What a trace in history was left by the close architects of the Russian emperors

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

Each ruler in the Russian Empire had its own court staff who organized the daily life of the monarch and his family. Tailors, doctors, artists and scientists close to the emperor served at the court. Architects or architects occupied a special place in the staff. They built palaces, cathedrals, monasteries, theaters, bridges and garden and park complexes, for which they received a good salary and other privileges from the monarchs.

The first architect of St. Petersburg Domenico Trezzini

The Swiss, Domenico Trezzini, came to work in Russia without any recommendations, as was customary at that time, and became one of the most prominent architects of the era of Peter I.

In 1704, when Trezzini arrived in the northern capital, the city looked depressing. All that was there was a swamp, water, a minimum number of structures, and the Peter and Paul Fortress, erected against their background from clay and wood. It was Trezzini who was instructed to rebuild the earthen fortress into a stone one.

The architect is considered the founder of the Petrine Baroque trend, which has since been widely used to design buildings in the new Russian capital. The most important project of Trezzini was the Peter and Paul Cathedral on the territory of the fortress - the tomb of all the emperors of the Russian Empire, except for Ivan VI.

From 1710 to 1714, the Swiss architect worked on the creation of the Summer Residence of Peter I. The Emperor's palace turned out to be quite modest, it had only 14 rooms and 2 kitchens, and the facade of the building was decorated with bas-reliefs on a military theme.

Another famous building is the building of the Twelve Collegia, which today belongs to St. Petersburg State University.

Among other things, during his career, the beloved architect Peter erected the Alexander Nevsky Lavra and became the first teacher of architecture. in Russia. Trezzini died in 1734 and is buried in the cemetery of the Sampson Cathedral. The square of the Vasileostrovsky district was named after him, and a monument in his honor was erected on it. The architect's house today houses the Trezzini Palace hotel. Each room in it has an exclusive interior in the spirit of the Peter's era.

Francesco Rastrelli - court architect under Elizabeth I

The Rastrelli family moved to Russia from France after the death of Louis XIV. The father of the family, Carlo Rastrelli, was a court sculptor and passed on his experience to his son Francesco. Already 4 years after moving to Russia, the young man implemented his first project - the residence of Prince Dmitry Kantemir on Millionnaya Street. After a successful debut, other representatives of the Russian nobility began to turn to Rastrelli Jr. For Anna Ioannovna, who ascended the throne in 1730, the French architect built the Summer and Winter Annenhofs in Moscow.

Under Elizabeth I, the life of a demanded architect could drastically change for the worse. The Empress removed him from the court for three years, and at that time Mikhail Zemtsov was the main architect at the court. But Rastrelli's skill helped him - in Russia no one knew how to build in the baroque style beloved by Elizabeth. After the death of Zemtsov, the Empress reinstated Francesco in office again and entrusted him with the design of the new Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. The old residence was dismantled, and in its place by 1761 the main imperial palace was erected in its present form.

The construction of the Smolny Monastery, the Great Palaces in Peterhof and Tsarskoye Selo was also carried out according to Rastrelli's designs.

With the arrival of Catherine II, the popularity of the Baroque style faded away. The Empress was against excessive spending on gilded decorative elements and other excesses. Having conquered the throne, she sent Rastrelli on vacation, and entrusted the alteration of the inner chambers of the Winter Palace to another architect. Upon learning of such changes, Francesco Rastrelli resigned.

Paul I and Vincenzo Brenna

Under Catherine II, the Scottish architect Charles Cameron enjoyed special honor. Delighted with his skills in decorative arts, the great empress sent Cameron to Russia in 1779. Here he received service housing, a salary of 1,800 rubles and permanent orders, including for the construction of the Cold Bath, Agate Rooms and the Hanging Garden of the Small Hermitage.

Paul I, having received the reins of government, immediately decided to remove his mother's beloved architect from the courtyard. Cameron was stripped of his post and his house was taken away, and in his place Vincenzo Brenna became the court architect. The Grand Duke met him during a trip to Europe and later offered him a job on the decoration of the palace in Pavlovsk. He also worked on the interior decoration of the Kamennoostrovsky Palace, took part in the construction of the Gatchina residence, St. Isaac's Cathedral by Antonio Rinaldi and the Mikhailovsky Castle.

After the death of Pavel Petrovich, Brenna remained in Russia for some time - he was given orders by the monarch's widow, Maria Feodorovna. Later, he was still forced to return to Europe due to lack of work.

What Karl Rossi built for Alexander I

During the reign of Alexander I, the most influential architect of St. Petersburg was the Italian Carl Rossi, who was the author of the most daring projects and created the modern look of St. Petersburg. In the 1820s, he was a respected and highly paid architect in Russia, received an annual salary of 15,000 rubles and carried out the most ambitious construction projects.

The authorship of Karl Rossi belongs to the Mikhailovsky Palace - an architectural monument of classicism, built over 6 years for his younger brother Alexander I. The pinnacle of the great architect's skill was the main ensemble of the Northern capital - Palace Square. The emperor commissioned the construction of government buildings in this place, but wished that the Winter Palace remained the center of the composition. Rossi found an ingenious solution without imitating Rastrelli, the creator of the Winter Palace. He used a different style, but did not violate the appearance of the main architectural monument of the Northern capital. By 1829, the General Staff building was built. He completed the ensemble of Palace Square and harmoniously united the disparate buildings of Baroque and Classicism, which seemed incompatible. Later, Auguste Montferrand put an end to this composition, who built the Alexander Column in the Empire style on Palace Square.

After the death of Alexander I, the position of Charles of Russia deteriorated greatly - he did not find a place at the court of the new emperor and in 1832 he had to resign. And in 1849 the famous architect died practically beggar.

Andrey Shtakenshneider - from a simple draftsman to the favorite architect Nicholas I

Andrei Shtakenschneider began his career as a draftsman in the Committee of Buildings. At first, he participated in the revision of St. Isaac's Cathedral together with Montferrand, and later received his first order of his own - the reconstruction of the palace of Count Benckendorff. On the recommendation of the latter, not only high-ranking residents of St. Petersburg, but also Emperor Nicholas I himself began to use the architect's services.

Stackenschneider built the Novo-Mikhailovsky and Nikolaevsky palaces for the emperor's sons, reconstructed the rooms of the Winter Palace and the Small Hermitage. Another significant project of the architect was the Mariinsky Palace, built for the eldest daughter of Nicholas I. Today this building houses the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg.

The residences, built for members of the imperial family, were equipped with the latest technology - plumbing, sewerage, telegraph and hydraulic lift.

Stackenschneider was an ardent admirer of eclecticism; several styles are intertwined in his buildings, including Baroque, Rococo and Neo-Renaissance.

Silvio Danini - the last architect at the court of the imperial family

Silvio Danini became the court architect under Nicholas II after he successfully rebuilt the Church of the Sign in Tsarskoye Selo. Danini worked primarily in the Art Nouveau style. The main projects in his career were the reconstruction of the right building of the New Tsarskoye Selo Palace for the monarch's chambers, as well as the creation of an adjacent garden and park zone.

In addition, the decorator took orders from the St. Petersburg nobility. For example, his authorship belongs to the Kokorev estate in Pushkin, where one of the buildings of the Agricultural Institute was based since 1958.

Danini outlived the emperor a little. Despite being close to the imperial family, he escaped repression and died in 1942 in besieged Leningrad.

Curious utopian graphics of the Soviet architect Yakov Chernikhov.