>>39672
>Or maybe he really just looked like a creep irl.

He also had somewhat crazy personality, had some energy etc. And also urinary tract problems in late times that gave him constant pain. So, maybe he really looked like this.

>>39673

Yes, maybe his image influenced his depictions in art, especially in late art where he has image of great emperor who reformed Russia.

>>39678
>I cannot for the life of me remember where I heard or read it but basically the building of st petersburg was a freemasonic endeavour. I will try and find the source.

Of course Peter had some masonic/secret society influence. It was trend to join some society in these times for common aristocrat. His close friends (often a foreigners on Russian service) like Jacob Bruce (known as "wizard" in folk knowledge) or Franz Lefort (allegedly freemason) were into these things.

Although SPb had plenty of strategic purposes without these theories, but Peter surely had image of some ideal city in his mind, and his mind had these influences.

Also fun thing that foreigners rarely know: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_All-Joking,_All-Drunken_Synod_of_Fools_and_Jesters