Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation
Ural State
Architecture and Art Academy
Abstract on the topic:
"Palace architecture by B.F. Rastrelli"
Completed by student gr.
Checked:
Yekaterinburg 2008
1. Biography of Rastrelli
2. Buildings:
2.1. Peterhof 1747-1755
2.2. Winter Palace in St. Petersburg.
2.3. Catherine (Great) Palace in Tsarskoe Selo
2.4 The Hermitage in Tsarskoe Selo 1743-1753
2.5. Grotto ("Morning Hall") in Tsarskoe Selo 1749-1761
2.6. Vorontsov Palace in St. Petersburg 1749-1757
2.7. Stroganov Palace, construction 1752-1754
3. Applications
4. References
1. Rastrelli Bartolomeo Francesco (1700-1771)
Rastrelli(Rastrelli) Varfolomey Varfolomeevich (Bartolomeo Francesco), Russian architect, head of the Russian baroque of the mid-18th century. Italian by birth, son of BK Rastrelli. In 1716 he came with his father to St. Petersburg. Studied abroad (possibly in Italy) between 1725-30. In 1730-63 he was a court architect. Mansard roofs with steep breaks (in the so-called Third Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, 1732-33), rusticism [in the palaces of Biron in Rundal (1736-40) and Mitava (now Jelgava, 1738-40); both points on the territory of Latvia], the emphasized horizontal articulation and flatness of the interpretation of the facades, their restrained decor testify to the proximity of the early buildings of Rastrelli to the Russian. architecture of the 1st quarter of the 18th century
In the mature period (1740-1750s), the traditions of European Baroque architecture were rethought by Rastrelli under the influence of Russian national artistic culture. This was manifested in the desire for the spatial scope of the architectural ensemble, the use of bell towers, chapters, porches, thin columns, etc., characteristic of Russian architecture, the enthusiasm for the colors of the walls, gilding, and plant motifs in the decor. New qualities in Rastrelli's work were reflected already in the first large buildings of the 40s. - the wooden Summer Palace in St. Petersburg (1741-44, not preserved) and St. Andrew's Church in Kiev (project 1747; built in 1748-67 by the architect I.F. Michurin). In the last Rastrelli, creatively using the traditions of Russian. architecture of the 17th century, created a contrast between the massive central dome and four thin tower-like side domes, emphasized their vertical orientation: the domes seem to be a continuation of the columns located at the corners of the building, and seem to grow from its base, giving the building dynamism, aspiration upward.
In 1747-52 Rastrelli worked on the construction of the Grand Palace in Peterhof (see Petrodvorets). Having retained the main composition of the palace of the Peter the Great, Rastrelli expanded its middle part, added to its ends the palace church and the "building under the coat of arms", distinguished by the graceful proportions, expressive silhouette and festive decorative appearance, and re-created all the interiors. Rastrelli's lavish and festive interiors are characterized by bright polychromy, an abundance of decor: reflections in numerous mirrors, shimmering gilding of wooden carvings, parquet patterns, painted plafonds, cartouches, shells, sparkling and shimmering, created a background full of splendor for palace ceremonies.
During the construction of the palaces M.I. Vorontsov (1749-57) and S.G. Stroganov (1752-54) in St. Petersburg, the formation of the mature Rastrelli style was completed. The divisions of the facades and the interpretation of the walls acquire extraordinary plasticity in Rastrelli's buildings. Rastrelli makes extensive use of external columns; collected in pairs and beams, now heading towards the center, now grouping around the main compositional nodes of the building, they do not play a direct constructive role and acquire the character of a tectonic decor. Rastrelli also rebuilt the Great (Catherine) Palace (1752-57) in Tsarskoe Selo (see Pushkin). The longitudinal axis of the building became the main spatial coordinate in its plan; the huge length of two parallel enfilades of ceremonial rooms, the scale of which increases towards the center - Great hall and the Art Gallery, highlighted by the removal of the main staircase to the southwest end of the building. The rhythmic variety of the order system of the facade, large protrusions of the colonnades with entablature braces above them, deep depressions windows, creating a rich play of light and shade, an abundance of stucco and decorative sculpture, polychromy of the facades give the building an emotionally rich, festive and solemn look. Rastrelli's two later buildings, the Smolny Monastery (1748-54) and the Winter Palace (1754-62) in St. Petersburg, which he conceived as grandiose, self-contained urban ensembles, are also imbued with jubilant power and grandeur.
With the coming to power of Catherine II, the baroque fashion disappeared, and the Smolny Monastery, although already formed as an ensemble, remained unfinished (in particular, the giant bell tower conceived by Rastrelli was not erected). Having ceased to receive orders, the master retired in 1763 from the post of chief architect. In 1764 he decorated Biron's palaces in Mitava and Ruenthal. In 1762 and 1767 he traveled to Italy hoping to improve his business (including by exporting paintings by Italian artists for sale to Russia).
Rastrelli died in St. Petersburg in 1771.
2. Buildings:
2.1. Peterhof. Arch. B.F. Rastrelli. 1747-1755. Petrodvorets, Russia
Peterhof (Dutch. Peterhof, "Peter's yard") (Appendix 1) is a palace and park ensemble on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland, 29 km from St. Petersburg. It is located on the territory of the city of Peterhof (since 1944 - Petrodvorets). The name of the Peterhof road comes from it. Belongs to the State Museum-Reserve (GMZ) Peterhof.
The center of the ensemble (Appendix 2) is the Grand Palace, built on a seaside terrace and facing the sea. The first palace was built in the "Peter's Baroque" style in 1714-1725, then completed in the "mature baroque" style. An important part of the ensemble are parks with fountains: the Upper Park (on the south side) with five fountains and the Lower Park, where the world's largest fountain complex is located. The area of the lower park is 102.5 hectares, the fountains are fed from the springs in the Ropsha region through a 22 km long water conduit (1721-1724, engineer V. Tuvolkov). The decorative foot of the palace is the Great Grotto with cascades surrounding it (the Great Cascade). A large cascade descends to the pool and sea channel. In the center of the pool there is a fountain with the sculpture "Samson Breaking the Lion's Jaws" (1802, sculptor M. I. Kozlovsky) with a jet height of 20 m. On the sides of the "bucket" there are Large (Italian and French) fountains and colonnades (1800-1803, architect Voronikhin); in the eastern part of the park - "Chess Mountain" and two Roman fountains, in the western - a cascade " Golden mountain»(Marlinsky) and 2 large (Menager) fountains.
B.F. Rastrelli in the middle of the 18th century worked on the reconstruction of Peterhof for more than ten years. He completed a number of significant structures that gave scale and monumentality to the original Peterhof ensemble.
In 1745-1755, he redesigned and expanded the modest palace of Peter's time - the so-called Upper Chambers, turning them into a representative Grand Palace dominating the entire ensemble.
The architect created a new composition of the complex of buildings located on the sides of Monplaisir, completed projects for a fountain in the eastern Labyrinth for the Lower Park, as well as projects for pavilions at the Grand Cascade. In 1755, according to his drawings, new trellis pavilions were built at the fountains "Adam" and "Eve".
What was the Grand Palace and the cascade after the rebuilding of F.B. Rastrelli, can be seen on an engraving from the second half of the 18th century.
2.2. Winter Palace in St. Petersburg
The first Winter Palace of Peter I was built in 1711 in the depths of the site stretching from the banks of the Neva to the present Khalturin Street and bounded from the west by the Winter Canal, dug in 1718-1720 (Appendix 3). In 1719-1721, according to the project of the architect G. Matarnovi, on the Neva embankment, on the site where the Hermitage Theater is now located, the second Winter Palace was built, facing the Neva. It was significantly expanded in the years 1726-1727.
The construction of the third Winter Palace was carried out by FB Rastrelli in 1732-1735. In 1754-1762, Rastrelli radically rebuilt it and created a new monumental building - the fourth, currently existing Winter Palace, far exceeding all the previous ones in terms of size and splendor of architectural decoration.
The palace was conceived and implemented in the form of a closed quadrangle with an extensive courtyard (Appendix 4). Its facades face the Neva, the Admiralty and the square, in the center of which F.B. Rastrelli intended to erect an equestrian statue of Peter I.
The facades of the palace are divided into two tiers by an entablature. They are decorated with columns of Ionic and composite orders. Columns of the upper tier unite the second, front, and third floors. (Appendix 5)
The complex rhythm of the columns, the richness and variety of forms of platbands, an abundance of stucco details, a multitude of decorative vases and statues located above the parapet and over numerous pediments, create a decorative decoration of the building that is exceptional in its splendor and splendor.
The southern facade is cut through by three entrance arches, which emphasizes its importance as the main one. The entrance arches lead to the front yard, where the central entrance to the palace was located in the center of the northern building. (Appendix 6)
The front Jordan Staircase is located in the northeast corner of the building. On the second floor, along the northern façade, there were five large halls, the so-called "anti-chambers," in a suite, behind them was a huge Throne Hall, and in the southwestern part there was a palace theater.
