One hundred years ago, at the end of August 1912, the panorama of Franz Roubaud "Battle of Borodino" was opened in Moscow. Paradox - the greatest canvas about the main battle of the Patriotic War of the French with the Russians was created by a native of a French businessman who was born in Odessa! By the way, he also supervised the creation of a panorama of the defense of Sevastopol.
Interestingly, the panorama "Defense of Sevastopol" was created under the guidance of a Frenchman in 1902-1904 on the outskirts of Munich by a group of not Russian, but German artists. This panorama was successfully opened in 1905 in Sevastopol in a building specially erected for it.
But Russian artists were also involved in the creation of the Borodino Battle panorama. This work of battle art has a completely unusual, in some ways even tragic fate. Despite the fact that the canvas is already 100 years old, it was available to the audience for almost half of its "creative life" ...
The giant canvas-panorama was commissioned by Tsar Nicholas II, the author of more than 200 monumental battle paintings, the famous artist Franz Roubaud, on the eve of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Patriotic War of 1812. Why the emperor ordered such a complex work for him is understandable. Previously, Roubaud supervised the creation of large-scale panoramic paintings "Defense of Sevastopol" and "Storm of the village of Akhulgo".
In the original sketch, the author of the Battle of Borodino showed a fierce battle for the key point of the battlefield - the Kurgan battery of General Raevsky, in particular, the counterattack of the Russian units led into battle by General Yermolov against the French who broke into the battery. However, the sketch was soon rejected by the king.
According to historical primary sources, one of the newspapers then wrote:
“The battle for the Kurgan Battery gave the artist full scope to portray the Russian troops from the best side, to show their valor ... in a word, a truly “Russian” panorama came out. A special commission invited the artist to depict another moment of the battle: noon, when large-scale cavalry attacks of the Napoleonic cavalry on Russian positions began.
Since the panorama was created at the time of the alliance between Russia and France and there was no desire to quarrel with the former mortal enemy for “political” reasons, the government forced the artist to choose for the panorama a plot already embodied in the “Battle of Borodino” by the French battle painter Langlois. “I am writing a panorama for the Russians, but they force me to write the triumph of the French”, - according to contemporaries, Roubaud complained. Work on a huge canvas measuring 14 by 115 meters took about a year.
The panorama was opened on August 29, 1912 in a specially built pavilion at Chistye Prudy. True, the “Battle of Borodino” was exhibited for a very short time. You understand - the First World War began, access to the relic was terminated, and a hospital was placed in the panorama building.
By the spring of 1918, the temporary wooden pavilion in which it was located fell into disrepair, the canvas was removed, rolled up on a wooden shaft and taken to a warehouse. For almost 40 years, it was kept in a terrible state, sometimes in the most unfavorable places - under the stage platform of the Neskuchny Garden, in the basement of the Miussky Cathedral, in the Aquarium Garden, in the theater warehouse of the Hermitage Garden and in other completely unsuitable places.
STALIN AND RESTORATION OF THE CLOTH
In 1934, the People's Commissariat of Defense raised the issue of restoring the Borodino panorama. In 1939, for the first time in more than 20 years, restoration artists completely unfolded the painting, carefully examined it and concluded that restoration was impossible: the painting of the sky, the outer coils depicting the battle near the village of Semenovskoye, were almost completely lost, the canvas turned out to be broken, worn and torn in many places.
However, the leader of the peoples, Joseph Stalin, insisted on the restoration of the canvas: during the Great Patriotic War, he used to remember the heroes of the Patriotic War. For example, in the army during the war of 1941-1945, shoulder straps (descendants of epaulettes) were restored, and the Order of Kutuzov was established. It is significant that it was established by a decree of July 29, 1942, the day after the signing of Stalin's famous order number 227 of July 28, 1942, known among the troops as the order "Not a step back!" ...
The heroes of the Patriotic War were commemorated in the then press with a kind word, and even the inveterate representatives of the noble class Bagration, Raevsky, Barclay de Tolly. I must say, the morale of the Soviet troops only grew stronger from this.
