
Behind this soldier, four soldiers, carrying something heavy on their overcoats, walked past the fire. One of them tripped.
“Look, devils, they put firewood on the road,” he grumbled.
- It’s over, so why wear it? - said one of them.
- Well, you!
And they disappeared into the darkness with their burden.
- What? hurts? – Tushin asked Rostov in a whisper.
- Hurts.
- Your honor, to the general. They’re standing here in the hut,” said the fireworksman, approaching Tushin.
- Now, my dear.
Tushin stood up and, buttoning his overcoat and straightening himself, walked away from the fire...
Not far from the artillery fire, in the hut prepared for him, Prince Bagration sat at dinner, talking with some of the unit commanders who had gathered with him. There was an old man with half-closed eyes, greedily gnawing a mutton bone, and a twenty-two-year-old impeccable general, flushed from a glass of vodka and dinner, and a staff officer with a name ring, and Zherkov, looking at everyone restlessly, and Prince Andrei, pale, with pursed lips and feverishly shiny eyes.
In the hut there stood a taken French banner leaning in the corner, and the auditor with a naive face felt the fabric of the banner and, perplexed, shook his head, perhaps because he was really interested in the appearance of the banner, and perhaps because it was hard for him hungry to look at dinner for which he did not have enough utensils. In the next hut there was a French colonel captured by the dragoons. Our officers crowded around him, looking at him. Prince Bagration thanked individual commanders and asked about the details of the case and losses. The regimental commander, who introduced himself near Braunau, reported to the prince that as soon as the matter began, he retreated from the forest, gathered woodcutters and, letting them pass by him, with two battalions struck with bayonets and overthrew the French.
- As I saw, Your Excellency, that the first battalion was upset, I stood on the road and thought: “I’ll let these through and meet them with battle fire”; I did so.
The regimental commander wanted to do this so much, he regretted so much that he did not have time to do this, that it seemed to him that all this had actually happened. Perhaps it actually happened? Was it possible to make out in this confusion what was and what was not?
“And I must note, Your Excellency,” he continued, recalling Dolokhov’s conversation with Kutuzov and his last meeting with the demoted man, “that the private, demoted Dolokhov, captured a French officer before my eyes and especially distinguished himself.”
“Here I saw, Your Excellency, an attack by the Pavlogradians,” Zherkov intervened, looking around uneasily, who had not seen the hussars at all that day, but had only heard about them from an infantry officer. - They crushed two squares, your Excellency.
At Zherkov’s words, some smiled, as always expecting a joke from him; but, noticing that what he was saying also tended towards the glory of our weapons and the present day, they took on a serious expression, although many knew very well that what Zherkov said was a lie, based on nothing. Prince Bagration turned to the old colonel.
- Thank you all, gentlemen, all units acted heroically: infantry, cavalry and artillery. How are two guns left in the center? – he asked, looking for someone with his eyes. (Prince Bagration did not ask about the guns on the left flank; he already knew that all the guns had been abandoned there at the very beginning of the matter.) “I think I asked you,” he turned to the officer on duty at the headquarters.
“One was hit,” answered the officer on duty, “and the other, I can’t understand; I myself was there all the time and gave orders and just drove away... It was hot, really,” he added modestly.
Someone said that Captain Tushin was standing here near the village, and that they had already sent for him.
“Yes, there you were,” said Prince Bagration, turning to Prince Andrei.
“Well, we didn’t move in together for a bit,” said the officer on duty, smiling pleasantly at Bolkonsky.
“I did not have the pleasure of seeing you,” said Prince Andrei coldly and abruptly.
Everyone was silent. Tushin appeared on the threshold, timidly making his way from behind the generals. Walking around the generals in a cramped hut, embarrassed, as always, at the sight of his superiors, Tushin did not notice the flagpole and stumbled over it. Several voices laughed.
– How was the weapon abandoned? – Bagration asked, frowning not so much at the captain as at those laughing, among whom Zherkov’s voice was heard loudest.