After 1762, work on the interior decoration of the palace was continued by Rastrelli's assistants - S.I. Chevakinsky and Yu.M. Felten. Soon, J.-B. Wallen-Delamot and A. Rinaldi. They made a number of changes to the original layout and decoration of the palace. The work begun by these architects on the alteration of the baroque interiors of the palace was continued in the 1780-1790s by D. Quarenghi and I.E. Starov. At the same time, the palace theater and the Throne Hall were destroyed, and a new suite of halls with windows overlooking the Neva was created. (Appendix 7)
In the 1820s K.I. Rossi created the famous War Gallery in 1812 in the palace. In the early 1830s, A. Montferrand rebuilt a number of ceremonial halls: Field Marshal, Petrovsky and some others. A violent fire on December 17-19, 1837 destroyed to ashes all the magnificent decoration of the Winter Palace. After the fire, only the walls and vaults were preserved, as well as details on the facades.
In 1838-1839, the palace was restored according to the projects and under the leadership of V.P. Stasov and A.P. Bryullov.
The decoration of some halls, if possible, reproduced the existing one before the fire; the decoration of other premises of the palace was carried out according to projects developed anew. The decorative decoration of the St. George Hall, the Military Gallery of 1812 with portraits of participants in the Patriotic War, the Jordan Stairs, the Small Entrance Hall, the Petrovsky, Concert, Alexandrovsky, White and other halls are of significant artistic value.
The Winter Palace is one of the most famous Baroque monuments in Russia, built by Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli during the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna. This is the compositional center of old St. Petersburg. In terms of art and town planning, it belongs to the highest achievements of Russian architecture in the 18th century.
2.3 Catherine (Great) Palace in Tsarskoe Selo
The Catherine (Grand) Palace owes its existence to its brilliant mistresses, three empresses - Catherine I, Elizabeth Petrovna and Catherine II. They owned the palace in the 18th century, and they paid great attention to its construction. Their fantasies and personal tastes were brought to life by hundreds of talented architects, painters, sculptors, and gardeners. It got its name from the first owner of the palace, Catherine I.
Since 1718, architects I. Braunstein, M. Zemtsov, A. Kvasov, S. Chevakinsky, C. Cameron, D. Quarenghi, V. Stasov, I. Monighetti and many others have worked on the creation of the royal residence since 1718. However, the leading and decisive role in the construction of the unique building belonged to the architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli. From 1752 to 1756, under Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, he headed the construction of the Tsarskoye Selo palace and brought it to the end.
Rastrelli used buildings that had existed since Peter's time and which were repeatedly rebuilt and built on. The architect significantly increased the size of the palace and made the entire building the same height - three floors with a slightly elevated central part due to the additional half-floor. As a result, he combined all the volumes of the building into a single and powerful whole.
The bulk of the palace unfolded 306 meters in length; five gilded domes glittered above the east wing. Against the background of turquoise walls, rows of white columns are clearly visible, whimsical reliefs of platbands, as if flowing into one another, an openwork belt of forged balcony gratings with gilded details. Sculpture, striking in abundance and variety of forms, gives a special sophistication to the facades. (Appendix 11)
On the western side (Appendix 8), instead of the Orangery Hall, Rastrelli constructs the Main Staircase with a high roof topped with a star. Hence the name - Corpus under the star. The church located on the east side (Appendix 9) is enlarged by the architect and completed with five domes. Between the church and the adjacent palace wing, on the second floor level, Rastrelli arranges an enclosed Hanging Garden. The architect seeks to prove that the palace of Empress Elizabeth is in no way inferior to the palaces of the legendary ruler Semiramis.
A wide, two-tiered, light-flooded front staircase led to the second, or, as it was called, "beautiful white" floor, which consisted of a suite of ceremonial rooms. Between the Main Staircase and the Great Hall (the main room of the palace) (Appendix 10) Rastrelli placed five anti-chambers. These spacious double-height living rooms, connected by three rows of doors, were unusually ingeniously decorated with double gilded columns, carvings, sculptures, picturesque shades, stoves, faced with tiles.
In general, the architectural image of the Catherine Palace is characteristic of the late Elizabethan baroque style. True, over time, various art styles, mostly classicism. Several rooms, redesigned in the middle of the 19th century, were decorated in the style of the so-called "historicism".
The emperors and members of the Romanov family enjoyed spending their leisure time in their country residence... It should be noted that each of the new owners (including the last owner of the palace, Nicholas II) considered it his duty to make any changes to the artistic decoration of the ceremonial chambers and numerous rooms of the palace.
2.4 Hermitage in Tsarskoe Selo
The Hermitage, one of the most outstanding monuments of Russian Baroque architecture of the mid-18th century, was intended for celebrations and relaxation in the circle of those close to you. The compositional basis of the building is characterized by a typical baroque diagonal plan (Appendix 16). The central octagonal hall is connected by galleries-passages with four small offices. (Appendix 12, 15)
The project of the Tsarskoye Selo Hermitage was developed in 1743 by M.G. Zemtsov. In the summer of 1746, the pavilion was roughly rebuilt. Construction work was carried out by S.I. Chevakinsky. The terraces - "to the wings, passages with balustrades" - he replaced with wooden galleries, later rebuilt in stone. In 1748, Rastrelli completed a project for a new decorative design of the facades, enriching them with columns. The fustes [trunks] of the columns were hewn from the Pudost limestone. (Appendix 13)
In 1751, the stucco craftsmen D.B. Gianni and G.F. The partiers proceeded to sculptural decoration of the building. They executed allegorical statues, vases, moldings of small pediments, "hallmarks" with seated figures on two large pediments, and, finally, decorative treatment of windows and doors. (Appendix 14)
The models for the bas-reliefs on the pedestals of the columns were sculpted by the sculptor I. Dunker. The moldings of the facades were gilded and the walls were painted pale green. The interior decoration of the Hermitage is typical of Baroque architecture. Numerous mirrors in carved gilded frames, alternating with wide windows, and illusory painting of plafonds seemed to push the boundaries of small rooms, linking the interior of the pavilion with the surrounding park spaces.
Eight desudeports [picturesque panels located above the door] for the central hall and a large plafond "Feast on Olympus" were painted in 1752-1753 by D. Valeriani and his assistant A.I. Velsky. The plafonds in the corner offices and transitional galleries were performed by A. Perezipotti. Wood carvings framing doors, windows and mirrors in interiors were performed by carvers Peter Valyukhin, Dmitry Sakulisny, Ignatiy Kanaev and other craftsmen.
One of the features of the Hermitage was its lifting mechanisms, with the help of which the dining table and canapes were set in motion by a special team of twelve soldiers. The machine device was notable for its cumbersomeness and was replaced in 1840-1842 by a new, more perfect one, which has survived to our time. Of the two lifting devices that served to rise to the second floor, one was replaced in 1812 with a stone staircase, and the other was destroyed in 1911 and a second wooden staircase was made in its place.
2.5. Grotto ("Morning Hall") in Tsarskoe Selo. 1749-1761
The grotto, a garden pavilion decorated with shells and tuff inside, was an obligatory accessory for regular park ensembles XVIII century. (Appendix 17)
The development of the project for the Tsarskoye Selo Grotto and its construction on the bank of the Big Pond are associated with the name of F.B. Rastrelli. The project was approved in August 1749. Work on the construction of the Grotto dragged on, and back in 1761, after the completion of the construction of the Great Palace, it remained among the unfinished park structures.
In 1771 the architect A. Rinaldi redesigned the interior design of the Grotto. The work begun according to his drawings continued until the end of the 1770s. In 1782, figured iron bars were installed in the windows and doors of the Grotto, remarkable for the originality and beauty of the pattern. After the completion of the decoration of the Grotto, renamed the Morning Hall, a collection of sculptural works was placed in it - statues and vases made of colored stone, porphyry, etc.
The central hall of the Grotto is adjoined by two symmetrical rooms. The volumetric and planning solutions of this building (Appendix 19) - rounded corners, niches for statues, large semicircular exedras that form protrusions on the end facades, are characteristic of Baroque architecture. (Appendix 20)
The facades of the Grotto are distinguished by baroque splendor and opulence, decorated with complexly grouped columns supporting torn pediments. Above the central part of the pavilion rises a dome cut through by four lucarne windows and topped with an image of a whimsical pyramidal fountain. The framing of arched openings, the lucarne and the completion of the dome amaze with the abundance of decorative motifs and at the same time the organic fusion of the compositions.
Masks of Neptune in the locks of the windows, beautifully conceived composite capitals with dolphins instead of volutes, figurines of newts, heads of Nereids emphasize the connection between the pavilion and the water element.