In general, with the light hand of the leader of the peoples in 1946, a new thorough examination of the painting was carried out - and a decision was made to restore it. On September 29, 1948, the Council of Ministers of the USSR even issued a special resolution. The work was entrusted to the Central Art Workshops.
And what do you think - despite the prophecies of skeptics about the impossibility of restoring the panorama, it was restored by the end of 1950. We began to think about where to put it - with its enormous size, it was not easy to find a place.
While they were looking for where to exhibit the panorama, the initiator of the restoration, Joseph Stalin, died. And the canvas lay for several more years in the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts. Alas, once again the historical canvas "spoiled" - the museum then could not create appropriate conditions for its storage.
KHRUSHCHEV'S UNEXPECTED DECISION
And here again the great panoramic canvas was lucky. Some kind of “fly” bit the then impulsive General Secretary Nikita Khrushchev, and he, like his predecessor Stalin, at the suggestion of officials from the Ministry of Culture, remembered the panorama “Battle of Borodino”. And, finally, already on the eve of the 150th anniversary of the war of 1812, in 1960, at the very top of the pyramid of the mighty Soviet state, it was decided to complete the restoration of the panorama and build a new building for it.
The new restoration was carried out at the State Central Scientific and Restoration Workshop. The building for the Battle of Borodino panorama began to be built in 1961 on Kutuzovsky Prospekt, where a whole historical and memorial complex dedicated to the Patriotic War of 1812 was already taking shape. There the canvas began to be exhibited.
However, this is not all the misadventures of the famous battle canvas. On June 27, 1967, a tragedy occurred - a fire in the panoramic hall. And again, restoration of the canvas was required. This time the work was carried out by the masters of the Studio of Military Artists named after M. B. Grekov.
In 1990 - 1995 the premises of the Panorama Museum were completely reconstructed. At present, the main fund of the museum has more than 27 thousand items of storage, in the scientific auxiliary - more than 8 thousand items.
The gigantic great canvas is kept there, on Kutuzovsky, and now. And there is no doubt that these days, when Russia is celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Patriotic War, the exposition of the Borodino Battle panorama is one of the most visited.
Address:Kutuzovsky pr., 38, Moscow
Museum opening hours: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00, Thursday - from 10:00 to 21:00, day off - Friday.
Franz Alekseevich Roubaud
Franz Alekseevich Roubaud was born on June 15, 1856 in Odessa in a large family. His father, Honoré Fortuna Alexis Roubaud, was a native of Marseilles, from where he moved as a merchant to the south of Russia.
After the opening of the Battle of Borodino panorama in Moscow in 1912, Franz Roubaud left for a while in Munich, but due to the causes of the First World War and the Civil War in Russia that began in Europe, he remained in Bavaria until the end of his life.
Franz Roubaud died of old age on March 11, 1928 in Munich in one of the apartments in the Schwabing district, and the grave of his daughter Anna in the cemetery of the Fraueninsel monastery island became the resting place. Obituaries about the death of the artist were published in many German and foreign publications. In the same year, a retrospective exhibition was dedicated to the memory of the famous artist, organized in the Munich Residency Gallery at Residenzstraße 15.
According to Sylvia Roubaud, her grandfather, living in Bavaria, “considered Russia as his first homeland” and always felt a connection with this country. And the monumental works about Russia he created "became a kind of expression of his love and respect for the Russian people and their history."
The Battle of Borodino Panorama Museum is perhaps the only place in Moscow, and even in all of Russia (and possibly in the world), where you can see the Battle of Borodino in 1812 on such a scale, in full turn.
The museum contains collections: paintings, prints, drawings, porcelain, etc. - acquaintance with which allows you to touch the atmosphere of the early 19th century.
You will get maximum pleasure if you are at least a little familiar with the history of Russia of this period. And if you are going to visit the museum with children, be prepared to take a good guide, otherwise children, especially those under ten years of age, will be somewhat bored.
