When Russia Spoke French…

«Under Peter the Great, Europe began to teach us; under Anna Ivanovna it tortured us; but the reign of Alexander is the epoch of our complete submission to it…. Since its very foundation, St. Petersburg, the main link that had attached Russia to Europe, had been a Babel, representing terrible a confusion of languages, customs and costumes», famous Russian memoirist F. F. Vigel wrote.(1)

However, among all languages the preference was beyond all doubt given to French-the language of the Encyclopaedists, correspondence with whom was so highly valued by Catherine the Great, who won in this way the fame of one of the best-educated European rulers.

It was during the reign of this empress that perfect command of the French language became a necessary part of aristocratic upbringing, a certain distinctive feature distinguishing people of noble origin, a «key» that opened the doors to higher society.

It is remarkable that young noblemen, whose education on the whole was very superficial, were «when being prepared either to become Life Guards officers or courtiers …taught with special thoroughness» the French language(2).

As a result by the end of the 18th century, the aristocratic society of St. Petersburg had so well mastered the language of Voltaire and Diderot that it was deemed to be almost more their native language than Russian. Despite numerous bans connected with censure of revolutionary France, Emperor Paul himself spoke practically nothing but French. Some recently promoted officers did not understand their monarch, which sometimes led to ridiculous and even frightening misunderstandings. Thus, Count E. F. Komarovsky recollected that during the introduction of Major-General Safonov, who did not speak foreign languages, Paul I told him with a stern look: «Aussitot pris, aussitot pendu», which literally means «caught and hanged immediately». Safonov, to whom this phrase was translated in its literal sense, was on the verge of fainting. However, Komarovsky explained to him that it was a French saying that meant that an appointment for him had probably already been chosen: next morning Safonov was appointed chief of a St. Petersburg grenadier regiment.(3)

Even in the most tragic moments of his life when sword-wielding conspirators burst into his bedroom, Paul I, true to his upbringing, addressed P. A. Zubov in French, asking: «Que faites-vous Platon Alexandrovitch?»(4) («What are you doing Platon Alexandrovitch?»).

It is not surprising that study of the French language, reading of French literature in the original, visiting the «French scene» where true Parisian pronunciation could be heard-all evoked deep interest in all aspects of life of this country which had since the times of Peter the Great gained the reputation of a European trendsetter.

In the first place, this concerned the fashion trends followed by Russian women as zealously as by French aristocrats. Together with new fashions, women willingly adopted the new terms connected with them. When famous French portraitist E.-L. Vigee-Lebrun, who came to St. Petersburg in 1795, first appeared in society, hoping to impress it with her costumes, she saw that «antique» attire was already known here. The first «Psyche» of the court was Grand Duchess Elizaveta Alexeevna.

During the reign of Alexander I, who repealed many of his father’s bans, costumes borrowed from the shores of the Aegean Sea and the Tiber were-as the observant Vigel puts it-«renewed on the Seine and assimilated on the Neva. But for uniforms and tailcoats, one could look at the balls as ancient bas-reliefs and Etruscan vases. … everything on the young women and girls was so clean, simple and fresh; their hair coiffured in the shape of a diadem was so becoming to their young foreheads. Undaunted by the severity of winter they wore half-transparent dresses, which fitted tightly to their supple waists and truly outlined their lovely figures… Carved stones were sought after for exorbitant prices, then mounted in gold and inserted in bracelets and necklaces. It was much more antique».(5)

Following the whims of fashion-it was even advised to wet the thin fabric of the dress with water to achieve better effect-wide warm scarves and shawls became immensely popular, especially in the severe Russian climate. From their childhood, girls were taught to beautifully drape themselves in shawls and even to dance with them (pas de châle). While at the end of the 18th century soft woolen scarves with colorful Eastern patterns were mostly imported, in the beginning of the 19th century similar manufactures appeared both in France and Russia. In France the first manufactory producing shawls opened in 1805 under the patronage of Napoleon’s wife Josephine and soon became very popular.

In Russia the best shawls and scarves were made from the soft down of saigas, Angora and Kirghiz goats by serf-masters in the estate workshops, which belonged to Merlina, the Kolokoltsevs, the Elyseevs, the Enikeevs. The ends of threads were hidden so well that right and wrong sides of shawls looked absolutely similar, which was a specifically Russian feature. The process was extremely labor-consuming and even the biggest shops with up to 50 women-workers could produce only about 16 shawls and 5 kerchiefs in a year.(6) It explained very high prices of the most artistic articles: «To marry! It is easy to say-most people see in marriage shawls taken on credit, a new carriage and a pink dressing-gown», A. S. Pushkin wrote in his autobiographical sketch (in French)(7).

