A.I.Venediktov

The most significant phenomena of English architecture of the period under review date back to the last thirty years of the 17th century. The successor to the classic of English architecture, Inigo Jones, was Christopher Wren (1632-1723), who remained a leading master of English architecture throughout the first quarter of the 18th century.

Ren received a very broad education: before he turned entirely to architecture, he studied mathematics and astronomy. Having made a trip to France in 1665, he met Jules Hardouin-Mansart and other French architects and their works, as well as Bernini, who brought the Louvre project to Paris.

After the “Great Fire” of 1666, which destroyed most of London, Wren created a project for a radical redevelopment of the city, which, however, was rejected by the reactionary authorities. At the same time, Wren received the largest order for the construction of the new Cathedral of St. Paul and to draw up designs for one hundred burnt parish churches, of which he built more than fifty.

Cathedral of St. St. Paul's in London, built by Wren over thirty-six years (1675-1710), became the greatest religious building of the Protestant world (it surpasses the Cologne Cathedral in length, the height of the dome part - the Florentine Cathedral of Sanga Maria del Fiore). Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. Peter's, built by many architects over more than a century and a half, was, as it were, deliberately contrasted with the London Protestant Cathedral, built by one master in one construction period, in just three and a half decades. The first project drawn up by Wren with a centric plan in the form of an equilateral cross with a vestibule was rejected by the conservative clergy. The second, completed project had a more traditional elongated shape with a main room divided by pillars and arches into three naves and a spacious under-dome space at the intersection of the naves with the transept.

Ren's mathematical knowledge came in handy in the difficult task of constructing a dome, which he solved brilliantly, with subtle and deep calculations. The design of the triple dome resting on eight pillars is complex and unusual: above the hemispherical inner brick shell there is a brick truncated cone, which carries the lantern and cross crowning the cathedral, as well as a third, wooden, lead-covered outer shell of the dome.

The appearance of the cathedral is spectacular. Two flights of wide steps lead from the west to six pairs of Corinthian columns of the entrance portico, above which there are four more pairs of columns with composite capitals, bearing a pediment with a sculptural group in the tympanum. More modest semicircular porticoes are placed at both ends of the transept. On the sides of the main façade, slender towers were erected (one for the bells, the other for the clock), behind them, above the central cross of the cathedral, rises a huge, majestic dome. The dome drum surrounded by columns seems especially powerful because every fourth intercolumnium of the colonnade (the so-called Stone Gallery) is laid with stone. Above the hemisphere of the dome itself, the second, so-called Golden Gallery forms a circuit around a lantern with a cross. The towering group of domes and towers overlooking London is undoubtedly the most successful part of the cathedral, the main body of which was difficult to perceive in its entirety as it remained hidden by the clutter of urban development (heavily damaged by bombing during the Second World War).

Ren's creative individuality is revealed no less clearly in his own works. works, such as London parish churches. The variety and wit of the square, rectangular, oval plans of these buildings, usually small in size, the very configuration of which was often explained by the masterful use of cramped, inconvenient sites allocated for their construction, is amazing. The architecture of the churches themselves and their bell towers is extremely diverse, sometimes close in form to Gothic, sometimes strictly classical. It is enough to name the domed church of St. Stephen (1672-1679), original in the composition of its interior space, or the church of St. Mary le Bow (1671-1680) with its slender bell tower, remarkable for the beauty of its silhouette.

Of Wren's civil works one of the most brilliant is the new parts of Hampton Court Palace. In 1689-1694. they built buildings around the so-called courtyard with a fountain and a façade facing the park. In this original work, the architect showed high skill, strict taste and the ability to effectively use materials - brick and white Portland stone.

A prolific craftsman, Ren built more than just palaces and churches. He finally developed the plan for Greenwich Hospital (the original plan of which, apparently, belongs to Inigo Jones), and also built another hospital in Chelsea. He built the Temple district in London and built the town hall in Windsor. In Cambridge, he owns the building of the library of Trinity College (Trinity College), the prototype of which was the library of St. Stamp in Venice. In Oxford, where Wren taught astronomy in his youth, he built the so-called Sheldon Theater - a large round room for lectures and reports, which uses architectural motifs from the ancient Roman Theater of Marcellus; there he built the library at Queens College and the courtyard at Trinity College. The motifs of Venetian and Roman architecture used in these buildings received an original interpretation from Wren and went down in the history of English architecture as the creation of a national genius.

In residential country and city houses at this time, a type of brick building with white stone trim was created, which became a model for later English construction. Examples include the estates attributed to Wren at Groombridge Place in Kent and Swan House in Chichester.

Unlike Inigo Jones, Wren managed to realize almost all of his plans during his long and fruitful career. As a true humanist, Ren worked for education and the people; he built not only churches, but also hospitals, libraries, not only palaces, but also modest residential buildings. Wren followed the path indicated by Jones, but, unlike Jones, who absorbed the spirit of the Renaissance in Italy, the rational principle was more clearly expressed in the classicism of Wren, who survived the era of Puritanism.

In English architecture of the 18th century. The newly awakened passion for the work of Palladio was of great importance. By 1742, three editions of Palladio's architectural treatise had already been published. From the middle of the century, the publication of independent research on ancient architecture began. Robert Wood in 1753-1757 published a book dedicated to the ruins of Palmyra and Baalbek, Robert Adam published sketches and measurements of Diocletian's palace in Split in Dalmatia in 1764. All these publications contributed to the development of architectural theory and influenced the architectural practice of that time. New ideas were reflected in major urban planning events, for example, in the planning and development of the city of Bath (1725-1780), whose areas represent the most complete classicist ensembles in England. Architects of the 18th century were, in most cases, professionals and theorists.

John Vanbrugh (1664-1726) occupies an intermediate position between the multi-talented and educated masters of the 17th century and the narrow specialists of the 18th century. A brilliant officer, a court wit, a fashionable playwright, he remained a gifted amateur in architecture.

His main and largest works were built in the first years of the 18th century. palaces of Howard (1699-1712) and Blenheim (1705-1724).

