However, the development of the foundry industry for the needs of heavy industry did not prevent Moscow entrepreneurs from using new technical capabilities in the field of arts and crafts. Among the most successful and internationally renowned foundries of that time, a merchant and manufacturer with the musical name Chopin stands out.
Felix Chopin was born in a small French town in 1813. His father, Julien Chopin, a sculptor and foundry from Paris, collaborated with Alexagdra Guerin's studio in Saint Petersburg. He not only equipped the Guerin plant with the necessary equipment, invited skilled minters and foundries, but also supplied the best models for low tide. Already in 1840, the Gerin plant on Vasilyevsky Island was considered one of the largest in the capital.
However, things did not always go well at the enterprise, and Felix Chopin went to manage the plant in St. Petersburg in 1838 in order to become its full owner by 1841. It expands its production capacity and carries out a complete reorganization, so that the factory begins to prosper. The plant's heir was very talented. It is not for nothing that they began to call him the “Russian Barbedien”, comparing him with one of the most famous sculptors in France.
The first period of production development took place in the 1840s and 1860s. This was a good time for Russian bronzers; factories received large government orders. Since 1845, Felix Chopin has been awarded the status of Supplier to His Imperial Majesty's Court and in the middle of the 19th century carried out large-scale works for the Winter Palace, the Marble Palace, the Grand Kremlin Palace, Saint Isaac's Cathedral and the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.
In 1849, at the National Manufactory Exhibition in St. Petersburg, the Chopin factory presented a collection consisting of sixty-three bronze busts of Russian tsars, princes and emperors. Subsequently, Chopin was one of the first in Russia to obtain a patent to reproduce his models and began to replicate these busts as a desk sculpture, which was then gaining popularity. A special device, the patent for which Chopin purchased in France, allowed him to cast smaller works.
In 1862, at the World's Fair in London, Chopin's workshop presented a statue of Catherine II, which was based on a drawing by sculptor Mikhail Mikeshin. The work won a medal for its high technique. An enlarged copy of this particular sculpture is now on display in front of the Alexandrinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg.
Chopin's workshop has constantly participated in international exhibitions, showing the best results. Thanks to this, many artists have become very famous not only in Russia but also abroad. The works produced at the Chopin factory were in great demand, and the reason for this was not so much the factory's popularity as the high quality of each product produced.
The plant was engaged in both bronze casting and zinc casting, as well as silver. Chopin tried to adapt to the constantly changing tastes of the Russian nobility and merchants, so he decided to introduce patinated bronze into production. It responded to new color design solutions. This metal had many different shades and could imitate other alloys. Chopin and his colleagues have achieved great results in this field.
The heyday of bronze foundry coincided with the “neo-Rococo” style of that time, which was reflected mainly in the design of residential interiors, furniture, household items and jewelry art. The style meant complicated ornaments, an abundance of decorative elements, and an appeal to “historicism”. The Chopin factory followed fashion trends and decorated its interior bronze with complex cupid figures, ornamental decor (for example, cast vines), and animal motifs.
The company's success in the 1870s and 1880s was inextricably linked to the name of Yevgeny Lancere, a major animal sculptor. Chopin saw in the aspiring author a bright personality and great creative potential. Lanceray studied with French masters, transferring current trends in European plastic art to stories of Russian reality. The success was overwhelming. At the end of the 1870s, Chopin even bought Eugene's ownership of his sculptures. According to official data, he bought 17 models at that time. Lanceray's century was short, but his legacy is vast, and his works are now in major museums.
Felix Chopin is the first craftsman who combined the casting of high-quality models with the French ability to convey texture. His unrivaled talent is the main reason why Felix became one of the best and most successful Russian bronze medalists of the period. His works were widely known all over the world and were a standard even for foreign bronze foundries.
In the 80s of the 19th century, times of crisis came for the bronze industry. Trying to prevent the factory from closing, Chopin hired a new generation of foundries, a craftsman named Carl Berto, who had been collaborating with the legendary sculptor F. Barbedien. At the end of the 1880s, Chopin decided to retire, handed over the management of the plant to Bertaud and returned to his native France, where he ended his life in 1892 in Paris.
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