Russian architect of Egyptian buildings
Sketch by D.E. Efimov, depicting gods of the "Egyptian religion" from various monuments of Egypt and Nubia. 1834. Paper, ink, watercolor, graphics. State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow
And all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the army, arose and went down to Egypt, for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.
25 Kings 26:XNUMX
25 Kings 26:XNUMX
People and story. We have already noted here that a great deal of what a person turns to as an adult comes to him from childhood. But the events of youth, the time of searching and studying, also very often influence a person's life in the most direct way. This concerns many people, and since in this series of articles we are talking about the glorious sons of our land who studied Ancient Egypt, today we will tell you about one such person and his fate.
And it happened that when the ship "Buena Speranza" brought two sphinxes from ancient Thebes to St. Petersburg, a twenty-year-old student of the Academy of Arts, Dmitry Efimov, witnessed their delivery. Of course, we do not know with what eyes he looked at these overseas sculptures, just as we will never know what impression they made on him. But the fact that, being an artistic nature, he appreciated the strict proportionality of their forms, the elegance of their lines, and the unique beauty of the hieroglyphs is beyond doubt. And who knows, maybe this event was the impetus that subsequently pushed him to devote his entire life to Egyptian art.
Another sketch by D. E. Efimov, made by him in Egypt: pharaohs, animal-headed gods, simple peasants from the monuments of Egypt and Nubia. 1834. Paper, ink, watercolor, graphics. State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow.
It should be emphasized here that the fate of Dmitry Yegorovich Efimov (1811-1864), who became the founder of the study of Egyptian architecture in Russia, was indeed quite unusual. He was born in 1811 in the city of Nikolaev in the family of a non-commissioned officer of the naval corps. artillery 6th Brigade, from childhood was assigned to the Black Sea the fleet and was his protégé. It seemed that his path was clearly defined - to serve in the navy. However, things turned out differently...
At that time, Nikolaev was the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet. And there, the high naval command turned its favorable attention to the modest non-commissioned officer's son, who clearly had extraordinary talent for drawing. "Do you want to learn to draw?" "I do!" Dmitry answered, and the commander himself sent the fifteen-year-old youth to study at the Academy of Arts at the expense of the Black Sea Fleet!
The top of the tomb of the priest Rer, 7th century BC. The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg
He studied architecture within the Academy for seven long years. And he studied well, so well that he was repeatedly awarded silver and gold medals for his work by the Academy Council.
Well, then, according to the tradition of the academic education system of that time, in 1834, by the Highest Command (and how!) he was sent to Italy for three whole years "for further improvement in the arts at the state's expense," as reported in the report of the academic chancellery. However, he did not arrive in Rome right away. Efimov took advantage of the opportunity presented to him to visit abroad in order to look at, measure and sketch architectural monuments in other countries. And it turned out that "on the way" to Rome, he managed to visit Turkey, Greece, Egypt, and even Nubia.
Stele of Ipi, the royal scribe, "right-hand fan-bearer" and "great overseer of the royal court". Ipi is depicted worshiping the god Anubis. Limestone, post-Amarna style, reign of Tutankhamun, late 18th Dynasty, New Kingdom. The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg.
Moreover, his journey through Egypt turned out to be especially fruitful. He carefully familiarized himself with all the architectural monuments available for viewing, starting from Alexandria in the Delta and up to the second cataracts. And everywhere he carefully sketched the objects of ancient Egyptian architecture, measured them and carried out engineering calculations. Thus, gradually, he began to comprehend the laws of Egyptian monumental architecture, as well as their deep inner meaning and sacred sense. That is, speaking in the language of modern times, "he became an excellent specialist in this field."
Then the Arabian Desert, Syria and Asia Minor, and after a twelve-month journey, Efimov finally reached Rome. But even here he continued to study Egyptian art, because at that time the capital of Italy had many unique works of art taken from Egypt. And a thoughtful researcher had something to work on here.
Egyptian statue of Arsinoe II or Cleopatra in the guise of an Egyptian goddess, made of black basalt, second half of the 1st century BC. State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg.
According to Efimov, Egypt was the "gateway to all sciences and arts." He was convinced that without mastering the cultural heritage that the Egyptians and other ancient peoples left to humanity, it was simply impossible to become a real architect. That modern architecture stands entirely on the shoulders of the giant architects of the past.