My visit to the Borodino Battle panorama museum coincided with Free Museum Day At Christmas.
On this day, both the Kutuzovites and the French were freezing, and everyone who stood in line and tried to take the museum by storm.
Kutuzov proudly towered over us and silently watched what was happening.
Brave officers guarded the rest of the commander.
Terrible cannons that terrify the enemy.
In order not to waste time in line and to warm up a little, I decided to go around the museum and see the local sights.
Chapel of the Archangel Michael
Mass grave of soldiers - heroes of the Patriotic War of 1812.
"Kutuzovskaya izba"
Bust of M.I.Kutuzov
This hut hosted the Military Council in Fili
Military council in Fili. A.Klimenko from the original by A.D.Kivshenko 1880 1889 (picture from the museum hall).
And finally, I'm in the museum.
Citizens of 1812 meet visitors in the spacious lobby of the museum.
The first exhibit of the museum.
Great generals:
M.B. Barclay de Tolly
P.I.Bagration
Map representing Europe according to the newest division. A. Savinkov, St. Petersburg. 1812
"Three heads under one jester's cap or a triumvirate of madmen" (Alexander I, George III and Franz II). Unknown artist from a French caricature of the early 19th century St. Petersburg, 1880s.
Museum exhibits
Museum halls
Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov-Smolensk Field Marshal General, His Serene Highness Prince Commander-in-Chief of the Russian armies in 1812. Artist R.M.Volkov 1813. This portrait of Kutuzov is one of the last lifetime images of the commander. Kutuzov is depicted in a general's uniform with the insignia of the Order of St. George the Victorious 1st class - the most honorable award in the Russian army. Having received the Order of St. George 1st class “for the defeat and expulsion of the enemy from Russia” on December 12 (24), 1812, Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov became the first full Knight of St. George in Russian history. The commander wrote to his wife about his reward: “Now there is nothing to decorate me with ...”.
Bureau from the Kutuzov family. Russia. End of the 18th century.
The preparation room belonged to M.I. Kutuzov.
The “Small Gallery” of the participants in the Battle of Borodino was created in the 1960s and 1970s especially for the Museum-Panorama “The Battle of Borodino” by a group of Leningrad artists.
"Who will win?" V.V. Mazurovsky. Late 19th early 20th century.
Soldiers and officers of the Russian army in 1812
Exhibits
Mantel clock 1800, helmet of the lower ranks of the Carabinieri regiments of the 1810 model, cuirass of the lower ranks of the Carabinieri regiments of the 1810 model.
Travel clock. End of the 18th century.
Lithuanian attack. Sketch. N.S. Samokish. Beginning of XX century.
Household items XVIII - XIX century.
Set of dueling pistols with accessories. 1807-1810 years.
First aid kit
The helmet of the lower ranks of the heavy cavalry of the 1808 model and the cuirass of the lower ranks of the cuirassier regiments of the 1812 model.
Climb up the beautiful spiral staircase
Before us opens a magnificent panorama.
“The panorama of F.A. Rubo “The Battle of Borodino” depicts events related to approximately 10.30 am on August 26 (September 7), 1812. We are on an elevated place in the village of Semyonovskoye - a key point of position of the left wing of the Russian army, among the regiments of the 2nd Western Army, defending the eastern slope of the ravine.
From this hill you can clearly see the Semyonovsky ravine - the main natural obstacle protecting the Russian position from enemy attacks. On the opposite side of the ravine, the main forces of the Great Army of Emperor Napoleon are attacking the village of Semenovskoye.
“The battle of Borodino panorama was painted by the professor of the Imperial Academy of Arts Franz Alekseevich Roubaud for the 100th anniversary of the war of 1812.
A painting canvas of large size (115 meters long, 15 meters high) is hung in a circle.
The area between the viewing platform and the canvas is occupied by a subject plan, imperceptibly turning into painting, which enhances the impression of immersion in space.
Special lighting, combining reflected and diffused light, gives a feeling of spaciousness flooded with sunlight and a high summer sky overhead.
