The State Library of Paul I

The decoration of the State Library was done by the architect Vincenzo Brenna, who finished it in 1789–1791, following the original plan of Charles Cameron. After the fire of 1803, the decor was partially modified by Andrey Voronikhin. This is the main room in the Northern State Suite of the owner of the palace Pavel Petrovich, its decor reflects the ideas of the Age of Enlightenment and the moral and righteous tasks of the enlightened monarch. This is emphasized by the painting of the plafond Truth Expelling Vices (originally made by the decorator Giovanni Battista Scotti, recreated after World War II by A.V. Treskin), busts of the ancient goddesses Juno and Minerva (on the round furnaces at the corners of the central wall), as well as a sculptural composition Attributes of Sciences (designed by Andrey Voronikhin) in the overdoor. Low bookcases are lined along the walls, holding Emperor Paul I's collection of books on history, philosophy, and the art of war. The centerpiece of this collection is the Road Library collection Catherine II presented to her son. Marble boards on the cabinets house a collection of sculptures: antique and Italian busts acquired in Italy during the trip, Sleeping Cupid, the sculpture of Mikhail Kozlovsky, marble statuettes Love and Fidelity by Charles-Antoine Bridan, the French sculptor of the 18th century. There are also porcelain vases of the Imperial Porcelain Manufactory with silhouette portraits of Pavel Petrovich and Maria Feodorovna in medallions, and decorative jasper vases (Russia, Kolyvan Lapidary Factory, master Philip Strizhkov, 1795). The walls of the Library are decorated with French pile rugs of the Savonnerie manufactory presented by the King Louis XVI of France. They feature scenes from Jean de La Fontaine's fables: The Fox and the Rooster, The Crow and the Fox, The Wolf and the Crane, The Deer and the Stream, The Rooster and the Pearl grain, The Fox and the Grapes.

On the central wall, there is a ceremonial portrait of Maria Feodorovna, the mistress of Pavlovsk, by the Austrian artist Johann Baptist von Lampi (1795). The artist emphasizes not only the family virtues of the mistress of Pavlovsk but also her artistic talents. Holding a pencil, Maria Feodorovna demonstrates her own drawing with profile images of her children.

In the center of the Library, there is a large mahogany desk on 12 ivory column legs, purposely made for the Library as per the project of Vincenzo Brenna in the workshop of Heinrich Gambs and Jonathan Ott in 1794. The main decoration of the table is a temple in the antique flair with ivory columns and details of gilded bronze and amber. This unique table decoration was designed by Vincenzo Brenna and done by master engraver Johannes (Nikolay) Fay together with Maria Feodorovna. Here is how Maria Feodorovna herself described it in 1795: “On the pediment of the temple, there is a cameo of the Grand Duke inserted in white glass, on which I wrote a trophy with a grisaille. On the other side of the pediment, is the monogram of the Grand Duke. In the middle of the temple, there is an octagonal altar of amber and ivory; on the middle face in the medallion, is my monogram written on glass and inserted in amber; on the other faces are also inserted the monograms of my seven children, starting with Alexander. I drew all the monograms of the children in roses and myrtles; mine is made up of small blue flowers.” On the pedestal altar, there is a bronze figure of the goddess Vesta, the guardian of the hearth. On the sides of the temple are two lamps made of bronze and ivory, they are decorated with cameo portraits of Paul I by Maria Feodorovna. She also made the writing set of amber and ivory and presented it to Pavel Petrovich. Another temple in the form of an antique rotunda stands on a cabinet under the portrait of Maria Feodorovna; it has her signature and date: 1790.

The furniture set was recreated using two preserved chairs (they also present here) by masters B. Yankovsky, N. Zverev, and A. Vinogradov.