Wender·Vista
Tsarskoye Selo
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileRussia
south of Saint Petersburg, in the town of Pushkin

Tsarskoye Selo

— — the blue a winter palace keeps.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“The summer residence the Romanovs reached by carriage, a half-day south of the capital. Rastrelli's Catherine Palace runs almost a thousand feet along the park, the facade a pale blue that holds its colour through the long Russian winters. The Amber Room was lost in the war and rebuilt, panel by panel, across twenty-four years. The grounds still keep their quiet.

from the studio
Tsarskoye Selo
— bring it home

Tsarskoye Selo, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Tsarskoye Selo

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Tsarskoye Selo sits about 25 kilometres south of Saint Petersburg, in the town now called Pushkin. Peter the Great deeded the land to his wife Catherine I in 1710, and the estate grew into the summer residence of the Russian imperial family for two centuries. The park covers roughly 600 hectares and holds two principal palaces, the Catherine and the Alexander, along with formal gardens, follies, and the Cameron Gallery. The complex was inscribed as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site covering the historic centre of Saint Petersburg in 1990.

— the stone

The Catherine Palace was rebuilt between 1752 and 1756 by Bartolomeo Rastrelli for Empress Elizabeth, who wanted something on the scale of Versailles. The facade runs 325 metres, painted the pale blue of a Baltic winter sky, picked out in white columns and gilded caryatids. The Amber Room, originally a gift from Frederick William I of Prussia in 1716, was looted by German forces in 1941 and never recovered. The reconstruction took twenty-four years and opened in 2003 to mark the city's tercentenary.

— the visit

The State Museum-Preserve administers the Catherine Palace, the Alexander Palace, and the surrounding park. Admission to the Catherine Palace is timed and entry is metered; the Amber Room is the choke point, and summer queues regularly stretch past midday. Independent visitors are routed through a separate gate from tour groups, and a same-day ticket is rarely available in July. The park itself is open year round and admits walkers without a palace ticket. Pushkin is reached from Saint Petersburg by suburban train from Vitebsky station in about thirty minutes.

— where
Russia · Pushkin, Saint Petersburg
— position
59.7167° N · 30.4000° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
1 km W
Alexander Palace
imperial palace
5 km SE
Pavlovsk Palace
imperial palace
25 km N
Saint Petersburg
city
N
Tsarskoye Selo
Alexander Palace
Pavlovsk Palace
Saint Petersburg
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Tsarskoye Selo — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

The name means Tsar's Village in Russian. Peter the Great granted the estate to his wife Catherine I in 1710, and the imperial family used it as their summer residence for two centuries afterward.

Bartolomeo Rastrelli, an Italian-born architect working for the Russian court, rebuilt it between 1752 and 1756 for Empress Elizabeth. The Baroque facade and gilded interiors are his signature.

The original panels, gifted by Frederick William I of Prussia in 1716, were stripped by German troops in 1941 and lost. A full reconstruction was completed in 2003.

Yes. The town was renamed Detskoye Selo in 1918 and Pushkin in 1937, honouring the poet who attended the Imperial Lyceum there. The palace complex still goes by both names.

The park grounds are open year round and admit pedestrians without a palace ticket. The Catherine Palace operates on timed entry and closes one day each week, usually Tuesday.

About 25 kilometres south. Suburban trains from Vitebsky station reach Pushkin in roughly thirty minutes; the palace is a further short bus ride or twenty-minute walk from the station.

— about the piece in your home

It has been a meaningful gift for our customers with Russian roots. Tsarskoye Selo carries the memory of the imperial city and of Pushkin's school years. A Small with a handwritten studio note travels well.

The pale blue and gilded palette suits Traditional, Grandmillennial, and European Classical rooms. It also reads well against a deep teal or oxblood wall in a Modern Historicist study or library.

Yes. Baroque palaces in jewel tones sit at the centre of the current Dark Maximalist and Grandmillennial moments. The tile's gilding and stained-glass treatment carry that energy without tipping into pastiche.

A single Large reads well above a console. For a sofa wall, a 4-tile Mural holds the space; a 9-tile Mural anchors a larger room with high ceilings and a long sightline.

Yes. Choose the Dura Satin or Matte finish for any wet or vertical install. The colour is infused into the ceramic surface and will not lift in steam or warm shower air.

A microfibre cloth and water. The finish does not need polish or sealant. Avoid abrasive pads and ammonia-based sprays, which dull the surface over time.

Yes. Every piece in the WenderVista atlas is made in our Knoxville studio under Reid Wender, our curator. We do not licence outside imagery and we do not resell.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.