The Summer Garden is a park ensemble and a monument of landscape art from the first third of the 18th century in St. Petersburg. It was laid out by order of Peter I in 1704. Today, the Summer Garden is a branch of the Russian Museum.
Within the ensemble of the Summer Garden, alongside architectural structures, fountains, and garden plantings, decorative garden sculpture plays a significant role — freely standing marble statues and busts, comprising thirty-eight statues, five sculptural groups, forty-eight busts, and one herma. The majority of these works were created by Italian masters from the late 17th to early 18th centuries and were delivered to St. Petersburg shortly after its foundation.
As part of the comprehensive restoration and reconstruction of the Summer Garden carried out between 2009 and 2011, the original sculptures were restored and moved to the halls of the Mikhailovsky Castle of the Russian Museum. Replicas made of artificial marble were installed in the garden.
by Irina Savenko