Tushin now only, at the sight of the formidable authorities, imagined in all horror his guilt and shame in the fact that he, having remained alive, had lost two guns. He was so excited that until that moment he did not have time to think about it. The officers' laughter confused him even more. He stood in front of Bagration with a trembling lower jaw and barely said:
– I don’t know... Your Excellency... there were no people, Your Excellency.
– You could have taken it from cover!
Tushin did not say that there was no cover, although this was the absolute truth. He was afraid to let down another boss and silently, with fixed eyes, looked straight into Bagration’s face, like a confused student looks into the eyes of an examiner.
The silence was quite long. Prince Bagration, apparently not wanting to be strict, had nothing to say; the rest did not dare to intervene in the conversation. Prince Andrey looked at Tushin from under his brows, and his fingers moved nervously.
“Your Excellency,” Prince Andrei interrupted the silence with his sharp voice, “you deigned to send me to Captain Tushin’s battery.” I was there and found two thirds of the men and horses killed, two guns mangled, and no cover.
Prince Bagration and Tushin now looked equally stubbornly at Bolkonsky, who was speaking restrainedly and excitedly.
“And if, Your Excellency, allow me to express my opinion,” he continued, “then we owe the success of the day most of all to the action of this battery and the heroic fortitude of Captain Tushin and his company,” said Prince Andrei and, without waiting for an answer, he immediately stood up and walked away from the table.
Prince Bagration looked at Tushin and, apparently not wanting to show distrust of Bolkonsky’s harsh judgment and, at the same time, feeling unable to fully believe him, bowed his head and told Tushin that he could go. Prince Andrei followed him out.
“Thank you, I helped you out, my dear,” Tushin told him.
Prince Andrei looked at Tushin and, without saying anything, walked away from him. Prince Andrei was sad and hard. It was all so strange, so unlike what he had hoped for.
"Who are they? Why are they? What do they need? And when will all this end? thought Rostov, looking at the changing shadows in front of him. The pain in my arm became more and more excruciating. Sleep was falling irresistibly, red circles were jumping in my eyes, and the impression of these voices and these faces and the feeling of loneliness merged with a feeling of pain. It was they, these soldiers, wounded and unwounded, - it was they who pressed, and weighed down, and turned out the veins, and burned the meat in his broken arm and shoulder. To get rid of them, he closed his eyes.
He forgot himself for one minute, but in this short period of oblivion he saw countless objects in his dreams: he saw his mother and her big white hand, he saw Sonya’s thin shoulders, Natasha’s eyes and laughter, and Denisov with his voice and mustache, and Telyanin , and his whole story with Telyanin and Bogdanich. This whole story was one and the same thing: this soldier with a sharp voice, and this whole story and this soldier so painfully, relentlessly held, pressed and all pulled his hand in one direction. He tried to move away from them, but they did not let go of his shoulder, not even a hair, not even for a second. It wouldn’t hurt, it would be healthy if they didn’t pull on it; but it was impossible to get rid of them.
He opened his eyes and looked up. The black canopy of night hung an arshin above the light of the coals. In this light, particles of falling snow flew. Tushin did not return, the doctor did not come. He was alone, only some soldier was now sitting naked on the other side of the fire and warming his thin yellow body.
“Nobody needs me! - thought Rostov. - There is no one to help or feel sorry for. And I was once at home, strong, cheerful, loved.” “He sighed and involuntarily groaned with a sigh.
- Oh, what hurts? - asked the soldier, shaking his shirt over the fire, and, without waiting for an answer, he grunted and added: - You never know how many people have been spoiled in a day - passion!
Rostov did not listen to the soldier. He looked at the snowflakes fluttering over the fire and remembered the Russian winter with a warm, bright house, a fluffy fur coat, fast sleighs, a healthy body and with all the love and care of his family. “And why did I come here!” he thought.
The next day, the French did not resume the attack, and the rest of Bagration’s detachment joined Kutuzov’s army.
