Veliky Novgorod: the City’s Evolving Image in Graphic Art

This View of Novgorod comes from the famous book by Adam Olearius (1599–1671), who visited Russia in 1635–1639. The German traveller and scholar was the Secretary to the Embassy led by Philipp Crusius and Otto Bruggemann, sent by the Duke Frederik III of Holstein-Gottorp to Russia and Persia. The embassy was on a mission to negotiate the opening of a trade route from Persia through Muscovy to Europe. During the journey, Olearius made sketches of places the embassy visited. These were later engraved by three craftsmen. To make sure that his drawings are accurately turned into sketches to copper plates from which the prints were to be made, Olearius invited the engravers to stay at his house.

The embassy arrived in Riga by sea, and from there proceeded by land to Moscow, visiting on the way Revel (Tallinn), Narva, Ivangorod, Lake Ladoga and Novgorod. The name of city is both transliterated as Weliki Novogord and translated into German as Gros. Navgard (Novgorod the Great). The view shows the Novgorod Kremlin (Schloss), the Torgovaya Side, the bridge over the Volkhov River (Wolchav Fluvi), and the Antoniev Monastery (S. Antoni. Kloster).

Founded by Saint Barlaam of Khutyn in the 12th century, the monastery is located a few kilometres outside of Veliky Novgorod. Adam Olearius’s embassy visited the monastery on 27 July 1634. The monastery made a good impression on the travellers. Olearius noted its size, the number of monks (60) and peasants (400), and its scenic location. He also reported that the Khutyn Monastery was required to maintain 100 people at the Tsar’s service in Novgorod, but did not mention anything about the monastery’s founding legend. The legend has it that the name Khutyn derives from the root Khudoy, or an evil place in Russian. Saint Barlaam chose this place to recluse himself and later built
a church to celebrate a victory over the “evil forces” ...

Notably, the title of the book containing this print includes names of other individuals who visited the Middle East at different times. One of them, a German traveller and diplomat Johan Albrecht de Mandelslo, visited Persia and India in 1630s. Olearius was first to publish his travel notes in 1658, as well as those of Jürgen Andersen, who visited a number of exotic for his time places in 1640s, including Persia, Turkey, China, Japan, Ceylon, Arabia and Palestine. Like many of his contemporaries, Andersen undertook his travels prompted by the Thirty Years’ War, which had forced him to leave his homeland to serve in the Dutch East India Company visit. Similar circumstances brought many foreign travellers to Russia.

This view of Novgorod was included in several books printed in early 18th century by a Leiden publisher Pieter van der Aa (1659–1733), who specialised in well illustrated publications with views of the world’s cities. The Dutch publisher first included Novgorod’s view in his reprint of Adam Olearius’ book in 1719. In 1728, Van der Aa published his famous multi-volume Galerie Agréable du Monde (Fine Gallery of the World), which featured views and maps of various places from around the world, one of the largest such collections then existed.
Among them was a view of Veliky Novgorod by Nicolaes Witsen (1641–1717). Witsen was a diplomat, businessman, cartographer, and administrator at the Dutch East India Company. He visited Russia in 1664–1665 with Jacob Borel’s Embassy sent to Moscow for trade talks. During the trip, Witsen took notes and made sketches. Later he published a major work on Siberia, which in his time was widely known as Tartary (Noord en Oost Tartarye, 1692).

Witsen’s panoramic view of Novgorod shows a large city with multiple churches and bell towers. In his book, van der Aa placed Witsen’s drawing in the centre of the page, adding some sky view and staffage figures in the foreground to transform a travel sketch into a beautiful perspective.

