Nikolai Golovanov’s collection has not only paintings, drawings and statues, but also a large number of pieces of decorative and applied art. Golovanov considered household items to be of great importance.
The lampshade of the desk lamp, which occupies a prominent place in the museum, is decorated with graphic works dedicated to the events of the Patriotic War of 1812. In the past, the conductor liked to sit next to it while working or reading in the evenings. To a modern person, the lamp on display may seem like a completely authentic antique, created in the first decades of the 19th century, but in reality, it is more of a combination of old and new. It is a certain fashionable commercial sample, most likely created in Europe and inspired by the Empire style. Originally, the item was a candelabrum on a stand decorated with Empire symbols, which dates back to the 1840s. Subsequently, the candelabrum was modified into an electric lamp with a lampshade that was decorated with lithographs, tinted with watercolors.
The lithographs are dedicated to the Patriotic War of 1812 and depict the events taking place on the battlefield. They are copies made from the paintings of Albrecht Adam (1786–1862), a Bavarian battle artist whose talent shone especially brightly in military scenes of the Napoleonic Wars. “Episode from the Battle of Borodino, the Attack on the Rayevsky Battery” and “Fragment of ‘Vitebsk. Battle near the City’ (in the French camp)” are works of mass-printed graphics made from paintings by Adam. The third work, that adorns the lampshade, belongs to Raymond Desvarreux-Larpenteur (1876–1961), a French artist who, like Adam, dedicated most of his career to history painting. The graphic illustration “Napoleon and His Entourage” was created much later than the battle series of the German painter — in the 1890s when French official art embraced the theme of the Napoleonic Wars once more. While it is impossible to determine the exact point of Bonaparte’s campaign, the main thing here is a romantic plot, alluding to the heroic past of France.
All three pieces are tinted with watercolors to disguise that they were printed and make the surface resemble that of an original graphic work. So, this desk lamp is in fact the result of a whimsical Empire-inspired fantasy, a once fashionable thing designed to adorn classic-style interiors and highlight the taste of its owner.
The lampshade of the desk lamp, which occupies a prominent place in the museum, is decorated with graphic works dedicated to the events of the Patriotic War of 1812. In the past, the conductor liked to sit next to it while working or reading in the evenings. To a modern person, the lamp on display may seem like a completely authentic antique, created in the first decades of the 19th century, but in reality, it is more of a combination of old and new. It is a certain fashionable commercial sample, most likely created in Europe and inspired by the Empire style. Originally, the item was a candelabrum on a stand decorated with Empire symbols, which dates back to the 1840s. Subsequently, the candelabrum was modified into an electric lamp with a lampshade that was decorated with lithographs, tinted with watercolors.
The lithographs are dedicated to the Patriotic War of 1812 and depict the events taking place on the battlefield. They are copies made from the paintings of Albrecht Adam (1786–1862), a Bavarian battle artist whose talent shone especially brightly in military scenes of the Napoleonic Wars. “Episode from the Battle of Borodino, the Attack on the Rayevsky Battery” and “Fragment of ‘Vitebsk. Battle near the City’ (in the French camp)” are works of mass-printed graphics made from paintings by Adam. The third work, that adorns the lampshade, belongs to Raymond Desvarreux-Larpenteur (1876–1961), a French artist who, like Adam, dedicated most of his career to history painting. The graphic illustration “Napoleon and His Entourage” was created much later than the battle series of the German painter — in the 1890s when French official art embraced the theme of the Napoleonic Wars once more. While it is impossible to determine the exact point of Bonaparte’s campaign, the main thing here is a romantic plot, alluding to the heroic past of France.
All three pieces are tinted with watercolors to disguise that they were printed and make the surface resemble that of an original graphic work. So, this desk lamp is in fact the result of a whimsical Empire-inspired fantasy, a once fashionable thing designed to adorn classic-style interiors and highlight the taste of its owner.