Beautiful shawls and scarves did not come out of fashion in Russia till 1830s though the cut and the silhouette of dresses were gradually changing. In the mid 1810s gowns became, according to one contemporary, «narrow as pipes, so short that all foot could be seen and because of that silk shoes of the similar color and fabric went with every dress, and the waist was so short that belt was worn almost under the armpits. Toques and berets were worn on the head … with a whole bunch of feathers and flowers mixed with lace….» And especially unusual were «the hats called chapeau Kibick».(8) The young woman in the engraving «Russian Officer Taking Leave from Parisian Woman» by L.-F. Debucourt (after the drawing by C. Vernet, 1816) is wearing this type of hat; women depicted by artist K. P. Beggrov, who created many views of «Alexander’s» St. Petersburg and its environs, are dressed in the similar fashion.

It is no wonder that when noble Russians, dressed after the Parisian fashion and speaking good French, came to France they felt at home there. In his book about the art of the epoch of Empress Josephine, French scholar B. S. Flamorion quotes as the most characteristic impression the following words of Madam Divova who wrote: «Paris, Paris, after having seen [you] I no longer marvel that the French never travel for pleasure: where else can they find a city like you? Woe to the one who, having got used to your pleasures, sees oneself forced to leave you and who-alas-has not the slightest hope of returning here!»(9)

However, those Russians who had the opportunity to go to Paris repeatedly and live there for a long time could not help noticing the changes connected with the rule of Napoleon Bonaparte. «I found a great change in Paris during the times of the Empire compared to Paris before the revolution,» Count Komarovsky wrote. «Then hardly a military uniform could be seen and now, on the contrary, there are as many of them as can be in a military camp.»(10) Having been given the honor of visiting Napoleon’s residence in the Tuileries, he noted that nothing could look «more majestic and at the same time more bellicose» as the look of «grenadiers of the Imperial Life Guards in bearskin hats… holding their guns,» standing on every step of the palace stairs. It is interesting to note that in 1827 a special guard unit appeared at the Winter Palace-a company of palace grenadiers who also wore tall bearskin hats. The company consisted of veterans of the War of 1812.

A shrewd observer, Komarovsky noticed the gorgeousness of military uniforms, the splendor of ladies’ costumes, the solemnity of court ceremony developed by the emperor. However, remembering the members of «our Imperial House» he appreciated once again «with what refined delicacy they treat their courtiers» in comparison with «these newcomers» to higher society.(11)

The magnificent entourage created for Napoleon by the efforts of dozens of gifted architects and decorators who endeavored to strengthen the prestige of the imperial power by means of art, clearly appealed to the rulers of other states.

During the reign of Alexander I the period of official oblivion of French art was over and it began to be treated as the chief source of inspiration. The thread of creative intercourse severed by Paul I became even stronger: Parisian artists who were actively developing the imagery of the Empire style found in Russia not only spiritual response but also generous customers. And brilliant works of such architects as Andrei Voronikhin, Andreyan Zaharov, and J. Thomas de Thomon were clearly influenced by French art.

Yet, whereas in France the Empire style was generated and encouraged by the power of Napoleon, who presumed to influence the creative process-which could have led to the loss of its emotional expressiveness-the imagery and concepts of Russian culture had different roots. Russian society took the change of ruler in 1801 as an optimistic event and by the 1810s, consolidation of all layers of the Russian population around the figure of Alexander I became indispensable for victory in the expected war. Hence comes the cheerful optimism that can be felt in all Empire works created during this period.

In St. Petersburg with its officialdom the closeness of the imperial court imparted austere and refined character to the Empire style, whereas in Moscow, enjoying the privileges of indolent life, the accepted canons tended to be interpreted with certain freedom. «This city was unknown in Europe, it has from six hundred to eight hundred palaces, as none exist in Paris», Stendhal wrote about Moscow. «Everything there is arranged for pure enjoyment. There is artificial marble and the freshest colors, the most beautiful English furniture, the most elegant mirrors, splendid beds, sofas of the most artful shapes. There is not a room there where one could not make oneself comfortable in four or five different ways, always pleasantly resting against something and feeling at ease; and complete comfort is combined with the most brilliant elegance.»(12) The great Frenchman visited Moscow several months before Napoleon’s troops entered the city and it was devastated by fires. This tragic event resounded painfully in the hearts of all Russian people.

