THE EMPRESS'S STUDY

For many, the Empress's study will be the loveliest room in the entire palace. It is entirely encrusted in polished, white, artificial marble, and was decorated by Professor Vighi of the Imperial Academy of Beaux-Arts at St. Petersburg, after Rossi's original designs. These precious decorations cost 15,000 rubles and comprise a ceiling decorated with four different subjects, a frieze with groups of cupids and 12 allegorical subjects on the walls. The flying groups of women in delicate flowing garments are free interpretations of ancient Roman motifs from the buried cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in Italy.

Vighi was invited to Russia by Emperor Paul, and worked on the decoration of the Michael Castle, after which he went to Moscow before returning to Petersburg to work at Yelagin Palace for Alexander I.



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