Kozlovsky Mikhail Ivanovich (1753-1802)

The son of a naval trumpeter. He studied at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts (1764-73) NF Gillet, A. Losenko, was a pensioner of Arts. In Rome (in 1774-79) and Paris (in 1779-80), where he also worked in 1788-90.

From 1794 academician and professor of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. K. - one of the greatest sculptors of the Russian classicism of his work is permeated with the ideas of the Enlightenment, the sublime humanism and vibrant emotion. Having experienced the first effects of the Baroque style, Kozlowski has in earlier works (reliefs for the Marble Palace in St. Petersburg, marble, 1787, "Vigil of Alexander the Great", marble, 1780., Russian Museum, Leningrad) expressed the desire for strict plasticity works, balance composition, the interest in the Civil historical topics. In the statue, "Polycrates' (plaster, 1790, Russian Museum), full of tragic pathos, again felt the dynamics and complexity of the silhouette, reminiscent of Baroque sculpture. In subsequent years, K. creates thin plastic, full of gentle grace and harmonious images of the beautiful people in the pastoral, idyllic statues ("Sleeping Cupid", marble, 1792, Russian Museum). He concentrated on the theme feat, the characters of the national history ("Jacob Dolgoruky, tearing the royal decree," marble, 1797, Tretyakov Gallery), it creates the perfect allegorical embodiment of military glory of Russia ("Hercules on a horse", bronze, 1799, Russian Museum) . Allegory of the victory over Sweden Peter I had a full statue of a powerful stress for the Grand Cascade in Petrodvorets "Samson tearing the lion's mouth" (gilded bronze, 1800-02; stolen by the Nazis during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45, reconstructed in 1947 by the sculptor VL Simonov). The most important product of K - a monument to Alexander Suvorov (bronze, 1799-1801, now at the Suvorov Square in Leningrad) - the figure of a young warrior, characterized clear plastic form, strict expressive movement, silhouette, rhythm, a sense of quiet confidence. K. was a great master of the figure, turned to historical and genre subjects. Among the students K. - SS Pimenov, V. Demuth-Malinovsky.