V.Gazenberger
At the St. Petersburg Museum of Military History, Artillery, and Signal Troops, an outstanding collection of figurines of Russian cavalry and infantry soldiers of the time of Nickolay the 1st and Alexander the 2nd invariably attracts one's attention. Many of the museum's visitors remember this collection lon after.The name of the author is stated on the base of the cavalry figurines – Gazenberger. The infantry figurines have no sign of the author's name, but the technique is quite similar, which shows that the figurines were made in the same workshop.
We do not know the exact time of Gazenberger's birth; probably he was born in 1805 or so. His father found refuge in Russia during the Napoleonic wars and decided to stay here forever. Vasily Gazenberger joined the Russian Orthodox church, took the citizenship and spent all his life in Russia. The sculptor died on May 28, 1865.
Today the museum's collection holds thirty two cavalry and sixty one infantry figurines.
Vasily Gazenberger's sculptures are not the result of a historical reconstruction, but the portraits of real military men from different horse guards and army chiefs regiments of the time! The differences in the uniform of some regiments reflect the reforms that were taking place at the time. For each figurine, the uniform and weapons are those that existed in the year when the sculpture was made. The figurines were modelled upon real people, which adds greatly to their value. Some of them have feature likeness to the person who served as model. The problems of the authenticity of some of the details in weapons and uniform just do not arise in this case. Moreover, the figurines may serve themselves as reference for future researches.
After Gazenberger chose plaster as the main materials that gave the most plausible impression for the details (wood, leather, metal, cloth, oakum to imitate hair, etc.). Moreover, Gazenberger found a way to cover his figurines with tow from real fabrics used for army uniforms to imitate clothes. Not only the cloth surface looked very realistic, but the colours were also the actual shades of the military uniform. Such details as weapons, buckles, galloons, banners and metal plates were at first made by the sculptor himself, but later he could involve jewellers and seamstresses from the Emperor's workshops. At first, the metal details were imitated with the use of tin foundry. The metal details of the later figurines, however, were made of the same materials that were used for the original military ammunition (steel, bronze, silver, etc.). This technique, developed in the 1850's, determines the inimitable style of the collection. Miniature galloons were woven; miniature brass and copper coats of armour, buttons, and buckles were stamped; helmets, cuirasses, chain mails, guns and rifles, dagers and swords were made. The infantry figures, however, were not so complicated. They were painted instead of being covered with tow; buttons and coats of armour were embossed on a gilded paper, and belts instead of a leather were done on a dense paper. Laces, epaulettes and other it was made from plaster and if it was necessary – gilded or silvered. Exception made the weapon which was done, both for horse, and for the pedestrian, equally. The weapon was originally cast from tin, and then carried out in the form of exact model.
By consideration of a collection it becomes obvious, that behind some exception before us gallery of the bottom grades of Guards and the Army, differed faultless service. It is a unique collection of exemplary soldiers of which any army of the world because each of them has got in this gallery for patient soldier's difference in heavy, routine, daily military service would be proud.
However among the figures immortalizing of the bottom grades, sometimes there are also officers: a horse figure of captain of Life–guards Horse a shelf, a horse figure of a cornet of Life–guards horse–grenadierial a shelf.
The creative life of the author proceeded between 1827 and 1865, practically all has left on creation of an imperial collection which customers were emperor Nikolay I, and after its death – grand duke Michael Nikolaevich.
Composed by: Vyctor Malyshev, Alexey Aranovich