Already in the first of them, trying to combine the Versailles scale with English comfort, he amazed his contemporaries primarily with the size of his building, the length of which was 200 m, the depth was almost 130 m, the height of the central dome exceeded 70 m. In the even more grandiose Blenheim Palace , built for the famous commander Duke of Marlborough (259 X 155 m), the architect tried to improve the somewhat awkward plan of the first building. Observing strict symmetry, he placed two more courtyards on both sides of the huge courtyard, which are connected to the main building by galleries decorated with a colonnade. In the external architecture of Blenheim Palace, neither the heavy portico of the main entrance, nor the triumphal arch of the park façade, nor the angular, seemingly built-on towers please the eye: the forms here are heavy and rough. The interior of the palace is uncomfortable and uncomfortable. The desire for strict pomp characteristic of classicism is rather mechanically combined in Vanbrugh with a superficial pomp dating back to the Baroque. In his architecture, as one of his contemporaries put it, “heavy in form and light in essence,” it is not difficult to detect obvious signs of eclecticism.

Nicholas Hawksmoor (1661-1736) was a more modest but more worthy successor to Wren. He led the construction of London churches, of which the most interesting is the Church of St. Mary Wulnos (1716-1719) with a facade decorated with rustication and a rectangular bell tower surrounded by columns, completed by two turrets with a balustrade. Hawksmoor worked after his teacher in Oxford, where he built a new building of Queens College with a monumental courtyard facade and a distinctive entrance (1710-1719). Finally, during Wren’s lifetime and after his death, Hawksmoor in 1705-1715. continued construction of Greenwich Hospital. Situated on the banks of the Thames, this one of the most significant monuments of English architecture both in size and artistic merit took its final form under Hawksmoor.

The large hospital complex, where the naval school is now located, consists of four buildings forming rectangular courtyards with a spacious area between the front buildings, porticoes of the facades facing the river. Wide steps, flanked by majestic domed buildings, lead to a second square between a second pair of courtyards. Hawksmoor worthily completed the construction begun by Jones and continued by Wren.

William Kent (1684-1748) was the most prominent English Palladian of the first half of the 18th century. Together with Lord Burlington, who fancied himself an architect, he designed and built a villa in Chiswick (1729), the most successful of the many English versions of Palladian Villa Rotunda. Kent felt more free during the construction of Holkham Hall Castle (1734), where four wings (with a chapel, library, kitchen and guest rooms) organically connected to the central building open onto the surrounding park. Kent's merits are especially great in landscape gardening, where he is known as the “father of the modern garden.”

The architect's most mature work is the sparsely shaped, orderless façade of the barracks of the Horse Guards Regiment (Horse Guards, 1742-1751) in London.

Architect and architectural theorist James Gibbs (1682-1765) is the most striking individual in English architecture of the first half of the 18th century. Having studied with Philippe Juvara in Turin, he also mastered Palladio's order and proportional systems. The most significant of his buildings, both in scale and in artistic merit, is the so-called Redcliffe Library in Oxford (1737-1749), a centric structure of exceptional originality, consisting of a sixteen-sided plinth, a cylindrical main part and a dome. The massive rusticated plinth is cut through by large arched door and window openings; the round part is divided by paired three-quarter columns into sixteen piers with two tiers of alternating windows and niches. Above the balustrade that completes the main cylindrical volume, a dome topped with a lantern rises. Fully expressing its purpose, the austere and monumental university library undoubtedly occupies one of the first places among the best monuments of English architecture.

Gibbs's London churches, the construction of which he continued after Wren and Hawksmoor, are also unique - the two-story church of St. Mary le Strand (1714-1717) with a semicircular portico of the entrance and a slender bell tower and the church of St. Martin in the Fields (1721-1726) with an impressive Corinthian portico.

William Chambers (1723-1796) was a consistent representative of Palladianism in England in the second half of the 18th century, when lesser English architects had already abandoned unsuccessful attempts to adapt the plans of Palladian villas to the conditions of the English climate and the requirements of English comfort.

Chambers summed up the past stage of English architecture in his architectural treatise and his largest building, known as Somerset House in London (1776-1786). This monumental building, built on arcades of substructures, overlooks the Strand and the Thames embankment with its rusticated facades (the façade facing the river was added later, in the 19th century). The Royal Academy was located on the premises of Somerset House in 1780.

The last Palladian, Chambers was the first representative of the academic movement in English architecture.

But Somerset House, especially the facade with its three-arched entrance from the Strand and the majestic courtyard of the building, worthily concludes a large and brilliant era in the history of English architecture.

Chambers's merits in the field of landscape architecture are also undeniable, where he promoted the English landscape park. After Kent, he worked in Kew Park, where, in addition to classical pavilions, he built a Chinese pagoda as a tribute to the European fashion for “Chineseness” and as a memory of his trip to the Far East in his youth.

Robert Adam (1728-1792), another prominent English architect of the second half of the 18th century, is often contrasted with Chambers. While the conservative Chambers was a strict guardian of Palladian traditions in architecture, Adam, a preacher of “new tastes,” was to a certain extent an innovator in English art. Taking antiquity in a new way, while paying special attention to decorative motifs, he, in his own words, “revolutionized ornament.” The leading English architects of that time, led by him, did a lot to ensure that the new artistic trends he pursued spread from interior decoration (their example can be the vestibule of Wardour Castle in Wiltshire, created by the architect James Payne, see illustration) to furniture, fabrics, and porcelain.

A typical example of Adam's work is Kedleston Hall Castle (1765-1770), built and decorated inside according to a Palladian plan drawn up by other architects (with semicircular wings adjacent to the central building). But the largest ceremonial rooms of the castle, located along the main axis, undoubtedly belong to Adam. The design of the large hall, where behind the Corinthian columns made of artificial marble supporting the stucco ceiling, there are antique statues in the niches of the walls, and the domed salon, the walls of which are dissected by niches and tabernacles, was probably inspired by the ancient monuments that Adam became acquainted with during a trip to Dalmatia, where he studied Diocletian's palace in Split. The finishing techniques of other, smaller rooms - stucco ceilings and walls, decoration of fireplaces - were even more in line with the new refined tastes. The graceful facade of the Boodle Club in London (1765) gives an idea of ​​how Adam decided on the appearance of the building.

