In the corners there are two big floor lamps made of blue glass and crystal and decorated with "biscuit" figures, produced at the Imperial Glass Works In St.Petersburg in the late 18th century.

Everything in the room - painting and gilding, woodcarving and stuccowork, mirrors and marble decorations - combine to create an impression of iireat harmony. The ceiling painting was restored after the war after Cameron's original design based on motifs from Pompeian frescoes. The pink-and-brown colour scheme of the painted ceiling is exactly repeated in the parquet floor made of rosewood and palisander.

On the walls there are portraits of the owners of the palace (left-to-right): Elizabeth I (by Erikssen), Catherine I (by Rokotov), Peter I (by Nikitin), Catherine I (copy from Nattier's original exhibited in the Hermitage), Paul I's wife Maria Fyodorovna (copy from Vige Lebrun's original), and Paul I (copy from Rosselin's original).

CHINESE BLUE DRAWING ROOM. In the 18^th century the exotic "Chinese style" came into fashion in European art, and Chinese motifs appeared in

architecture and ornamentation. Chinese lacquered objects d'art, porcelain vases and other decorative items were in high regard. Chinese silk fabrics, embroidered or painted, were particularly popular.

The walls of this drawing room designed by Cameron were upholstered with Chinese blue silk with hunting scenes, landscapes, and scenes of everyday life painted on it with coloured Indian ink. The silk was restored after the war after a tiny piece of the original Chinese silk which had got stuck behind the mirror frame. The restored silk was painted by hand by the artist restorer Raisa Slepushkina after two years of intense studies of genuine Chinese panels.

The decoration of the room combines the elements of a typical Oriental interior with the clear-cut forms of Classical style.

The furniture is original, executed in Jacob's style after Cameron's drawings in the late 18^th century.

The card-table with floral design in the marqueterie technique was made in Russia in the 18^th century.

The marble fireplace was restored after the war out of small fragments of the original marble.

The painted ceiling was restored from Cameron's original drawing.

The parquet floor made of ebony, mahogany, rosewood, sandal wood and maple wood was also restored.

There is a portrait painting depicting the Empress Elizabeth as the goddess of spring and flowers, Flora, by the 18^th century artist Johannes Groot, and a gouache by the eminent Russian painter Shchedrin, "A View of the Imatra Waterfall".

ANTECHOIR. The room owes its name to its location near the choir of the palace church. It was originally designed by Cameron, then, after the fire of 1820, decorated by Stasov, and later, remodeled a few times.

The walls are upholstered with decorative silk woven some 200 years ago with hand-operated looms by Russian men-serfs at the factory of the merchant Lazarev in the village of Fryanovo near Moscow, designed by the artist and weaver from Lyons Philippe de Lassalle. The silk from this room was plundered by the Nazi, but an extra roll of this silk was saved in evacuation.

The furniture was made by Russian masters from Rastrelli's drawings in the middle of the 18^th century, and upholstered with the same material; this furniture set is an interesting specimen of the Baroque style furniture.

There are portraits of Elizabeth I and Catherine II.

The painting on the wall represents the Coronation of Catherine II.

From this room a door leads into the choir gallery; another door leads into a private suite of living rooms which goes parallel to the state rooms and looks over the park.

The "Private Rooms" of Maria Fyodorovna, the wife of Paul I, include the Bed Chamber, the Painting Room and the Sculpture Room. The rooms were originally designed by Cameron, and re-decorated by Stasov after the fire of1820.

The first two rooms without windows are the Foreroom and the Passage room. They never used any particular ornaments in the decoration of these rooms, except for some English coloured prints of the 18^th century with the views of landscape parks.

The furniture and the bronze chandeliers are of the early 19^th century Kusslan work.

LADIES' OF THE BEDCHAMBER ROOM. The walls are hung with pictures by Dutch and Flemish masters.

The gilt stucco frieze and the arabesque design of the door-paintings date Імс:к to Cameron's days.

