1907 State Russian Museum. Saint Petersburg.
Paper on cardboard, gouache, watercolor. 59.6 x 82

Painting by Alexandre Benois Parade during the reign of Paul I was part of a series of canvases on subjects from Russian history commissioned by the artist in 1907 by historian S. A. Knyazkov.

The artist takes the viewer into late XVIII centuries. A picture of an army parade unfolds on the winter parade ground. Emperor Paul I, in the company of his two sons, watches what is happening. Representatives of the royal dynasty are depicted on horseback. The figures of the horsemen are full of comical grandeur. They look arrogantly at a group of soldiers and officers. One of the servants, stretching out and tearing off his cocked hat from his head, froze, dumb with horror under the withering gaze of the royal person.

In the foreground of the picture Parade during the reign of Paul I Alexandre Benois portrays a barrier. The introduction of this object into the composition is quite symbolic. On the one hand, he does not allow the viewer to immerse himself in what is happening, on the other hand, he closes the exit for the emperor: in the background of the canvas, against the background of a gloomy sky, the fatal facade of the unfinished Mikhailovsky Castle is menacingly outlined - here on the night of March 12, 1801, as a result of a conspiracy, Paul I will be killed by officers .

The painting Parade during the reign of Paul I reflected historical and cultural reminiscences characteristic of

Parade under Paul I. 1907

Benois A.N.
Cardboard, gouache, whitewash
59.6 x 82.5

Russian Museum

annotation

The romantic Mikhailovsky Castle appears in Benoit's drawing in all the splendor and splendor of those short forty days of February - March 1801, when it was the royal residence. On the square in front of the castle, from which the scaffolding has not yet been removed, Pavel takes part in the parade. The theme of the parade was not chosen by chance. Every movement of those clad in the green and red Prussian uniform " tin soldiers"with funny pigtails is calculated and verified, everything is subordinated to the general order and rhythm, there is no place for anything that the charter does not provide for. The parade is a kind of symbol of the Pavlovian era, which ended so darkly and mysteriously with the assassination of Paul I in the Mikhailovsky Castle on March 11, 1801.
In the artist’s perception, Paul I is a very romantic image, full of knightly nobility, but also tragically insane.
The painting was made as part of a series of paintings for a series by book publisher I.N. Knebel "Russian History in Pictures" and became the best among the artist's historical compositions. This cycle, in addition to works by Benois, also included works by V.A. Serov, M.V. Dobuzhinsky, E.E. Lansere and other famous masters.

Author biography

Benois A.N.

Benois Alexander Nikolaevich (1870, St. Petersburg - 1960, Paris)
Painter, graphic artist, theater artist, art critic, theorist and art historian, museum activist.
Volunteer at the Imperial Academy of Arts (1887-1888), then studied under the guidance of his brother, Albert Nikolaevich, chairman of the Society of Russian Watercolorists.
In 1890-1894 he studied at St. Petersburg University. Inspirer, one of the organizers and chief theoretician of the World of Art society. Member of the Union of Russian Artists (1903-1910), lifelong member of the Autumn Salon in Paris.
He began working as a theater artist in 1900, and in 1907 as a director. In the 1890-1910s he traveled extensively throughout Europe. In 1917 - one of the organizers of the Commission on Arts for negotiations with the Provisional Government on the protection of monuments of art and antiquities. Since 1917 - member of the Hermitage Council. In 1918-1926 - curator of the department of French and English painting at the State Hermitage. From 1926 he lived permanently in Paris. He worked a lot to design performances in theaters in Paris and Milan.
The most prominent representative of the Benois artistic dynasty. Main topics of work - Russia and France XVIII - early XIX century. Author of a number of series of graphic works, including "Versailles" (1905-1906), a cycle of compositions on historical themes, landscapes of St. Petersburg and the surrounding area.
He worked a lot in book graphics. Left memories.

Alexander Nikolaevich Benois (1870-1960), like all the world of arts, loved and knew the 18th century immensely and, of course, could not ignore its enchanting end, when Catherine’s son was on the throne Great Emperor Pavel Petrovich, who lasted in power for less than five years. For Russian society these were extraordinary, memorable years. Paul came to power after the death of Catherine on November 6, 1796. He came to the capital from Gatchina, where he had lived for the last 20 years according to his own, semi-Prussian rules, surrounded by people close to him, who received the nickname “Gatchina residents.” And immediately it seemed to the residents of the capital that a landing party of a foreign power had landed in St. Petersburg: the emperor and his people were dressed in unfamiliar half-Prussian uniforms, which Paul introduced into his Gatchina army. And they also behaved unusually for the liberal St. Petersburg of Catherine. From the first day of his reign, Paul began to transfer the Gatchina militarized order to the capital. Black and white striped booths brought from Gatchina appeared on the streets of St. Petersburg, and a strict curfew was established for the city that had never slept before, partying until the morning. After eight in the evening, no one had the right to stick their nose out into the street, otherwise they could fall into the clutches of the Arkharovites - that’s what the subordinates of the ferocious military governor of the capital N.P. Arkharov were called. It is not for nothing that the word “Arkharovites” as a symbol of “legal lawlessness” remained in the people’s memory, survived the time of Paul and many other times - the phenomenon persists!

