Traditions of craft. Art of woodworking

Peter and Paul Fortress, Neva curtain wall

The exhibition is dedicated to the development of traditional Russian crafts - joinery and carpentry - in St. Petersburg of the XVIII-XXI centuries. The exposition brought together more than 300 artifacts from the collections of the State Museum of the History of St. Petersburg, the State Museum Reserve “Peterhof”, the State Hermitage, companies “Rubankov.net”, “Museum restoration and equipment” and private collections: antique and modern carpentry tools, pieces of furniture of the XIX-XX centuries and other household items made of wood; lithographs and photographs of different times, depicting craft shops.

Woodworking craftsmanship successfully developed and improved in Russia for centuries. St. Petersburg was no exception. Throughout the XVIII-XIX centuries many joinery and carpentry workshops have been providing all social groups of city inhabitants with household items and articles of daily use. Not only Russian craftsmen but also people from different European worked here. In 1870 there were more than 1,700 joinery furniture workshops in St. Petersburg, which employed about 45,000 people. In the XIX-early XX century St. Petersburg workshops held a leading position among Russian furniture manufactures. As noted by contemporaries: “St. Petersburg furniture is famous all over Russia due to its grace and kindness”.

The exhibition in the Peter and Paul Fortress tells about carpentry and furniture workshops of the XVIII-XIX centuries, furniture factories of the late XIX-early XX century and the work of contemporary masters: joiners, carpenters, furniture makers and restorers. The secrets of complicated work of craftsmen are revealed through machinery, tools and special devices shown at the exhibition, which helped them to create things of amazing beauty and delicacy from an ordinary piece of wood. Among such items are a lathe of the late XIX century, shoulder plane, plow plane, bucksaw, nose bit, tenon saws, chisels, gimlets, planes, beading planes and more. The exhibition gives the opportunity not only to see antique and modern carpentry tools, but also to get to know their functions. A multimedia program introduces the technology of wood processing with the main stages and principles of work done by wood carvers.

The exhibited pieces of furniture and household items reflect the professionalism of St. Petersburg masters and high level of carpentry in St. Petersburg. This are chairs, dressers, bureaus, boxes, mirrors, consoles and shelves created in the XIX-early XX centuries in different styles: from Classicism to Art Nouveau. There are also fragments of wooden interior decoration: a fireplace and double leaf door of the late XIX-early XX century, both decorated with carvings.

Craftsmen often collaborated with professional architects and artists who worked on the projects of interior design and design of furniture and true masterpieces of furniture making art appeared as a result of this collaboration. The exhibition presents the designs of furniture created by Maximilian Messmacher, Ippolit Monighetti and Andrey Shtakenshneider.

A separate section of the exhibition is devoted to the work of modern restorers who study and master the tools and techniques of past masters for restoration of historical furniture and other wooden items. Different stages of restoration work are presented at the exhibition by an armchair and two chairs from an oak furniture set of the end of the XIX century made in the Renaissance style.

Tickets: full - 150 rubles, student - 70 rubles. Admission to the exhibition is also included in the combined ticket for the exhibitions at the Peter and Paul Fortress.