The Eriklik of Empress Maria Alexandrovna: The Metaphysics of Aesthetic Experience

This article explores the role of the imperial commission, the artistic qualities, and the perception of the summer mountain dacha Eriklik, a masterpiece of landscape art within the Livadia estate in Crimea. The study aims to interpret the semantics of the palace and park ensemble based on the aesthetic experience of Empress Maria Alexandrovna (1824—1880), the owner and author of the architectural design. Biographical documents and letters from the commissioner reveal the mental, intellectual, and sensory vision of the Eriklik mountain retreat, which possessed a therapeutic quality that could influence the viewer’s mindset, spirituality, and physical well-being, thereby inspiring contemplation and philosophical meditation. The study explores the transcendental, creative potential of the individual, through the power of thought, imagination, and artistic memory, that is, extrasensory experience to imbue the natural landscape with the qualities of a work of art. This is the first analysis of the influence of childhood experiences on Empress Maria Alexandrovna’s worldview and artistic tastes. The paper examines in detail the young princess’s introduction to the way of life and customs of her parents’ German courts of Hesse and Baden, the philosophy and poetry of German Romanticism, the works of J.W. Goethe, and her passion for chinoiserie. It shows how the conceptions of art formed in childhood were reflected in a sovereign, individual vision of the image of Eriklik. The logic behind the inclusion of such a unique and extraordinary landscape ensemble in the context of the Empress’s biography is revealed. The work draws on previous and new research on the biography of Empress Maria Alexandrovna. Her letters, addressed to her brother Karl, Prince of Hesse and Rhine, mentioning Eriklik are published for the first time. Documentary data on the history of construction, architecture, planning and development, and park design are supplemented by drawings and photographs discovered in archives. The topic of the typical view from Eriklik in Russian painting is addressed. The issue of the current state of the monument is raised.