The art collection of the State Pushkin Museum includes the painting “View of the Palace Embankment in St. Petersburg, ” which was recreated in the mid-19th century by an unidentified artist from the original by Maxim Nikiforovich Vorobyov (1787–1855). The original, which is approximately 20 centimeters smaller in height and width, is housed in the State Tretyakov Gallery.
The Palace Embankment is an embankment along the Neva River in central St. Petersburg, where the Winter Palace and the Marble Palace (both part of the State Hermitage and Russian Museum complexes) are located.
The Winter Palace was the residence of the Russian imperial family. It was built in 1762 by the architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli and played an important role in the life of Alexander Pushkin. The fate of his works depended on the Winter Palace; his wife Natalia shone in society there; Pushkin himself had to attend various court events such as soirees, receptions, religious services, and balls. Pushkin visited the Winter Palace especially often after 1834, when he was awarded the court rank of chamber junker by Nicholas I. Usually, young men between 17 and 19 years old were promoted to this rank, whereas Pushkin was 35 at the time. Therefore, he took this order of the emperor as an insult. He wrote on January 1, 1834, in his diary,