The facade of the Grotto closes the perspective that opens onto the Old Garden from the shores of the lake. The refined silhouette of the building is drawn against the background of the dark greenery of the age-old trees of the park and is reflected in the mirror-like surface of the lake. (Appendix 18)
2.6. Vorontsov Palace in St. Petersburg
The palace of the noble Elizabethan nobleman Count Mikhail Illarionovich Vorontsov (1714-1767) (Appendix 21) was erected on a large scale, in exquisite baroque forms. Vorontsov was an active participant in the 1741 palace coup, having won over the Preobrazhensky Life Guards Regiment to the side of Elizabeth Petrovna. From 1758 he became Chancellor of State. He was a friend and patron of M.V. Lomonosov.
Vorontsov Palace (Sadovaya st., 26) (Appendix 22) was created in 1749-1757 according to the project of the largest Russian baroque architect F.B. Rastrelli. Although the plot chosen for building overlooked the bank of the Fontanka, the composition of the estate was significantly different from previous similar buildings: by the middle of the 18th century, overland movement in St. Petersburg became predominant, and Rastrelli oriented the main facade of the palace not to the river, but to the recently laid Sadovaya Street. By that time, this highway had already become one of the busiest, as it connected new areas of the city with shopping center on the Neva perspective.
To prevent the noise of the city from bothering the residents of the estate, the layout of the complex was decided in Moscow style: between the main road and the central building of the palace, an extensive ceremonial courtyard was arranged - courdoner, on the sides of which there were service wings.
The courtyard is separated from the street by forged lace lattice, the links of which are enclosed between tetrahedral pillars. Two of them, flanking the entrance to the estate, are surrounded by additional columns. The entablature they supported once served as the basis for statues or flowerpots, but they have not survived.
The main façade of the Vorontsov Palace is arranged according to the traditional three-part scheme, with the central and side projections being distinguished. However, the central risalit is unusually wide and raised by a mezzanine level.
The decor of the building is exceptionally rich. The partitions between the windows, framed by platbands of a complex pattern, are filled not only with pilasters and blades, but also with double columns.
In the processing of the risalit of the first floor, the architect used only columns, which gave weight to this part of the building. This makes the upper tiers appear lighter. The decorative finishing of the side projections is somewhat simplified. Here, the motif of double and strongly pushed forward columns is used, supporting the loosened entablature. The complex plasticity of the risalits is emphasized by the walls between them, almost devoid of decorations.
In the past, between the palace and the Fontanka, there was a vast orchard with a pond, from where straight avenues diverged.
The luxurious interior design, also designed by Rastrelli, has not survived.
The Vorontsov Palace has an eventful fate. Under Catherine II, Mikhail Illarionovich was out of work, and in 1763 the palace was bought into the treasury. At the end of the 1790s. the building was granted by Emperor Paul I to the Order of Malta, and the Chapter of Russian Orders was also located here. In 1798-1800, the Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (architect G. Quarenghi) was built in the palace, and the Maltese Chapel was added to the main building from the side of the garden (according to his own project).
In the years 1810-1918, the Corps of Pages was located here. In 1827, the interiors of the palace were reconstructed under the direction of the architect A.E. Staubert.
At the end of 1917 - the first half of 1918, the party club and other bodies of the Party of Left Socialist-Revolutionaries were located in the former Vorontsov Palace, then - courses for the command staff of the Red Army, and in the 1920s-1930s - the Leningrad Infantry School named after I. CM. Kirov. From 1958 to the present day, the Suvorov Military School has been located here.
2.7. Stroganov's palace, construction 1752-1754
S.G. Palace Stroganov (Appendix 23) - one of the best city palaces of the middle of the 18th century. Unlike the Vorontsov palace-estate, the Stroganov palace is an example of a city house with its facades facing the red line of the street. The palace is located on a trapezoidal area and, forming a closed block with an internal ceremonial courtyard in the plan, it faces out on Nevsky Prospekt and Moika. (Appendix 24) The composition of the main facade along the Nevsky Prospect with the central part corresponds to the general layout of the house. Marking the front entrance to the courtyard. This central projection is highlighted by a pediment and groups of columns on the sides of the entrance arch. The shallow lateral projections are finished with pilasters bearing a curved entablature. The enrichment of the decorative finishing of the facade, which intensifies towards the center, emphasizes the dominant importance of its slightly protruding middle part. In the external treatment of the facades, the architect revealed the layout of the interior of the palace, typical for that time. The lower, service, floor looks like a basement - rusticated, with small, modestly framed windows. The upper floors, separated along the facade from the lower floor by a traction, where the ceremonial and living rooms were located, were united by a large order. The high halls and ceremonial rooms located on the second floor are marked by large windows, rich stucco moldings, balconies with a metal patterned lattice. The upper, residential, mezzanine is processed more simply and artistically subordinated to the mezzanine. The façade facing the Moika retained the system of external volume development common for the entire building, but received a slightly different interpretation in detail. The decorative skill inherent in Rastrelli is reflected here in the magnificently traced sculptural details, especially in the central part of the main facade, where the relief mask over the gate, the stucco frames of the windows of the two upper floors and the coat of arms in the form of a cartouche on the pediment are woven into a holistic pictorial composition, artistically revealing the main axis building. But with a large plastic richness of decorative finishes, the facades of the house were generally interpreted more flatly than in the Vorontsov Palace. This stemmed from the location of the house, set along the red line of the street and meeting with its main facade the "continuous" development of Nevsky Prospekt.
Bibliography
1. "History of Russian architecture", V.I. Pilyavsky, A.A. Titz, Yu.S. Ushakov; Leningrad Stroyizdat 1984
2. "History of architecture: textbook", N.V. Biryukova, Moscow INFRA-M 2006.
3. "Architectural and urban planning monuments of the Russian state of the XI-XIX centuries: textbook" R.G. Lyudmirskaya, Rostov-on-Don "Phoenix" 2006
4. "History of Russian Architecture: Higher School", V.N. Tkachev, 1987.
5. "100 great architects", DK Salin , Veche, 2000
Russian architect of Italian origin, creator of the Elizabethan Baroque.
Childhood and youth
Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli was born in 1700 in Paris. His father was the famous court architect and sculptor Bartolomeo Carlo Rastrelli. Love for art was instilled in Rastrelli Jr. from early childhood. The father did not even think to prevent the son from following in his footsteps; moreover, Bartolomeo Jr.'s passion for architecture in the family was encouraged in every possible way. In Paris, where Rastrelli spent his childhood and part of his youth, he began to study the basics of architecture. As you might guess, his first teacher was Rastrelli Sr. Then, enjoying great authority at the court, Carlo Rastrelli could not think that the glory of his son would one day surpass his own, because now, when the family name is mentioned, the Winter Palace, which Rastrelli's son will one day build, is really remembered.
Florentine by birth, Carlo Rastrelli worked at the court of the "sun king" Louis XIV, and after the death of the latter was invited to work in. Rastrelli signed a three-year contract. So the Rastrelli family ended up at the Peter's court. Here Bartolomeo finally established himself in the choice of his future profession. In many ways, the influence affected: at that time he was in many ways superior to the rest European cities... Even internships abroad (it is believed that young Rastrelli improved his architectural skills in Italy and France) did not discourage him from continuing to work in St. Petersburg. The father, seeing the desire of his son, tried in every possible way to help him. Rastrelli helped his father to design the Strelna Palace, was engaged in interior decoration in the palace.
The earliest documented work of Rastrelli Jr. is considered to be a palace in the style of Peter the Great's Baroque. Then his work did not attract much attention and left ordinary people indifferent, because there were a lot of similar buildings in St. Petersburg. The most outstanding works of Rastrelli, which have glorified his name over the centuries, will be yet to come.
Early creativity
In 1730, a niece took over the Russian Empire. The new empress was a well-known lover of luxury and sophistication, which could not but affect her architectural preferences. Both Rastrelli were soon invited to an audience with Anna Ioannovna. Both Rastrelli and the Empress herself, who decided to entrust Rastrelli Sr. with the construction of several palaces at once, in, and then in Lefortovo, were pleased with the result of the meeting. Rastrelli's father, who was primarily a sculptor rather than an architect, took over the construction work, while Rastrelli Jr. took over the development of projects. By that time, the education and experience he received, like nothing else, helped him with honor to cope with the major tasks assigned to him.
Meanwhile, Anna Ioannovna begins to draw closer to her favorites, the most prominent of which will be the duke. The patronage of the empress allows Biron to influence both the internal and foreign policy of the Empire. In 1732, Biron planned to build an arena between Bolshaya Morskaya Street and Nevsky Prospect. Seeing the success of the young architect, he does not hesitate to entrust this task to the young Rastrelli. Then, in the 1730s. Bartolomeo Rastrelli builds the Rundale Palace and the Mitava Palace for Duke Biron. All these buildings were erected in Courland and were living evidence of the evolution of Rastrelli's architectural skill. A tendency towards his own style is outlined: now he gravitates towards relief semi-columns, gradually abandoning pilasters and rustications.
In the same period, Rastrelli began designing the Summer and Winter Palaces. As an architect, he is entering his prime. In 1732 Rastrelli married and soon became a father with many children: Joseph Yakov, Elizaveta Katerina and Eleanor were born in his family. However, only one daughter survived to adulthood: Joseph and Eleanor died in 1737-38. from cholera, which was raging in St. Petersburg at that time.
