Creative Activity of Adolf Charlemagne

Today the name of Adolf Iosifovich Charlemagne is known just to a group of specialists, but once his drawings in periodicals, book illustrations, and water-color works were well known to Petersburg audience. The creative destiny of the descendent of a family of architects was quite successful. In 1848, he entered the Imperial Academy of Arts, where he studied historical painting and, in 1849, went to military art class, headed by B.P. Willewalde. There he started working at his “Suvorov cycle”. The artist was awarded the Big Golden Medal for the painting “Suvorov at the St. Gotthard Pass” (1855) and, during his pensionary trip to Munich under the guidance of A.E. Kotzebue, he painted the “Last Overnight Stop of Suvorov in Switzerland” (1859), which brought him the title of academician. His mature years were marked by his service as a painter in the Engraving Department of the Expedition of Storing State Papers. The painting “Catherine II in Falconet’s Studio” (1867) brought the artist to the title of professor and, in 1873, he was given the title and position of the Artist of His Majesty. Due to the lack of integrated works dedicated to the creative activity of the artist, only few people know A.I. Charlemagne as an excellent costume designer, decorator, creator of a multitude of musical theater programs, menu cards, drawings for playing cards, as well as his works for the Orthodox and Catholic Churches.

1. Antonov V.V. Brat’ya Sharlemani [The Brothers Char-lemagne], Zodchie Sankt-Peterburga XIX — nach. XX veka [The Architects of St. Petersburg of the 19th — early 20th Century]. St. Petersburg, Lenizdat Publ., 2000, 1071 p.

2. Smirnov V.V. St. Petrischule. Shkola, chto na Nevskom prospekte za Kirkhoi: stareishaya shkola Sankt-Peterburga. 1709—2005 gg. [St. Petrischule. The School on Nevsky Prospect behind the Kirche: the Oldest School of St. Petersburg. 1709—2005]. St. Petersburg, Kolo Publ., 151 p.

3. A.I. Charlemagne. Po povodu 50-letiya khudozhestvennoi deyatel’nosti [On the Occasion of the 50th Anniversary of Artistic Activity], Niva [Grainfi eld], 1895, no. 47, pp. 1129—1130.

4. Plyusnina E.A. Batal’nyi klass Akademii khudozhestv [The Military Art Class of the Academy of Arts], Cand. art diss. Moscow, 2005, 318 p.

5. Shukurova A.E. Kartiny A.I. Sharlemanya v Gatchinskom dvortse [A.I. Charlemagne’s Paintings in the Gatchina Palace], Teoreticheskie i prikladnye voprosy nauki i obrazovaniya: sb. nauch. trudov po materialam Mezhdunarodnoi nauno-prakt. konf. 31 yanvarya 2015 g.: v 16 chastyakh. Ch. 3 [Theoretical and Applied Questions of Science and Education: Proceedings of the International Scientifi c-Prac. Conf., January 31, 2015: in 16 Parts. Part 3]. Tambov, Konsaltingovaya Kompaniya Yukom Publ., 2015, 163 p.

6. Shepelev L.E. Reforma pridvornykh mundirov v 1855— 1856 godakh [The Reform of Court Uniforms in 1855— 1856], Aleksandr II i ego epokha. K 140-letiyu so dnya vosshestviya na prestol: tezisy dokladov konf. [Alexander II and his Epoch. To the 140th Anniversary of his Accession to the Throne: Conference Proc.]. St. Petersburg, 1995, pp. 31—34.

7. Tarasova N.I. Vysochaishego dvora sluzhiteli [Servants of the Imperial Court], Nauka i zhizn’ [Science and Life], 2014, no. 10, pp. 137—144.

8. Arskaya I. (ed.) Igra i strast’ v russkom izobrazitel’nom iskusstve. Katalog [Play and Passion in Russian Fine Art. The Catalogue]. St. Petersburg, Palace Edition Publ., 1999, 358 p.

9. Perelman A.S. Novye fi gury akademika Sharlemanya [New Figures of Academician Charlemagne]. St. Petersburg, Bank Petrovskii Publ., 1995, 98 p.

10. Yakovlev V.V. (ed.) Tri veka Sankt-Peterburga. T. 2. Devyatnadtsatyi vek. Kn. 8. Sh—Ya [Three Centuries of Saint Petersburg. Vol. 2. The Nineteenth Century. Book 8. SH—YA]. St. Petersburg, Filologicheskii Fakul’tet SPbGU Publ., 2011, 1138 p.

11. Kovalyov N.I. Karty menyu — shedevry iskusstva [Menu Cards — Masterpieces of Art], Pitanie i obshchestvo [Food and Society], 1997, no. 7, pp. 35—36.

12. Russkii stil’. Sobranie Gosudarstvennogo Istoriches kogo muzeya: katalog [Russian Style. The Collection of the State Historical Museum: the Catalogue]. Moscow, Ima-Press Publ., 1998, 256 p.

13. Kropotova K.A. Russkaya baletnaya stsenografi ya XIX v. [Russian Ballet Scenography of the 19th Century], Cand. art diss. Moscow, 2008, 172 p.

14. Borovskaya E.A. Grigorii Gagarin. Khudozhnik i ob-shchestvennyi deyatel’. Materialy nauchnoi konferentsii, posvyashchennoi 200-letiyu so dnya rozhdeniya vitse-prezidenta IAKh G.G. Gagarina (17—18 noyabrya 2 010 g.) [Gri gory Gagarin. Artist and Social Activist. Proceedings of the Scientifi c Conference Dedicated to the 200th Anniversary since the Birth of Vice-President of the Imperial Academy of Arts G.G. Gagarin, November, 17—18, 2010]. St. Petersburg, 2011, 215 p.

15. Rossiiskii gosudarstvennyi istoricheskii arkhiv (RGIA) [The Russian State Historical Archive], coll. 1339, aids 1, fol. 9.

16. Borovskaya E.A. Sankt-Peterburgskaya risoval’naya shko-la dlya vol’noprikhodyashchikh uchenikov. K vershinam professional’noi deyatel’nosti [The St. Petersburg Drawing School for Noncredit Students. To the Heights of Professional Activity]. St. Petersburg, Asterion Publ., 2012, 238 p.