Gravestone Depicting Grieving Mother

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This poignant sculpture is a heartfelt tribute to a mother mourning the loss of her child. The artist's identity remains unknown, but their affinity for Neo-Classical style is unmistakable, harking back to 19th-century aesthetics. What sets this sculpture apart is the exquisite fabric that envelops them both, heightening the tragedy of her child's passing. The State Museum of City Sculptures was established in 1932 with a mission to study, restore, and protect city sculptures and gravestones. The museum is responsible for maintaining many of St Petersburg's most iconic sculptures. With several branches scattered throughout the city, the main ones are concentrated within the former territory of the Aleksandro-Nevsky Lavra, which was granted to the museum upon its founding. The Tikhvinskoe Cemetery in the Aleksandro-Nevsky Lavra was founded in 1823 and named after the Our Lady of Tikhvin Church, built between 1869 and 1873. In 1931, the church was closed, and in 1932, the cemetery became a branch of the State Museum of City Sculptures, known as the Necropolis of Masters of Culture. This branch is renowned for being the final resting place of many prominent figures from Russian culture, including writers Fyodor Dostoevsky, Nikolai Karamzin, and Ivan Krylov; composers Aleksandr Borodin, Mikhail Glinka, Modest Musorgsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and Pyotr Tchaikovsky; and artists Boris Kustodiev, Ivan Kramskoy, and Ivan Shishkin.