In late 18th century, Novgorod’s size and antiquity attracted numerous travellers interested in studying Russian history. However, the views of foreign researchers of Russia were often met with criticism from Russian historians and politicians. One of these controversial studies was the work by Nicolas-Gabriel dit Le Clerc (1726–1798), a physician invited to Russia by Empress Elisabeth of Russia in 1759. His book Histoire Physique, Morale, Civile Et Politique De La Russie Moderne (Physical, Moral, Civil and Political History of Modern Russia) was published in the 1880s. Le Clerc stayed in Russia for several years and apparently formed a view of his own on its history and development. However, for our purposes, the atlas attached to his book is of greater value than his research.

The prints in it showed Russia’s major cities, including St Petersburg, Moscow, Veliky Novgorod, and others, as well as clothes and items of everyday life. The atlas was published in France, with prints made by a group of engravers: Louis-Nicolas de Lespinasse, François Denis Née, Claude Niquet, and others. Lespinasse was a master of landscape. His works are known to create a feeling of tranquillity, which is also present in the images of fishermen leisurely doing their work and the slow flow of the Volkhov River. Novgorod captured in this view was to a large extent a work of the French artist’s imagination. Not surprisingly the classic building façadees in it are more characteristic of European architecture.

Le Clerc’s atlas was apparently an inspiration source for Michel-Francois Damame-Demartrais, who himself was well familiar with Russia, where he lived from 1792 to 1805. Ten years later, in Paris, he published an album featuring views of Russian cities. It was called Vues des principales villes de Russie, costumes, et usages des habitans de cet empire. Dessinés et gravés par M.F. Damame-Demartrais (Views of major Russian cities, as well as the outfits and and customs of the empire’s people). The album was not simply a collection of city views, but also included images of folk costumes and ethnic traditions, and scenes of everyday life.

In creating his view of Novgorod, Damame-Demartrais must have relied on Le Clerc’s atlas, considering the similarity of the two works. However, the technique used by the artist makes it a work of art in its own right. The strong contrast between dark and light creates a feeling of a wide water expanse in this city view setting it apart from other etching and copperplate works. In addition, Damame-Demartrais changed the foreground to open up the image for the viewer.

In 1839, Russian philanthropist and Active State Councillor Anatoly Demidov, commissioned the French artist Andre Durant (1807–1867) to create images of major Russian cities. Demidov, who lived most of his life in France, was a member of the famous family of Russian industrialists. The result of their collaboration was the Artistic and Archaeological Journey... Durant’s drawings were printed using the technique of lithography to make them look more natural. Judging by the date on the stone matrix from which the prints were made, the album was published in 1842.
Among other cities, Durant visited Veliky Novgorod, where he drew individual monuments and a number of scenic views. Today, these drawings have a great value for viewers and historians not only as artwork, but also as documentary sources of Novgorod life in the 19th century.

The general views include The Kremlin and Shipyards. The View from the Window of the Governor’s House and The Inside View of the Fortress, while The Apse in the Cathedral of St Sophia and The Village Church in Honour of St Paul depict major architectural monu-ments – the 11th century cathedral and the 14th century Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Kozhevniki. Durant’s work combines realistic depiction with romantic rendering of the city’s antiquity and the poetic provincialism of its daily life.

Dmitry Rovinsky (1824–1895), was a renowned scholar and collector of Russian engravings, including popular prints known as lubok. A lawyer and privy councilor, Rovinsky took part in the development of Alexander II’s judicial reform. In 1881, he prepared and published Russian Popular Prints in several volumes. The work covers a large scope of material and is comprised of 1,780 prints.
The lubok was widely popular among the city folk and peasants, used to share news, tales, paper icons, etc. The lubok was characterised by simple images, easily understandable texts and bright colours.

Rovinsky’s collection of popular prints included Veliky Novgrad, the Ancient Capital of Russia, which shows the city and 32 monasteries around it. The print is found in Volume 3 of Russian Popular Prints under the title A View of Novgorod and its Monasteries. According to the scholar, it was created in the first half of the 18th century.