It is noteworthy that the change of power, which went down in history as the "era of palace coups", practically did not affect Rastrelli's career. Moreover, in 1738 he became a chief architect with an annual salary of 1,200 rubles and a service apartment in the former Winter Palace, where his family also settled. Then the eminent Italian could afford almost everything. Creating luxurious buildings, he led an equally pompous lifestyle, taking advantage of the favor of the imperial power.
Soon a new and interesting project appears on the horizon - the construction of a palace for an order. But Rastrelli did not have time to complete the palace, because she who came to power in 1741 did not like everything German, and she did not like Rastrelli's connection with Biron and Minich at all. The hostility of the new empress reached the point that she ordered not to recognize Rastrelli's count's dignity, to delay the payment of salaries and not even give him new construction projects. However, it was not in Rastrelli's character to give in to difficulties.
Elizaveta Petrovna in the life of Rastrelli
The distrust with which the new empress treated Rastrelli's work did not break his character. By that time he was already well-known in St. Petersburg and received many orders. In addition, as a man, Rastrelli was perfectly able to adapt to those around him, which was very useful to him in communication with Empress Elizabeth. The art of diplomacy helped him eventually instill confidence in the empress, who had previously treated Rastrelli with prejudice.
The first project of Rastrelli during the reign of Elizabeth was a wooden summer palace in St. Petersburg, which, alas, has not survived to this day. That period was extremely fruitful for Rastrelli - he actively worked on, designed the St. Andrew's Cathedral in Kiev, and in 1752-1757. rebuilt the Catherine Palace c. In addition, Rastrelli managed to supervise the restoration of the palace in Strelna.
Of the last grandiose projects of Rastrelli, it is worth highlighting the ensemble and the Winter Palace. Despite the enormous potential, the time of Rastrelli as an architect was drawing to a close - together with the life of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna and the era of the brilliant, luxurious Baroque architectural style.
Rastrelli Sunset
In 1761, Elizaveta Petrovna died. After her death, the baroque, so beloved by Petersburg, very quickly went out of fashion, and Rastrelli began to receive fewer and fewer orders. The ascended to the throne quickly brought closer to her the architect Antonio Rinaldi, who soon became the leading master at the imperial court. Rastrelli was out of work. The luxurious lifestyle that the architect led for many years was replaced by an acute financial need. In 1762 Rastrelli went on a year's leave to Italy to improve his health. There he is also trying to find a new customer: Rastrelli was still the breadwinner for his family and tried to earn money in any way. Soon, he gets the news that the interior of the Winter Palace is being remodeled by the architect Valens Delamot. They did not even think to entrust him, Rastrelli, with this work. Soon Rastrelli was dismissed altogether - the empress signed a decree on the removal of the architect, however, providing him with a salary of 1,000 rubles a year.
In 1764, once bathed in glory and now completely forgotten, the architect left St. Petersburg. In Courland, where Rastrelli soon appeared with his family, he completed the construction of the Mitava and Ruenthal palaces, which he had once begun, by order of Biron, who had recently returned from exile. The last project of Rastrelli is considered the Grünhof estate in Courland, which was completed after the death of the architect by another author, Jensen.
Unfortunately, the further fate of Rastrelli is unknown. The last place where the family of the architect lived was, most likely, Lithuania, but the date of Bartolomeo's death and traces of his grave are later lost. It is assumed that Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli died in April 1771, since this month is dated the decree on the payment of the pension, which was assigned to the heirs of Rastrelli.
In memory of the architect's achievements, the square in front of the Smolny Monastery was named after him.
Relates to settlements:
In 1715 he arrived with his family in St. Petersburg at the invitation of Peter I, where he spent most of his life. According to the project of the architect, outstanding architectural structures, including the Winter Palace, Stroganov Palace, Vorontsov Palace, etc. Presumably, he died in St. Petersburg.
Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli was born in 1700 in Paris. His father, Bartolomeo Carlo Rastrelli, an architect and sculptor, came to Russia with his family in 1716, because after the death of King Louis XIV, there was no work for him in France. The contract signed by Bartolomeo Rastrelli on October 19, 1715 stated that "Mr. Rastrelli Florensky undertakes to go to St. Petersburg with his son and his pupil and work there in the service of his tsarist majesty for three years ..."[Quoted. by 1, p. 208]. Thus, at the age of 16, Francesco ended up in St. Petersburg, which then surpassed all cities in Europe in terms of the scope of construction.
In pre-revolutionary and Soviet literature, the architect is often called Varfolomey Varfolomeevich. Such a nickname was given to him by those who were unusual or unpleasant to use foreign names. The architect himself signed almost all documents in French: "de Rastrelli" or "Fransois de Rastrelli", that is, Francois de Rastrelli. In the Italian manner, it would be correct to call him Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli.
The first address of the Italians was the wing of the former house of Kirill Narshykin on Second Beregovaya Street. In the summer of 1717, they moved to a house on Pervaya Beregovaya Street (now Spelernaya), which had previously belonged to the widow of Peter I's elder brother, Queen Marfa Matveyevna.
Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli learned the craft from his father. Until the 1970s, it was believed that he went to Italy or France to study. But there are no documents confirming this. Most likely, this trip did not take place. Rastrelli Jr. was an apprentice to Rastrelli Sr. After many years, compiling a list of everything he had done, he will include among his works those that his father supervised. In Peter's time, Francesco helped his father create a model of the Strelna Palace, together with him he was engaged in interior decoration in the palaces of Apraksin and Shafirov.
It should be noted that Bartolomeo Carlo Rastrelli was still more a sculptor than an architect. Probably, in their joint work, the architectural talent of their son was clearly manifested, which his father skillfully developed and directed in the right direction.
In 1721-1727, Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli completed his first work - the palace of Antiochus Cantemir. The Italian master would later become the most prominent architect of the Baroque era in Russia. But this work of his, although talented, is the work of a student. Cantemir Palace was built in the style of Northern European architecture, not Italian or French.
The Rastrelli family did not lose their customers even after the death of Peter I. Even the enemy of Menshikov, Prince Dolgorukov, ordered the project of his palace from them.
The talent of the Italian Rastrelli did not disappear even with the niece of Peter I, Anna Ioannovna, who ascended the Russian throne. She yearned for luxury and demanded for herself all the most exquisite. Bartolomeo Carlo Rastrelli skillfully took advantage of this by going with his son to an audience with the new empress in Moscow on the day of her coronation on April 28, 1730. After meeting with the architect, she ordered him to build her palace (Annenhof) in the Kremlin, and then in Lefortovo. Rastrelli Sr. supervised the construction, while Rastrelli Jr. drew up the projects.
In 1732, Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli was commissioned to build an arena on a vacant lot between Nevsky Prospect and Bolshaya Morskaya Street. The order is given by Biron, the favorite of Empress Anna Ioannovna. In parallel with this, the Rastrelli family is engaged in the design of the new Summer and Winter imperial palaces.
Around the same time, the architect married a certain girl named Wallace. The young family settled in the house of Bartolomeo Carlo Rastrelli. At the beginning of March 1733, Rastrelli had a son, Joseph Yakov, in the last days of 1734, a daughter, Elizabeth Caterina de Rastrelli, and at the end of October 1735, a daughter, Eleanor.
Biron became the first private client of the architect. In the fall of 1734, he invited Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli to build a palace in Courland, to which the architect gladly agreed. This was his first major independent work. Biron's Palace in Ruenthal is the earliest surviving creation by Rastrelli, dating from 1736-1739. In this project, Rastrelli for the first time created an entrance bell tower for himself, which he later repeated in the project of the Smolny Monastery.
In December 1737, the son of the architect Joseph Yakov died of cholera. January 6, 1738 - daughter of Eleanor.
In 1737 Biron became Duke of Courland. He needed an even more luxurious residence, the creation of which was again entrusted to Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli. The client was not constrained by financial means, which allowed the architect to fully reveal his talent. The palace in Mitava was built from 1738 to 1741, before Biron was sent into exile.
In 1738 Rastrelli finally became a chief architect with a salary of 1,200 rubles a year. What Bartolomeo Carlo Rastrelli so desired when he arrived in Russia, his son achieved after 22 years. At the same time, Rastrelli Jr. received a service apartment in the former Winter Palace of Peter I.
After the death of Anna Ioannovna, nothing should have changed in the fate of the Rastrelli family. The regent of the young Tsarevich Ioann Antonovich was the well-known Biron. The change of power in November 1740 did not affect their fate. The regent was the mother of Tsarevich John, Princess Anna Leopoldovna, under whom Minich received power. This German was also supportive of Rastrelli, like Biron.
At the direction of Minich, Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli abandoned the unfinished palace in Mitava and arrived in St. Petersburg. Despite the fact that the architect wrote a request for payment for his work in Courland, Minich did not want to spend state money on Biron's palaces. Therefore, this work of Rastrelli was left without payment.