The opening of the panorama took place on August 29, 1912.
“On the eve of the Battle of Borodino (August 26 (September 7), 1812), the number of regular troops and Cossacks in the combined 1st and 2nd Western armies was 123,500 people with 624 guns. By this time, parts of the Moscow and Smolensk militias (no more than 10 thousand people) joined the army. Napoleon at Borodino had 136,700 men with 597 guns. Napoleon was confident that he would win a convincing victory in the upcoming battle, which would force Alexander I to negotiate peace. The battle, which began at 6 o'clock in the morning, lasted 15 hours. Kutuzov's armies, maintaining the integrity of the battle order, retreated 1-1.5 kilometers.
The losses of the Great Army amounted to 38 thousand people killed and wounded, among them 50 generals and one marshal. The losses of the Russian army amounted to 43 thousand people, including 27 generals.
Napoleon's hope for a victory that would give him an "honorable peace" did not come true: the Russian troops withstood the battle and were a force capable of continuing the war. Kutuzov's prediction that the French "will have nothing to finish off" turned out to be true: after the battle of Borodino, the Russian troops, weakened by heavy losses, were forced to continue their retreat.
Dish with the image of the Pashkov House. England, Staffordshire. 1820-1830 years.
"The Russian army and inhabitants leave Moscow in 1812". A.N. Semenov, A.S. Sokolov. 1958
"Fire of Moscow". Unknown artist. Beginning of XX century.
Order of the Chief of the General Staff Marshal Berthier dated September 17, 1812 to stop the robberies.
French bureaucratic sword. First Empire (1804-1814).
Medals. France. Paris Mint.
Russian soldiers at rest.
Camping samovar. Late 18th - early 19th century.
Psalter. Kyiv Lavra, 1768.
The flask for water is Cossack, black-glazed, adjustable. Late 18th - early 19th century.
A set of amputation instruments (twelve items in a case). Scotland, Still. 1800s.
“Prince Kutuzov rejects the peace proposed by Napoleon through General Lauriston” I. Ivanov. St. Petersburg 1813.
"Kalmyk of the Stavropol Kalmyk Regiment" 1812. M.V.Borisov 2007
Ural Cossack. A.O.Orlovsky. 1821
Denis Vasilievich Davydov. M.A. Ananiev from the portrait of J. Doe in the 1820s. 1959
"Partisans". Unknown artist. First quarter of the 19th century.
The painting depicts the moment of the Maloyaroslavets battle from a bird's eye view. Two days later, on October 15 (27), Napoleon ordered a retreat to the Old Smolensk Road, devastated during the first stage of the campaign.
"The feat of the battery of Colonel Nikitin in the battle of Krasnoy in 1812". M.O. Mikeshin. 1854
Ink device 19th century
"Napoleonic guards under the escort of the elder Vasilisa". A.G. Venetsianov. 1813
"Vologda warrior". Unknown artist. 1813
"Retirade of the French Generals". I.I. Terebenev. 1813
Sculpture of Napoleon with a removable top (casket). Late 19th - early 20th century.
Sculpture "French soldier leaning on a horse". Russia. Gardner factory. 1880-1890s.
Plaque with six miniature portraits of family members of a participant in the Patriotic War of 1812. Unknown artist. Early 19th century
Grand Duchess Ekaterina Pavlovna. 1815
Medallion "Battle of Arsis-sur-Aube". F.P. Tolstoy. End of the 19th century.
Medallion "Rodomysl". F.P. Tolstoy. End of the 19th century.
Glasses with fused medallions with images of Russian military leaders of the Patriotic War of 1812.
Ink device. Russia. 1830s.
Sculpture "Russian Grenadier" Late XIX - early XX century.
Private saber and officer's sword.
Borodino field today.
Working hours
The museum is open: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday - from 10.00 to 18.00, Thursday - from 10.00 to 21.00.
Entrance to the museum ends 45 minutes before closing time.
Sanitary day is the last Thursday of each month.
