Where in the Russian hinterland there is a mini-copy of the capital's Yaroslavsky railway station: The mansion of the landowner Sharonov

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

At the mention of Fyodor Shekhtel, Moscow mansions in the Art Nouveau style immediately appear, but not only the capital can boast of the masterpieces of the great architect. Take, for example, Sharonov's mansion in Taganrog - one of the most beautiful buildings in the city. There is something to marvel at, moreover, this house is called a mini-copy of the capital's Yaroslavl railway station. To be in Taganrog and not see this gorgeous house is a big omission, because it is simply impossible to take your eyes off it.

The richest man in the city eventually dies in poverty

Today, the building houses the Museum "Urban Development and Life of the City of Taganrog", nevertheless it is still called "Sharonov's House" - after the name of the former owner. The fact is that before the revolution the house belonged to Yevgeny Sharonov, the most famous landowner, businessman and grain merchant in the city.

According to the recollections of contemporaries, Sharonov was highly respected by local peasants, since, although he was a lawyer by training, he was well versed in agriculture. Sharonov dressed simply: cap, trousers, high boots. He was good-natured and fair, spoke quietly, but they always obeyed him implicitly. His wife, on the other hand, dressed magnificently, and when she was angry, she looked very funny and looked like a cackling hen, so there was an expression in the city: "Fluff up like Sharonikha."

This beautiful house, which still admires passers-by, Evgeny Sharonov ordered Shekhtel for a reason - he wanted to leave it as a dowry for his daughter.

Unfortunately, the new mansion did not take long to rejoice: it was built in 1912, and five years later a revolution happened and the mansions were taken away from their owners. The house was nationalized, and the owner, who lost all his wealth, according to the recollections of the townspeople, subsequently died of typhus. The daughter, on the other hand, turned from a rich bride into an ordinary Soviet woman. She got married, left for the Urals and subsequently worked there as a teacher.

In Soviet times, a silk station, a kindergarten, a clinic, and a district committee were located in this house. The museum has existed here since the 1970s.

"Younger brother" of the Yaroslavsky railway station

Experts call Sharonov's mansion an example of a successful combination of architecture, painting and sculpture. But above all, when mentioning this house, they talk about its resemblance to the Yaroslavl railway station. And this similarity is noticeable not only to specialists, but also to everyone who saw the house in Taganrog and visited the capital on Yaroslavsky.

The building of the Yaroslavsky railway station was opened in 1904 - eight years before the construction of the house in Taganrog. Shekhtel himself wrote that in this project he depicted "a corner of his buildings in Glasgow", in which he tried to "give the Russian style the severity and harmony of northern buildings" and which, in his words, were dear to him more than other works.

It turns out that the station in Moscow was one of the architect's favorite projects, and it is all the more interesting that Fyodor Shekhtel created a very similar project in Taganrog.

The station building and the Sharonov's mansion have similar pointed towers, a trapezoidal roof, the central part of which is decorated with a scallop. Both at the station building in Moscow and at the house in Taganrog, windows of different shapes alternate very similarly, besides, both buildings are asymmetric.

Brilliant masters worked on the project

The main entrance of Sharonov's house is decorated with a “kokoshnik” that frames an interesting mosaic composition. Part of the facade is decorated with ceramic tiles, presumably made at the famous factory in the Mamontov estate Abramtsevo. Mosaic paintings delight with their beauty and make the house very elegant.

In the upper part of the facade of the house, in the center between the windows, you can see the composition "Departure of the boats", which, according to experts, was created according to the sketches of Nicholas Roerich, who more than once worked together with Shekhtel. And if you look to the right, you can see the panel "Sea Battle" by Vasily Vasnetsov.

The gate adjoining the building to the left, decorated with decorative towers and mosaic masks of lionesses, created by another genius, Mikhail Vrubel, is also interesting. By the way, there was another interesting detail at the gate - the owner's coat of arms, which was a circle with the initials “E. NS.". It was very similar to the monogram of the Russian Empress Catherine II, on which “E. II ". Local authorities at that time considered this similarity to be incorrect and subsequently asked Sharonov to change the coat of arms, which he was forced to do.

The luxurious house, which is now called the pearl of Art Nouveau, cost the owner a huge sum for those times - 25 thousand rubles. But it was worth it: wishing to make a gift to his daughter, in the end he made a gift to future generations, and now the townspeople and guests of Taganrog can admire the masterpiece.

The works of the masters of the factory that existed in the Abramtsevo estate can be found on other famous buildings of great architects. By the way, the story about how the philanthropist Savva Mamontov revived Russian ceramics, very interesting.