Mikhail Ivanovich Kozlovsky (

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

: Михаил Иванович Козловский; 6 November 1753 – 30 September 1802) was a

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

active during the

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment (also the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment) was a Europe, European Intellect, intellectual and Philosophy, philosophical movement active from the late 17th to early 19th century. Chiefly valuing knowledge gained th ...

Biography

Beginning his training at the

Imperial Academy of Arts The Imperial Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by Ivan Shuvalov, the founder of the Imperial Moscow University, under the name ''Academy of th ...

with

Anton Losenko Anton Pavlovich Losenko (; – ) was a Russian neoclassical painter and academician who specialized in historical subjects and portraits. He was one of the founders of the Imperial Russian historical movement in painting. Life and work Ant ...

in 1764, he went to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

in 1774 and then to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1779. Although his early works harked back to the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

sensibility, Kozlovsky eventually succeeded in adapting his manner to Neoclassical monumentality. In 1788, he returned to Paris with the task of superintending Russian students abroad. He was appointed a professor at the Academy of Arts in 1794 and instructed young sculptors in

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

until his death. Among his classicizing works was the awesome gilt bronze statue of ''Samson Rending the Lion's Jaws'' (1800–1802), a central piece of the Grand Cascade at

Peterhof Palace The Peterhof Palace ( rus, Петерго́ф, Petergóf, p=pʲɪtʲɪrˈɡof; an emulation of German "Peterhof", meaning "Peter's Court") is a series of palaces and gardens located in Petergof, Saint Petersburg, Russia, commissioned by Peter th ...

, symbolizing Russia's victory over

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

in the

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

. After it was looted by the invading Germans, a replacement statue was installed in 1947. Another masterpiece is the Suvorov Monument, an expressive bronze sculpture of Generalissimo

Alexander Suvorov Count Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov-Rymniksky, Prince of Italy () was a Russian general and military theorist in the service of the Russian Empire. Born in Moscow, he studied military history as a young boy and joined the Imperial Russian ...

in the guise of youthful

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

. It was unveiled in the

Field of Mars (Saint Petersburg) The Field of Mars () is a large square in the centre of Saint Petersburg. Over its long history it has been alternately a meadow, park, pleasure garden, military parade ground, revolutionary pantheon and public meeting place. The space now cover ...

a year before the sculptor's death.

Works

SampsonFountainDetail.jpg, The sculpture of

Samson SAMSON (Software for Adaptive Modeling and Simulation Of Nanosystems) is a computer software platform for molecular design being developed bOneAngstromand previously by the NANO-D group at the French Institute for Research in Computer Science an ...

in the central fountain of Peterhof Park Памятник Суворову возле Троицкого моста.jpg, Suvorov Monument: ''

'' as youthful

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

(1799—1801) Cupid by Kozlovsky (1797, GTG) by shakko 05.jpg,

Eros Eros (, ; ) is the Greek god of love and sex. The Romans referred to him as Cupid or Amor. In the earliest account, he is a primordial god, while in later accounts he is the child of Aphrodite. He is usually presented as a handsome young ma ...

(1797) Yakov Dolgorukov burning decree by M. Kozlovsky (GTG, 1796) by shakko 02.jpg, Jacob Dolgoruky, burning royal decree (1796) Ayax defending the body of Patroculus.JPG,

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

protects the body of

Patroclus In Greek mythology, Patroclus (generally pronounced ; ) was a Greek hero of the Trojan War and an important character in Homer's ''Iliad''. Born in Opus, Patroclus was the son of the Argonaut Menoetius. When he was a child, he was exiled from ...

Polykrates by M.Kozlovsky (1790, GRM) 01.jpg,

Polycrates Polycrates (; ), son of Aeaces (father of Polycrates), Aeaces, was the tyrant of Samos from the 540s BC to 522 BC. He had a reputation as both a fierce warrior and an enlightened tyrant. Sources The main source for Polycrates' life and activi ...

(1790)

References

Bibliography

External links

Neoclassical sculptors 19th-century sculptors from the Russian Empire 19th-century male artists from the Russian Empire 18th-century sculptors from the Russian Empire Russian male sculptors 1753 births 1802 deaths Burials at Lazarevskoe Cemetery (Saint Petersburg) {{Russia-sculptor-stub