Robert Adam's architectural activity was exceptionally wide. Together with the brothers James, John and William, his permanent employees, he built entire streets, squares, and quarters of London. Having overcome the previous Palladian isolation and isolation of architectural volume, the Adam brothers developed methods for forming integral city blocks (mainly residential buildings) on the basis of a single architectural ensemble. This is Fitzroy Square, the Adelphi quarter, named after the Adam brothers themselves (“adelphos” is Greek for “brother”). As a result of later redevelopment and rebuilding of the city (and also after aerial bombing during the Second World War), little survived from the extensive building activities of the Adam brothers. But the traditions of their art retained their importance in English architecture for a long time. The already strongly Hellenized style of the Adam brothers found its continuation in the so-called “Greek Revival”, the beginning of which dates back to the end of the 18th century, a direction that was not creatively original enough and was largely eclectic. This direction reached its full development in English architecture in the first decades of the next, 19th century.

Published: November 14, 2013

Architecture of Moscow 18th century

Alekseev F. Ya. Cathedral Square in the Moscow Kremlin 1811 - Moscow Architecture of the 18th century

Already in the 18th century, in Moscow architecture one could see buildings that simultaneously combined the features of both Russian and Western culture, imprinting the Middle Ages and Modern Times in one place. By the beginning of the 18th century, at the intersection of Zemlyanoy Val and Sretenka Street, a building appeared near the gate of Streletskaya Sloboda, the architect Mikhail Ivanovich Choglokov contributed to this. Once upon a time, Sukharev’s regiment was stationed here, which is why the tower was named in memory of the colonel, that is Sukhareva.

Sukharevskaya Tower, designed by M.I. Choglokov (was built in 1692-1695 on the site of the old wooden Sretensky Gate of the Zemlyanoy City (at the intersection of the Garden Ring and Sretenka Street). In 1698-1701 the gate was rebuilt in the form in which they survived until the beginning of the 20th century, with a tall tower topped with a tent in the center, reminiscent of a Western European town hall.

The tower changed its appearance enormously in 1701, after reconstruction. It now has more details reminiscent of medieval Western European cathedrals, namely clocks and turrets. In it, Peter I established a school of mathematical and navigational sciences, and an observatory appeared here. But in 1934 the Sukharev Tower was destroyed so as not to interfere with traffic.

During the same period, churches in the Western European style were actively built in the capital and region (the estate of Dubrovitsy and Ubory). In 1704, Menshikov A.D. gave an order to the architect I.P. Zarudny for the construction of the Church of the Archangel Gabriel near the Myasnitsky Gate, otherwise known as the Menshikov Tower. Its distinctive feature is a tall, wide bell tower in the Baroque style.

Dmitry Vasilyevich Ukhtomsky made his contribution to the development of the capital's architecture; he created great creations: the bell tower of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery and the Red Gate in Moscow. Previously, there was already a bell tower here, but Ukhtomsky added two new tiers to it, now there are five of them and the height has reached 80 meters. Bells could not be placed on the upper tiers due to the fragility of the structure, but they added grace and solemnity to the building, which was now visible from different parts of the city.

Red Gate, Unfortunately, now they can only be seen in pictures of textbooks; they have not survived to this day, but they are deservedly the best architectural structures of the Russian Baroque. The way they were built and modified is directly related to the history of life in Moscow in the 18th century. and indicatively characterizes that era. When the Russians won the Battle of Poltava against the Swedish army in 1709, a triumphal wooden gate appeared on Myasnitskaya Street. In the same place, on the occasion of the coronation of Elizabeth Petrovna in 1742, a second gate was built, funds for this were allocated by the local merchants. They stood for a short time before they burned, but Elizabeth immediately ordered them to be restored in stone; this work was entrusted to Ukhtomsky, who was mentioned earlier.

The gate was made like an ancient Roman triumphal arch; the residents of the capital loved it very much, which is why they called it Red, from the word “beautiful”. Initially, the building ended with a graceful tent, on which was a figure of trumpeting Glory with a palm branch. A portrait of Elizabeth was placed above the aisle, which was eventually decorated with a medallion with a coat of arms and monograms. On the sides, above additional passages, there are reliefs in honor of the empress, and above them there are also statues as symbols of Vigilance, Grace, Constancy, Loyalty, Trade, Economy, Abundance and Courage. About 50 different images were painted on the gate. When the Square was reconstructed in 1928, this great structure was mercilessly dismantled; now there is an ordinary gray metro pavilion, associated with a completely different time.

They stopped talking about the Peter the Great era now that the architects had finally completed the construction of St. Petersburg, which became the capital. Moving towards the end of the 18th century, again all construction returned to Moscow. They began to actively build secular houses and palaces, churches, educational and medical institutions. The best architects of the times of Catherine II and Paul I were Kazakov and Bazhenov.

Bazhenov Vasily Ivanovich studied at the gymnasium at Moscow University, and then at the new St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. When he completed his studies, he went to explore Italy and France, and then returned to St. Petersburg, where he was awarded the title of academician. Although Bazhenov’s career in St. Petersburg was very successful, he still went to Moscow to bring to life the project of Catherine II - the Grand Kremlin Palace. Patriarchal Moscow could not accept such a project; it stood out too much from the general picture of that time.

Alekseev F. Ya. View of the Moscow Kremlin from the side of the Stone Bridge 1811

It was planned to half demolish the southern walls of the Kremlin, obsolete buildings, and around what remained - the oldest cultural monuments, churches and bell towers, to erect a new pompous palace building in the style of classicism. Bazhenov wanted to build not only one palace, but also to have a theater, an arsenal, colleges, and a square for the people nearby. The Kremlin was not supposed to become a medieval fortress, but a large public place for the city and its inhabitants. The architect presented first of all the drawings of the future palace, and then its wooden model. This model was sent to Catherine II in St. Petersburg for her approval, and then left in the Winter Palace. The project was approved, even the first stone was solemnly laid with the participation of the Empress, but it was never completed.

In 1775, Catherine II gave a new order to Bazhenov to build a personal residence near Moscow on the Tsaritsyno estate, which at that time was called Black Mud. The Empress wanted the building to be built in a pseudo-Gothic style. Since 1775, the famous Grand Palace, the Bread House, the Opera House, stone bridges and much more were built, which can still be seen today.