On the first Monday of each month, admission to the museum for families with many children and persons under 18 is free.
The third Sunday of every month the entrance to the museum for all categories of visitors is free
Ticket price:
Admission ticket adult 250 rubles, children 100 rubles, reduced 100 rubles.
Tour ticket
(on Saturdays and Sundays from 12:00 to 16:00 visiting the museum only with guided tours of the sessions): adult 400 rubles, children 250 rubles, preferential 350 rubles.
Ticket "Complex"
(excursion to the Panorama Museum, the museum "Kutuzovskaya Izba" and the territory of the historical and memorial complex on Kutuzovsky Prospekt)
adult 550 rubles, children 250 rubles, reduced 350 rubles.
Family ticket
Two adults and one child under the age of 17 purchase one ticket. Entrance ticket - 500 rubles
Excursion ticket -900 rubles
Ticket "Repeat"
Upon presentation of a ticket confirming a previous visit to the museum, a 20% discount on the cost of the entrance ticket is provided.
"3rd Sunday Ticket"
The ticket entitles you to receive guided tours at the Panorama Museum and the Kutuzovskaya Izba Museum on free admission days (third Sunday of each month). 225 rubles
Entrance ticket to the exhibition 100 rubles, preferential 50 rubles.
Address of the Panorama Museum:
Moscow, Kutuzovsky prospect, 38
How to get to the Borodino Battle Panorama Museum:
Directions to the Kutuzovskaya metro station, then on foot towards the Arc de Triomphe or by buses 91, 116, 157, trolleybuses 2, 7, 39, 44;
or to the metro station "Park Pobedy", then walk towards the Arc de Triomphe.
Official website of the Panorama Museum www.1812panorama.ru
- Museum-panorama "Battle of Borodino" is dedicated to the largest battle of the Patriotic War with France in 1812.
- Blade length Panorama of Borodino, painted in 1912 by battle painter Franz Roubaud, is 115 meters.
- Each episode of the battle can be considered in detail.
- Exposition of weapons and equipment of two armies, awards, objects of applied art, graphics and paintings inspired by the event.
- where the fateful military “council in Fili” took place, depicted by L. Tolstoy in the novel “War and Peace, with preserved icons and a stove.
- All important information has been translated into English, there are audio guides, it is possible to get on a guided tour.
On Kutuzovsky Prospekt there are two large memorial complexes dedicated to two Patriotic wars: on Poklonnaya Gora and the Battle of Borodino panorama museum. The Battle of Borodino panorama is dedicated to the largest battle of the Patriotic War with France, which is revered in Russia as a feat of Russian soldiers and officers. On September 7, 1812, not far from Moscow, Russian troops under the command of Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov and the army of the French Emperor Napoleon I met in a mortal battle. There are still disputes about the outcome of the battle. The parties suffered heavy losses, no one achieved a decisive victory.
The canvas depicts the battlefield as of 10 o'clock in the morning. The viewer, as it were, is in the center of the Russian positions near the village of Semenovskoye. The artist tried to create the impression that time has stopped, and the viewer can see in detail each episode of the battle. Credibility is added by the scenery in the foreground, which depicts a burning village, a broken battery and an abandoned camp, where a camping cauldron still hangs over a fire. The panorama site is equipped with electronic scoreboards with comments on individual panorama episodes.
In addition to the panorama and the already mentioned exposition, the museum complex includes the Kutuzov hut, the chapel of the Archangel Michael and. In the place where the panorama is now located, the village of Fili used to be located, in which, after the Battle of Borodino, the headquarters of the Russian army was located. Then the fateful military "council in Fili", depicted in "War and Peace", passed. At this council, it was decided to leave Moscow, saving the army for regrouping and future battles. Since then, the expression "council in Fili" has become a household word, meaning a tense discussion before a serious decision.
