Architect Bazhenov: interesting facts from life. Architecture of Moscow in the second half of the 18th century

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

A story about the architecture of the city of Moscow would be incomplete without mentioning the name of such an outstanding Russian architect as Vasily Ivanovich Bazhenov.

Gentle gothic - this is the style of most of Bazhenov's surviving creations. The Tsaritsyno complex was built in this manner. Most of the buildings and structures suffered greatly from time to time, however, the restoration work carried out during the years of Soviet power and in the post-Soviet era helped to restore most of them.

Childhood and youth

The exact place and date of birth of Vasily Bazhenov is not known. He was born March 1, 1737 or 1738, died August 2, 1799. The great Russian architect was from the family of a petty church official. According to some sources, he was born in Moscow, according to others - in Maloyaroslavets, and moved to Moscow at the age of three months. In 1753, Vasily became an apprentice to Dmitry Ukhtomsky. He received his first lessons in architecture and construction from him. The future architect Bazhenov did not complete the full course of study, as the difficult financial situation of the family forced him to quit his studies and go to work. In 1755 he began to study at Moscow University. The first biographer of Bazhenov,Kyiv Metropolitan Yevgeny Bolkhovitinov, wrote that Vasily also studied at the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy. This fact was refuted by subsequent researchers. Probably, in this way the clergyman tried to raise the prestige of the educational institutions subordinate to him.

Display of talent

In 1758, Vasily Bazhenov, among the 16 best students on the recommendation of Ivan Shuvalov, was sent to St. Petersburg to the newly created Academy of Arts. The talented student Vasily Bazhenov passed his first exam brilliantly and took first place in the academic rating. The chief architect of the Russian Admir alty, Chevakinsky, became the personal mentor of a promising, very capable and intelligent young man.

Three years later, Vasily Bazhenov and Anton Losenko became the first students of the Academy of Arts to receive scholarships.

Further training in the craft took place in Paris in the workshop of Charles de Vailly. Subsequently, the architect Bazhenov became the main propagandist of French neoclassicism in Russia and, following the ideas of De Vailly, established the stylistic canon of neoclassical Moscow.

He returned to Russia in May 1765 with brilliant reviews of his impeccable professional and moral qualities. Nevertheless, the new leadership of the Academy subjected his work to a strict examination and demanded a new draft of the thesis. The young Russian architect was noticed by Catherine II and her son Pavel. The heir to the throne ordered Bazhenov to design and build a mansion on Kamenny Island, and in 1766 GrigoryOrlov entrusted him with the construction of the Arsenal. On this, the activities of Vasily Ivanovich in St. Petersburg ended. Architect Bazhenov moved to Moscow, where he lived and worked until the end of his life.

Kremlin Palace

Ekaterina proposed the idea of renovating the dilapidated palaces of the Moscow Kremlin. Bazhenov enthusiastically set to work. Already in 1767, he submitted to the Highest consideration a fantastic project of the Grand Kremlin Palace. Orlov doubted the feasibility of building such a huge building, but the architect, in his vision of the Imperial Residence, remained adamant and by the end of the summer of 1768 completed the project. According to his plan, the largest palace complex in Europe, executed in the neoclassical style, was supposed to turn out. He was supposed to replace the old Kremlin completely. It was planned to keep unchanged only the cathedrals, which became invisible from the side of the river, because they were obscured by the walls of the future palace. According to the plan, the entire southern side, that is, the six-hundred-meter wall from the Konstantinovskaya Tower in the east to Borovitskaya in the west and further along the western wall of the Arsenal to the north, was to be occupied by a new four-story palace. Bazhenov planned to place it right on a steep slope between the plateau and the Kremlin wall, which was supposed to be demolished. The architect provided for the laying of stone buttresses to prevent the building from sliding into the river. It was planned to strengthen the coast with an embankment and tarred logs.

According to the project, the historical cathedral square was preserved, and a new one was to be built in the eastern part of the Kremlin. It was supposed to lay the foundation for new radial streets, going from the center to the north, northwest and northeast. From the palace there was an exit to Tverskaya Street. The implementation of the project was supposed to be the beginning of the modernization of the whole of Moscow. In 1775, by joint efforts under the leadership of Pyotr Kozhin and Nikolai Legrand, the plan was officially approved.

Tsaritsyno

In the summer of 1775, Bazhenov developed the first draft of Tsaritsyno, which has not survived to this day. Bazhenov's buildings were a coordinated complex of detached buildings in the Russian neoclassical style. After completion and coordination with the Empress, this plan was approved. The dominant object was to be a palace, consisting of two buildings connected by a greenhouse. One wing was intended for Catherine, and the second - for her son and heir Pavel. Traditional Russian colored tiles with ornaments were planned as decoration. Catherine objected and insisted on a simpler option - red brick walls with white decorations and yellow glazed tiles on the roof.

Bazhenov began the construction of the complex from the front row of small buildings, gates and bridges, decorated with fine fine decoration, which was subsequently lost. In 1776, the decorative Figured Bridge across the ravine was finally completed. The work was difficult due to the lack of highly qualified craftsmen and interruptions in funding.