Alekseev F. Ya. Panoramic view of Tsaritsyno 1800

The Tsaritsyn ensemble was very different from the estates of that time; they had a large number of elements of Gothic architecture, for example, pointed arches, window openings of complex shape, etc. Bazhenov said that Old Russian architecture is a subtype of Gothic, so there were also elements of the Russian Middle Ages, such as the forked battlements at the top, similar to the end of the Kremlin walls. A characteristic feature of Russian architecture was the combination of white stone details and red brick walls. Inside, everything was specially complicated in a medieval style. The palace looked very rough and gloomy, and when the empress came to look at it, she said with horror that the palace was more like a prison, and never returned there again. She ordered the palace to be demolished, along with some other buildings. The task was transferred to another architect - Kazakov M.F., who preserved the classicist correct shape of the building and made a Gothic design.

Pashkov House, architect Bazhenov

Many other buildings were also ordered from Bazhenov. For example, his work was the house of P.E. Pashkov, which faces the Kremlin; it is distinguished by its classic style, light facade, brick walls, which further emphasize the power and majesty of the building. The house is located on a hill, in the middle there is a 3-storey house with a neat portico, statues rise on the sides, and at the top there is a round sculptural composition of the belvedere. The galleries are made on one floor, which are continued by two-story wings with porticoes. From the hill you can go down the stairs, at first it led to a garden with beautiful fences and lanterns, but by the 20th century the street was widened and there were no trellises or garden left. M. F. Kazakov would not have been able to create to such an extent without the influence of Bazhenov and Ukhtomsky. Catherine II liked Kazakov’s work, and she trusted him with more than one commission, including houses for living, palaces for the royal family, churches in the style of classicism.

Petrovsky travel (access) palace on the Tverskoy tract, architect Kazakov

On the way from St. Petersburg to Moscow, one could stop at the Petrovsky Access Palace, otherwise it was called the Petrovsky Castle, Kazakov also worked on it and used a pseudo-Gothic style. But still, classicism could not be avoided; the correct symmetrical shapes of the rooms and all the interior design speak about it. Only by the elements of the facade could one recognize the echoes of ancient Russian culture.

The next building, the construction of which began in 1776 and was completed in 1787, was again done with the help of Kazakov, this was the Senate in the Moscow Kremlin. The building is fully consistent with the traditions of classicism, but it also reflects the features of Bazhenov’s Kremlin restructuring project. The main part of the building is triangular; in the middle there is a large round hall with a large dome, which cannot be missed while on Red Square. Bazhenov and his colleagues had great doubts about the strength of the dome, and to refute this, Kazakov himself climbed onto it and stood motionless for half an hour. On the front side of the building there is a colonnade that emphasizes the smooth curves of the walls.

An equally significant event was the organization of the graceful Hall of Columns in the house of the Noble Assembly in Moscow; Kazakov was responsible for its design at the end of the 18th century. The area of ​​the building is of a regular rectangular shape; columns are placed along the perimeter, which do not stand directly under the walls, but at some distance. Crystal chandeliers hang along the entire perimeter; the upper mezzanine is surrounded by a fence of figured posts connected by railings. The proportions are strictly observed, which does not allow you to take your eyes off.

Alekseev F. Ya. Strastnaya Square (Triumphal Gate, Church of St. Demetrius of Thessaloniki and Kozitskaya’s House), painting 1800.

In the center of the capital, Kazakov built a university, right on Mokhovaya Street, this happened in 1789-1793. A couple of decades later, the building burned down, but was partially restored by the architect Domenico Gilardi; he did not make any fundamental changes, but left the Cossack principle in the form of the letter “P” and the general plan of the composition.

Moscow University, 1798, architect Matvey Kazakov

Kazakov was very surprised by the fire that happened; the news came to him in Ryazan. He could not bear such a blow and soon died; he was informed that the fire had consumed all his buildings. But in fact, many buildings have survived to this day, from which one can immediately see the commonality of the architecture of the 18th century - “Cossack Moscow”.

In the middle of the 18th century. In the northern part of the territory of the modern Neskuchny Garden, an estate arose, ordered by P. A. Demidov, the son of a Ural breeder and a famous amateur gardener.

In 1756 The main house was built - U-shaped chambers in plan - the Alexandria Palace. A balcony on columns was placed between the projections of the garden facade. The courtyard in front of the house was surrounded by stone services and a cast-iron fence, cast at Demidov's factories.

Alekseev F. Ya. Military hospital in Lefortovo 1800

Alekseev F. Ya. View of the Church "St. Nicholas the Great Cross" on Ilyinka 1800

Alekseev F. Ya. View of the church behind the Golden Lattice and the Terem Palace 1811

Alekseev F. Ya. View in the Kremlin of the Senate, Arsenal and Nikolsky Gate, painting 1800 G.

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Architectural style

Sights of Moscow

Russian architecture of the 18th century associated primarily with three architectural directions. This is primarily Baroque, Rococo and Classicism.

Baroque is a movement in art, the main features of which are pomp, contrast, and the combination of reality and illusion. Masters of work in the Baroque style left a big mark on Russian architecture of the 18th century. The surnames of Trezzini, Schlüter, Michetti, Zemtsov, Rastrelli, Chevansky and Ukhtomsky remained forever in history of Russian architecture.

It is worth noting that the ensembles of the Winter Palace, the Stroganov Palace, the Smolny Monastery, Tsarskoye Selo and the design of Peterhof are masterpieces of the Baroque style.

Rococo is an architectural style that arose by combining Baroque and Classicism. This style carries sophistication and gallantry and is typical mainly for interior decoration.

In the 18th century, in Russian architecture, a new phenomenon is emerging - “Russian classicism”. Russian classicism is a direction of architecture characterized by simplicity and rigor, as well as rationality. A large number of buildings in the style of Russian classicism were located in Moscow. Pashkov's house, Bazhev's Tsaritsyn complex, Senate buildings, the house of Prince Golitsyn and many other buildings. Today these buildings are monuments Russian architecture of the 18th century.

