The collection of the Tambov Regional Art Gallery presents the sculpture “Rider Mounting a
Horse” created by Pyotr Karlovich Clodt.
Baron Pyotr Karlovich Clodt von Jürgensburg (1805–1867) came from a military family. As
early as childhood, Pyotr Clodt developed both a penchant for fine arts and a passion for
horses. Being a cadet of an artillery school, and then a horse artillery officer, Pyotr watched
horses constantly. He drew them from nature and carved their figures from wood. Gradually,
he became the talk of Saint Petersburg. After he retired, Pyotr Clodt decided to devote his life
to fine arts. In 1830, he became a non-degree student at the Academy of Arts. Three years
later, he made two equestrian groups of sculptures and was nominated for the title of
academician. Clodt became famous for his figurines of horses in the early 1830s, both in
Russia and abroad. Three foreign academies (in Berlin, Paris, and Rome) awarded Clodt the
title of academician.
In the presented work called “Rider Mounting a Horse”, the sculptor demonstrated an original
approach to fulfilling the task before him. He turned to his favorite subject — the image of a
horse, and his interpretation of it included the details uncharacteristic of Classicism. Pyotr
Clodt replaced the generalized and idealized classical forms with specific, true, and
meticulously designed ones that recreate the impressions from seeing the scene in real life.
When working on the group of sculptures called “The Horse Tamers”, Clodt used the so-
called “scientific method”. The sculptor obtained horse heads, shoulders, legs, and hooves
from the slaughterhouses, dissected them, and cast them in plaster. Later, these “naturalistic
parts” were integrated into Clodt’s group of sculptures, which received critical acclaim from
both art experts and the general public. His works from the Anichkov Bridge were
numerously repeated: bronze copies of Clodt’s statues appeared in the Belvedere Palace in
Peterhof, the Golitsyns’ Kuzminki estate near Moscow, as well as the Orlov estate in Strelna.
The presented cast iron sculpture was made at one of the oldest plants in Russia — the Kasli
factory. In 1986, the work “Rider Mounting a Horse” was transferred from the collection of
S. S. Anosov to the Tambov Art Gallery.
Horse” created by Pyotr Karlovich Clodt.
Baron Pyotr Karlovich Clodt von Jürgensburg (1805–1867) came from a military family. As
early as childhood, Pyotr Clodt developed both a penchant for fine arts and a passion for
horses. Being a cadet of an artillery school, and then a horse artillery officer, Pyotr watched
horses constantly. He drew them from nature and carved their figures from wood. Gradually,
he became the talk of Saint Petersburg. After he retired, Pyotr Clodt decided to devote his life
to fine arts. In 1830, he became a non-degree student at the Academy of Arts. Three years
later, he made two equestrian groups of sculptures and was nominated for the title of
academician. Clodt became famous for his figurines of horses in the early 1830s, both in
Russia and abroad. Three foreign academies (in Berlin, Paris, and Rome) awarded Clodt the
title of academician.
In the presented work called “Rider Mounting a Horse”, the sculptor demonstrated an original
approach to fulfilling the task before him. He turned to his favorite subject — the image of a
horse, and his interpretation of it included the details uncharacteristic of Classicism. Pyotr
Clodt replaced the generalized and idealized classical forms with specific, true, and
meticulously designed ones that recreate the impressions from seeing the scene in real life.
When working on the group of sculptures called “The Horse Tamers”, Clodt used the so-
called “scientific method”. The sculptor obtained horse heads, shoulders, legs, and hooves
from the slaughterhouses, dissected them, and cast them in plaster. Later, these “naturalistic
parts” were integrated into Clodt’s group of sculptures, which received critical acclaim from
both art experts and the general public. His works from the Anichkov Bridge were
numerously repeated: bronze copies of Clodt’s statues appeared in the Belvedere Palace in
Peterhof, the Golitsyns’ Kuzminki estate near Moscow, as well as the Orlov estate in Strelna.
The presented cast iron sculpture was made at one of the oldest plants in Russia — the Kasli
factory. In 1986, the work “Rider Mounting a Horse” was transferred from the collection of
S. S. Anosov to the Tambov Art Gallery.