Probably it was the first time that many noble women in the capital, as well as in the provinces, «renounced the French language… put on sarafans, kokoshniks and headbands…»(13) Young girls with the noble bearing of ancient goddesses and wearing traditional Russian costumes became one of the most poetic images in Russian art.

Not long after, there appeared whole series of works of art depicting portraits of war heroes and battle scenes; sometimes they were rendered by the abstract and sublime language of antiquity (as in F. Tolstoy’s bas-reliefs). War imagery became very popular: many articles were decorated with such military attributes as spears, shields, fasciae, laurel wreaths, double-headed eagles, etc.

After the French army fled from Russia, in 1813 a special Commission for the Building of the City of Moscow was created and it existed until 1842. Its tasks included regulation and organization of building up of the city, which had greatly suffered while the enemy had stayed in it. At that time, the best present for noble families moving to new houses was furniture, mostly mahogany, of harmonious Empire forms. Greatly popular was the furniture from the famous St. Petersburg furniture-maker Gambs, who had studied under David Roentgen-a supplier of all European courts. The elegant style of the French school could always be felt in «Gambs’s» articles-executed with German thoroughness sometimes touching on pedantry-because Roentgen had worked for several years in Paris.

In 1816 Alexander I, who wished to impart truly imperial grandeur to the capital of the power that had defeated Napoleon, ordered the creation of the Committee for Buildings and Hydraulic Works. It consisted of the St. Petersburg architects K. Rossi, V. Stasov, and A. Mihailov. Rossi and Stasov were well acquainted with the best European examples of classicism after long training in France and Italy. The order on the creation of the committee stressed the necessity of taking into account the «rightness, beauty and seemliness of every building in application to the whole city».(14) It was at that period that construction, especially in St. Petersburg, reached its highest peak-creating architectural ensembles and within the frameworks of one style-Empire.

Whereas in France during the reign of Louis XVIII it was slowly fading, in Russia, on the contrary, this style reached its pinnacle in the late 1810s and acquired a solemnly triumphant character.

Harmonious unity in all its impressiveness marked Rossi’a creations, whose great energy astonished his contemporaries. Working mostly on the construction of imperial residences and public buildings, he developed Empire style forms on a grand scale unseen before then. The architect was well acquainted with the works of French masters and sometimes even directly quoted solutions found by them. Nevertheless Rossi was always guided by his customers’ tastes, the possibilities of local masters, and peculiarities of Russian climate and mode of life.

The powerful imagination of the architect generated new ideas; and-as is the case with many architects-once taken up by experienced executors the most viable of these ideas were interpreted and reinterpreted and, while staying within the same framework, were enriched by original motifs.

Every prominent architect formed around him a whole team of decorators, joiners, carvers, cabinet-makers and other skillful masters. Becoming like-minded thinkers, they were ready to put into practice any, even the most daring, of the architect’s ideas. The realization of those projects was greatly favored by the fact that many manufactories were flourishing at that time, among them the Imperial Tapestry Manufacture, Imperial Porcelain and Glass Factories, the Stonecutting Factory in Peterhof, and numerous furniture and bronze-casting factories. And among the staff of almost every factory there were French masters who found in Russia both good payment and possibilities for creative self-expression.

The contribution of Frenchmen in the solution of various town-planning and engineering tasks was truly remarkable. Two of them-Augustin Bethencourt (a Spaniard of French origin) and Pierre Bazaine-were at the head of practically all the works of the committee.

In addition, A. Bethencourt was the first director of the Institute of Railway Engineers organized by him (1809—1824); since 1824 this position was occupied by Bazaine. Both of them took an active part in the construction of St. Petersburg bridges, roads, canals, and various monuments that are now an integral part of the city’s landscape. Though work of this kind required considerable joint efforts of large groups of people, the foreign specialists, who did not know a word of Russian, managed to cope quite successfully with their tasks. They felt at ease not only in high society, where everybody spoke their language, but probably among Russian officials as well, since the latter were traditionally inclined to adopt everything foreign.

