Peter Jakob Freiherr Clodt von Jürgensburg (; 5 June 1805 – 25 November 1867) was a Russian sculptor. He was well regarded by

Nicholas I of Russia Nicholas I, group=pron (Russian language, Russian: Николай I Павлович; – ) was Emperor of Russia, List of rulers of Partitioned Poland#Kings of the Kingdom of Poland, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 18 ...

Biography

Born in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, Klodt belonged to a distinguished family of

Baltic Germans Baltic Germans ( or , later ) are ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their resettlement in 1945 after the end of World War II, Baltic Germans have drastically decli ...

, the Clodt von Jürgensburgs. The family's origin remains unknown, but many speculate that it originated in Westphalia. Klodt started his career as a professional artillery officer and amateur sculptor. He attended classes at the Imperial Academy of Arts in

, where his mastery in depicting horses eventually won him the rank of academician and the praise of the Emperor. As legend has it, Nicholas I remarked of Klodt that he "creates horses finer than any prize stallion does". Klodt's most famous group of

equestrian statue An equestrian statue is a statue of a rider mounted on a horse, from the Latin ''eques'', meaning 'knight', deriving from ''equus'', meaning 'horse'. A statue of a riderless horse is strictly an equine statue. A full-sized equestrian statue is a ...

s, the ''Horse Tamers'', was installed at the Anichkov Bridge in 1851. He also produced the bronze statue of Ivan Krylov in the Summer Garden (1848–55). It was the first monument to a poet erected in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. Klodt collaborated with Vasily Demut-Malinovsky on the statue of Saint Vladimir in

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

(installed in 1853) and the statuary for the Narva Triumphal Gate. He also sculpted a quadriga above the portico of the

Bolshoi Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈat(ə)r, t=Grand Theater) is a historic opera house in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové. Before the October Revolutio ...

in Moscow. Klodt's last significant work was a posthumous tribute to his patron, a horse statue for the equestrian Monument to Nicholas I on Saint Isaac's Square. Installed in 1856–1859, it was the first equestrian statue in the world with only two support-points (the rear feet of the horse). Even the Bolsheviks, who destroyed the memorials to Nicholas I across Russia, did not dare to demolish this unique statue. Klodt died in his estate in the

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed from 1809 to 1917 as an Autonomous region, autonomous state within the Russian Empire. Originating in the 16th century as a titular grand duchy held by the Monarc ...

( autonomous state of the

) on 20 November 1867. His son and nephew Mikhail continued the artistic traditions of the family and became notable painters of the Peredvizhniki school.

Gallery

File:The monument to Nicholas I on St Isaac's Square 1890-1900.jpg, The monument to

in St. Petersburg, late 19th century photochrome print. File:Isaak square.jpg, The monument to

, modern view. File:Клодт.Император Николай I.jpg, The monument to

, close-up. File:Anichkov bridge horse tamer 3.jpg, One of the horse tamers on the Anichkov Bridge, St. Petersburg. File:Krylov summer garden.jpg, The statue of Ivan Krylov in the Summer Garden in

Biography

Gallery

See also

Notes

References

Sources

Further reading