MARTYNOV, ANDREI (1768-1826) View on the Pond and the Cameron Gallery, Tsarskoe Selo signed with a monogram and dated 1815 Oil on canvas, 66 by 81 cm. Related literature: For another version of the work and its pair in watercolour, see Views of St Petersburg and its Surroundings, The State Tretyakov Gallery, plates 148-149. Russian Artists. Encyclopedia, Azbuka, 2000, p. 394. View on the Pond and the Cameron Gallery, Tsarskoe Selo is a ‘pictorial poem' about St Petersburg, composed by the well known early XIX century artist, Andrei Martynov. A graduate of the Academy of Arts, Martynov studied landscape painting under Semyon Shchedrin and went on to paint many landscape panels in the palaces and country estates around St Petersburg — Pavlovsk, Gatchina and Tsarskoe Selo. Martynov's work reflects the particular early XIX century interest in portraiture of the city and local areas. Martynov's first series of works depicting different locations in Russia began to appear in the 1810s. Strongly influenced by Enlightenment ideas, the desire for knowledge of the surrounding world and the sentimentalist cult of nature, the “travel landscape” genre was ideally suited to Martynov's talents, whose success rivalled that of foreign painters. The artist often executed several versions of the same composition, transferring a pleasing motif executed in watercolour onto canvas. These views enjoyed great success and were widely available. Together with contemporary poetry, they expressed a genuine enthusiasm for the Russian capital and its surroundings, regarded by contemporaries as having attained a definitive “austere elegance”. Martynov's works were so popular that in the 1820s the artist issued a series of lithographs, almost all of which replicated compositions from his paintings, including View on the Pond and the Cameron Gallery. In August 1822 the newspaper Russki Invalid announced that “the well known artist and advisor to the Imperial Academy of Arts, Martynov informs art lovers that he has a collection of the most remarkable and fine views of the capital… He has composed similar collections of drawings of the Imperial palaces and picturesque views of Pavlovsk, Gatchina, Tsarskoe Selo, Peterhof, Oranienbaum and other districts of the capital”. Martynov's most successful works were undoubtedly his depictions of isolated spots in the suburbs where the modesty and intimate nature of the theme allowed him to remain simple and sincere. His numerous parks and rural views enlivened by strolling figures are the artist's best work. The well known XIX century critic Grigorovich said: “Shchedrin's student, Martynov… has painted a great deal, and his pictures are to be found in palaces and private houses. Some are quite superb. They are outstanding in the fidelity of the tones, taste and unusual freedom of the brush”. Martynov's main aim was to faithfully convey the appearance of the buildings, the broad avenues of the park, the summerhouses, elaborate garden pavilions and temples, and the magnificence of the smooth lakes and canals surrounded by overlooking trees and buildings. He sensed a distinctive beauty in the many modest little corners, romantic walks, benches and little bridges around Saint Petersburg. There is a clarity, classical precision and definition in the detail of his works. The linearity of the drawing, the horizontal planes and the rendering of the sky, water and meadow in broad flat planes reflect precisely the appearance of these classical ensembles. At the same time, Martynov's works have an attractive sincerity and embody the enduring charm of the era. In View on the Pond and the Cameron Gallery, Martynov conveys superbly the smooth surface of the Great Pond and the pleasant little corner of the park where ladies stroll with their male companions. Although the tiny figures appear to be staffage, like the Cameron Gallery visible on the opposite bank of the pond, they animate the landscape of the Yekaterininsky Park. The Gallery, of which Catherine the Great was so fond, was commissioned by her in 1787 to be built in the classical style by Charles Cameron. Since that time, it has dominated the park, visible from afar, soaring above the lake, meadows and groves of the beautiful garden, and adding a new architectural character to them. The view of the Gallery served to create a mood of contemplation and calm, bringing to mind ancient philosophers strolling through the gardens of the Athenian Academy or near the porticos of Roman villas. Contemporaries commented that the gallery created a striking impression of quiet solemnity. The work has the well balanced composition characteristic of the art of that time. Martynov finds the most attractive vantage point, where the panorama of the park and the Great Pond with the “White Swan of Tsarskoe Selo” praised by the poet Derzhavin serves to express the delight in the beauty of the setting which the artist shared with his contemporaries. Evidently, Martynov was strongly influenced by the outlook of Rousseau and the Romantics. In his treatment of the famous group of Imperial residences, the artist focuses not on Cameron's celebrated architectural work, but tries to convey the atmosphere of life on a country estate, populating the landscape with figures and animating it with movement. It could even be said that Martynov's work has elements of mood landscape and romantic colouring. The unexpected transition from the mysterious shade of the shore to the smooth surface of the water, perfused with a pearl-white light, the solitary tree standing in the foreground and the motif of feeding the swan recall the “reveries” and “sensibility” of sentimental walks. The View on the Pond and the Cameron Gallery is noteworthy as one of Martynov's best canvases of the park at Tsarskoe Selo. Not only does it preserve for us the appearance of a superb early XIX century architectural ensemble, it also expresses the aesthetics of Sentimentalism and the pre-Romantics, with a harmony of form and feeling inherent to Martynov's works that is ultimately their true artistic value.