Stele of the Citadel Keeper at Intef. Middle Kingdom, c. 2000–1988 BCE. The upper ledge of this stele proclaims the name of King Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II (c. 2051–2000 BCE), founder of the Middle Kingdom. In the same line, the stele’s owner, Intef, identifies himself as “his (the king’s) servant.” Intef also says that he was a citadel keeper who served in the area of Herakleopolis, the capital of the minor kings who ruled northern Egypt before the country was reunited under Mentuhotep II. The official could only have been appointed here after Mentuhotep II removed the last of the Herakleopolitan rulers during the unification of Egypt (c. 2021 BCE). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
For the traditional September exhibition of the Academy of Arts in 1836, Efimov sent his remarkable sketches of Egyptian temples to Russia, including the 134-column hall in Karnak. Two years later, Efimov’s richly illustrated monograph, “Brief Information on Egyptian Architecture,” was published.
Coffin of Khnumnakht. Middle Kingdom, c. 1850–1750 BC. The brilliantly painted exterior of the coffin of Khnumnakht, a figure unknown except for his name, displays many of the texts and decorative panels typical of coffin decoration in the late Middle Kingdom. It has at least one feature, the figure of a goddess at the head, a rarity before the end of the Middle Kingdom. The figures and hieroglyphs were rendered with the sure hand of a skilled artist, and each hieroglyph was carefully drawn in the prescribed manner of the time and place in which the coffin was made. On the left side of the coffin box is an architectural facade with a small doorway at the bottom center. This is the equivalent of the false door of the Old Kingdom, which allowed the spirit of the deceased to pass between the land of the dead and the land of the living. In this case, it is painted to resemble two wooden doors secured by two bolts. Above the door are two eyes that look out into the world of the living. The mummy's face would have been directly behind this panel. The rest of the exterior is covered with incantations and recitations of various deities, especially those associated with death and rebirth, such as Osiris, the chief god of the dead, and Anubis, the god of embalming. Dimensions: 207.5 cm long, 51.8 cm wide and 68 cm high. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Even today, when we are literally immersed in a sea of information on any branch of art and culture that interests us, we cannot help but be amazed by the depth and thoroughness of this work by the young Russian art historian. And he not only carefully studied the monuments of Egyptian architecture, but also came to the conclusion that “Egypt allows us to trace the development of forms over forty centuries” and that it is architecture that better than other types of art “reflects the history of a people with its virtues and shortcomings, its heyday and decline.” It is impossible not to say that such a view of architecture by a young scientist reveals him to be a man of very advanced and progressive views for his time.
Pharaoh Sahure accompanied by a divine figure. Old Kingdom, c. 2458–2446 BC. This is the only surviving three-dimensional representation that has been identified as Sahure, the second ruler of the 5th Dynasty. The king is seated on his throne and is accompanied by a smaller male figure representing the local god of the Coptic Nome, the fifth nome (province) of Upper Egypt. This deity extends an ankh (hieroglyph for life) to the king with his left hand. The nome standard, with its emblem of two falcons, is carved above the god’s head. His nemes headdress and straight false beard emphasize his status as a pharaoh. On his forehead is the flowing hood of the uraeus, the cobra goddess who protected Egyptian kings. The god of the nomes wears an archaic wig and a curly beard, characteristic of the deity. The statue may have been intended to decorate the king's pyramid complex at Abusir, about fifteen miles south of Giza. At the end of the previous dynasty, several statues of this type were placed in the temple of Menkaure to symbolize the gathering of the nome gods from Upper and Lower Egypt around the king. However, since no other statues of this type survive from the reign of Sahure, it is possible that this statue was a royal dedication in one of the temples at Coptos (modern Qift). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
At the same time, he paid special attention to such an architectural detail as a column, which he considered "the quintessence of architecture." Therefore, it is hardly surprising that he carefully made sketches of the columns he encountered. Even the hieroglyphs on some of them are depicted photographically accurately. Which, by the way, is not at all accidental, since in Rome his teacher was the famous Egyptologist Rosellini, a student of Champollion himself.
In his research work, Efimov convincingly proved that the Egyptians skillfully used “all three main types of art – architecture, sculpture and drawing” in their construction. And their skill in this was so great that the monuments they created cannot help but amaze people even after thousands of years.
Farmstead courtyard and slaughterhouse. Middle Kingdom, c. 2030–1850 BC. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
He also approached the issue of the fall of the ancient Egyptian civilization in a very interesting way. At that time, the destructive wars of Napoleon Bonaparte were still fresh in the memory of Russia and Europe. With a clear hint at their consequences, Efimov called him "the Herostratus of our time" and wrote: "Wars cause poverty that erases the fruits of civilization." And further: "It was not the desert sands, not the Nile floods, but the wars of so many invasions that led to the fall of the high civilization of ancient Egypt."
Well, when D. E. Efimov returned to his homeland, he was elected a full member of the Academy of Arts for his outstanding work in studying ancient Egyptian architecture. Which for that time was almost the highest assessment of the work of a person from the world of art! In his later life, he really built very little, but he was known and respected as a true connoisseur of ancient architecture.
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