Fine Art, Natural Science, Language, Poetry, Craftsmanship - Legacy of an 18 Century Russian Genius

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Modern college education has a sharp focus on particularity. To some extent it is justified by the ever-increasing mass of information - but should never become a law for anyone willing to stay connected with the priceless heritage of the Christian culture. Among many witnesses to the universal power of a Christian mindset is Michael Lomonossov,  1711-1765 .



The day conceals its brilliant face,
And dark night covers up the fields,
Black shadows creep upon the hills,
Light's rays recede from us on Earth.
Before us gapes a sea of stars -
Sea fathomless, with no confines.
A grain of sand in ocean swells,
A tiny glint in endless ice,
Fine ash caught in a mighty gale,
A feather in a raging fire,
So I am lost in this abyss,
Behold and contemplate the world.

Canst thou explain Creation’s end,
What lies beyond the smallest stars,
Creation vastitude explore
And fathom the Creator's might?


Russian school children who memorize these textbook verses by Lomonossov might well be unaware that the grammar of the literary language they are studying is to a large extent a contribution of the same person. But when they walk into the science class they will be surprised to find the same name behind certain basic laws of chemistry and physics.


Michael Lomonosov, born to a poor farmer in the Russian North, became an outstanding scholar, truly a man of all skills in diverse fields of scientific knowledge. Monuments to Lomonossov adorn squares before major Russian universities. 



That was, however, no wonder among his contemporaries nurtured by sound classic education which opens to the student not merely the facts, but an ability to seek and investigate the facts, an ability to think - a scarcity in our “learned” age…


And there is another feature intrinsic for a developed Christian mind, that is a sense of beauty. Lomonossov authored well-known poems which remain in the core of world culture;  but his involvement in the fine arts and iconography in particular, his success in reviving the ancient art of Christian mosaics, is well worth reminding. An article on the site of St. Elisabeth Convent in Minsk, Belorussia, explores this fascinating story.


During his lifetime (1711-1765), Italy was considered the global center of mosaics and a prime successor to the ancient and Byzantine traditions of mosaic art. In Russia, the latest surviving examples were in Kiev, at the Cathedral of the Holy Wisdom and St. Michael’s Monastery. But the know-how had been lost, and so were the skills of making smalt.

Adept at drawing and sketching, which he learned during his extended visit to Germany from 1736 to 1738, Lomonosov caught on to the idea to revive the art of mosaics in Russia based upon his extensive knowledge of physics, chemistry, geology and metallurgy.


In 1742, he approached the Russian government for support in opening a laboratory, and in 1746 he finally obtained approval from the Senate.



In 1752, Lomonosov put together his first mosaic of the Virgin Mary. As Lomonosov reported, he made it from the original painting of the Italian painter Francesco Solimena. He used over 4000 pieces obtained in over 2100 experiments in a glass furnace. Lomonosov gave his work to Empress Elisabeth of Russia for her birthday. She accepted the gift with gladness and placed it in the icon corner of her royal chamber.



In 1753, he completed another experimental mosaic – an image of Jesus Christ. The work was simple if not primitive in design, but Lomonosov described it as “a necessary first step”. It had been commissioned by Countess Shuvalova, a close friend of the Empress. In his letter to the Shuvalovs, Lomonosov apologized for the faults of the work and its small size but underlined that it was the first trial.  He asked the Shuvalovs to place it high enough above the ground to make its faults less visible. Eventually, the Shuvalovs donated the mosaic to the monastery of St. Nicholas under their patronage.



To move his undertaking forward, Lomonosov needed to scale up the production of the smalt. Helped by Chancellor Voronbtsov and the Shuvalovs – confidants of the Russian Empress – he secured financing from the Russian government to build a smalt factory near St. Petersburg. His project was making progress. His two helpers, Matvey Vasilyev and Efim Melnikov – both talented artists – quickly improved the level and sophistication of the mosaics. To appreciate the progress achieved, compare the experimental works with the two mosaic portraits of Emperor Peter the Great completed just a year later.



In the decade that ensued, Lomonosov and his team finished around 40 mosaic projects, of which 23 have survived to this day. Some are portraits of his renowned contemporaries. One notable example is the mosaic portrait of Prince Alexander Nevsky on the saint’s tomb.



Some mosaics were religious. The mosaic of Saint Peter, one of his later works, is almost as rich in color and sophisticated in technique as the original painting.



Perhaps the most ambitious project of Lomonosov’s studio was the mosaic panel “Battle at Poltava”, where the Russian army under Emperor Peter the Great defeated the Swedes in 1709, size 21’ by 15’, completed in 1764.



It was conceived as the first in a series of twelve mosaics detailing the life and accomplishments of Peter the Great to adorn the walls of the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul, the resting place of the Russian Emperor. Lomonosov’s sudden death in 1765 disrupted the plan. In 1925, the mosaic was placed in the building of the Academy of Sciences, where it has remained to this day.


Lomonosov’s studio was closed when the Russian government withdrew its support soon after his death. However, his good works and accomplishments lived. His notes on the properties of smalt and smalt-making processes were not lost. Artists have continued to use them to this day to make mosaic icons in Christian Orthodox churches. With God, nothing good is wasted or forgotten, and every good thing comes back to light again in its proper time.


Behold a modern mosaic image of St. John the Baptist, completed by the artisans of the mosaic studio of St Elisabeth Convent in Minsk, Belorussia.





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