L. V. Siagaeva, O. P. Gorina et al.

Kuskovo: k 90-letiiu Muzeia-usad'by (Kuskovo: [Published on the Occasion of] the Ninetieth Anniversary of the Museum-Estate)

Moscow: Triton, 2016. Sewn pb. This catalogue gives a dazzling overview of Kuskovo, the name of a great palace and park ensemble outside Moscow dating to the second half of the eighteenth-century and belonging to the Sheremetevs. Expertly photographed interiors show the design details and the works of fine and decorative that adorn the rooms of the country estate. Views of exteriors, gardens, and park structures together with original plans and design drawings convey both the process of construction and the magnificent results attained by various architects, chief of whom was Fedor Argunov, originally a peasant on the Shcheremetov estate. 295 p., 29 cm, approx. 300 color illus., Rus. Item #2859
ISBN: 9785904426385

Chapter headings: The Sheremetevs, biographical sketches and portraits by Ivan Argunov; Catherine II (the Great) at Kuskovo; Park and Palace Ensemble; Church and Belfry, first constructed in the 1730s; the Palace, designed by K. I. Blank in the 1770s. The interiors are presented systematically with illustrations of the each space as a whole and many details of ornamentation such as wall- and ceiling-paintings of the mid eighteenth century, marble walls and parquet floors, works of applied and decorative art: Meissen and Gardner porcelain are plentiful; vignettes explicate the most notable works of fine and applied arts in the interiors, such as busts by F. I. Shubin and trompe l’oeil paintings. Other palace chambers include the Card Room, Entrance Living Room, Tapestry Living Room, Main Bedroom, Cabinet, Library, Sofa Room, Picture Gallery, Ballroom, Theater. A second chapter covers the park with its regular gardens and neoclassical statuary, pavilions and garden structures: Dutch House, Little Italian House, Grotto, Open-Air Theater, and Hermitage.

Price: $84.00