The hut in which the historic meeting took place belonged to the peasant Mikhail Frolov. To this day, icons, a tiled stove and a bench, on which, perhaps, the field marshal himself sat, have survived from the original furnishings. The hut was first recreated as a museum in 1886 according to a drawing by A. Savrasov. In 2010, after the test of time and circumstances, the museum was restored and reopened to visitors. Now in the hut there is an exhibition dedicated to M. Kutuzov and the peasant life of his time; there are also interactive activities for children.
In 1912, next to the hut in honor of the Archangel Michael, the heavenly patron of the Russian army, a chapel was erected. It was founded on October 1, 1910 - in memory of the name day of Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov. The chapel in the historical Russian-Byzantine style was built by architects N. Strukov and M. Litvinov. The building of the chapel was decorated with decor and mosaics. This chapel-museum became the first "named" museum of Kutuzov in Russia: it contained samples of weapons and uniforms of 1812, personal belongings of the field marshal. The traveling carriage of Mikhail Illarionovich, in which he traveled through many battles, was also kept in the museum - the “nail” of the exposition.
Services in the chapel continued until 1930: representatives of the Soviet authorities decided that the chapel should be closed as an object of worship, and with it the museum. The dome was demolished, and if it were not for the architect P. Baranovsky, who was included in the expert commission for assessing the value of the historical monument, the temple would have met the saddest fate. The building survived, but began to serve the workers' club, and then - the USSR Ministry of Finance and a private enterprise. Only in 1994 the chapel was returned to the Moscow Patriarchy. After the restoration, her new life began: Patriarch Alexy II consecrated the temple-chapel on November 17, 2000. Now both the chapel-museum and the Kutuzov hut are included in the memorial complex-museum of the Battle of Borodino.
The Museum-Panorama “Battle of Borodino” has been standing at the end of Kutuzovsky Prospekt for 50 years. The building, very laconic in its architecture, not beautiful, rather utilitarian, was erected in 1962 for the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Borodino.
The unusual round shape is subordinated to the purpose of the building - the exposition of a colossal panorama painting, painted in turn for the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Borodino. The authors of the project are Soviet architects Korabelnikov, Kuzmin and Kuchanov and engineer Avrutin. When designing, they used the recommendations of F.A. Roubaud, given by him during the construction of the original building of the panorama.
Panorama F.A.Rubo
Stop! This is where you should have started! After all, the main thing here is precisely the panorama painted by Franz Alekseevich Roubaud, a wonderful artist, French by birth, German by language and a real Russian person by spirit. Franz Roubaud was born in 1856 in Odessa in the family of a bookseller from Marseille, Alex Roubaud. In early childhood, Franz showed an interest in drawing and at the age of nine he was assigned to the Odessa School of Drawing and Drafting. In 1877 he entered the Bavarian Royal Academy of Arts in Munich. 
Roubaud's teacher was the famous battle painter Josef Brandt. During the holidays, Franz constantly traveled to Russia, traveled around the Caucasus and Central Asia. In the 80s. XIX century Roubaud painted 19 large canvases for the “Temple of Glory” in Tiflis. To fulfill this order, the artist carefully studied the history of the Caucasian wars, painted many sketches, including a whole portrait gallery of the Caucasian highlanders.
In 1889, Franz Alekseevich was already quite famous. 
The Imperial Society for the Encouragement of Arts organizes his first solo exhibition. For this exhibition, Roubaud specially painted several canvases, including the “Living Bridge” presented at the Borodino Panorama Museum.
F.A. Rubo. "Living Bridge"
This episode has nothing to do with the Napoleonic Wars, it is taken from the history of the Persian campaign. Colonel Karyakin, who was at the head of a small detachment of Russian troops, retreated to the Mukhrat fortress. On the way, his soldiers met a deep crevice, through which it was impossible to transport the guns. To abandon the cannons meant to give them to the enemy and cover oneself with indelible shame. Then one of the soldiers jumped down to the bottom of the crevice. Others followed his example and, standing on each other's shoulders, they built a bridge with their bodies. On it, and managed to transport the guns. 
After the exhibition, Roubaud begins creating his first large panorama. It was dedicated to the key event of the Caucasian wars - the assault on Shamil's stronghold of the mountain fortress of Akhulgo. 