Prince Vasily did not think about his plans. He even less thought of doing evil to people in order to gain benefit. He was only a secular man who had succeeded in the world and made a habit out of this success. He constantly, depending on the circumstances, depending on his rapprochement with people, drew up various plans and considerations, of which he himself was not well aware, but which constituted the entire interest of his life. Not one or two such plans and considerations were in his mind, but dozens, of which some were just beginning to appear to him, others were achieved, and others were destroyed. He did not say to himself, for example: “This man is now in power, I must gain his trust and friendship and through him arrange for the issuance of a one-time allowance,” or he did not say to himself: “Pierre is rich, I must lure him to marry his daughter and borrow the 40 thousand I need”; but a man in strength met him, and at that very moment instinct told him that this man could be useful, and Prince Vasily became close to him and at the first opportunity, without preparation, by instinct, flattered, became familiar, talked about what what was needed.
Pierre was under his arm in Moscow, and Prince Vasily arranged for him to be appointed a chamber cadet, which was then equivalent to the rank of state councilor, and insisted that the young man go with him to St. Petersburg and stay in his house. As if absent-mindedly and at the same time with an undoubted confidence that this should be so, Prince Vasily did everything that was necessary in order to marry Pierre to his daughter. If Prince Vasily had thought about his plans ahead, he could not have had such naturalness in his manners and such simplicity and familiarity in his relations with all the people placed above and below himself. Something constantly attracted him to people stronger or richer than himself, and he was gifted with the rare art of catching exactly the moment when it was necessary and possible to take advantage of people.
Pierre, having unexpectedly become a rich man and Count Bezukhy, after recent loneliness and carelessness, felt so surrounded and busy that he could only be left alone with himself in bed. He had to sign papers, deal with government offices, the meaning of which he had no clear idea of, ask the chief manager about something, go to an estate near Moscow and receive many people who previously did not want to know about his existence, but now would offended and upset if he didn’t want to see them. All these various persons - businessmen, relatives, acquaintances - were all equally well disposed towards the young heir; all of them, obviously and undoubtedly, were convinced of the high merits of Pierre. He constantly heard the words: “With your extraordinary kindness,” or “with your wonderful heart,” or “you yourself are so pure, Count...” or “if only he were as smart as you,” etc., so he He sincerely began to believe in his extraordinary kindness and his extraordinary mind, especially since it always seemed to him, deep down in his soul, that he was really very kind and very smart. Even people who had previously been angry and obviously hostile became tender and loving towards him. Such an angry eldest of the princesses, with a long waist, with hair smoothed like a doll’s, came to Pierre’s room after the funeral. Lowering her eyes and constantly flushing, she told him that she was very sorry for the misunderstandings that had happened between them and that now she felt she had no right to ask for anything, except permission, after the blow that had befallen her, to stay for a few weeks in the house that she loved so much and where made so many sacrifices. She couldn't help but cry at these words. Touched that this statue-like princess could change so much, Pierre took her hand and asked for an apology, without knowing why. From that day on, the princess began to knit a striped scarf for Pierre and completely changed towards him.
– Do it for her, mon cher; “All the same, she suffered a lot from the dead man,” Prince Vasily told him, letting him sign some kind of paper in favor of the princess.
Prince Vasily decided that this bone, a bill of 30 thousand, had to be thrown to the poor princess so that it would not occur to her to talk about Prince Vasily’s participation in the mosaic portfolio business. Pierre signed the bill, and from then on the princess became even kinder. The younger sisters also became affectionate towards him, especially the youngest, pretty, with a mole, often embarrassed Pierre with her smiles and embarrassment at the sight of him.
It seemed so natural to Pierre that everyone loved him, it would seem so unnatural if someone did not love him, that he could not help but believe in the sincerity of the people around him. Moreover, he did not have time to ask himself about the sincerity or insincerity of these people. He constantly had no time, he constantly felt in a state of meek and cheerful intoxication. He felt like the center of some important general movement; felt that something was constantly expected of him; that if he didn’t do this, he would upset many and deprive them of what they expected, but if he did this and that, everything would be fine - and he did what was required of him, but something good remained ahead.
