The Large Sitting-Room

The Large Sitting-Room is the most spacious and solemn room in the house. Due to the large oriels facing the northern and southern balconies the interior and the outer landscape unite into a single composition.
In the main room of the house there are a lot of pieces of art of the 18th-19th centuries. Organized according to the classical principle of symmetry and the balance of volume, these different items compile in a single ensemble. The main decorations of the room are a large bronze chandelier with a mythological sculpture on the top and French candelabrums and clocks on the fireplace.
Such exhibits as a wooden card-table of the late 18th century and comfortable "wash-tub" armchairs of balanced shape (Russia, the early 19th century) are also interesting. A round table decorated with Italian mosaic and a "crapeau" style sofa (the 1840s) can easily draw one's attention. Really beautiful are porcelain articles of Russian and Foreign factories made in the 18th-19th cent.
An important role in the Large Sitting-Room is plated by the family portrait gallery.
The oldest portrait by an unknown artist of Peter the Great's time represents a far ancestor of the Engelgardts, N.I. Kudryavtsev, clad in armor. In his mighty figure we can see a very strong will, which was characteristic for the outstanding people of that time. Kudryavtsev was a hero of the Poltava battle. He was awarded a sword of Damask steel by Peter the Great himself.
In 1777 G. Serdiukov painted a portrait of E.P. Buturlina, L.N. Engelgardt's mother. With its touching simplicity it can be considered one of the best works of the artist. A ceremonial portrait of the infantry general S.K. Vyazmitinov, the husband of L.N. Engelgardt's younger sister, was painted by an unknown artist who was probably close to O. Kiprensky. In this painting all the standards of Russian ceremonial portrait are kept high.
The portraits of L.N. Engelgardt and his wife (in oil, the early 1810s) are typical examples of chamber genre in art.
In 1816 in Kazan a famous pastel painter K.Bardout created a family portrait of the Engelgardts. Painted in a sentimental and romantic way, the portrait expresses the spirit of love that was dominant in Engelgardt's family.
Along with the portraits that belonged to the Boratynsky, in the Large Sitting-Room there also are some portraits that belonged to the Tyutchevs and the Putyata.
The most beautiful of them is a pastel of the F.I. Tyutchev's mother Catherine in the age of 14. The painter I. Bard managed to express all the charm and beauty of the young girl.
A serf-painter G. Belov created a realistic image of Tyutchev's aunt N.N. Sheremeteva, a strong and independent woman, a close friend of N.V. Gogol.
The portraits of A.N. and A.F. Nadarzhinsky, Tyutchev's aunt and her husband, were painted by F.Rokotov in 1783-174. The portraits express all the unique features of the style of this great Russian artist.