Why did Paul become such an unexpectedly cool, stern ruler? After all, the young Tsarevich once dreamed of the establishment of legal order in Russia, he wanted to be a humane ruler, to reign according to “indispensable” laws containing goodness and justice. But it's not that simple. Paul's philosophy of authority was complex and contradictory. Like many Russian rulers, he tried to combine the power of autocracy and civil liberties, “personal power” and “executive power” - in a word, he tried to combine the incompatible. In addition, during the years of waiting for his “turn” to the throne (he ascended the throne at the age of 41), a whole icy mountain of hatred and revenge grew in Paul’s soul. He hated his mother, her orders, her favorites, her leaders, and in general the world in which she lived. And as you know, you can rule with hatred in your soul, but not for long...

As a result, no matter what Paul thought about law and law, the ideas of tightening discipline and regulation began to dominate in all his policies. He began to build an exclusively “executive state.” This is the root of his tragedy... The fight against the “licentiousness” of the nobles meant, first of all, the infringement of their rights; establishing order in various spheres led to unjustified cruelty. Pavel was unable to separate the main, fundamental from the secondary; he was drowning in trifles. And it was these that people remembered. So, everyone laughed when he forbade the use of the words “snub-nosed” (a reference to his appearance) or “Mashka” (a reference to Empress Maria Feodorovna). In pursuit of discipline, he knew no limits. Residents of St. Petersburg heard many wild decrees. In April 1800, the import from abroad of “all kinds of books, no matter what language they may be in, without seizure” was prohibited<…>, evenly and music,” that is, notes (I was afraid that they would import the notes of “La Marseillaise”). Then it was ordered that all private printing houses be “sealed so that nothing can be printed in them.” True, this ridiculous order soon had to be canceled - labels, tickets and shortcuts disappeared in the city. Paul issued a special order that you can clap your hands in the theater only when the sovereign does it, and vice versa, if the sovereign stops clapping, then the rest of the audience should do the same. The police furiously attacked passers-by who dared to ignore the imperial decrees banning the wearing of vests, fashionable shoes and round “French” hats. Communication with the emperor became painful - he was suspicious and capricious. It was especially dangerous to meet the emperor himself on the street, who was extremely strict towards appearance passers-by It so happened that in the place of the humane, tolerant Catherine the Great, suddenly there was a nervous, uncontrollable, absurd person. Seeing that his decrees were not being carried out, he was indignant, punished, and scolded. As N.M. Karamzin wrote, Pavel, “to the inexplicable surprise of the Russians, began to reign in universal horror, not following any regulations except his own whim; considered us not subjects, but slaves; executed without guilt, rewarded without merit, took away the shame of execution, the beauty of reward, humiliated ranks and ribbons with wastefulness in them<…>. He taught heroes, accustomed to victories, to march...”