The Litographic Printing House of K. Burkovsky printed this book in 1862, probably to celebrate the opening of the Millennium of Russia monument — a landmark event for the 19th century’s Novgorod. Most of the sheets in this book feature a note by the author saying he has made the drawings from nature, which highlights the authenticity of everything depicted. For Burkovsky, it was well beyond that monument. What he tried to achieve with this collection of lithographs was to offer a broad panoramic view of the city — and he did, showing the Sofiyskaya and Market Squares, the Kremlin, a bridge over the Volkhov River, and Rurikovo Gorodische, to name a few. Browsing through the pages, you start to think of Novgorod as a big idyllic city. The fact that these drawings were made and published by alocal makes them all the more special. It was a rare thing back then.

The timing is also important as it coincides with the opening of this monument to Russian statehood, which was designed by Mikhail Mikeshin, Ivan Schroeder and Viktor Hartmann, all alumni of the Russian Academy of Arts in St Petersburg. A complex composition, it consists of a globus cruciger — a symbol of tsarist authority with an Orthodox cross on top — and statues of historic figures. Just by gazing at this great array of sculptures you can feel how long and rich the Russian history really is. Perhaps, this effect was intended. The monument was erected in Novgorod as the cradle of Russian statehood — the place where Rurik started the first ruling dynasty in Russia.

The Litographic Printing House of K. Burkovsky printed this book in 1862, probably to celebrate the opening of the Millennium of Russia monument — a landmark event for the 19th century’s Novgorod. Most of the sheets in this book feature a note by the author saying he has made the drawings from nature, which highlights the authenticity of everything depicted. For Burkovsky, it was well beyond that monument. What he tried to achieve with this collection of lithographs was to offer a broad panoramic view of the city — and he did, showing the Sofiyskaya and Market Squares, the Kremlin, a bridge over the Volkhov River, and Rurikovo Gorodische, to name a few. Browsing through the pages, you start to think of Novgorod as a big idyllic city. The fact that these drawings were made and published by alocal makes them all the more special. It was a rare thing back then.

The timing is also important as it coincides with the opening of this monument to Russian statehood, which was designed by Mikhail Mikeshin, Ivan Schroeder and Viktor Hartmann, all alumni of the Russian Academy of Arts in St Petersburg. A complex composition, it consists of a globus cruciger — a symbol of tsarist authority with an Orthodox cross on top — and statues of historic figures. Just by gazing at this great array of sculptures you can feel how long and rich the Russian history really is. Perhaps, this effect was intended. The monument was erected in Novgorod as the cradle of Russian statehood — the place where Rurik started the first ruling dynasty in Russia.

The Litographic Printing House of K. Burkovsky printed this book in 1862, probably to celebrate the opening of the Millennium of Russia monument — a landmark event for the 19th century’s Novgorod. Most of the sheets in this book feature a note by the author saying he has made the drawings from nature, which highlights the authenticity of everything depicted. For Burkovsky, it was well beyond that monument. What he tried to achieve with this collection of lithographs was to offer a broad panoramic view of the city — and he did, showing the Sofiyskaya and Market Squares, the Kremlin, a bridge over the Volkhov River, and Rurikovo Gorodische, to name a few. Browsing through the pages, you start to think of Novgorod as a big idyllic city. The fact that these drawings were made and published by alocal makes them all the more special. It was a rare thing back then.

The timing is also important as it coincides with the opening of this monument to Russian statehood, which was designed by Mikhail Mikeshin, Ivan Schroeder and Viktor Hartmann, all alumni of the Russian Academy of Arts in St Petersburg. A complex composition, it consists of a globus cruciger — a symbol of tsarist authority with an Orthodox cross on top — and statues of historic figures. Just by gazing at this great array of sculptures you can feel how long and rich the Russian history really is. Perhaps, this effect was intended. The monument was erected in Novgorod as the cradle of Russian statehood — the place where Rurik started the first ruling dynasty in Russia.