In St. Petersburg, the architect began designing a new palace for Anna Leopoldovna. But he was in no hurry to complete this project, since rumors about a possible imminent change of power did not pass by him. And so it happened. As a result of the next palace coup, the daughter of Peter I, Elizabeth, ascended the throne.
Under the new government, everything German is swept out of Russia. Rastrelli's connections with Biron and Minich did not go unnoticed by the empress's close associates. At the beginning of 1742, Elizaveta Petrovna ordered not to recognize Rastrelli's count's dignity in Russia, to delay the payment of his salary, and not to give him any orders for construction.
In such a situation, any foreigner would leave Russia. But not Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli. He realized that his talent could not but be in demand by Elizaveta Petrovna. She, like Anna Ioannovna, loved the luxury that the baroque style created. The construction of palaces under Peter's daughter became a real policy. Following her, her entourage also sought to equip their residences. And only Rastrelli was an unsurpassed master of the Baroque style in Russia. Other architects here at that time were either too young or not so skilled.
Rastrelli was not mistaken. At first, the Empress entrusted him to complete the construction of the Summer House, which he had begun under Anna Leopoldovna. Elizabeth herself settled in this Summer Palace. In 1744, the architect took part in the construction of the Anichkov Palace, begun by Zemtsov. After the death of Zemtsov in 1743, G. Dmitriev was engaged in the palace, but he could not satisfy the taste of the empress.
In 1744, Elizaveta Petrovna set off on a trip to Little Russia, the homeland of her favorite Alexei Razumovsky. On August 29, she arrived in Kiev. In that ancient city she ordered to build a temple in honor of Andrew the First-Called and a traveling palace for her next visits. The design of these objects was entrusted to the architect Schedel, who a year later presented the projects for the highest consideration. The empress did not approve of them, transferring the design to Rastrelli. He drew up plans, but he did not have time for the construction itself. The management of the work was entrusted to the architect Ivan Fedorovich Michurin. During the construction process, he had to face numerous difficulties that Rastrelli did not take into account.
Bartolomeo Carlo Rastrelli died on November 18, 1744. The next day, Francesco Bartolomeo reported to the Chancellery from the buildings about the readiness to cast the equestrian statue of Peter I, which was created by his father. The architect took it upon himself to complete the creation of the monument, which he considered it his duty to his father.
In 1746, Elizaveta Petrovna decided to expand the Peterhof Palace, while preserving the old house of Peter I. Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli was entrusted with the work in Peterhof. Once Leblond removed his father from architectural affairs in St. Petersburg, and now Francesco Bartolomeo continued Leblond's work. The first restructuring project was ready on March 6, on May 7, 1747 - the next. Rastrelli created the final version by January 23, 1749. Rastrelli continued construction in Peterhof for three more years.
During the reign of Elizabeth, the architect performs a huge amount of work. At the same time, the title of chief architect was not returned to him and his salary was not increased. Rastrelli had to cheat - he announced his departure from Russia. Only after that, on November 4, 1748, Rastrelli received the title of chief architect with a salary of 1,500 rubles a year. Apparently, Rastrelli had no intention of leaving Russia.
Works by Francesco Bartolomeo in 1748 [Cit. by 1, p. 267]:
- design and drawings of the interior decoration of the Peterhof Palace, where "all the apartments inside were decorated with gilded molding and painting on plafonds in the hall, gallery and front staircase";
- Smolny monastery project
- construction of a palace in the village of Perovo near Moscow;
- the project for the construction of St. Andrew's Cathedral in Kiev;
- the completion of the construction of the Anichkov Palace, the design of the decoration of its chambers and furniture specially for this palace;
- the project of the iconostasis of the Transfiguration Cathedral in St. Petersburg;
- decorations for banquet tables of festive imperial dinners;
- (probably in the same year) the project of the traveling palace in Kiev, Shepelev's palace on Millionnaya Street.
In the same year, after a fire in the Kunstkamera, Rastrelli was asked to restore wax figure Peter I. The architect agreed, having recreated the work of his father according to the preserved old forms.
With Rastrelli in different time collaborated architects S. I. Chevakinsky, K. I. Blank, I. F. Michurin, A. P. Evlashev, V. I. Bazhenov. Not a single complaint about Rastrelli has survived on the part of the architects.
In 1748, Empress Elizabeth issued a decree on the beginning of the construction of the Smolny Monastery and entrusted it to Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli. Construction began in 1749, and in 1751, due to the Seven Years' War, the project had to be terminated. However, what has already been created is one of the most significant creations of the architect.
In 1749 Rastrelli began to take part in the construction of the Great (Catherine) Palace in Tsarskoe Selo. Initially, the work consisted only in the alteration of the old building, but in 1752 the architect began a new reconstruction of the entire complex. The Catherine Palace became one of the most grandiose palace complexes of the 18th century. Rastrelli also noted the Tsarskoye Selo pavilion, the Hermitage, as a separate item in the list of his works. He also created the grotto pavilion here.
In 1749-1757, Rastrelli built a palace for Chancellor M. I. Vorontsov.
From 1752 to 1754, according to the project of Rastrelli, the Stroganovs' palace was built. Count Stroganov was the only customer who, in addition to a monetary reward, presented the architect with a generous gift. He ordered a portrait of Rastrelli from the artist P. Rotary, who came to St. Petersburg to paint portraits of members of the imperial family.
On February 16, 1753, Elizaveta Petrovna issued a decree on the beginning of the construction of a new Winter Palace, the construction of which was entrusted to Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli. The projects for the reconstruction of Anna Ioannovna's Winter House grew into a project for the construction of a new imperial residence. The palace built on Palace Square has become the most prominent St. Petersburg building in the Elizabethan Baroque style, a symbol of this style.
Before the start of the construction of the Winter Palace, a temporary residence was built for Elizabeth Petrovna in just a few months in 1755, and Rastrelli was also involved in the arrangement.
In the mid-1750s, the family of Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli moved to Nevsky Prospect, to the house of Sablukov (now house no.). By this time, the daughter of the architect Elizabeth had married and lived with her husband in her father's house. A large family demanded a lot of money. Rastrelli was assisted by numerous private orders. He built Choglokov's palace, Vilboa's house, Sievers's country cottage, Shepelev's house.
In 1758, according to the project of Francesco Bartolomeo, construction began on the Gostiny Dvor on Nevsky Prospekt.
Despite the constant employment, there was still not enough money. After all, the position of chief architect also required attendance at masquerades twice a week. Goods were constantly getting more expensive, but the salary remained the same. Some of the premises of the rented house, and maybe the whole outbuildings, Rastrelli subleased. In 1760, the St. Petersburg Gazette published advertisements for the sale of paintings and horses. The architect was selling his values.
In 1760, Rastrelli's relationship with the empress cooled due to the slow implementation of the projects he directed. The architect was not to blame for this. A lot of money at this time was spent on the conduct of the war. Funding for construction projects in St. Petersburg was too meager. On January 15 and 26, 1758, the Senate removed blacksmiths from the construction sites of the Winter Palace and the Smolny Monastery, for there was no one to bind the wheels of the cannons. But Elizaveta Petrovna was of little concern. Soon the construction of Gostiny Dvor was suspended. The difficulties lay in the rejection of the project by the merchants, who considered it too expensive. There was not enough money on this construction site either. In 1761, the construction of Gostiny Dvor was resumed, but according to a different project.
On December 25, 1761, Elizaveta Petrovna died, never having had time to settle in the Winter Palace. The construction of the imperial residence was completed already under Peter III. He was the only one of the rulers who awarded Rastrelli for his labors. He awarded the architect the rank of Major General and the Order of St. Anne.
Peter III did not rule for long. In the summer of 1762, Catherine II came to power. Under the new empress, important orders were no longer given to the Italian. His baroque style went out of fashion. On August 10, Rastrelli was sent on leave "to take advantage of his illness in Italy for a year with a full salary without deduction" with a one-time payment of 5,000 rubles.
A year later, Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli returned to St. Petersburg. Here he learned about the departure from Russia of Ivan Ivanovich Shuvalov and Chancellor Vorontsov, as well as that the French architect Vallin-Delamot, who had been invited to St. Petersburg, was remaking the interiors of the Winter Palace. On October 23, 1763, the empress signed a decree on the resignation of the chief architect, assigning him a pension of 1,000 rubles a year.
In St. Petersburg, Rastrelli had no customers left. But Ernst Johann Biron returned to Courland from exile. At the end of March 1764, Rastrelli's wife and daughter leave for the Duke, as he decided to complete the construction of the palace in Mitava. In August, Francesco Bartolomeo went after them.
In 1766, at the insistence of his son, Biron invited the young Danish architect Severin Jensen to work at his residence.
On February 24, 1769, Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli went to Italy to purchase paintings by Italian painters in Venice, Florence and Milan. The following year, he brought 33 canvases to St. Petersburg for sale. At the same time, he sent a petition to the Academy of Arts to be elected an honorary free associate. On January 9, 1771, the Academy granted such a request.
Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli died in 1771. In the last years of his life Rastrelli liked to repeat: "An architect is appreciated here only when he is needed." The exact date of death and the place of his burial are still unknown.
Baroque in Russia
Baroque in Russia developed in a special way. It was associated with the traditions of Russian architecture of the 17th century and was enriched in the time of Peter the Great as a result of the influence of Western European construction. The heyday of the style falls in the 40-50s of the 18th century, that is, at the period when in the West the extinction of the late stage of the Baroque, the so-called Rococo style, is noted, and the transition to classicism is noted. The Rococo style, in essence, has not found application in Russian architecture.
Russian baroque of the mature period bears the stamp of a genuine national style. The solution of plans and volumetric compositions of buildings is distinguished by great simplicity and structure, close connection of the internal and external volumes of structures. The decorative elements are mainly limited to the outer, facing "layer" of buildings. These elements mainly include architectural motifs and ornamental modeling.
In contrast to Western European architecture, the facades of monumental structures were faced not with stone, but with plaster with plaster details, which contributed to the strengthening of the plastic principle, and also made it possible to apply color. Bright, contrasting colors: blue, azure blue with white, yellow with white and others, with the simultaneous introduction of gilding and tinplate for roofing - all this gave the buildings a special bright, major, optimistic flavor and character that corresponded to the traditions of Russian national architecture.
Russian architecture under Empresses Anna (1730-1740) and Elizabeth (1741-1762) is dominated by Rastrelli. He rebuilds the Winter Palace, expands Peterhof and creates Tsarskoe Selo. But his most outstanding creation is the Smolny Monastery in St. Petersburg. The layout created by the order of the architect testifies to his ambitious aspirations, but the initial project was not completed: the huge pyramidal bell tower never came into being.
The buildings of the architect Trezzini
Domenico Trezzini (Trezzini) was one of the first foreign architects invited to Petersburg during the Peter the Great era. He was from Northern Italy, like other Italian masters who worked in Russia - Rastrelli, Quarnegi, Rusca, Gilardi. He probably studied in Northern Europe. It is known that for 4 years he lived in Copenhagen, at the court of the Danish king. Trezzini played an important role in the first stage of the development of St. Petersburg, thanks to his experience, clear and logical architectural thinking. For almost 10 years he was the chief architect-manager of Peter's buildings: fortresses, churches, palaces, residential buildings. In most cases, his projects were distinguished by simplicity, good quality, without any frills.
He supervised the construction of the Menshikov Palace on Vasilievsky Island (completed by G. Shtendel), the Summer and Winter Palaces of Perov. His projects formed the basis for the plan of the closed manor-type of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, the bell tower Peter and Paul Cathedral, in the construction of which Trezzini participated in 1714-1733. Under Peter, many buildings with spiers were erected, but only this one survived.
A typical monument of the Petrine era is the building of the Twelve Collegia - the first stone government building in the new capital, in which the structural structure characteristic of the architecture of that time is clearly revealed. The three-storey, long building is divided, in connection with its purpose, into twelve equal elements, each of which is distinguished by a special projection, crowned with a volute-like pediment of complex outlines and its own special, with a fracture, roof. The facades are flat. Inside, there are long corridors, each floor by floor, adjoining rooms of the same depth. This building resembles the Copenhagen Stock Exchange, the stone structure was laid in 1722.
Rastrelli
In the history of Russian architecture, the name of Bartholomew Varfolomeyovich Rastrelli (1700-1771) is probably the most famous. The cities of St. Petersburg, Kiev, Pushkin, Petrodvorets, Istra, Jelgava, Rumtale are proud of his work. The fame of this architect is truly worldwide.
Rastrelli worked at a time when cities and trade, science and art developed in Russia after Peter's reforms, numerous imperial palaces, houses for the nobility, churches and monasteries were built. A certain restraint of architectural forms and rationalism of the Petrine Baroque change to rich and magnificent decorative forms. None of the architects of those times possessed such an amazing imagination, such a brilliant talent in creating powerful architectural symphonies, where gold, blue, white, green, red colors, compositions of columns, pediments, moldings of sculpture, effects of light and shadow, sounded loudly. - in a word, the whole arsenal of means of artistic expression of the Baroque architectural style, like Rastrelli. His Petrodvorets, Winter Palace and Smolny Monastery in St. Petersburg, St. Andrew's Church in Kiev and some other buildings and ensembles are masterpieces of Russian architecture.
In his structures, he never resorted to complicated contours and outlines of walls in the plan, never allowed breaks or inconsistencies in external and internal volumes. The plans of the premises in Rastrelli's buildings almost always have the outlines of a rectangle, and their volumetric form is prismatic; there are no rounded corners common at this time, but it is difficult to imagine anything more spectacular and refined. The Great Throne Hall of the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo is typical. The internal volume is limited by six planes - four without any crepe walls, floor, ceiling, completely covered by a giant canvas by D. Valeriani "Triumph of Russia". The effect is based on a system of large double-height windows with arched lintels, the narrow walls between which were covered with mirrors in carved gilded frames. Inlaid parquet flooring, ceiling painting, "luminous" wall surfaces creating the visual effect of "dematerialization" of masonry masonry - all this made a tremendous impression, even more intensified in the evening lighting, when the hall was illuminated by hundreds of burning candles.
The plans and volumetric decisions in other works of Rastrelli are just as clear, true and tectonic. Masterfully mastering the proportions, culture of detail, varied in design and unusually juicy, plastically convincing, Rastrelli created a number of ceremonial, truly royal structures - the expanded Grand Palace in Peterhof, called the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo, the Winter Palace, the grandiose complex of the Smolny Monastery and a number of other monumental monuments of the era.
The layout of the Smolny Monastery in St. Petersburg, created by the order of the architect, testifies to his ambitious aspirations, but the initial project was not completed: the huge pyramidal bell tower never came into being.
Rhythmically diversifying the facade compositions, enriching them with order elements, merged with the wall, cornices and rods, window frames, sculpture, Rastrelli paid special attention to the organization of internal spaces. In this respect, the Catherine Palace is especially characteristic, where Rastrelli deliberately and in a new way "directs" architecture. The entrance to the palace is built so that the viewer can first follow along its entire lengthy facade, admiring and marveling at the wealth of rhythmically growing and replacing each other, built as if according to the "rank" of the links of the facade composition. Then the visitor, having reached the last element of this facade, was "allowed" by the architect into the building, climbed the main staircase, and then a sparkling suite of rooms unfolded in front of him, right up to the Great Throne Hall. In fact, the viewer comes back "back", goes back in relation to the same path that he has done before entering the building, but he does not feel this, he first of all gets the impression of the grandeur of the premises, which seem to have no end. Behind the throne room, the enfilade system continues to unfold further.
In the techniques and forms used by Rastrelli in the solution of interiors, there was a lot of Rococo. However, it would be wrong to evaluate the interiors created by this master as rocaille; it would be more correct to speak of a synthesis, a fusion of elements of flourishing baroque and rococo.
Typical features of classicism in architecture (V. Bazhenov: Pashkov's house, the project of the Kremlin palace construction: M. Kazakov: the building of the Moscow Kremlin Senate, Golitsinskaya hospital, the column hall of the house of unions).
Russian classicism architecture
From Western Europe, classicism spreads to Russia, where already on the verge of the XVIII-XIX centuries. takes on a peculiar character. The onset of classicism is in direct connection with the political, economic and cultural reforms that began under Peter I and continued during the reign of Catherine II. The main feature of Russian classicism was the creation of numerous urban planning complexes, the use of a large spatial order, which was applied with an unusual feeling, and the conditions of the local environment, and the scale of a person.
In Russian classicism, echoes of the ancient Russian and Byzantine culture, and at the same time of the Russian baroque, which was the first stage in the connection of Russian architecture with European currents, were distantly manifested. As an example, we can cite the early works of V.I.Bazhenov in Moscow, such as the Pashkov house (1784-1787) and the grandiose project of rebuilding the Kremlin. An example is also the architecture of the residences in the vicinity of St. Petersburg - Tsarskoe Selo (now Pushkin) and Petrodvorets, which has features of both Baroque and Classicism, to the construction of which, including the vast surrounding parks, a great contribution was made by Italians B. Rastrelli (author of the Winter Palace project in Petersburg) and D. Quarenghi, Scotsman Ch. Cameron and Russian architect I. Starov. The main representative of classicism in Moscow was M.F. Kazakov, who designed the buildings for the Moscow Senate in the Kremlin, the Golitsyn Hospital (1801), the Moscow University (1785), and a number of summer residences in the vicinity of Moscow.