More than anyone else at this first time, Prince Vasily took possession of both Pierre’s affairs and himself. Since the death of Count Bezukhy, he has not let Pierre out of his hands. Prince Vasily had the appearance of a man weighed down by affairs, tired, exhausted, but out of compassion, unable to finally abandon this helpless young man, the son of his friend, to the mercy of fate and the rogues, apres tout, [in the end,] and with such a huge fortune. In those few days that he stayed in Moscow after the death of Count Bezukhy, he called Pierre to himself or came to him himself and prescribed to him what needed to be done, in such a tone of fatigue and confidence, as if he was saying every time:
“Vous savez, que je suis accable d"affaires et que ce n"est que par pure charite, que je m"occupe de vous, et puis vous savez bien, que ce que je vous propose est la seule chose faisable." [ You know, I am swamped with business; but it would be merciless to leave you like this; of course, what I am telling you is the only possible one.]
“Well, my friend, tomorrow we’re going, finally,” he told him one day, closing his eyes, moving his fingers on his elbow and in such a tone, as if what he was saying had been decided a long time ago between them and could not be decided otherwise.
“We’re going tomorrow, I’ll give you a place in my stroller.” I am very happy. Everything important is over here. I should have needed it a long time ago. This is what I received from the chancellor. I asked him about you, and you were enlisted in the diplomatic corps and made a chamber cadet. Now the diplomatic path is open to you.
Despite the strength of the tone of fatigue and the confidence with which these words were spoken, Pierre, who had been thinking about his career for so long, wanted to object. But Prince Vasily interrupted him in that cooing, bassy tone that excluded the possibility of interrupting his speech and which he used when extreme persuasion was necessary.
- Mais, mon cher, [But, my dear,] I did it for myself, for my conscience, and there is nothing to thank me for. No one ever complained that he was too loved; and then, you are free, even if you quit tomorrow. You will see everything for yourself in St. Petersburg. And it’s high time for you to move away from these terrible memories. – Prince Vasily sighed. - Yes, yes, my soul. And let my valet ride in your carriage. Oh yes, I forgot,” Prince Vasily added, “you know, mon cher, that we had scores with the deceased, so I received it from Ryazan and will leave it: you don’t need it.” We will settle with you.
What Prince Vasily called from “Ryazan” were several thousand quitrents, which Prince Vasily kept for himself.
In St. Petersburg, as in Moscow, an atmosphere of gentle, loving people surrounded Pierre. He could not refuse the place or, rather, the title (because he did nothing) that Prince Vasily brought him, and there were so many acquaintances, calls and social activities that Pierre, even more than in Moscow, experienced a feeling of fog and haste and everything that is coming, but some good is not happening.
Many of his former bachelor society were not in St. Petersburg. The guard went on a campaign. Dolokhov was demoted, Anatole was in the army, in the provinces, Prince Andrei was abroad, and therefore Pierre was not able to spend his nights as he had previously liked to spend them, or to occasionally unwind in a friendly conversation with an older, respected friend. All his time was spent at dinners, balls and mainly with Prince Vasily - in the company of the fat princess, his wife, and the beautiful Helen.
Anna Pavlovna Scherer, like others, showed Pierre the change that had occurred in the public view of him.
Previously, Pierre, in the presence of Anna Pavlovna, constantly felt that what he was saying was indecent, tactless, and not what was needed; that his speeches, which seem smart to him while he prepares them in his imagination, become stupid as soon as he speaks loudly, and that, on the contrary, the stupidest speeches of Hippolytus come out smart and sweet. Now everything he said came out charmant. If even Anna Pavlovna did not say this, then he saw that she wanted to say it, and she only, in respect of his modesty, refrained from doing so.
At the beginning of the winter from 1805 to 1806, Pierre received from Anna Pavlovna the usual pink note with an invitation, which added: “Vous trouverez chez moi la belle Helene, qu"on ne se lasse jamais de voir.” [I will have a beautiful Helene , which you will never get tired of admiring.]
Reading this passage, Pierre felt for the first time that some kind of connection had formed between him and Helene, recognized by other people, and this thought at the same time frightened him, as if an obligation was being imposed on him that he could not keep. and together he liked it as a funny suggestion.