The Litographic Printing House of K. Burkovsky printed this book in 1862, probably to celebrate the opening of the Millennium of Russia monument — a landmark event for the 19th century’s Novgorod. Most of the sheets in this book feature a note by the author saying he has made the drawings from nature, which highlights the authenticity of everything depicted. For Burkovsky, it was well beyond that monument. What he tried to achieve with this collection of lithographs was to offer a broad panoramic view of the city — and he did, showing the Sofiyskaya and Market Squares, the Kremlin, a bridge over the Volkhov River, and Rurikovo Gorodische, to name a few. Browsing through the pages, you start to think of Novgorod as a big idyllic city. The fact that these drawings were made and published by alocal makes them all the more special. It was a rare thing back then.

The timing is also important as it coincides with the opening of this monument to Russian statehood, which was designed by Mikhail Mikeshin, Ivan Schroeder and Viktor Hartmann, all alumni of the Russian Academy of Arts in St Petersburg. A complex composition, it consists of a globus cruciger — a symbol of tsarist authority with an Orthodox cross on top — and statues of historic figures. Just by gazing at this great array of sculptures you can feel how long and rich the Russian history really is. Perhaps, this effect was intended. The monument was erected in Novgorod as the cradle of Russian statehood — the place where Rurik started the first ruling dynasty in Russia.

The Litographic Printing House of K. Burkovsky printed this book in 1862, probably to celebrate the opening of the Millennium of Russia monument — a landmark event for the 19th century’s Novgorod. Most of the sheets in this book feature a note by the author saying he has made the drawings from nature, which highlights the authenticity of everything depicted. For Burkovsky, it was well beyond that monument. What he tried to achieve with this collection of lithographs was to offer a broad panoramic view of the city — and he did, showing the Sofiyskaya and Market Squares, the Kremlin, a bridge over the Volkhov River, and Rurikovo Gorodische, to name a few. Browsing through the pages, you start to think of Novgorod as a big idyllic city. The fact that these drawings were made and published by alocal makes them all the more special. It was a rare thing back then.

The timing is also important as it coincides with the opening of this monument to Russian statehood, which was designed by Mikhail Mikeshin, Ivan Schroeder and Viktor Hartmann, all alumni of the Russian Academy of Arts in St Petersburg. A complex composition, it consists of a globus cruciger — a symbol of tsarist authority with an Orthodox cross on top — and statues of historic figures. Just by gazing at this great array of sculptures you can feel how long and rich the Russian history really is. Perhaps, this effect was intended. The monument was erected in Novgorod as the cradle of Russian statehood — the place where Rurik started the first ruling dynasty in Russia.

The Litographic Printing House of K. Burkovsky printed this book in 1862, probably to celebrate the opening of the Millennium of Russia monument — a landmark event for the 19th century’s Novgorod. Most of the sheets in this book feature a note by the author saying he has made the drawings from nature, which highlights the authenticity of everything depicted. For Burkovsky, it was well beyond that monument. What he tried to achieve with this collection of lithographs was to offer a broad panoramic view of the city — and he did, showing the Sofiyskaya and Market Squares, the Kremlin, a bridge over the Volkhov River, and Rurikovo Gorodische, to name a few. Browsing through the pages, you start to think of Novgorod as a big idyllic city. The fact that these drawings were made and published by alocal makes them all the more special. It was a rare thing back then.

The timing is also important as it coincides with the opening of this monument to Russian statehood, which was designed by Mikhail Mikeshin, Ivan Schroeder and Viktor Hartmann, all alumni of the Russian Academy of Arts in St Petersburg. A complex composition, it consists of a globus cruciger — a symbol of tsarist authority with an Orthodox cross on top — and statues of historic figures. Just by gazing at this great array of sculptures you can feel how long and rich the Russian history really is. Perhaps, this effect was intended. The monument was erected in Novgorod as the cradle of Russian statehood — the place where Rurik started the first ruling dynasty in Russia.