It was the emperor’s fight against so-called “depravity” in the army that people remembered most of all. In principle, he proceeded from a good goal - the army demanded the restoration of order. During the time of Catherine, embezzlement reigned there, officers shirked duty, spent years on leave, and there was no proper combat training for troops. Paul tried to correct the situation through harsh discipline, the introduction of Prussian service regulations, and strengthening drill. The parade - a previously common procedure during the changing of the palace guard - suddenly turned under Paul into an important state affair, which took place with the obligatory presence of the emperor and the heir to the throne. The raising of the guard in all countries was usually arranged and is still furnished solemnly and even festively: this symbolically emphasized the importance and honor of the guard service in protecting the peace and safety of the ruling person or protecting a sacred place. This event was also an important psychological shake-up for the guards who took over the post. And even now, to watch the deployment of the Marine Corps guard at Arlington Cemetery in the USA or the guards at Buckingham Palace in London, on the Indo-Pakistani border, at the Mausoleum in Moscow, at the Royal Palace in Stockholm and at eternal flame in Athens, thousands of people gather - so colorful is this spectacle with all its attributes: sometimes unnatural steps, almost circus tricks with throwing carbines, music and drumming. But the parade on the initiative of the Prussian king Frederick the Great became not just a changing of the guard, but a long-term (for several hours) ceremonial procedure with complex formations of units while observing the distance between ranks and units defined by the regulations, with special teams not used in combat training, with fancy tricks espantons (spears) and guns, with special melodies and marches of the orchestra. The shift parades were carried out in everyday, festive or ceremonial uniforms. The presence (and it was almost indispensable) at the watch parade of the sovereign and all the senior officers of the garrison turned the changing of the palace guard into many hours of torture for officers and soldiers and terrified all participants: the overly strict emperor, who sought to “bring up the army” through the watch parade, did not tolerate a single mistake , and rarely did the parade not end with punishments. This is how a military historian describes the Pavlovsk shift parade: “All military generals, headquarters and chief officers, free from other positions, gathered daily for divorce at 9 o’clock in the morning, which sometimes lasted until 12. The Emperor very precisely arrived before the arrival of the battalion giving the divorce and personally appointed a point on the right flank, along which officers were placed to mark the line along which the guard would take up positions. After that, the banner was brought from the Winter Palace, the army greeted it with salutation, drumming and music, and the emperor himself took off his hat and everyone present behind him. After that, he walked around the battalion, examining each soldier personally and paying strict attention to individual bearing. Then the emperor carried out a teaching with several evolutions. The Emperor personally gave the command, which was received from him by the headquarters officer on guard duty, which lasted about an hour. At the end of the infantry training, a cavalry platoon rode out and performed various formations. Then the sovereign received the reports of those presenting themselves and after that, with the password, gave the highest order. At the end, the troops marched in a ceremonial manner; as the banners passed, the sovereign and those present took off their hats. Grand Dukes Alexander Pavlovich and Konstantin Pavlovich passed on the right flank of the first two ranks. After the ceremony, the main guard followed to the palace, where in the courtyard, in the presence of the sovereign, the old guard replaced the old guard, from which the banner was taken to the inner chambers.” The parade parades became a true torture for the soldiers and a difficult test for the officers, and it was said that when going to the parade parade, many of the officers took money with them in case the angry emperor sent the offending officer into exile straight from the parade ground. For his painting, Benoit chose a parade in front of the Mikhailovsky Castle in the presence of the emperor sitting on horseback. Judging by the undismantled scaffolding, the castle was still being completed, that is, all the action took place at the end of the winter of 1801. True, there are doubts as to whether it would have been possible then, due to the ongoing construction, to hold a shift parade on the Place de la Constable, in front of the monument to Peter the Great by Rastrelli, erected by Paul in 1800. And although Benois, as in his other paintings on themes XVIII century, did not escape irony, but this time it is quite moderate and the canvas quite realistically reflects the general painful atmosphere of a winter St. Petersburg morning on the parade ground...
As you know, Paul’s strictness and whims did not end well. A conspiracy matured against him; on the night of March 11, 1801, the emperor was killed in Mikhailovsky Castle. But the parades continued for many decades: Pavel’s sons Alexander, Konstantin, Nikolai and Mikhail, as if with their mother’s milk, absorbed Pavel’s love for step training and enjoyed drilling.

Painting by A.N. Benoit's "Parade under Paul I", outgrowing a scene from military life, creates a multifaceted image, close to satire in its concentrated power of generalization, leaving behind all the works of Russian graphics and painting dedicated to the Russia of Pavlov's times - cold, barracks Russia, pulled into a narrow Prussian uniform a model ossified in cruel and senseless drill. In the last picture one should not see direct associations with the life of contemporary Russian artists. We can only talk about personal experiences, the author’s thoughts about the reaction, about modern St. Petersburg with its police regime and Russian rulers.

It was they who helped form a sharp artistic image, which was ahead of both historical science and literature about Paul I (in particular, the artist penetrates into the past incomparably deeper than Merezhkovsky in his historical dramatizations). “Parade” is the highest achievement in Benoit’s cycle of works dedicated to national history, as, indeed, the best among his historical compositions in general.

Contemporaries noticed that the positive results of Paul's reign were felt in the provinces, but in St. Petersburg, where the emperor interfered in all matters, “daily horror reigned.” What was frightening was not so much Paul’s innovations as his intolerance and pettiness, which bordered on madness: any deviation from the rules established by the emperor became a crime, and the violator was lucky if he remained free. Paul pardoned state criminals of Catherine's time, but many honest people were sent into exile only because of minor violations of dress code or the inability to walk gracefully in a parade.

Pavel made a real revolution in the army. Prussian-style uniforms were the most noticeable, but by no means the most important, innovation. The fact is that, despite all the victories, the combat readiness of Catherine’s army was extremely weak. Three-quarters of the officers were listed only on paper, new ranks were received only through patronage, desertion became widespread, and the service life of guns reached 40 years. Guards officers did not bother themselves with service, preferring balls, feasts and court intrigues. Paul introduced new regulations within a few weeks and new system control of the armed forces, and also improved the maintenance of soldiers.

