Moscow triumphal arches for the coronation of Catherine II in the sources of the 1760s. New materials

The triumphal arches “for the occasion” as part of the ceremonial culture of Russia of the 18th century have not survived to the present day. Only graphic and written sources allow us to recreate their appearance. This article presents and analyzes new, as well as little-researched archival materials on the construction and existence of the Moscow triumphal arches in 1762, dedicated to the coronation of Catherine II. The work with such materials is based on the methods of source studies, art criticism, historical, cultural and iconographic analysis. The main object of this study were two groups of arch inventories from 1762 and 1766 and the documents accompanying them. Special attention is paid to the project of the triumphal arches program, the study of which helps to assess the level of development of allegorical culture in Russia at that time. The authors of this project and the circle of people who participated in its testing are also identified. The written materials presented and analyzed in the article made it possible to reconstruct in sufficient detail the appearance of the realized triumphal arches of 1762, trace the construction process and the further fate of temporary monuments, and complement the creative biographies of the masters involved in the works. The study clarified the number and location of paintings, emblems, statues and inscriptions, the technique and materials of their execution, the color scheme of festive ensembles, as well as the decoration of the inner surface of the arched spans and the space adjacent to the triumphal arches. Together with graphic sources, the written materials considered in the article significantly enriched the available information about the art of festive decoration of the city, the established mechanism of preparation for official celebrations and the artistic life of Moscow in the 18th century.