The epicenter of advanced trends in architecture and urban planning, the Russian capital St. Petersburg became the same age as the century, conceived as an example of a new culture. The future capital was built from scratch, which greatly facilitated the introduction of regular planning and development techniques. The experience of foreign specialists was used on an unprecedented scale, and the material and human resources of the entire country were mobilized. In the first years of the existence of St. Petersburg, widespread construction of mud huts began. During construction, craftsmen mastered wooden structures of the so-called “Prussian model”, i.e. lightweight walls, flat floors in commercial, public and residential buildings. The technical novelty of St. Petersburg was the unusually high spiers crowning the most important city buildings, which was widespread in northern European countries. An outstanding structure of this type was the spire of the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the height of which reached 45 m. With the scale of stone construction, its engineering foundations were also improved, and it became possible to reduce the thickness of the walls of buildings under construction without significantly reducing the strength of the buildings. For example, in the palace of A. Menshikov on Vasilievsky Island, the thickness of the wall in the upper floors is only one and a half or even one brick. During this period, the production of both ordinary bricks and special, moisture-resistant bricks, according to the Dutch recipe, was established in St. Petersburg. All this did not take long to produce results. The city was created in record time, temporary wooden Petersburg was quickly replaced by stone one. By the end of the reign of Peter I, it was already surprising visiting foreigners with its grandeur and beauty. In a work about St. Petersburg written in 1751, the author had reason to write: “this city is so widespread, embellished and exalted that it has a notable advantage over many great and ancient cities in Europe.” In St. Petersburg, for the first time, a regular city development plan was developed and became its city-forming basis. The plan of P. M. Eropkin (1737) and the projects that followed it consolidated this pattern of city development. St. Petersburg squares have also acquired a qualitatively new face. They received geographical outlines with the construction of their extended facades of guest houses, colleges and other public buildings. This is what Trinity Square looked like on the Petrograd side. In the middle of the century, the intensifying stylistic tendency towards sculptural expression of forms affected the silhouette of St. Petersburg, which was enriched with many new, highly raised bell towers and churches. Moreover, in their form, instead of spiers, emphatically national motifs of five domes, tiers, and tower-like appearance appeared, which is why the silhouette of the city received new volumetric and plastic accents and a picturesque character that was previously unusual for it. The “regular” Russian capital of St. Petersburg becomes a symbolic embodiment of the image of the absolutist empire itself with its idea of ​​universal order. The area where experience in regular regulated construction was also gained was the “fortress cities” and “factory cities” founded in the first half of the century. Of particular importance was the experience of construction of Taganrog, Voronezh, Azov, redevelopment of such cities as Orenburg, Tver and many others.
Great Russian and foreign architects played an invaluable role in this. One of the most famous representatives of the Western architectural school who worked in Russia was Rastrelli Francesco Bartolomeo (1700-1771), the son of the Italian sculptor K. F. Rastrelli, who served at the court of the French king Louis XIV, but gained architectural and construction experience in Russia. Being a gifted artist, he managed to prove himself as a skilled architect and took the highest position in the architectural world of Russia as “chief architect”. His work reached its apogee in 1740-1750. His most famous creations are the ensemble of the Smolny Monastery in St. Petersburg (1748-1764), created in the traditions of Russian monastic ensembles of previous centuries, and the palaces of the Elizabethan nobles M. I. Vorontsov and S. G. Stroganov in St. Petersburg, but his talent was manifested to the highest degree in the creation of such masterpieces as the Winter Palace (1754-1762) in the capital, the Grand Palace in Tsarskoe Selo and Peterhof (Petrodvorets), and much, much more. All of them clearly characterize the Baroque style of the mid-18th century. and the evolution of the work of a remarkable architect. Another prominent foreign representative who worked in Russia was Antonio Rinaldi (1710-1794). In his early buildings, he was still under the influence of the “aging and passing” Baroque, however, it can be fully said that Rinadi is a representative of early classicism. His creations include the Chinese Palace (1762-1768), built for Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna in Oranienbaum, the Marble Palace in St. Petersburg (1768-1785), attributed to a unique phenomenon in Russian architecture, the Palace in Gatchina (1766-1781 gg.), which became the country residence of Count G. G. Orlov. A. Rinaldi also built several Orthodox churches that combined Baroque elements - five-domed domes and a high multi-tiered bell tower. A famous Russian representative of the era of early classicism in architecture was a student of the architect Korobov - Kokorinov. F. (1726-1722). Among his famous works, where the style of classicism was most clearly manifested, it is customary to include the building of the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg, built on the Nevskaya embankment of Vasilyevsky Island (1764-1788). The unusually beautiful facade and multifunctional offices and halls of this building corresponded to the ever-increasing prestige of Russian art. V. Bazhenov is rightfully considered a famous Moscow architect who decorated the appearance of Moscow. I. (1737-1799) ) . He received his initial knowledge of architecture at the architectural school of D. V. Ukhtomsky and at the gymnasium of Moscow University. A diplomat of the French Academy of Arts, being awarded the title of professor at the Rome National Academy of Arts, membership in the Florence and Bologna Academies of Arts is truly global recognition of his talent. Upon returning to St. Petersburg (1765), V. I. Bazhenov was elected academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, and in 1799. he became its vice president. The first works of V.I. Bazhenov include the construction of the building of the St. Petersburg Arsenal (now does not exist) and the still unsolved project of the Smolny Institute (not implemented). Since 1767 All the attention of the widely educated architect was absorbed by a responsible assignment - the design and construction of a colossal structure - the Grand Kremlin Palace and the college building on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin. In this regard, in 1768, a special Expedition of the Kremlin building was created, the chief architect of which was V.I. Bazhenov. His architectural team included the most famous designers of that time, one of whom was the greatest later architect - M. F. Kazakov. The new palace was conceived to be so grandiose (corresponding to the prestige of a great state) that it could hide behind itself the ancient buildings of Cathedral Square, and this would violate the traditional appearance of the Kremlin, which is why, with his “Instructions for Construction...” Bazhenov himself proclaimed the need to preserve the ancient buildings of the Kremlin . In 1772, all design work was completed, and on June 1, 1773, the official foundation stone of the palace was carried out. V.I. Bazhenov wrote: “the peoples of Europe, having seen the new Kremlin rising from the bowels of the earth, will be amazed at its majesty and enormity and will no longer see the beauty of their own splendors.” However, the construction of the palace did not go beyond the ceremonial laying, and in 1775 the architectural team of V. I. Bazhenov was even dissolved. The widely publicized project and construction of the palace was a means of strengthening the state prestige of Catherine II, who sought to show that Russia under her rule was capable of waging a grueling war and at the same time undertaking grandiose construction. And, nevertheless, despite the fact that V.I. Bazhenov’s outstanding plan was not realized, its significance for Russian culture was very great, and, above all, for the final establishment of classicism as the main stylistic direction in the development of Russian architecture. In addition, many famous craftsmen received professional training on the Kremlin reconstruction project. V. I. Bazhenov endured the refusal of construction stoically; failures did not break the architect. He began developing projects for private buildings commissioned by the Moscow nobility. The most significant buildings of this period include the ensemble of the estate and manor house of Pashkov in Moscow (1784-1786), not far from the Kremlin. This determined a compact and highly original planning composition. When designing Pashkov's house, Bazhenov acted as a brilliant follower of the ideas of French classicism. Of the city estate houses in Moscow created in the last period of Bazhenov’s life, the Yushkov house on Myasnitskaya should be noted. The completion of V. I. Bazhenov’s work is the project for the construction of the Mikhailovsky Castle in St. Petersburg, but Bazhenov failed to complete it, and the palace was completed with significant changes by the architect V. F. Brenn.
Another outstanding Russian architect is KazakovM. F. He received his education at the architectural school of D. V. Ukhtomsky in Moscow, a large role in the development of M. F. Kazakov’s natural talent was played by work in Tver, and then a seven-year stay in the architectural team of V. I. Bazhenov while working on the project Grand Kremlin Palace. The creative credo of the mature Kazakov was classicism in its strict manifestation. A striking example of this is the huge Senate building in the Moscow Kremlin, skillfully constructed by him in 1776 - 1787. It can be assumed that the nature of the architectural design of this building was inspired by the architecture of the unrealized Kremlin Palace of V. I. Bazhenov. The next large public building erected by Kazakov in Moscow was the four-story University building on Mokhovaya Street (1786 - 1793). This building is an excellent example of classicism, corresponding to the prestige of Russian science, having a strict and representative appearance. An important place in the architecture of Moscow classicism and in the work of M. F. Kazakov is occupied by a famous public building - the House of the Noble Assembly, masterfully rebuilt by the architect. Kazakov also built the Church of Metropolitan Philip on Second Meshchanskaya Street (1777-1788). In construction, the master also used the classic round composition in relation to the Orthodox church.