This panorama was preserved in the form of 4 fragments, which are in poor condition, since in 1924 it suffered from a flood, and then was transferred to the Dagestan Museum, where there were no conditions for its restoration.
F.A. Rubo. "Defense of Sevastopol"
In 1901, the artist received an official order to create the panorama "Defense of Sevastopol". Franz Alekseevich worked on it for about 3 years. In May 1905, the panorama was presented to the public, and from 1909 it was placed in a special building in Sevastopol. In the summer of 1942, shortly before the fall of Sevastopol, the panorama building caught fire from a Nazi air bomb. The defenders of the city cut the panorama into 86 pieces and took it out of the city on a warship. After the war, all units were reunited and returned to Sevastopol. 
While working on this panorama, Roubaud found out about his election as a professor at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, and a few years later the master was elected an academician and awarded the Order of St. Anna 2nd degree.
F.A. Rubo. Panorama “Battle of Borodino”
In 1909, preparations began in Russia for the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Borodino. F.A. Rubo proposes to write a panorama dedicated to the feat of the Russian people in the war of 1812. The idea was supported at the highest level and among the Russian public.
Initially, the artist wanted to depict successive events from 10:00 to 12:00 on September 7 in a panorama. However, the commission for the celebrations proposed a different plot: the climax of the battle, the fall of the Semenov flushes and the massive attacks of the Napoleonic cavalry. Foreign policy influenced the change in the plot - it was the time of the creation and strengthening of the Entente - the Russian-French military alliance, which Great Britain later joined.
Franz Roubaud complained: “I am writing a panorama for the Russians, and they make me write the triumph of the French.” 
Preparatory work - studying the sources, getting to know the area, writing sketches took two years, the panorama itself was written in 11 months. A temporary wooden pavilion was built for its exposition. 
In the summer of 1912, the building was completed, the panorama was placed, and the artist was able to note with satisfaction that it (the panorama) was successful and better than the one in Sevastopol. was the last in the work of the master. In 1913, he left for Germany, believing that for a while, but it turned out that forever. The outbreak of World War I, then the October Revolution forced the artist to stay in Europe. He, being a Frenchman by nationality, who lived in Germany for a long time, always considered himself a Russian artist. these signs I should be considered a Russian artist. In Europe, Roubaud failed to write anything even close in artistic value to.
Franz Alekseevich died in 1928 in Munich. His artistic heritage includes more than 200 paintings and many sketches and drawings.
The history of the panorama itself turned out to be much more dramatic than the history of its creator. After the October Revolution, the Bolsheviks handed over the building of the panorama along with the painting by F.A. Rubo to the Electrotechnical School. The building began to be used for meetings and rallies, and by the spring of 1918 it had fallen into complete disrepair. The canvas was removed, rolled onto a wooden shaft, and for almost 40 years it was stored in completely unsuitable premises - under the stage in the Neskuchny Garden, in the basement of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (later destroyed), in the warehouse of the Hermitage Garden. Considering the disdainful and nihilistic attitude of the communists towards national history, it can be considered a miracle that the painting survived at all. In 1939, Igor Grabar himself recognized the impossibility of its restoration. However, in the 50s. XX century artists of the battle painting studio. Grekov were able to restore the canvas. At the same time, about 150 m2 of battle scenes and approximately 500 m2 of the sky were restored. On October 18, 1962, the Panorama Museum reopened its doors to its guests.
More topics are devoted to the Borodino Panorama Museum.
Franz Alekseevich Roubaud (1856-1928) is rightfully considered the creator of the Russian historical panorama. The son of a poor French merchant who moved to Odessa in the middle of the 19th century, he worked most of his life in Munich after graduating from the Bavarian Academy of Arts and never had Russian citizenship. "... I always paint pictures from Russian life and Russian military life, for all these signs I should be considered a Russian artist ..." - this is how the battle painter defined the main theme of all his work.
