UNIQUE AND LOST MARBLE ICONOSTASIS OF THE PERM SPASO-PREOBRAZHENSKY CATHEDRAL

Abstract

The Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral in Perm, over 200 years old, underwent a complex construction process marked by numerous difficulties and prolonged completion. There were several reconstructions of the cathedral, expansions, and the addition of side chapels. Initially, the cathedral was divided into two churches – a summer church and a winter church. The summer church housed a magnificent Baroque wooden iconostasis, transported from the Pyskorsky stavropegial monastery. It has survived unaltered. The winter church (dedicated to St. Stefan) featured another iconostasis made of marble. It was dismantled in 1931, when the cathedral was repurposed as the Perm Art Gallery. The internal reconstruction necessary to accommodate the art museum was made by architect N. A. Shvariov. A few pre-revolutionary publications described very briefly what the marble iconostasis looked like. It is maintained that the iconostasis was made at the Gornoshchitskiy Marble factory by the order of Vice-Governor Bornovolokov, with the icons placed in it. Painted by the artists of the Imperial Academy of Arts, the icons were given to the temple by Alexander Stroganov. There are no more details about who was the author of the iconostasis, of what kind of marble and at what time it was made, and how it was delivered to Perm. The study aims to analyze the history of the marble iconostasis, introduce the surname of the artisan, show and justify its uniqueness. Most of the documents presented in the publication, including photographs, are introduced into scholarly circulation for the first time.