To a large extent it was thanks to Bethencourt that in 1816 another Frenchman, Auguste Montferrand, came to St. Petersburg. In 1806 he entered the Royal Academy of Architecture in Paris. But his studies were repeatedly interrupted because of military campaigns in which he took an active part. After the Battle of the Arno he was even awarded with the Legion of Honor. However, the professional career of this talented architect began in the last years of Napoleon’s rule, when big construction projects were over.

Only in St. Petersburg, where he worked for over 40 years, did Montferrand manage to realize his potential. And almost as many years-the period from 1817 to 1856-did the architect devote to the construction of his creation, St. Isaac’s Cathedral . «His Majesty gave Bethencourt a verbal order to charge somebody with drawing up a design for the reconstruction of St. Isaac’s Cathedral», wrote Vigel, who at that occupied time the position of secretary-interpretor in the committee. Montferrand was chosen to fulfill this task and he «made twenty-four designs at once or, better to say, drew twenty-four of the most wonderful sketches and bound them into a beautiful album. One could find everything there: Chinese, Indian, Gothic tastes; Byzantine and Renaissance styles; and, of course, purely Greek architecture…»(15) Having looked through the album, which demonstrated Montferrand’s knowledge of the latest trends in art, Alexander, a devoted advocate of simplicity and grandeur, chose a design in the classicist style. As a finished building, St. Isaac’s Cathedral represented for contemporaries one of the last monumental constructions of the late Empire style.

Montferrand’s lot was the happiest among those of his compatriots who came to the Russian capital in search of employment; not only Frenchmen but also Germans, Englishmen, Italians, Swedes, and Danes lived in St. Petersburg. Thanks to their collective efforts, which enriched the local culture, Russia successfully avoided primitive imitation: here recognizable Parisian prototypes were almost inevitably interpreted in a new way. Metaphorically speaking, French quotations here often had a Russian accent, especially in the provinces.

By the end of Alexander I’s rule, an original culture of interior decoration had been developed in St. Petersburg, which foreigners perceived as the «Russian style» of life. Thus Cornelie de Wassenaer wrote in the notes concerning her stay at the Russian court that when she saw Grand Duchess Alexandrine on March 21, 1825, she received her in a «charming little drawing-room furnished in the Russian style».(16) In this case these words should be understood not as a definition of a particular tendency in art (which was to appear later) but as a definition of brilliant and refined style of life reflected in the articles of the epoch of «Alexander’s Empire.»

Natalya Gouseva

(1) Вигель Ф. Ф. Записки. М., 1891. Ч. 2. С. 31.
(2) Карнович Е. П. Замечательные и загадочные личности XVIII и XIX столетий. СПб., 1884. С. 443.
(3) Записки графа Е. Ф. Комаровского. М., 1990. С. 62—63.
(4) Шиман Б. Смерть Павла Перваго. Издание Московскаго К-скаго Т-ва «Образование». Б. г. С. 134.
(5) Вигель Ф. Ф. Указ. соч. С. 38—39.
(6) Моисеенко Е. Ю. Шарфы и шали русской работы первой половины XIX века. Л., 1981. С. 7.
(7) «Участь моя решена. Я женюсь…» // Пушкин А. С. Сочинения: В 3 т. М., 1986. Т. 3. С. 342.
(8) Благово Д. Рассказы бабушки. Л., 1989. С. 288.
(9) «Paris, Paris, apres d’avoir vu, je ne m’etonne plus que les francaises ne voyagent jamais par gout: ou pourraient-elles trouver une ville qui te ressemble? Malheur a celui qui, habitue a tes plaisirs, se voit force de te quitter et qui, helas, n’a point l’espoir d’y revenir!» — Bernard Chevallier Flammarion. L’art vivre au temps de Josephine. Paris, 1998, p. 7.
(10) Записки графа Е. Ф. Комаровского. С. 99—100.
(11) Там же. С. 101.
(12) Stendhal. Lettres intimes. Paris, 1892, p. 315. Цитируется по: Соколова Т. М., Орлова К. А. Глазами современников. Л., 1982. С. 59.
(13) Вигель Ф. Ф. Указ. соч. Ч. 4. С. 66.
(14) Зодчие Санкт-Петербурга XIX — начала ХХ века. СПб., 1998. С. 160.
(15) Вигель Ф. Ф. Указ. соч. Ч. 5. С. 31.
(16) Wassenaer Cornelie de. A visit to St. Petersburg. 1824—1825. Great Britain, 1994, p. 96.