The Litographic Printing House of K. Burkovsky printed this book in 1862, probably to celebrate the opening of the Millennium of Russia monument — a landmark event for the 19th century’s Novgorod. Most of the sheets in this book feature a note by the author saying he has made the drawings from nature, which highlights the authenticity of everything depicted. For Burkovsky, it was well beyond that monument. What he tried to achieve with this collection of lithographs was to offer a broad panoramic view of the city — and he did, showing the Sofiyskaya and Market Squares, the Kremlin, a bridge over the Volkhov River, and Rurikovo Gorodische, to name a few. Browsing through the pages, you start to think of Novgorod as a big idyllic city. The fact that these drawings were made and published by alocal makes them all the more special. It was a rare thing back then.

The timing is also important as it coincides with the opening of this monument to Russian statehood, which was designed by Mikhail Mikeshin, Ivan Schroeder and Viktor Hartmann, all alumni of the Russian Academy of Arts in St Petersburg. A complex composition, it consists of a globus cruciger — a symbol of tsarist authority with an Orthodox cross on top — and statues of historic figures. Just by gazing at this great array of sculptures you can feel how long and rich the Russian history really is. Perhaps, this effect was intended. The monument was erected in Novgorod as the cradle of Russian statehood — the place where Rurik started the first ruling dynasty in Russia.

The Litographic Printing House of K. Burkovsky printed this book in 1862, probably to celebrate the opening of the Millennium of Russia monument — a landmark event for the 19th century’s Novgorod. Most of the sheets in this book feature a note by the author saying he has made the drawings from nature, which highlights the authenticity of everything depicted. For Burkovsky, it was well beyond that monument. What he tried to achieve with this collection of lithographs was to offer a broad panoramic view of the city — and he did, showing the Sofiyskaya and Market Squares, the Kremlin, a bridge over the Volkhov River, and Rurikovo Gorodische, to name a few. Browsing through the pages, you start to think of Novgorod as a big idyllic city. The fact that these drawings were made and published by alocal makes them all the more special. It was a rare thing back then.

The timing is also important as it coincides with the opening of this monument to Russian statehood, which was designed by Mikhail Mikeshin, Ivan Schroeder and Viktor Hartmann, all alumni of the Russian Academy of Arts in St Petersburg. A complex composition, it consists of a globus cruciger — a symbol of tsarist authority with an Orthodox cross on top — and statues of historic figures. Just by gazing at this great array of sculptures you can feel how long and rich the Russian history really is. Perhaps, this effect was intended. The monument was erected in Novgorod as the cradle of Russian statehood — the place where Rurik started the first ruling dynasty in Russia.

The Litographic Printing House of K. Burkovsky printed this book in 1862, probably to celebrate the opening of the Millennium of Russia monument — a landmark event for the 19th century’s Novgorod. Most of the sheets in this book feature a note by the author saying he has made the drawings from nature, which highlights the authenticity of everything depicted. For Burkovsky, it was well beyond that monument. What he tried to achieve with this collection of lithographs was to offer a broad panoramic view of the city — and he did, showing the Sofiyskaya and Market Squares, the Kremlin, a bridge over the Volkhov River, and Rurikovo Gorodische, to name a few. Browsing through the pages, you start to think of Novgorod as a big idyllic city. The fact that these drawings were made and published by alocal makes them all the more special. It was a rare thing back then.

The timing is also important as it coincides with the opening of this monument to Russian statehood, which was designed by Mikhail Mikeshin, Ivan Schroeder and Viktor Hartmann, all alumni of the Russian Academy of Arts in St Petersburg. A complex composition, it consists of a globus cruciger — a symbol of tsarist authority with an Orthodox cross on top — and statues of historic figures. Just by gazing at this great array of sculptures you can feel how long and rich the Russian history really is. Perhaps, this effect was intended. The monument was erected in Novgorod as the cradle of Russian statehood — the place where Rurik started the first ruling dynasty in Russia.