In 1777, Bazhenov demolished the old wooden house of the former owners of the estate and began the construction of the main palace. He was raised tofor eight years. To the two main buildings, another one was added - the central one, for the children of Pavel. Governor Jacob Bruce, who inspected Tsaritsyno in 1784, was puzzled by the lack of a main, official building. But he nevertheless sent Catherine an enthusiastic report.

Cessation of work on the Tsaritsyn project

In June 1785, Catherine unexpectedly visited Tsaritsyno and was dissatisfied with the slow pace of work. The Empress assessed the palace as unsuitable for living: very dark rooms, low ceilings, narrow stairs. This year, relations between Catherine and Paul deteriorated irreversibly. The Empress de alt with the issues of succession to the throne. And the twin palaces have become a politically incorrect phenomenon. Catherine ordered the demolition of the buildings and the construction of a new main palace. Bazhenov and Kazakov were ordered to develop new projects. The architect Bazhenov presented his project by the end of 1785, but it was rejected, and Vasily Ivanovich was fired. Ekaterina chose Kazakov's project. The Bazhenov Palace was demolished in the summer of 1786. There is an opinion that Catherine did not accept Bazhenov's project because of the Masonic symbols and Gothic style. This cannot be true, since Kazakov preserved and repeated Gothic and Masonic symbols in his projects.

Kitchen building

In Tsaritsyno, another building of Bazhenov has been preserved - the kitchen building, or the Bread House. This square building with rounded corners was originally intended for kitchens, storerooms and servants' quarters. Entrances to itmade from the inside - so that the servants and various household movements do not catch the eye of the guests and owners of the estate. In the basement of white stone, glaciers are laid out that perfectly hold the temperature. The entire facade is decorated with various symbols: loaves of bread with s alt shakers, garlands of glasses, Masonic rulers, etc. Currently, the Bread House is used for concerts and other cultural events. Sometimes banquets are held there.

Middle Palace

The Opera House, or the Middle Palace of Catherine, with double-headed eagles on the parapets of the facades, was originally supposed to be used for small official receptions, as well as for concerts and performances in the summer. For a very long time the palace was not used in any way. All that was left of it was the walls. In 1988, eight years of restoration work began. The excellent acoustics of the building make it suitable for concerts. Art exhibitions are also held there.

Pashkov House

Vasily Bazhenov is an architect who created one of the world famous symbols of Moscow. This is the Pashkov House built in 1785-1786. The recognizable structure can often be found in paintings, prints, postcards, postage stamps, boxes of chocolates, etc. After being removed from the Tsaritsyno project, Vasily Ivanovich Bazhenov began to take private orders from we althy Muscovites. So, on Vagankovsky Hill, he built a magnificent palace of white stone for the captain-lieutenant of the Semyonovsky regiment and his wife. The facade of the building looks in the direction of Starovagankovsky Lane, and towards the Kremlinits back side is turned. It is assumed that in this way the architect demonstrated to the Empress his resentment for Tsaritsyno.

After the death of the childless owners Pashkov, the house was inherited by a distant relative who, having happily married a rich bride, the daughter of a gold miner, was able to keep the building in order. Subsequently, the Pashkovs sold the house to the treasury.

Revival of the Russian style in architecture

A follower of the neoclassical Russian architectural school, graphic artist, architectural theorist and teacher Vasily Ivanovich Bazhenov and his colleagues and students Matvey Kazakov and Ivan Starov created the Russian national architectural language, interrupted by Peter I. At that time, Russian urban planning set the tone foreign architects - Quarenghi, Rinaldi, Cameron and others.

The sad fate of a talented architect

The early manifestation of the architect's talent brought Bazhenov into the circle of we althy, powerful magnates and courtier politicians. Inexperience in commerce and diplomacy caused tragedies in the personal and professional spheres of Vasily Ivanovich's life. Two of his main building projects were abandoned for political or financial reasons. He failed to carry out his project for the reconstruction of the Grand Kremlin Palace. The Imperial Palace in Tsaritsyno, which was to become the core of the entire Tsaritsyno complex, was destroyed by Catherine II. Another project, the building of Moscow State University, served as a pretext for a sharp conflict with the former benefactor of the architect, Prokofy Demidov, and led Bazhenov to completebankruptcy. Before his death, Vasily Ivanovich was most worried about the fate of his children, because he was afraid that they would not be drawn into the construction business, which he considered dishonorable and treacherous.

Bazhenov's legacy

Bazhenov's legacy is still not fully understood. There are doubts about the authorship of some objects attributed to him. In particular, as to whether the architect Bazhenov built the Pashkov House? There is an opinion that this is the work of his students, whom he trained a lot over the years of teaching at the Academy of Arts. After the death of Catherine, Paul I appointed Vasily Ivanovich vice-president of the Academy. Many researchers were engaged in the study of his heritage, in particular, Igor Grabar, Shvidkovsky D. O. Thanks to them, much, although not all, has become clearer. In Notes on the Sights of Moscow, Karamzin compares Bazhenov's projects with Plato's Republic and Thomas More's utopia. Maybe that's why they weren't implemented.