Anna Pavlovna's evening was the same as the first, only the novelty that Anna Pavlovna treated her guests was now not Mortemart, but a diplomat who had arrived from Berlin and brought the latest details about the stay of Emperor Alexander in Potsdam and how the two highest each other swore there in an indissoluble alliance to defend the just cause against the enemy of the human race. Pierre was received by Anna Pavlovna with a tinge of sadness, apparently related to the fresh loss that befell the young man, to the death of Count Bezukhy (everyone constantly considered it their duty to assure Pierre that he was very upset by the death of his father, whom he hardly knew) - and sadness exactly the same as the highest sadness that was expressed at the mention of the august Empress Maria Feodorovna. Pierre felt flattered by this. Anna Pavlovna, with her usual skill, arranged circles in her living room. The large circle, where Prince Vasily and the generals were, used a diplomat. Another mug was at the tea table. Pierre wanted to join the first, but Anna Pavlovna, who was in the irritated state of a commander on the battlefield, when thousands of new brilliant thoughts come that you barely have time to put into execution, Anna Pavlovna, seeing Pierre, touched his sleeve with her finger.
- Attendez, j "ai des vues sur vous pour ce soir. [I have plans for you this evening.] She looked at Helene and smiled at her. - Ma bonne Helene, il faut, que vous soyez charitable pour ma pauvre tante , qui a une adoration pour vous. Allez lui tenir compagnie pour 10 minutes. [My dear Helen, I need you to be compassionate towards my poor aunt, who has adoration for you. Stay with her for 10 minutes.] And so that you are not very it was boring, here’s a dear count who won’t refuse to follow you.
The beauty went to her aunt, but Anna Pavlovna still kept Pierre close to her, appearing as if she had one last necessary order to make.
– Isn’t she amazing? - she said to Pierre, pointing to the majestic beauty sailing away. - Et quelle tenue! [And how she holds herself!] For such a young girl and such tact, such a masterful ability to hold herself! It comes from the heart! Happy will be the one whose it will be! With her, the most unsecular husband will involuntarily occupy the most brilliant place in the world. Is not it? I just wanted to know your opinion,” and Anna Pavlovna released Pierre.
Pierre sincerely answered Anna Pavlovna in the affirmative to her question about Helen’s art of holding herself. If he ever thought about Helen, he thought specifically about her beauty and about her unusual calm ability to be silently worthy in the world.
Auntie accepted two young people into her corner, but it seemed that she wanted to hide her adoration for Helen and wanted to more express her fear of Anna Pavlovna. She looked at her niece, as if asking what she should do with these people. Moving away from them, Anna Pavlovna again touched Pierre’s sleeve with her finger and said:
- J"espere, que vous ne direz plus qu"on s"ennuie chez moi, [I hope you won’t say another time that I’m bored] - and looked at Helen.
Helen smiled with an expression that said that she did not admit the possibility that anyone could see her and not be admired. Auntie cleared her throat, swallowed her drool and said in French that she was very glad to see Helen; then she turned to Pierre with the same greeting and with the same mien. In the middle of a boring and stumbling conversation, Helen looked back at Pierre and smiled at him with that clear, beautiful smile with which she smiled at everyone. Pierre was so used to this smile, it expressed so little for him that he did not pay any attention to it. Auntie was talking at this time about the collection of snuff boxes that Pierre’s late father, Count Bezukhy, had, and showed her snuff box. Princess Helen asked to see the portrait of her aunt's husband, which was made on this snuff box.
“This was probably done by Vines,” said Pierre, naming the famous miniaturist, bending over to the table to pick up a snuffbox, and listening to the conversation at another table.
He stood up, wanting to go around, but the aunt handed the snuff box right across Helen, behind her. Helen leaned forward to make room and looked back, smiling. She was, as always at evenings, in a dress that was very open in front and back, according to the fashion of that time. Her bust, which always seemed marble to Pierre, was at such a close distance from his eyes that with his myopic eyes he involuntarily discerned the living beauty of her shoulders and neck, and so close to his lips that he had to bend down a little to touch her. He heard the warmth of her body, the smell of perfume and the creak of her corset as she moved. He did not see her marble beauty, which was one with her dress, he saw and felt all the charm of her body, which was covered only by clothes. And, once he saw this, he could not see otherwise, just as we cannot return to a deception once explained.