Compared to architecture, the development of Russian sculpture in the 18th century was more uneven. The achievements that marked the second half of the 18th century were immeasurably more significant and diverse. The relatively weak development of Russian plastic arts in the first half of the century is due primarily to the fact that here, unlike architecture, there were no such significant traditions and schools. The development of ancient Russian sculpture, limited by the prohibitions of the Orthodox Christian Church, had an effect. Achievements of Russian plastic arts of the early 18th century. almost entirely associated with decorative sculpture. First of all, the unusually rich sculptural decoration of the Dubrovitsky Church (1690-1704), the Menshikov Tower in Moscow (1705-1707) and the reliefs on the walls of the Summer Palace of Peter I in St. Petersburg (1714) should be noted. Executed in 1722-1726. The famous iconostasis of the Peter and Paul Cathedral, created according to the design of the architect I. P. Zarudny by carvers I. Telegin and T. Ivanov, can be considered, in essence, as the result of the development of this type of art. The huge carved iconostasis of the Peter and Paul Cathedral amazes with its solemn splendor, virtuosity of woodworking, and the richness and variety of decorative motifs. Throughout the 18th century. Folk wooden sculpture continued to develop successfully, especially in the north of Russia. Despite the prohibitions of the synod, works of religious sculpture continued to be created for Russian churches in the north; Numerous wood and stone carvers, going to the construction of large cities, brought with them the traditions and creative techniques of folk art. The most important state and cultural transformations that took place under Peter I opened up opportunities for Russian sculpture to develop outside the sphere of church commissions. There is great interest in round easel sculpture and portrait busts. One of the very first works of new Russian sculpture was the statue of Neptune, installed in Peterhof Park. Cast in bronze in 1715-1716, it is still close to the style of Russian wooden sculpture of the 17th-18th centuries. Without waiting for the cadres of his Russian masters to gradually form, Peter gave instructions to buy antique statues and works of modern sculpture abroad. With his active assistance, in particular, a wonderful statue was acquired, known as the “Venus of Tauride” (now in the Hermitage); various statues and sculptural compositions were ordered for the palaces and parks of St. Petersburg, the Summer Garden; foreign sculptors were invited. Giacomo Quarenghi. Alexander Palace in Tsarskoe Selo (Pushkin). 1792-1796 Colonnade. The most prominent of them was Carlo Bartolomeo Rastrelli (1675-1744), who came to Russia in 1716 and remained here until the end of his life. He is especially famous as the author of the remarkable bust of Peter I, executed and cast in bronze in 1723-1729. (Hermitage Museum). Carlo Bartolomeo Rastrelli. Statue of Anna Ioannovna with a little black. Fragment. Bronze. 1741 Leningrad, Russian Museum. The image of Peter I created by Rastrelli is distinguished by its realistic portrayal of portrait features and at the same time extraordinary solemnity. Peter's face expresses the indomitable willpower and determination of a great statesman. While Peter I was still alive, Rastrelli removed the mask from his face, which served him both to create a clothed wax statue, the so-called “Wax Person,” and for a bust. Rastrelli was a typical Western European master of the late Baroque. However, under the conditions of Peter’s Russia, the realistic aspects of his work received the greatest development. Among Rastrelli's later works, the statue of Empress Anna Ioannovna with a little black little girl (1741, bronze; Leningrad, Russian Museum) is widely known. What is striking in this work is, on the one hand, the unbiased truthfulness of the portrait painter, and on the other, the magnificent pomp of the decision and the monumentalization of the image. Overwhelming in its solemn heaviness, dressed in the most precious robes and mantle, the figure of the empress is perceived even more impressive and menacing next to the small figure of a little black boy, whose movements with their lightness further emphasize her heaviness and representativeness. Rastrelli's high talent was manifested not only in portrait works, but also in monumental and decorative sculpture. He participated, in particular, in the creation of decorative sculpture of Peterhof, worked on the equestrian monument of Peter I (1723-1729), which was installed in front of the Mikhailovsky Castle only in 1800. In the equestrian monument of Peter I, Rastrelli in his own way implemented numerous solutions for equestrian statues, starting from the ancient “Marcus Aurelius” and to the typically Baroque Berlin monument to the great Elector Andreas Schlüter. The peculiarity of Rastrelli's solution is felt in the restrained and austere style of the monument, in the significance of the image of Peter himself, emphasized without excessive pomp, as well as in the superbly found spatial orientation of the monument. If the first half of the 18th century. marked by a relatively less widespread development of Russian sculpture, the second half of this century is the time of the rise of the art of sculpture. It is no coincidence that the second half of the 18th century. and the first third of the 19th century. called the “golden age” of Russian sculpture. A brilliant galaxy of masters in the person of Shubin, Kozlovsky, Martos and others are moving forward into the ranks of the largest representatives of world sculpture. Particularly outstanding successes were achieved in the field of sculptural portraits, monumental and monumental-decorative plastic arts. The latter was inextricably linked with the rise of Russian architecture, estate and urban construction. The formation of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts played an invaluable role in the development of Russian plastic arts. Second half of the 18th century. in European art - a time of high development of the art of portraiture. In the field of sculpture, the greatest masters of the psychological portrait-bust were Gudon and F.I. Shubin. Fedot Ivanovich Shubin (1740-1805) was born into a peasant family near Khol-mogory, on the shores of the White Sea. His ability for sculpture first manifested itself in bone carving, a widely developed folk craft in the north. Like his great countryman M.V. Lomonosov, Shubin as a young man went to St. Petersburg (1759), where his abilities for sculpture attracted the attention of Lomonosov. In 1761, with the assistance of Lomonosov and Shuvalov, Shubin managed to join the Academy of Arts. After its completion (1766), Shubin received the right to travel abroad, where he lived mainly in Paris and Rome. In France, Shubin met J. Pigal and took his advice. F. I. Shubin. Portrait of A. M. Golitsyn. Fragment. Marble. 