MIKHAIL CHEMIAKIN (RUSSIAN B. 1943) Peter I, 2002 sterling silver on marble pedestal overall height: 90 cm (35 1/2 in.) the mounted plaques inscribed with artist's signature Chemiakin Design, logo, standard and date: Galmer New York. 925 STERLING SILVER. 7/12/2002 PROVENANCEMimi Ferzt Gallery, New YorkAcquired by the present owner from the aboveEXHIBITEDSt. Petersburg, The State Hermitage Museum, Manege Central Exhibition Hall, Mikhail Chemiakin: Sculpture. Fine Art. Graphic Art. Works of Art., October 15-November 15, 1995The exhibition traveled to: Moscow, State Tretyakov Gallery, 1995Moscow, the Bolshoi Theatre, 1995Moscow, The Russian State University for the Humanities (RGGU), 1995 LITERATUREChemiakin. VI. Jewelry. The State Hermitage. Central Exhibition Hall "Manege." State Tretyakov Gallery (New York: Russian World Gallery, 1995), ex. cat. (illustrated) LOT NOTESThe present lot is a silver replica of one of the most famous Chemiakin sculptures - The Monument of Peter I on the Main Alley of the Peter and Paul Fortress in Saint Petersburg. The artist has stated that the idea behind this sculpture belongs to his old friend, Vladimir Vysotskiy, who once mentioned that since Mikhail has depicted Peter the Great one too many times in drawings and paintings, the artist might as well create a monument of the emperor. The suggestion was quickly dismissed, but Chemiakin revisited it after Vysostsky's death and, in honor of his friend's memory, started to work on creating of one of Saint Petersburg's most controversial sculptures in 1991. While molding the clay cast, the artist first designed the figure considerably smaller in size and proceeded by adding more layers of material to the body and hands, while retaining the original size of the head. This is how the figure became, as Chemiakin says, similar to the images of the saints on Russian religious icons. The sculptor also mentions that the face of emperor is based on the original wax death mask of Peter the Great from the State Hermitage.
