Peterhof

Description

This subcollection from the William C. Brumfield Collection -- Photographs of Russian Architecture contains views contains images of Peterhof, a town on the Gulf of Finland in the southwestern suburbs of St. Petersburg. Its main feature is an imperial palace ensemble built primarily between 1705 and 1755 and restored after enormous damage during the German occupation in WWII. The estate was initially planned as a modest country retreat for Peter the Great. However, following Peter’s visit to the Versailles court of Louis XV in 1709, the conceptions for Peterhof underwent a great transformation. It became the “Russian Versailles”, complete with acres of park, dozens of fountains and sculptures, and multiple palaces. Peter and his wife Catherine employed primarily Italian and French architects, whose coordinated efforts and emulation of Dutch and other Northern European architectural traditions resulted in the creation of a unique style called Petrine Baroque, which would be propagated throughout the rest of St. Petersburg