Training work of the Saint Petersburg French quarter's artists under Peter I

The article deals with the problems of Russian artisans’ professional training at the masters of Saint Petersburg French colony under Peter I. Based on archival data the article for the first time systematized information about the apprentices of B. Rastrelli, F.-P. Vassou, N. Pineau, J. de Saint Laurent, A. Coeur d’Acier, Ph. Pillement, L. Caravaque, etc. The author explores the artistic relationship between Russia and France, which arose through this training. Analyzing the creative successes of the sculptor V. Kobelev, the minter O. Timofeev, the painter S. Bushuev and other Russian masters who studied with the French, the author gives a general assessment of the effectiveness of French artists and decorators’training work. The author concludes that their pedagogical efforts under Peter the Great did not bear the fruits that the Russian side had hoped for. Along with other foreigners, French masters were able to train a certain number of skilled artisans (carvers, casters, carpenters, painters), however, with very rare exceptions, they were not able to educate world-class artists.