The print on display at the State Pushkin Museum shows a corner of the Stroganov Park on the banks of the Chyornaya Rechka (Black River) in St. Petersburg. In terms of its design and layout, the landscape park was an allegorical representation of the journey of Odysseus in Homer’s epic poem. Opposite the Stroganov residence was a pond (a “sea”) with a marble statue of Neptune. At the center of the pond was an island with a hut that represented the nymph Calypso holding Odysseus captive. The wanderings of Odysseus around the world were represented by a number of structures: the Muslim Pavilion, an obelisk, and the Egyptian Gates.

In Pushkin’s times, this part of St. Petersburg had many cottages available for rent. Additionally, various festivities took place there. Due to its proximity to the famous Imperial Kamenny and Yelagin Islands, the area became fashionable. The Miller cottage was located on the northern bank of the Chyornaya Rechka, from which one could cross over the bridge to the Stroganov cottage on the southern bank. Pushkin and his family rented the Miller cottage for two summers — in 1833 and 1835. The poet spent happy days there, visiting friends and writing.

The Chyornaya Rechka is remembered as the site of the duel between Alexander Pushkin and Georges-Charles d’Anthès. The event occurred on January 27, 1837 at five in the afternoon behind the Commandant’s Cottage. Pushkin succumbed to his wounds on the 29th of January (old calendar), at 2:45 pm. On February 15, 1937, Vasily Zhukovsky wrote to the poet’s father,