Architect Bove Osip Ivanovich: biography, list of buildings

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Foreigners have played an important role in shaping the architectural appearance of Moscow and St. Petersburg. But Giuseppe Bova can hardly be called a guest of Russia. He took an active part in the life of the country and put his soul into his buildings.

Osip Ivanovich Bove: short biography

The real name of the architect is Giuseppe Bova, although he was born in St. Petersburg (1784). A native of Italy was his father, the Neapolitan painter Vincenzo Giovanni Bova. Later, the boy began to be called in the Russian manner - Osip. When he was still a child, the family moved to Moscow. He will give all his strength and talent to this city. At the age of 18, Bove enters the school to master the art of architecture under the guidance of Francesco Camporesi. After graduation, the career growth of the young man occurred rapidly. As an assistant architect, he was fortunate to work under such great masters as Rossi and Kazakov.

In the midst of the events of 1812, Osip Ivanovich Bove becomes a member of the people's militia. Fortunately, during the waractions, he was not injured and after demobilization was appointed to the architectural commission for the restoration of Moscow as the head of the "facade part". Of the four sectors of the city, Beauvais got the central one. Arbatsky district, Presnensky, Tverskoy, Gorodskoy and Novinsky - the architect gave this part of the city the look that has survived to this day. He designed Red and Theater Square, Alexander Garden - the three main architectural ensembles of the capital's center. In addition, Beauvais was engaged in the development of facades of residential buildings in post-war Moscow and church construction.

As an architect, Beauvais received well-deserved recognition during his lifetime and did not need anything. He had money, fame and a loving family. Perhaps the only thing he could not achieve was the status of an academician, since for some reason he could not fulfill the task of the Academy of Arts. Most likely, it was a lack of time. Possessing such talents, it is unlikely that Bove would not have been able to draw up a project for the theater building (namely, this was the assignment). He died in the summer of 1834, a little short of his 50th birthday. The architect was buried at the cemetery at the Donskoy Monastery, for whom he built a church during his lifetime.

Red Square

After the war, part of the square was destroyed, and the rest of the place was occupied by merchants. The young architect Beauvais restored the damaged walls of the Kremlin and restored the Nikolskaya Tower along with the Resurrection Gate. It was decided to remove private shops in the building of the Trade Rows. The building in the style of classicism with an elegant portico still adorns the city center and nowis called GUM. The earthen fortifications, as well as the moat along the walls, were destroyed, and a boulevard was built on the site of the latter.

A little later, the first city monument was erected near St. Basil's Cathedral - a monument to Minin and Pozharsky by Martos. The pre-war square had a completely different look, and its current appearance is entirely the merit of Beauvais.

Alexander Garden

It was decided to add greenery to the redbrick walls. The Kremlin garden, or, as it is now called, Aleksandrovsky, noticeably enlivened the center of the capital. According to Bove's idea, it was a regular park with picturesque ruins and small pavilions. Some of them have survived to this day, for example, the Italian grotto. To create the park, the bed of the Neglinka River that flowed there had to be taken underground. It was originally planned to use it to create a system of ponds, but the idea was not realized.

Manege

Another architect was involved in the drawings of the arena. Beauvais supervised its decoration and sculptural decoration. He designed the Betancourt building in 1817. The design at that time was unique and had no analogues in the whole world. The building was intended for the exercise of the military and was called Exerzirgauz, or the Training House. The interior space should not have hampered regimental maneuvers. And it was possible to create such a structure! In a room where there were no internal supports and the entire bearing load fell on the walls, 2000 people could comfortably fit.

In 1824, Beauvais created a project for the decoration of the arena after a slight reconstruction. It was supposed to decorate the walls with military armor, signifying the victory, power and greatness of the state. Plastering work was carried out, the building was decorated with stucco. Decorations made in the form of legionary paraphernalia are fixed on the walls. It was planned to fix cast-iron high reliefs in the blind gaps of the walls, but they were never cast.

Theatre Square

The Petrovsky Theater, which used to be on the site of the Bolshoi, burned down before the war, in 1805. And only in 1816 it was decided to transform the square. It was required to build a new theater building and lay out a rectangular square in front of it. On the right and on the left, the square was closed by the front facades of buildings, and the best view of it was supposed to open from Kitay-gorod.