Russian classicism reached its peak in architecture new capital- Petersburg, which was laid down by Peter the Great in 1703. The first (unrealized) plan of the city, still “rolled up” into an oval Renaissance star system (1717), was developed by A. Leblond. The first builders of St. Petersburg were Eropkin, Zemtsov and Korobov. The current image of the city was determined, however, only at the beginning of the 19th century, when the main compositional skeleton of the city appeared in the form of a trident and numerous complexes on Nevsky Prospect, Vasilievsky Island with the Stock Exchange (1805-1816) designed by Tom de Thomon, a large building of the Admiralty, architect which A.D. Zakharov belongs to the most significant representatives of Russian classicism, and the complex of the Kazan Cathedral (1801-1811) designed by A.N. Voronikhin. The development of classicism in St. Petersburg reaches its culmination in the works of K.I. Rossi, who completes Palace Square arc of the General Staff building (1819-1829) and Senate Square - the building of the Senate and Synod. He is also the author of the project of the Mikhailovsky Palace and the ensemble of Teatralnaya Street and Alexandrovsky Theater. Examples of the last stage in the development of classicism here are the monumental and slender Triumphal Gates, created by the architect V.P. Stasov, and St. Isaac's Cathedral, built by A.A. Montferrand in the second quarter of the 19th century.
Vozdvizhenka
Pashkov's house, construction - the second half of the 18th century. architect Bazhenov.
The architectural complex of the Pashkov House includes the main house, outbuildings, a front driveway, a garden and various outbuildings. In the basis of the architectural composition of Pashkov's house, the architect put urban planning tasks arising from the location of the building on a high hill opposite the Borovitsky gate of the Kremlin. The elevated position of the site and its visibility from all sides contributed to a better identification of the volumetric and high-rise nature of the composition of the building, which organically entered the ensemble of the Kremlin's encirclement. Developing the type of Russian urban noble estate, Bazhenov built Pashkov's house as architectural complex, consisting of a three-story main building, crowned with a belvedere, and two-story wings, connected to it by one-story galleries.
The Pashkov House is a wonderful example of Bazhenov's compositional skill and his broad urban planning approach to an individual building as part of an urban ensemble.
Moscow Kremlin restructuring project
During a business trip to Moscow, Bazhenov was awarded an audience with Catherine II, after which he was instructed to develop a project for the restructuring of the Moscow Kremlin and the construction of a grandiose palace on its territory. By this time, most of the Moscow palaces were so dilapidated that they were not suitable either for housing or for representative functions.
Bazhenov developed an ambitious project that included not only the reconstruction of the entire Kremlin ensemble, but also of Red Square. In addition to the Empress's apartments, the Kremlin was supposed to house government offices of Moscow. The main building of the palace was supposed to bend around the Kremlin hill from the side of the Moskva River, for which part of the Kremlin wall with towers was dismantled. The center of the composition was supposed to be an oval square with colonnades and an amphitheater for spectators; the main radial streets of the center of Moscow converged to it. The powerful rusticated basement of the palace and the high colonnade were supposed to hide the ancient buildings of Cathedral Square, which would violate the traditional appearance of the Kremlin.
When the palace was laid in 1773, the architect said that the palace should serve "to decorate the capital city, to the joy and pleasure of its people", but the project was never implemented. Several reasons prevented this: the destruction of the Kremlin caused discontent in society, especially in Moscow, the grandiose construction threatened to undermine the budget of the state, which was waging a war with Turkey, and, finally, Catherine did not want to glorify Moscow. In 1775 the construction was interrupted, which was a heavy blow for the architect. From the grandiose project, only drawings and a huge wooden model have survived, kept in the A. V. Shchusev State Museum of Architecture in Moscow.
the Senate building (1776–1787) was designed by order of Catherine II by the outstanding Russian architect M.F. Kazakov in the style of early classicism.
In the plan, the building is an isosceles triangle with a courtyard divided by transverse buildings into three parts. The corners of the building are cut off and decorated with loggias. The arch in the center of the façade leading to the courtyard is framed by a four-column Ionic portico. The Oval Hall is located above the entrance arch. From the side of the courtyard in the inner corner of the building is inscribed the Round Hall, covered with a dome.
The main facade of the building faces into the Kremlin. Above the lower part of the facade, decorated with rustic stone, there is a main floor with double rows of windows. The windows are decorated with flat Doric pilasters uniting two floors. The combination of two equal-sized orders on one facade was an innovation in the architecture of the 18th century.
The interior of the main Round Hall is decorated with Corinthian columns standing along the perimeter, ornamental stucco molding, as well as eighteen bas-reliefs made by G.T. Zamaraev and glorifying Catherine II - the legislator in allegorical images of legality, justice, education, etc. Medallions with portraits of the great Russian princes and tsars (copies from the originals of the sculptor F.I.Shubin) are placed in the piers between the windows of the third floor. The hall was named the Russian Pantheon.
The round hall of the Senate building, located between the two main towers of the Kremlin - Spasskaya and Nikolskaya - is the dominant feature in the Red Square ensemble.
One of the largest in terms of size of Kazakov's later works was the building of the Golitsyn Hospital (1796-1801).
The customers conceived it as a memorial structure in honor of the Golitsyn family, and the hall of the hospital church was to become the family burial vault.
The main three-story building is separated from the street by a large front yard. On the sides of the courtyard there are two-storey buildings. The main house of the Cossacks was intended for the reception and general rooms of the hospital. The main part of the hospital wards was located in the side buildings, on the sides of the front yard.
Initially, it had 50 beds "for all poor patients without exception, both Russian citizens and foreigners."
In the XIX century. was one of the best hospitals in Europe. Under her, an almshouse for incurable patients was created (1803), the first public art gallery in Moscow (1810, existed until 1818); a paramedic school for children of serfs (1832) and a maternity home (1868) were opened.
At the beginning of the XIX century. the choir of the hospital church was one of the largest singing groups in the city.
Pharmacy of the Golitsyn hospital until the XX century. was the only hospital pharmacy in Moscow that enjoyed the right to freely sell drugs to the population.
Column Hall of the House of Unions
District: Tverskoy
Dmitrovka Bolshaya street, 1/3
Okhotny Ryad street, 3/1
Status: built in 1775
Purpose: theaters, architectural monument
Floors: 3
Style: classicism
Architect: M. Kazakov
Description:
In the 80s of the 18th century, according to the project of M. Kazakov, the famous Column Hall of the House of Unions was built for the Noble Assembly (club) - one of the most remarkable works of Russian classicism. In this hall balls were given and ceremonial receptions were held. The purpose of the hall dictated the creation of a solemn and elegant room. Kazakov limited himself to the arrangement of slender white Corinthian columns along the walls of the hall. Crystal chandeliers and wall mirrors hanging between them, repeating the shape of the window, constitute the main elements of its decoration and create an impression of great festivity. The ceiling of the hall was once painted, but after the Moscow fire of 1812 the painting was not renewed. In the center of each wall of the hall there were wide arched openings connecting it with the surrounding rooms. All of them were redone at the beginning of the 20th century. Comparing the Column Hall with the "golden" rooms of Demidov's house, it is easy to see that Kazakov in his work went to greater simplicity and severity, achieving integrity, unity and beauty with a few laconic techniques.
15. Classicism in Russian painting (principles, leading genre, expressive means: composition; A Losenko: "Hector's Farewell to Andromache").
In the second half of the 18th century, the style of classicism was formed in Russian art, which is characterized by the severity of the drawing, adherence to certain rules in the composition, the convention of color, the use of scenes from the Bible, ancient history and mythology. The peculiarity of Russian classicism was that its masters turned not only to antiquity, but also to their native history, that they strove for simplicity, naturalness and humanity. Classicism as a trend in Russian artistic culture was firmly established in the late 18th - early 19th centuries. This period of the heyday of classicism in the Russian history of painting is usually called high classicism.
I must say that Russian classicism has managed to combine the features of all the aforementioned trends, adding to them its own unique features. Like everything that passes through the prism of perception of Russian figures of art and culture, classicism has become more "vital" and less static in Russian architecture and sculpture. In addition, it was with classicism that the rise of Russian science and education began. That is why we can assert that in no other country in Europe has classical ideology left such a clear trace as in Russia. Here, this trend is associated with the emergence of educational institutions, the development of archeology, history, translation activities.
The direction of classicism arose in Russian fine art, just as in literature and theater, in the second half of the 18th century, but unlike them, there was a longer period, covering the entire first half of the 19th century and fully coexisting with romanticism and sentimentalism. In painting and sculpture, as well as in literature, adherents of classicism proclaimed antique art as a role model, from where they drew themes, plot situations, heroes. The main tendencies of classicism were also embodied in works of art: the assertion of the ideas of monarchical statehood, patriotism, devotion to the sovereign, the priority of public duty, overcoming personal interests and feelings in the name of duty to the country, the sovereign. In antique samples, artists saw examples of human beauty and greatness. Painting and sculpture strived for the laconicism of the story, plastic clarity and beauty of form. At the same time, for them, as in other spheres of art, certain canons of artistic depiction were obligatory. So, choosing a plot from ancient mythology or the Bible, the artist built the composition in such a way that the main action was necessarily in the foreground. It was embodied in a group of figures, nude or dressed in spacious antique robes. The feelings and actions of the depicted persons were manifested in body movements, also conditional. For example, to express shame or sadness, the hero's head was recommended to be tilted down, if compassion was on one side, the command was to be raised up. Each character in the picture personified a certain human quality - loyalty, tenderness, straightforwardness or deceit, courage, cruelty, etc. However, no matter what property this or that person was expressing, his figure and movements had to correspond to the ancient canons of beauty.
