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The Chapel of the Resurrection at the Catherine Palace was dedicated on July 30, 1756, in the presence of Empress Elizabeth. A bronze plaque discovered in the altar during repair work following the fire of 1820 commemorates this event. The Chapel was built in 1745 - 1748 by Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli with the participation of Andrei Kvasov and Savva Chevakinsky. Despite the fact that the Palace Chapel was twice damaged by fire (in 1820 and 1863), prior to World War II the spacious Chapel and Choir Loft painted in two colours retained practically the same appearance they were given by Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli. The Chapel was fabulously elegant, in keeping with the decor of the Formal Enfilade of the Catherine Palace. The gilded Corinthian columns with twining open-work carved garlands, figures of angels and ornamental details stood out to great effect against the Prussian blue walls. The collection of paintings included one hundred and fourteen icons in carved gilded frames of various forms, and also ceiling murals. The first six icons were painted by the artist G. Groot for the Catherine Chapel, and upon his death work was continued by the Kolokonikov brothers, Mina and Fedot, who produced fifty nine icons. A sketch for the "Resurrection" ceiling mural was executed by the famous artist Giuseppe Valeriani, but the sketch perished in a fire in 1749, and the artist was forced to recreate it. The central element of the ceiling mural was the Resurrection of Christ, and the sides depicted Faith, Hope, Love, and Wisdom. The Palace Chapel suffered extensive damage during the fire of 1820. The ceiling mural and carvings perished. Only the icons could be saved. The architect Vasily Stasov was commissioned by order of Emperor Alexander I to recreate the Chapel. The wood carving in the Chapel was replaced with gilded papier-mâché. In 1823, the artist V. K. Shebuev recreated Giuseppe Valeriani's ceiling mural. A short church service was conducted at the Palace Chapel on November 1, 1768, after Empress Catherine II recovered from an illness resulting from a smallpox inoculation. During the last years of her life, Empress Catherine II most often listened to the liturgy from the choir loft, while the members of the imperial family and court stood on the first floor of the Chapel. It was here on July 6, 1796, that Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich, later to become Emperor Nicholas I, was christened. On March 11 and 12, 1826, the Palace Chapel was used to display the coffin of Emperor Alexander I, who had died in Taganrog, and it was here the marriage between the Swedish duke of Soedermanland and Maria Pavlovna was held. During World War II, the Chapel was destroyed and the icons stolen. Today work by the Kolokonikov brothers can only be viewed at the St. Nicholas Cathedral in St. Petersburg. The Palace Chapel is now closed to visitors since it has been merely conserved, and not restored.