In the Summer Garden, in the very center of a picturesque playground, stands an interesting and unique monument to Krylov. A bronze statue of the famous Russian fabulist sits on a 3.5-meter granite pedestal decorated with characters from fables.
History of the creation of the monument
The monument to Krylov in St. Petersburg was erected in 1855 with private donations. The summer garden was not chosen by chance: it was here that the fabulist liked to walk.
The author of the monument, sculptor P. Klodt, at first wanted to depict Krylov in a Roman toga, this mood was inspired by the idealistic style of the times of Pushkin and Belinsky. However, in the end, he settled on the life image of the great fabulist.
Bronze statue of Ivan Krylov
When looking at the monument to Krylov, one gets the impression that Ivan Andreevich, a little tired, in his favorite long-skirted frock coat, which he wore in the last years of his life, sat down to rest on a stone.
There is a specialspirituality. It seems that he is about to start writing a new fable in his book. In the appearance of I. Krylov there is no pretentiousness and embellishment, only a calm, thoughtful face, on which the sculptor skillfully displayed the mind and talent of the writer.
Granite pedestal
Of particular interest is the square pedestal decorated with the heroes of fables. P. Klodt created figures of animals from life. A whole zoo lived in his workshop: a bear with cubs and a tamed wolf, a monkey brought by A. P. Bogolyubov from the island of Madeira, lambs, a donkey, a crane and other birds and animals. This is probably why the animals on the monument are depicted very realistically.
Only the sculptor had an inexplicable dislike for the goat. The neighbor's grandmother brought her goat every day to the workshop for posing. It was not so easy to keep a shy animal close to a wolf and a bear. However, the great desire of the hostess to perpetuate her pet in bronze bore fruit: the grandmother coped with the stubborn animal, the figure of the goat on the pedestal turned out to be believable and natural.
Fable Characters
Before creating a monument to Krylov, the sculptor read all his works and depicted the characters of 36 fables. Both adults and children recall half-forgotten stanzas on the depicted animals. This explains the keen interest that the monument to Krylov invariably arouses in people. Photos of fragments of the pedestal echo the lines of famous fables. Here is a naughty monkey and a clumsy bear. Did you recognize The Bremen Town Musicians? And here "…The crane stuck its nose up to the neck into the Wolf's mouth…"
The fence, made in the eclectic style fashionable for those times, blends seamlessly with the monument. It was installed 20 years after the end of work and the opening of the pedestal in order to avoid damage to the bas-reliefs.
Once Ivan Andreevich said that his animals from fables speak for him. This is probably why it is very modestly written on the pedestal: “To Krylov 1855”. And indeed, there is nothing to add, it remains only to look at the monument to Krylov and recall the memorable lines from instructive, not devoid of humor, fables.
