Sylvian Gate of the Palace Park description and photos - Russia - Leningrad region: Gatchina (Topic)

Sylvian gate of the Palace Park description and photo - Russia - Leningrad region: Gatchina. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photos and a map showing the nearest significant objects.

Photo and description

The Silvian Gate is one of the most notable buildings of the Palace Park. It is distinguished by structural clarity, poetry and poise. The construction of the gate dates back to 1792-1794. The author of the Silvian Gate is the architect V. Brenna, the construction of the gate was carried out under the direction of K. Plastinin.

The Silvian Gate is like an invitation to Sylvia. While working on the project of the Sylvian Gate, Brenna probably proceeded from the fact that this is not a ceremonial triumphal structure, unlike the Birch, Admiralty Gate or the Mask portal, but the gate that opens the entrance to the mysterious depths of the forest is Sylvia. Therefore, from these considerations, the architect chose the composition, scale, interpretation of the sculptural and architectural decoration.

The well-known classic construction is used in this gate, when the pylons flank the passage arch with a mascaron keystone and a low archivolt. The pylons are connected to each other by a smooth entablature; a profiled cornice runs above it. A triangular pediment with a profiled frame reinforces the composition. But, having chosen the classical compositional scheme, Brenna introduced into this structure his own details and nuances, which determined its originality.

The Silvian Gate does not have a frieze and a dedicated architrave. The pediment in this regard seems to be put on from above, which makes the gate massive and squat. The width of the gate is 7.3 m, the height to the top of the pediment is 7.6 m. This aspect ratio, almost corresponding to a square, gives the impression of poise and power.

The generalization of the architectural forms of the Sylvian Gate corresponds to the finely adjusted details of the decorative and compositional design. The front side of the pylons, starting from the base, is distinguished by a wide frame of straight lines. The upper part of the arch, corresponding to the recesses in the corners of the pylons, is bordered by a double profiled plate, its ends, like brushes, hang down on the sides of the arch span. This artistic technique gives the Silvian Gate a resemblance to the frame of a painting with a landscape captured on it. This impression is enhanced even more if you look at the gate from the side of the Palace Park, because from here you can see a copper plate, which is mounted in the tympanum of the pediment. The inscription "Sylvia" is engraved on it, which from a distance looks like an inscription with a name on the frame of the painting.

The gate is decorated with a high-relief mask depicting the mythological forest dweller Sylvanas. It is at the same time the keystone that marks the middle part of the archivolt bend, and the symbol of the Gatchina Palace Park. With extraordinary skill and a sense of material, the master reproduced a wide, cheekbone face with a low forehead, over which thick hair hangs in heavy curls, strangely set eyes, tightly compressed lips and a small curly beard. An unknown sculptor has put this decorative element into living imagery and spirituality. The expression of this mysterious face of the forest dweller is also surprising - aloof and concentrated. A fixed gaze that looks, as it were, through time and space. The Gatchina forest spirit Sylvan is one of the inimitable works of decorative sculpture in the suburbs of St. Petersburg.

The architecture of the Silvian Gate is in perfect harmony with the stone wall of the park, built of rectangular blocks and completed with a slab protruding like a cornice. As in other buildings of the Gatchina Park, the impression of it is enhanced by the texture of the Pudost stone and the rhythmic pattern of horizontal and vertical masonry joints.

The Sylvian Gate, which is located in the middle of the stone wall, is both a "window" and a key to the composition : they offer perspectives of three fanning alleys. The right one leads to the Birdhouse in the depths of the park, the middle one leads to the Farm, the left one leads to the Black Gate.

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Topic: Sylvian Gate of the Palace Park description and photos - Russia - Leningrad region: Gatchina.