1775 Moscow, Tretyakov Gallery. Returning to St. Petersburg in 1773, Shubin in the same year created a plaster bust of A. M. Golitsyn (the marble copy, located in the Tretyakov Gallery, was made in 1775; see illustration). The bust of A. M. Golitsyn immediately glorified the name of the young master. The portrait recreates the typical image of a representative of the highest aristocracy of Catherine’s time. In the light smile sliding on his lips, in the energetic turn of his head, in the intelligent, although rather cold, expression of Golitsyn’s face, one can feel the secular sophistication and at the same time the inner satiety of a man spoiled by fate. By 1774, Shubin was elected to the Academy for the completed bust of Catherine II. He is literally bombarded with orders. One of the most fruitful periods of the master’s creativity begins. 18th century sculpture In the second half of the 18th century, the steady flourishing of domestic plastic arts began. Round sculpture had previously developed slowly, with difficulty overcoming eight hundred years of ancient Russian traditions in relation to the pagan “boob.” It did not produce a single great Russian master in the first half of the 18th century, but the more brilliant was its rise in the next period. Russian classicism, as the leading artistic movement of this time, was the greatest stimulus for the development of the art of great civil ideas, which determined the interest in sculpture during this period. F.I. Shubin, F.G. Gordeev, M.I. Kozlovsky, F.F. Shchedrin, I.P. Prokofiev, I.P. Martos - each in himself was a bright individual, left his own, unique mark in art. But they were all united by common creative principles, which they learned at the Academy in the sculpture class of Professor Nicolas Gillet. Russian artists were also united by common ideas of citizenship and patriotism, and the high ideals of antiquity. Interest in “heroic antiquity” also influences the choice of gods and heroes: Neptunes and Bacchus, beloved in Peter’s time, are replaced by Prometheus, Polycrates, Marsyas, Hercules, Alexander the Great, heroes of the Homeric epic. Russian sculptors strive to embody in a male image the traits of a heroic personality, and in the feminine - an ideally beautiful, harmoniously clear, perfect beginning. This can be seen both in monumental, architectural and decorative, and in easel plastic. Unlike the Baroque, architectural and decorative plastic in the era of classicism has a strict arrangement system on the facade of the building: mainly in the central part, the main portico and in the side projections, or crowns the building, readable against the sky. Speaking in general about sculpture of the second half of the 18th century, one should recognize one very important thing in common, to one degree or another characteristic of all Russian sculpture of this time, regardless of its relationship to architecture or its genre: it always represents a combination, a fusion of features of Baroque and classicism, baroque and classical trends, especially at the dawn of the birth of classicism. Together, Russian classicism differed from the pan-European one in its attitude towards antiquity. For Russian masters, antiquity has never been the most important and almost the only object of study and imitation. In Russian classicism there is also no unconditional and strict priority of reason over feeling; the emotionality of the image always recalls a living connection with the Baroque. In addition, the basis of all classicist works of Russian masters is a careful study of nature, just as it was the basis of the works of the sculptor Rastrelli, who with all his creativity, as it were, prepared the flowering of Russian plastic arts in the second half of the 18th century. The achievements of the portrait genre in sculpture are associated primarily with the work of Fedot Ivanovich Shubin (1740-1805), a fellow countryman of Lomonosov, who arrived in St. Petersburg, in essence, already an artist who had mastered the intricacies of bone carving. Shubin's first work upon returning to his homeland - a bust of former vice-chancellor A.M. Golitsyn - already testifies to the full maturity of the master. Such a characteristic image helps the sculptor create an extraordinary variety of expressive means that he owns. After the success of Golitsyn’s bust, the Empress ordered “not to assign him anywhere, but to actually be with Her Majesty.” In 1774, Shubin was awarded the title of academician. The sculptor rarely turned to bronze; he worked mainly in marble and always used, in essence, a very closed and limited form of the bust. Using the language of plastic arts, he creates images of extraordinary expressiveness and exceptional energy, without at all striving for their external glorification. Shubin worked not only as an orthretist, but also as a decorator. He executed 58 oval marble historical portraits for the Chesme Palace (located in the Armory Chamber), sculptures for the Marble Palace and for Peterhof. In 1775-1785 Shubin was busy with work for the Marble Palace. These are 42 sculptural works that he performed together with the Italian Valli and the Austrian sculptor Duncker. In the 70s, a number of young Academy graduates worked next to Shubin. A year later, Shubina graduated from it and was retired in Paris and Italy by Fyodor Gordeevich Gordeev (1744-1810). N returned to St. Petersburg in 1772, in 1776. received the title of academician. Gordeev’s creative path was closely connected with the Academy; he taught there all his life and even served as its rector for some time. Gordeev is a master of monumental and decorative sculpture. Russian masters knew how to deeply imbue themselves with the ideals of antiquity, specifically Greek antiquity. Just as in the medieval period the traditions of Byzantine art were creatively adopted by ancient Russian masters, so during the period of classicism in the second half of the 18th century, Russian sculptors comprehended and creatively rethought the principles of Hellenistic sculpture. Thus, Gordeev’s first work “Prometheus” and two tombstones of the Golitsyns carry many baroque features: the complexity of the silhouette, expression and dynamics, the picturesqueness of the overall compositional concept, the pathetic gestures of allegorical figures. The principles of classicism in Gordeev’s work can be traced even more clearly in the bas-reliefs on ancient subjects for the facades and interiors of the Ostankino Palace. Gordeev took part in the creation of the main monuments of St. Petersburg: he owns the snake of the Bronze Horseman and the relief on the Voronikhin pedestal of the monument to Suvorov Kozlovsky: banners, geniuses and a shield with the inscription “Prince of Italy Count Suvorov-Rymniksky 1801”. Gordeev's latest works are four bas-reliefs on the northern portico of the Kazan Cathedral. In the work of the remarkable Russian sculptor of rare talent Mikhail Ivanovich Kozlovsky (1753-1802).

