Auguste de Montferrand

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Montferrand's Monument to Nicholas I is one of the few equestrian statues in the world with merely two support points.

Henri Louis Auguste Ricard de Montferrand (January 23, 1786 – June 28, 1858) was a French Neoclassical architect working in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Montferrand was born in Chaillot, Cher, France. He studied architecture under Charles Percier. In 1816 he moved to Russia and settled in St. Petersburg. Here he won a competition to design the new Saint Isaac's Cathedral, whose golden dome today dominates the skyline of St. Petersburg. He oversaw the building project from 1818 until 1858, when the largest Orthodox church in the world was finally completed.

In addition, Montferrand designed two engineering wonders, the equestrian Monument to Nicholas I in front of the cathedral and the Alexander Column in Palace Square. The column is positioned so as to be perfectly aligned with the entrance to the Winter Palace and the triumphal arch. The following year, 1833, Tsar Nicholas I commissioned him to help with the restoration of parts of the Winter Palace, providing Montferrand with an opportunity to design the Field Marshals' Hall and the Memorial Room of Peter the Great.

Auguste de Montferrand died in St. Petersburg in 1858, the year St. Isaac's Cathedral was completed. His will to be buried in the vault of that cathedral could not be executed, because he was not of Orthodox faith. His wife had his body returned to France where he was buried in the Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris, France.