A. Losenko
Farewell of Hector to Andromache
1773, canvas, oil 155.8x211.5
State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
In 1773 Losenko began, but did not manage to finish his second historical painting - "Hector's Farewell to Andromache"; this partly explains some sketchiness in the pictorial interpretation of images. An antique plot from Homer's Iliad glorified the heroes, their patriotic feelings, their willingness to sacrifice themselves to serve the motherland. These ideals of enlightenment classicism, to which the artist was faithful throughout his entire creative life, were vividly expressed in Hector's Farewell (as his contemporaries called the painting).
The action takes place at the city gates. The hero of Troy, the son of the Trojan king Priam, Hector says goodbye, before the single combat with Achilles, with his faithful wife Andromache, holding a baby in her arms.
Foreseeing his death, he asks for the protection of the gods and prays that his son would grow up wise, brave and glorious. The sense of civic duty in Hector's soul overcomes personal feelings of affection for the family.
The image of Hector is endowed with the heroic features of an ideal hero - he is a courageous and staunch warrior, noble in his thoughts. A premonition of a tragic outcome permeates the pathetic scene presented by the artist.
However, only the main character- Hector, in the images of the rest of the characters Losenko combines a restrained stately and naturally harsh beginning, harmoniously organizing the composition and the hot color of the picture
The picture is strictly composed, proportionate in its parts. The majestic architecture enhances its heroic sound. Despite the well-known convention and theatricality inherent in historical painting of the classicism style, Losenko's work is full of dramatic action and imbued with high civic pathos.
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RASTRELLI, BARTOLOMEO FRANCHESKO (Varfolomei Varfolomeevich) (Rastrelli, Bartolomeo Francesco) (1700-1771), architect, the largest representative of Baroque architecture in Russia.
Born in Paris, in the family of the Italian sculptor BARTOLOMEO CARLO RASTRELLI.
In 1716, together with his father, invited to the Russian service, he arrived in St. Petersburg. In 1725-1730 he studied abroad, most likely in Italy.
The first independent work of the young architect (before that he had completed the project for the park arrangement of Strelna manor entrusted to his father) was the house of the Moldovan ruler A. Cantemir in St. Petersburg (1721–1727). Appointed in 1730 as the court architect of Empress Anna Ivanovna, he designed for her a wooden palace on the banks of the Yauza (Annenhof in Lefortovo; not preserved), as well as a new one, the so-called. the third Winter Palace in St. Petersburg (1732-1736). In 1736-1740 he built palaces for Count Biron in Rundale (Ruentale) and Mitava (Jelgava) in Courland (now Latvia). The most significant of Rastrelli's early works was the wooden Summer Palace in St. Petersburg (major works 1741–1744), which was later dismantled during the construction of the Engineering Castle.
Summer Palace of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna in St. Petersburg. Arch. F.B. Rastrelli. 1742-1744
All these buildings are still characterized by a very restrained Baroque with fairly flat facades and moderate use of sculpture; without departing too far from the architecture of Peter the Great in the sense of a moderate decor, Rastrelli at the same time retains and even strengthens (especially in the Summer Palace) its spatial scope. The ability to think spatially, in a wide landscape, was promoted by his gift as a graphic artist (Rastrelli's drawings and sketches belong to the masterpieces of European architectural drawing of the 18th century).
Rundale Palace is a baroque palace complex in Latvia. Built in the 1730s
Winter residence of the Duke of Kurzeme and Semigallian E. I. Biron in Mitava (modern Jelgava)
The highest flowering of the master's creativity occurs in the middle of the century. In 1745-1757 he supervised the reconstruction of the royal residences in Peterhof (now Petrodvorets) and Tsarskoe Selo (now Pushkin). Having connected the previous buildings into integral ensembles, he unites them with a common rhythm with the help of facades of enormous length and internal ceremonial enfilades, to which the entire layout is subordinated - according to the principle of "gallery-block". In Peterhof, the architect transformed and significantly enlarged the Grand Palace, creating anew almost all of the interior decoration. The Tsarskoye Selo Grand Palace, also practically rebuilt, is distinguished by its special grandeur and splendor; the baroque achieves here the ultimate plastic splendor in the complex alternation of columns, window openings, sculptures and architectural decor; an important role, which is generally typical for the master's work, is played by the coloring of the walls (in this case, intense turquoise).
Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo
In all cases, the striking luxury of interior design (with an abundance of mirrors, gilded carvings, decorative painting, etc.) is combined with an extraordinary - and at the same time thoughtful - scale. Sophistication and scale merge together in the arrangement of front entrances to buildings and park areas (in Tsarskoye Selo park Rastrelli, in particular, completed the Hermitage pavilion started by SI Chevakinsky and built the Grotto). In 1754-1762, according to Rastrelli's designs, a new Winter Palace was erected, which also amazes with the union of the pictorial luxury of facade plastics and the general silhouette with the logical severity of the planning, visibly subordinating to itself the vast urban territory.
Vorontsov Palace in St. Petersburg F.B. Rastrelli. 1749-1757
Among other works by Rastrelli are the Vorontsovsky (1749-1757) and Stroganov (1752-1754) palaces in St. Petersburg.
Stroganov Palace at 19 Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg
In addition to palace architecture, the master radically updated Russian church architecture: in 1747-1750 he created a project for the reconstruction of the collapsed tent of the Resurrection Cathedral of the New Jerusalem Monastery near Moscow (later decorating the interior of the cathedral with rich stucco decoration), as well as the project of St. Andrew's Cathedral in Kiev, the construction of which in 1748-1767 led by I.F. Michurin.
St. Andrew's Cathedral in Kiev
The largest of his church buildings, as well as the last great work, was the Smolny Monastery in St. Petersburg (1748–1764) with residential buildings and churches arranged in an ensemble around the central Resurrection Cathedral; the latter, like St.Andrew's Church in Kiev, is centered in plan, combining Western baroque innovations with the traditional Russian five-domed.
Cathedral of the Smolny Monastery of F.B. Rastrelli. 1748-1764
With the coming to power of Catherine II, the baroque fashion disappeared, and the Smolny Monastery, although already formed as an ensemble, remained unfinished (in particular, the giant bell tower conceived by Rastrelli was not erected).
Design model of the Smolny Monastery. Master J. Lorenz. 1750-1756
Having ceased to receive orders, the master retired in 1763 from the post of chief architect. In 1764 he decorated Biron's palaces in Mitava and Ruenthal. In 1762 and 1767 he traveled to Italy hoping to improve his business (including by exporting paintings by Italian artists for sale to Russia).
Rastrelli died in St. Petersburg in 1771.
Catherine (Great) Palace in Tsarskoe Selo. Architect F.B. Rastrelli. 1752-1756
Catherine (Great) Palace in Tsarskoe Selo. Architect F.B. Rastrelli. 1752-1756. the Amber Room
Catherine (Great) Palace in Tsarskoe Selo. 1752-1756. West facade 
Catherine (Great) Palace in Tsarskoe Selo East facade. central part
East facade
Atlanta
Grotto (Morning Hall) in Tsarskoe Selo. Arch. F.B. Rastrelli
Grotto (Morning Hall) From the southeast side
The Hermitage in Tsarskoe Selo. Arch. M.G. Zemtsov, S.I. Chevakinsky, F.B. Rastrelli. 1743-1753
The Hermitage in Tsarskoe Selo. 1743-1753. Southeast view
Catherine (Great) Palace 1752-1756. East facade
Catherine (Great) Palace in Tsarskoe Selo. Arch. F.B. Rastrelli. 1752-1756. East facade. central part
Catherine (Great) Palace in Tsarskoe Selo. Arch. F.B. Rastrelli. 1752-1756. Entrance gate
View of the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo from the side of the ceremonial courtyard and the circumference. Engraving by P.A. Artemieva, E.T. Vnukov and N. Chelnakov from the original by M.I. Makhaeva. 1761
Catherine Palace. Zubovsky building
Palace Square. Winter Palace. 
Winter Palace in St. Petersburg
Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. Fragment of the western facade
Peterhof
Church of the Apostles Peter and Paul in Peterhof. F.B. Rastrelli. 1747-1751
Domes of the beautiful St. Andrew's Cathedral in Kiev
Catherine Palace, Tsarskoe Selo. Photo by Vadim Gippenreitor
Monument to F.B. Rastrelli. in Tsarskoe Selo 1991.
Thanks to the brilliant architect Rastrelli - the creator of the most beautiful buildings in St. Petersburg!