Although Paul surrounded himself with his own people, there was no persecution of Catherine’s nobles - most of them retired with promotions in rank. Even the alleged murderer of Peter III, Count Alexei Orlov-Chesmensky, often dined with Paul. In general, contemporaries tended to exaggerate the scope of Paul's repressions when they talked about thousands of nobles exiled to Siberia and imprisoned in a fortress. Pavel, undoubtedly, was easy to deal with, but most of those arrested were released within a matter of days, often with a promotion in rank.

It is more difficult to assess Paul's legislative activity. During the four years of his reign, 2,179 pieces of legislation were adopted, often contradicting each other. They were mainly aimed at strengthening the power of the monarch and the state apparatus. The nobility lost part of its rights, which were guaranteed by Catherine's Charter; cities lost self-government; private printing houses were closed and censorship was introduced; Subjects were forbidden to leave the country and import foreign books from abroad. But the common people felt some relief under Paul. The financial situation of the white clergy improved; state peasants received self-government; Freedom of religion was introduced in Russia, and Old Believers received the right to build their own churches. Opponent of the expansion of the empire, Paul allowed the use Polish language on the annexed Polish lands and the special status of Courland.

Paul's most important act was the abolition of Peter's decree on succession to the throne. From now on, the throne passed from the sovereign to his eldest son. At the same time, the “Institution on the Imperial Family” was adopted, which determined the order of maintenance of the members of the reigning family.

Regarding serfdom, Paul's policy was ambiguous. On the one hand, the situation of the serfs improved: compulsory work for the landowner was limited to three days a week, the landowner could be punished for cruelty to the serfs. On the other hand, during the four years of his reign, Paul gave away about 600 thousand souls - slightly less than Catherine gave away during more than three decades on the throne.

Napoleon I Bonaparte. Lithograph by M. Levin

It was also controversial foreign policy Pavel. He wanted peaceful coexistence with all states, but international situation at the turn of the century did not help this at all. Initially, he continued Catherine's policies, trying to curb the spread of ideas French Revolution. Russia opened its doors to French emigrants and entered into an alliance with Austria and England. At the same time, Paul hoped to extend Russian influence throughout the Eastern Mediterranean. He hoped to achieve this by concluding an alliance with Turkey. For the same purpose, on January 4, 1797, Paul took under the protection Order of Malta(Order of St. John), and when Malta was captured by the French, he accepted the title of Grand Master of the order. All this led to a clash between Russia and Republican France, which also sought dominance in this part of the Mediterranean.

View of the Mikhailovsky Castle in St. Petersburg. Artist F. Alekseev. 1799‑1800

In 1798, an army under the command of Napoleon headed for Egypt. Napoleon had to provide France with access to India, the pearl of the English crown. Pavel declared war on France and sent a squadron under the command of Admiral Fyodor Ushakov to the Mediterranean Sea. The Admiral, acting in conjunction with Turkish fleet, expelled the French from the Ionian Islands and created a republic there, which was actually under Russian control. At the same time, Montenegro offered its union to Russia, the only Slavic state in the Balkans, which did not fall under power Ottoman Empire. Thus, the Russian fleet found a reliable base in the Adriatic. The opponents of France, Austria and England, convinced Paul to send an army under the command of A.V. Suvorov against the French troops. The famous commander defeated the French in northern Italy and led Russian troops through the St. Gotthard Pass to Switzerland, but the victory turned out to be meaningless - the allies abandoned the Russian army to their fate. Paul was even more offended by the actions of the British: having taken Malta from the French, they did not even think of giving it to him, the Grand Master of the Order. Therefore, on January 4, 1800, Paul decided to offer France an alliance.

Napoleon had by that time become the first consul of the republic, and in his transformations Paul saw the implementation of some of his ideas. He immediately began to act: he expelled all French emigrants from Russia, including the contender for the French throne, Louis XVIII, and sent 22,500 Don Cossacks to conquer India (they had to get there, of course, by land). In response, a British fleet appeared in the Baltic Sea, and the British ambassador to Russia provided material assistance to the organizers of the conspiracy against Paul I.

Discontent with the “mad” emperor reached its peak on the night of March 12, 1801. The conspirators broke into Mikhailovsky Castle and killed Pavel. The conspiracy was headed by the Governor of St. Petersburg, Count Peter Palen. Among the killers were the Zubov brothers (Platon Zubov was the last favorite of Catherine II). Not the least role in the conspiracy was played by Pavel’s eldest son Alexander, who was once very close to his father, but last years sharply critical of his rule. But twenty-three-year-old Alexander did not imagine that he would have to pay so dearly for a change of government, and fell into complete despair. Then Count Palen said to him: “Enough with childishness, go reign!”