The porcelain stove was made in the early 19^th century to a design by Stasov. The mahogany furniture was made in Russia in the late 19^th century. The chandelier is of the early 19^th century Russian work.

BED CHAMBER. The room is one of the best interiors designed by Cameron. The chief motif was borrowed from Pompeian frescoes. The walls are ornamented in the antique style with white medallions by the Russian sculptor Martos: those above the doors are the allegories of the four seasons; others are symbols of happiness, well-being, health and gaiety.

The eight doors of the room (some are purely decorative) are also decorated with antique designs and arabesque ornaments.

The main decoration of the room are 50 slim porcelain columns with garlands of leaves and flowers wound round them (only two are original). The group of columns in the centre used to divide off the alcove.

The crystal chandelier with blue stained glass in the middle is of 18^th century Russian work.

The carved marble fireplace is decorated with the figures of Sleeping Venus and cupids.

The fire grate made of blue steel with bronze ornaments was made by famous craftsmen from the town of Tula in the 18^th century (it comes from the Bedroom of Catherine II which is still under restoration).

The furniture from an original Jacob's set is provisional here (it belongs with the Arabesque Room).

The little table of blue and white glass was made in St.Petersburg from Cameron's sketches. It will be transferred to the private suite of Catherine II's looms where it belongs when the restoration is completed.

The toilet table made of stainless steel with bronze trimming, encrusted with pieces of faceted steel, shimmering like real diamonds, was a gift of the Tula masters to Catherine II.

The table for needle-work made of inlaid wood, with the monogram of M.F., is the work of the Okhta craftsmen, the Naskovs, as the inscription on it reads. In the 1720s the Okhta settlement on the Neva was famous for its carpenters and cabinet-makers, and later for its mosaic and parquet masters.

Craftsmen of some 20 professions participated in the restoration of this room, including chemists who discovered the recipe of the synthetic resin for the restoration of the porcelain columns.

PAINTING ROOM. The room was named after the character of its decoration. The walls were originally covered with frescoes, later destroyed by the fire of 1820. In the early 19^th century the frescoes on the friezes and on the vaulted ceiling were painted by Antonelli from Stasov's drawings.

The furniture consists of a round table of Karelian birch made in the !H20s to Stasov's drawings, and a couple of chairs and an armchair. On the table there is a magnificent candelabrum with mother-of-pearl ornamentation.

SCULPTURE ROOM. This room used to be a small library; it is now called the Sculpture Room because of its decoration. The walls are ornamented with stucco bas-reliefs in the frieze; the painted medallions on the doors are framed with carved wooden ornaments; the ceiling is painted to imitate sculptured reliefs in the grisaille technique.

The furniture includes a few chairs and armchairs made of walnut wood to Stasov's drawings in the early 19^th century; a table of inlaid wood made in the late 18^th century; a mahogany desk with a clock of gilt bronze which dates from the early 19^th century.

The next Passage Room served as a corridor. In the glass showcase there is a bronze clock shaped like a basket with flowers and two bronze candle- holders.

VAULTED ROOM, The room, situated before the Study of Alexander I, was meant for officers on duty. The Study and the adjoining rooms were designed by Stasov who used artificial marble (a popular material at the time) for the walls and vaults of the interiors.

The original parquet floor made of walnut , ebony, oak-tree and birch- tree has been restored.

The furniture from this room perished during the war and was replaced with similar pieces of the early 19^th century.

The vases of semi-precious stones as well as the clock were made in Russia in the first half of the 19^th century.

MAIN STUDY OF ALEXANDER I. The interior decoration is related to the Russian-French War of 1812. Motifs of military glory are used in the design of the furnishings. There is an open-work bronze chandelier designed by Stasov in the first quarter of the 19^th century, decorated with the figure of the goddess of victory in the middle; a Russian porcelain vase executed in 1818 to Stasov's drawings, which depicts the Russian army entering the suburbs of Paris in 1814; the clock on the mantelpiece (presumably French work) with the figure of the Roman military leader Julius Caesar.

The malachite writing set was made by Urals craftsmen in the late 18^th century.

