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22
InessaSvirida
wellandunderstooditasthecommonheritage
ofthePolish-LithuanianCommonwealth(Rzec-
zpospolitaObojgaNarodów).SaundersinVilna,
justlikehiscolleagueJohannGottliebBuhle,who
taughtthehistoryofartatMoscowUniversity
from1804,thoroughlysupportednationalartand
thedevelopmentofarteducationandstroveto
provethenecessityofbringingupindigenouslo-
calartists,whichwasnotjustapragmaticdesireto
ensurehimajob.
AsfarasthelettertoprinceGolitsyniscon-
cerned,itisusefulowingtowhatSaunderswrotein
itandwhatheleftout.Thelatterespeciallyapplies
tohisteachinginSt.PetersburgandintheHeraldic
office-tomentionitwouldhavebeenveryim-
portantforhim,becausehedidnothaveasuffi-
cientteachingrecordtoreceiveapension.Withthe
Heraldicoffice,ithasemerged,hesignedcontracts
twice(1803,1805).Yetsofarithasnotbeenpos-
sibletonameanyofhisengravingsdepictingcoats
ofarms.Accordingtothedocumentsdiscovered,
theinformationrepeatedafterRovinskythatSaun-
dershadsevenpupilsthere28doesnotcorrespond
toreality,either.ContrarytotheEmperor)swishes,
theAcademyrefusedtotransferitspupilstoSaun-
dersfortuition.ThereisnoevidencethatSaunders
ownedaprivateschoolinSt.Petersburg.Atthe
Hermitage,onlyoneengravinghasbeenpreserved
withtheinscriptionCmadeunderthedirectionof
J.Saunders)
.InthelettertoGolitsynhementions
onlyMichalPodolińskiashispupilinSt.Peters-
burg.
Saunderswasnotveryhelpfultothosewho
wroteabouthim.ManymysteriesofSaunders)bi-
ographyhavearisenduetothepeculiaritiesofhis
ownbehaviorandstatementsorstubbornsilence.
Inhislettersandotherwritings,heappearstobe
anexpansive,passionateandenthusiasticmanin
themattersofreligionandthearts.Heardently
Ccaredtomakesurethatfineartsweresurrounded
withrespectinsociety)andstronglyadvocated
theirbenefitsandnecessity.29Justasardently,he
strovetobringScriptureintothelifeofthepeople
asamemberoftheBiblicalSociety,inwhosework
heparticipatedasadeeplyreligiousAnglican.This
didnotprecludehimfrombecominganactive
28ThisinformationmadeitswayalsointoPolskiSłownik
Biograficzny(PolishBibliographicDictionary)-Janonienė
(1994:vol.25:266).
29Bieliński(1900:73,T.3).
freemason.Suchacombinationwascharacteristic
ofthattime.
Alongwiththis,Saundersleftminimalinfor-
mationabouthispersonallife.Inthisrespect,he
fulfilledthestereotypeofthereservedEnglishman.
Hehasalwaysbeenperceivedassuch,yetherarely
emphasizedhisorigins.Asanexception,heonce
indicateditintheinscriptionsunderhisengraving:
CEngravedbyJ.Saunders)andinRussian:Cengraved
EnglishmanSanders)
.ThewordCEnglish)onlyap-
pearsinhiswritinginconnectionwiththeEng-
lishnationalschoolofpaintingandengraving.He
writesaboutEnglandsolelytojustifythenecessity
ofsendingstudentsthere.Itisdifficulttoexplain
thereasonswhyheavoidedgivinganyinformation
abouthisLondonperiod.
Saunders)onlypersonalstatement,perceivedas
themostmysterious,unexpectedlyappearsinhis
inaugurationspeechattheUniversity(1810,see
below).Thislecturerevealshonest,albeitexalted,
poeticwords.Theytellofacrucialmomentin
Saunders)creativedestinyandtheroleofartinhis
life,whichintheendpredeterminedallofhisbi-
ographyandtheessenceofhisunderstandingofthe
world.CWhenIstoodontheedgeoftheblackest
despair)-hesaid-Cwhenthethornsoflifeseemed
tohavepiercedthroughme,yourinfluence,ohart,
asthedaystarforthesailordevoidofcoordinates,
wasabletorevivehopewhichhadbeennearlyex-
tinguishedinme,toalleviatemysufferingandto
bringmytroubledfeelingstoasafeandpeaceful
haven)30.
Itispossibletofindanexplanationtothese
wordsbyturningtohisSt.Petersburgyears.Reim-
erswhohadcited,inthementionedbookabout
St.PetersburgAcademy,thebrilliantreviewby
Doyen,believedinhisturnthat,(havingovercome
allpossibleobstacles(myitalics.-I.S.)thisyoung
artistdaybydayabundantlyproveshiscalling”31.
Thenatureofthisworksuggeststhathewasre-
ferringtosomethingextremelyserious.Onecould
surmisethatalreadythentheincurablegravestform
ofgoutletitselfknown.Accordingtodoctors)ac-
countsitkeptSaundersCconstantlybetweenlifeand
death)
.Evennowgoutisconsideredtobeoneofthe
mostpainfulandincurableillnesses.Itwasthisthat
forcedSaunderstochangehisplacesofresidencein
searchofbetterclimateconditionsandpartedhim
30Saunders(1816:298).
31Reimers(1807:155).