St. Petersburg resident Andrey Mikhailov designed the Bolshoi Theatre. Beauvais supervised the work and made significant changes to the drawings. He reduced the cost of construction, adjusted the size of the future theater in relation to the area and surroundings. The main outlines and composition have been preserved, while at the same time the role of finishing and decorative elements has been strengthened.

Like the Manege, the Bolshoi Theater was designed to glorify the city that won the war. Majestic classical style contributed to this in the best possible way. A sculptural group depicting Apollo on a chariot was installed on the portico. It was made of alabaster and destroyed by fire in 1853. Later it was replaced with a composition by Klodt. She repeated the sameplot, but was larger and more dynamic.

The opening of the theater took place in early January 1825. The audience in the boxes applauded. It was a triumph not only for the acting troupe, but also for the architect himself.

Triumphal Gates

Unlike the Manege or the Bolshoi Theatre, the Arc de Triomphe is a completely Beauvais project. The construction was planned at the entrance to Moscow from the St. Petersburg direction near Tverskaya Zastava. It took about two years only for sketches and drawings, and in 1829 the final version was approved. A handful of silver rubles were thrown into the foundation “for good luck” and a commemorative bronze plate was laid.

During the construction, stone from the Samotechny Canal and Tatar "marble" from a village near Moscow were used. Sculptural compositions are made of cast iron by sculptors Timofeev and Vitali. All of them are cast according to sketches that the architect himself created. Due to interruptions in funding, construction took 5 years, and the opening of the monument took place in the autumn of 1834.

I must say that the modern Triumphal Gate on Kutuzovsky Prospekt is a remake. The original ones were dismantled a century after they were built as part of the redevelopment of the square. Measurements, sketches and photography were made in order to later restore the arch at the Belorussky railway station. Decorative elements were transferred to museums for storage. During the Second World War, huge cast-iron columns were melted down for front-line needs, only one was saved. But thanks to these drawings and the surviving fragments in 1968, the archrestored on Kutuzovsky Prospekt next to the Borodino Battle panorama.

Hospitals

Dedicated to his beloved city, the architect Beauvais worked not only on monumental buildings, but also on premises intended for ordinary people. One of them is the Gradskaya hospital in the Kaluga outpost area. Beauvais began work on her drawings in 1828. A spacious majestic building in the style of classicism, decorated with a "signature" portico, opened its doors to Muscovites in need of help.

For comfortable accommodation of patients, the architect provided light buildings. The walls were decorated with bas-reliefs, some of which have survived to this day.

Osip Ivanovich Bove converted the Gagarins' house into another one - Catherine's - hospital. Work began in 1825. Despite this, both hospitals opened only in 1833. At that time, they had the best technical base in Russia.

Temple building

Among the churches built by Bove, one can note the Pokrovsky Church, the St. Nicholas Church in Kotelniki, the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity on the territory of the Danilovsky Monastery. As part of the construction of hospitals, two churches were erected near them. In 1822, a wonderful church was built in the village of Arkhangelsk, consecrated in honor of the Archangel Michael. The rotunda church in the Empire style was made of brick. The three-tiered bell tower was crowned with a high spire. The church is well preserved and has recently been restored.

Church of Michael the Archangelpeople fell in love with it so much that with the money collected by the parishioners, another one was erected according to the same sketch. In the village of Pekhra-Pokrovskoe stands the "twin" of the Archangel's church - the Intercession Church. It is distinguished from the prototype by a white and blue color scheme.

Apartment buildings

As an architect responsible for the facades of post-war Moscow, Osip Ivanovich Bove could not but influence the appearance of ordinary residential buildings. Under his leadership, collections of manuals called "Albums of exemplary projects" were compiled. Recommendations and examples of how the houses of representatives of various urban classes should look like were given here. You could choose the right one, guided by your taste and we alth.

Thanks to Beauvais, the city mansion was born as a completely new type of home. An apartment house was developed for the merchants: the upper floor was reserved for the owners, and the lower floor could accommodate shops and shops.

Osip Ivanovich Bove left behind an invaluable architectural heritage. The sights of Moscow are inextricably linked with his name. Come visit and see for yourself!