How a Scot was the architect of sculptor’s gaffe
THEY are known as ‘The Architects’ – eight statues in St Petersburg’s main park that honour the men who helped a city rise from Russia’s northern marshes.
Yet if the bronzes could speak, seven may well protest that the eighth, seated at a table, is an imposter.
Seven years after its unveiling, civic leaders learned to their horror that instead of paying tribute to Frenchman Jean-François Thomas de Thomon, who designed a number of the city’s buildings, the seated man depicts a Scottish chemist with a similar name but no special ties to Russia.
Sculptors who scoured the internet for images of de Thomon confused him with Perthshire-born scientist Thomas Thomson, regius professor of chemistry at Glasgow University from 1818 to 1852. Chief sculptor Alexander Taratynov admits he used a Wikipedia image purporting to be of de Thomon, which other sites wrongly corroborated.
Mr Taratynov said: ‘We did not refer to historians. We were confident that the internet would give us the correct information.’
He is seeking ways to make amends with the city fathers and gas giant Gazprom, which commissioned the work.
He has not received a request to amend his statue and told Interfax news agency: ‘There’s nothing on my sculpture that says this is de Thomon. We can present it as a composite image of architects of that time.’
The blunder has amused Glasgow University. Principal Anton Muscatelli tweeted: ‘Goodness, there’s a bit of @UofGlasgow @ UofGChem history in St Petersburg…’ A university spokesman said the accidental tribute to a ‘remarkable individual’ has given us much cause to smile’.