The furniture was restored to replace the original walnut furniture set made to Stasov's drawings, which perished in the war.

The parquet floor was made anew after pre-war pictures (mahogany, ebony, amaranth etc.)

OVAL ROOM. The room owes its name to its oval shape and was meant for officers on duty.

The doors are made of oak-tree; two out of the four doors have mirrors inserted in them. The parquet floor was made anew (rosewood, mahogany, palisander etc.).

The next two rooms now serve as exhibition rooms which house a display dealing with the decoration of the palace interiors in Classical style in the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries.

EXHIBITION ROOM - ROOMS DESIGNED BY STASOV. Strictly speaking, it is possible to distinguish three periods in the interior works at the palace. The first one is associated with Rastrelli who decorated some palace interiors in the mid-18^th century when the Baroque style was the ruling fashion.

The rule of Catherine II brought in a new architectural style - Classicism. The main characteristic features of the new style were strict symmetry, harmonious I proportions, large wall-planes not covered with ornaments, niche statuary etc. Classicism has no Russian background at all; yet it is in Russia rather than nlsewhere that it found its best representation. It is known in world literature as Russian Classicism, and it had a strong impact on the world architecture.

The display in this room illustrates the third period in the interior decoration ' 'I the palace, associated with the name of the Russian architect Vassili Stasov who worked in the palace in the early 19^th century. He designed a number of Interiors in the style known as late Classicism; he also supervised the restoration ні the palace after the fire of 1820, carefully reviving the Rastrelli and Cameron 100ms which had suffered badly during the fire.

The display contains furniture and works of applied art of the early 19^th century, designed by Stasov. Furnishings from the interiors of that time are distinguished by their simple design and precise details. Most of the furniture is made of mahogany and Karelian birch. It was typical of Stasov to never overcrowd his furniture pieces with ornaments, as the least ornamentation helps to bring up the natural colour and texture of the wood; he often employed bronze plates to trim the furniture with rosettes, antique figurines, or emblems of military glory. The mahogany chest of drawers ornamented with bronze and mahogany irmchairs are typical.

The military spirit of the early 19^th century (it was the time of the Russian- French War) is reflected in the decoration of the massive French candelabra. which includes an ornamental motif common at that time - wreaths, helmets, •■pears, and shields.

EXHIBITION ROOM - ROOMS DESIGNED BY CAMERON. One of the best exponents of Classicism was Charles Cameron. He was a political refugee Irom Scotland; he had spent 20 years in Italy and France, and came to Russia in 1779. He stayed in Russia for 27 years and created many architectural ensembles. Ills first commission in Russia was to re-decorate three suites in the Catherine Palace. By the turn of the 18^th century, there had been some 20 rooms redesigned by Cameron in the Neo-Classical style.

The room contains furniture, pictures and statues from the Cameron rooms of the palace, which are now under restoration. They were collected from the Lyons Room and the Arabesque Room.

The unique suite of gilt furniture from the workshop of the famous Trench cabinet-maker George Jacob (the 1780s, from Arabesque Room) is characteristic of Classicism. This kind of furniture which is distinguished for the strictness of its proportions and the preciseness of its forms was popular in Europe for a long time, right up to the 1830s.

The influence of antiquity characteristic of Classicism is revealed in the shape and decoration of the two floor lamps shaped as stained glass columns with Doric capitals, made at the St.Petersburg Imperial Glass factory in the second half of the 18^th century.

The marble fireplaces designed by Cameron were assembled after the war out of small fragments of the original marble found under the ruins of the Cameron rooms.

The writing desk of inlaid wood was made by two 18^th-century serf masters, the Veretennikov brothers. It shows Catherine II at the wall of Constantinople - an allegory of Russia's victory in the Russo-Turkish war of 1768- 1774.

The chandelier and the vases were made in Russia in the second half of the 18^th century after Cameron's sketches.

The Cameron rooms of the palace used to be decorated with paintings by Hubert Robert depicting decorative ruins and a panel with a view of Rome.