Tartu Ülikooli raamatukogule tellitud kipsvalandid Tartu Ülikooli muuseumi kogus
Creators: name: Anderson, Jaanika
Publisher: name: Tartu Ülikooli ajaloo küsimusi
Year: 2018

description: Nowadays, a large part of the objects related to teaching and research acquired for the University of Tartu in the past couple of centuries are located in the museums of the university. The University of Tartu Museum also preserves the plaster casts ordered in 1805 for decorating the University of Tartu Library. Exhibiting sculptures at the library was far from being a new idea. It is likely that there were libraries at ancient Greek temples, where sculptures were also displayed. In the Western world, the tradition of decorating libraries came to a halt when churches started to dominate as public buildings. Ancient sculptures were considered to be pagan and not suitable for the libraries of monasteries, churches and universities that mostly contained books on religion and philosophy. Inventing the printing press in the 15th century broke the bond between libraries and religious institutions. In the 18th century when the library became one of the symbols of the culture of the Enlightenment, ancient portrait sculptures again found their place in the interior of the library. The canon then also expanded to encompass contemporary great figures who were put on the pedestal similarly to their ancient predecessors. In the 19th century, the libraries of universities also started to thrive, as in addition to being a place for sharing knowledge, the creation of new knowledge became important. The University of Tartu was reopened in 1802, and in 1803, the architect of the university Johann Wilhelm Krause (1757–1828) prepared the initial sketches for rebuilding the Dome Church into a library. Already during the construction period, the decision was made to decorate the library’s halls with plaster casts to create an environment inspiring learning and research. In 1805, the director of the library Johann Karl Simon Morgenstern (1770–1852) ordered suitable casts from the Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg. The statue of Athena and the plaster busts of writers, statesmen and philosophers (Homer, Euripides, Socrates, Plato, Demosthenes, Sophocles, Herodotus, Theocritus, Horace, Cicero, Virgil, Marcus Aurelius, Isaac Newton and Voltaire) were placed in a hall on the third floor; Apollo Musagetes and nine muses were situated in a hall on the second floor. The interior design of the University of Tartu Library together with its sculptures was intended to create an excellent atmosphere for studying with its harmonious alcoves in the connecting galleries and the books placed there. The original ancient marble sculptures of the muses, Athena, Apollo and some other busts that Morgenstern ordered are situated in the Vatican in the Pio Clementino Museum in the Hall of the Muses that was opened in 1784. The sculptures there were unearthed at Villa di Cassio near Tivoli during Pope Pius VI’s reign in the 1770s. In addition to the muses and the sculptures of Apollo and Athena, more than 30 herms and busts of famous men from ancient Greece were found (today, 21 have been preserved). These are likely to have been combined into a gallery of “talking” portraits at Villa di Cassio similarly to that of the Villa dei Papiri situated in the Herculaneum. The great men standing there, forming a gallery, were chosen to represent the Greek culture and learning and they were seemingly talking to the viewers. Their teachings could be consulted on the spot, if necessary. It was strived to create an analogous milieu at the University of Tartu Library. The set of sculptures ordered for Tartu in 1805 was impressive and thoroughly thought through. The order was placed at Saint Petersburg since it was the closest place to Tartu where it was possible to get casts copied from the original sculptures. Transporting the casts was especially complicated and risky due to their weight and easily breakable material. The plaster casts acquired for the interior design of the library are probably the first made after ancient sculptures at the University of Tartu. Later, sculpture casts were also bought for the university’s drawing school and art museum.
description: Tartu Ülikooli ajaloo küsimusi, Vol 46 (2018): Reaal- ja loodusteadused rahvusülikoolis