Close-up of Samson and the lion statue at Peterhof Palace, St. Petersburg
The centerpiece of the fountain in the previous photograph is very eyecatching. It represents the moment when Samson tears open the jaws of a lion, representing Peter the Great's victory over Sweden at the Battle of Poltava (in present day Ukraine) in 1709. It is very symbolic as the lion is an element of the Swedish coat of arms. Furthermore, the battle was fought on June 27, St. Samson's Day. The statue itself is a replica installed in 1947 to replace the original by Mikhail Kozlovsky, which was looted by the Germans during WWII.
What I found really remarkable is the shinyness of this statue and of all of the garden sculptures at Peterhof. Obviously, they were regilded recently. But when? Peterhof Palace and everything in the gardens - statues, fountains, etc. - were badly damaged during WWII and everything had to be reconstructed, a project that began soon after the war and is still ongoing. So, most of what we see at Peterhof today is less than 50 or 60 years old (the original styles have been preserved, however). But the gilding is more recent. In 2003, they celebrated the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg. Much restoration, including regilding, was done for that occasion. But the final shine, I believe, was given only a few weeks before these pictures were taken on August 31, 2013 as Peterhof was being prepared as one of the venues for the G-20 summit which was only a few days away (Sept. 5-6). Although the main venue of the G-20 was the Constantine Palace situated about halfway between Peterhof and St. Petersburg, a dinner for the heads of states followed by a lavish water, music and fireworks show was held here on Thursday, September 5. So, it's no surprise that Samson is so shiny in this photograph!
Close-up of Samson and the lion statue at Peterhof Palace, St. Petersburg
The centerpiece of the fountain in the previous photograph is very eyecatching. It represents the moment when Samson tears open the jaws of a lion, representing Peter the Great's victory over Sweden at the Battle of Poltava (in present day Ukraine) in 1709. It is very symbolic as the lion is an element of the Swedish coat of arms. Furthermore, the battle was fought on June 27, St. Samson's Day. The statue itself is a replica installed in 1947 to replace the original by Mikhail Kozlovsky, which was looted by the Germans during WWII.
What I found really remarkable is the shinyness of this statue and of all of the garden sculptures at Peterhof. Obviously, they were regilded recently. But when? Peterhof Palace and everything in the gardens - statues, fountains, etc. - were badly damaged during WWII and everything had to be reconstructed, a project that began soon after the war and is still ongoing. So, most of what we see at Peterhof today is less than 50 or 60 years old (the original styles have been preserved, however). But the gilding is more recent. In 2003, they celebrated the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg. Much restoration, including regilding, was done for that occasion. But the final shine, I believe, was given only a few weeks before these pictures were taken on August 31, 2013 as Peterhof was being prepared as one of the venues for the G-20 summit which was only a few days away (Sept. 5-6). Although the main venue of the G-20 was the Constantine Palace situated about halfway between Peterhof and St. Petersburg, a dinner for the heads of states followed by a lavish water, music and fireworks show was held here on Thursday, September 5. So, it's no surprise that Samson is so shiny in this photograph!