The centenary of the battle of Borodino was approaching, and well-known historians, military and political figures, soldiers and officers of the Russian army, and artists were involved in the preparation of which.
The decision to execute a panorama on this topic arose in 1910, when Colonel V.A. . Kolyubakin is a military historian, head of the special jubilee commission of the St. Petersburg Council of the same Society.
The first sketch of the panorama was created by the artist in 1910, but was not approved. Then it was decided to portray "noon, when the huge cavalry attacks of the Napoleonic cavalry began" - at this time the main hostilities took place in the area of \u200b\u200bthe village of Semyonovskoye.
Roubaud considered it his main task to create a Russian panorama, so it was important what moment of the battle would be depicted on the canvas and the subject plan. Having carefully studied numerous sources, he sought to show the battle "where all the infantry, cavalry and artillery fought desperately," since he believed that the basis of the active defense of the Russian troops in the battle of Borodino was the successful interaction of different branches of the military.
The embodiment of such a military-historical concept was facilitated by a panoramic form, which made it possible to depict events developing in time. This is determined by one of the features of human vision, which implies a sequence of views, which includes time in a very compressed form. Thus, the panorama makes it possible to combine episodes of the battle at different times, which most fully express the main idea of the artist. That is why Roubaud chose the events on the Borodino field in the afternoon, when huge masses of cavalry were involved in the battle, which gave the battle scene excessive bravura, as the regiments of the guards infantry of the Russian army moved into the background, and other bright episodes of the commonwealth of different military branches at this time did not occur.
Choosing for the Borodino panorama those episodes of the battle in which the highest tension of the emotional and physical strength of Russian soldiers and officers was manifested, thanks to which military success was achieved, Roubaud, like L.N. Tolstoy emphasizes the moral superiority of the Russian army over the enemy. The depiction of all types of troops gave the artist the opportunity to show the diversity of movements of huge masses, to coordinate and balance dynamic episodes with static ones. Through these diverse actions, the virtuoso master of battle composition conveys the features of the psychological state of the fighting troops.
Everyday details in the landscape are rare, but still they can be seen. In the foreground, at Raevsky's battery, Roubaud painted a small plowed strip of a rye field. Among the dumps of loose soil on the edge of the arable land, an abandoned plow remained - an instrument of peaceful peasant labor. The war interrupted the occupation of the plowman, the fruits of his efforts are mercilessly destroyed during the battle, and the plow forgotten by him, which intensifies the tragedy of the war, has become a symbol of peace and silence.
Roubaud was forced to enhance the "picture" in the depiction of the actions of the infantry at the Semenov Heights, to emphasize its "daring" in the reflection of Friant's division. “In order to have a sense of battle, and not a parade, there must be an action of French artillery and a reflection of Friant,” he believed. The battle painter strove not to follow the path of creating visual effects and wanted to choose a point of view that would make it possible to show the stubborn battles of Kutuzov's troops with the enemy: and it will be closer to Borodin and Gorki, and this is more important than getting closer to Poniatovsky, to Utitsa, where everything is hidden by a dense forest.
For this purpose, Roubaud again visited the Borodino field on August 26, 1911, when, obviously, he changed the point of view, bringing it closer to the ravine and the southern outskirts of the village of Semenovskoye. From here, the Russian left flank was clearly visible to the Utitsky forest, as well as the heights where the enemy troops rushed. From this point, the battle painter was able to show more clearly the reflection of the enemy's cavalry attacks by the Russian guards infantry.
At the end of May 1912, the panorama "Battle of Borodino" created in collaboration with the battle painter K. Becker, landscape painters K. Frosch, Tseno-Dimer and Muller was completed.
To the centenary of the Battle of Borodino in a building designed by military engineer P.A. Vorontsov-Velyaminov, on Chistoprudny Boulevard in Moscow, this monumental work glorifying the feat of the peoples of Russia was opened... Roubaud created "a whole and sublime image of a heroic military deed"... It became the result of the battle painter's work and his important contribution to the world panoramic art.