Russian Theater of the 18th century

At the beginning of the 18th century, in Moscow, a public theater opened for the first time on Red Square. A foreign troupe of actors played in the theater. The actors staged plays by the Frenchman Moliere, the first Russian dramatic works and tragedies of ancient life.

In the 40s of the 18th century, the first troupe of Russian actors appeared in Yaroslavl, headed by Fyodor Volkov. In 1752, the troupe was invited to play in St. Petersburg, and four years later the troupe became the vanguard of Russian theater of the 18th century. Russian theater in St. Petersburg was located on Vasilyevsky Island, in Golovin’s house. The director of the theater was Sumarokov. Fonvizin's plays were staged for the first time on the stage of the St. Petersburg Theater.

In the 70s 18th century, V Russian theater a new phenomenon appears. An amateur actor, a student at Moscow University, he creates the Locatelli comic opera theater. The theater did not last long.

In its prime Russian theater of the 18th century, became the second half of the century. The creation of the “Theater Directory” and state financial support led to the fact that Russian theater became more accessible to the population, and performances became more colorful. On the theatrical stages of the Russian theater of the 18th century, comic opera and drama began to dominate.

IN Russian theater of the 18th century, the phenomenon of serf theaters was popular. Count Theaters Sheremetev in Ostankino, Prince Yusupov in Arkhangelskoye, which were famous for the inspired performances of serf actors. Often serf actors had great talent, but they were not free. Such life's vicissitudes often ended in tragedy.

The 18th century is considered important and significant in Russian architecture and urban planning. It is characterized by three directions - Baroque, Rococo and Classicism, which appeared successively over the course of the century. During this period, new cities appeared, objects were created that in our time are considered recognized historical and architectural monuments.

First third of the 18th century. Baroque

In the first third of the century, all architectural transformations were inextricably linked with the name of Peter the Great. During this period, Russian cities have undergone significant changes both in socio-economic terms and in architectural and planning terms. It was at this time that industry developed, which led to the construction of many industrial cities and towns. The political situation in the country and abroad created the preconditions for the dominant nobility and merchants during this period to be drawn into the construction of public facilities. If before this period, the most majestic and beautiful were created mainly by churches and royal residences (chambers), then at the beginning of the 18th century in cities great importance was paid to the appearance of ordinary residential buildings, as well as the emerging theaters, embankments, there was a massive construction of town halls, schools, hospitals (the so-called gospitals), homes for orphans. Since 1710, brick has been actively used in construction instead of wooden buildings. True, initially this innovation concerned, first of all, the capitals, while for the periphery stone and brick remained prohibited for a long time.

Peter I creates a special commission, which in the future will become the main body of state planning for both the capital and other cities. Civil construction already prevails over church construction. Great importance is attached not only to facades, but also to the appearance of the entire city - houses are beginning to be built with facades along the streets, buildings are being deconsolidated for fire safety purposes, streets are being landscaped, roads are being paved, the issue of street lighting is being resolved, trees are being planted along the roadsides. In all this one can feel the visible influence of the West and the firm hand of Peter, who with his decrees practically brought about a revolution in urban planning in those years. Therefore, it is not surprising that Russia in a short period of time manages to practically catch up with Europe, reaching a decent level in terms of urban planning and urban improvement.

The main architectural event of the beginning of the century is considered to be the construction of St. Petersburg. It is from this city and the Moscow Lefortovo Sloboda that serious changes in the architectural appearance of other cities begin. Western-oriented Peter the Great invites foreign architects and sends Russian specialists to study in Europe.
Trezzini, Leblon, Michetti, Schedel, Rastrelli (father) and other eminent architects who were destined to make a great contribution to Russian architecture in the first quarter of the 18th century came to Russia. What’s interesting is that if at the beginning of their creative career in Russia they clearly followed their principles and Western architectural thinking, then after a certain period of time, historians note the influence of our culture and identity, which can be seen in their later works.
In the first third of the 18th century, the predominant direction in architecture and construction was Baroque. This direction is characterized by a combination of reality and illusion, splendor and contrast. The construction of St. Petersburg begins with the foundation of the Peter and Paul Fortress in 1703 and the Admiralty in 1704. Peter set serious tasks for the architects of that period in terms of compliance of the new city with advanced European principles of urban planning. Thanks to the coordinated work of Russian architects and their foreign colleagues, the northern capital acquired formally Western features in merging with traditionally Russian ones. The style in which numerous pompous palaces, churches, government institutions, museums and theaters were created is now often called Russian Baroque or Baroque of the Peter the Great era.

During this period, the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the summer palace of Peter the Great, the Kunstkamera, the Menshiikov Palace, and the building of the Twelve Colleges in St. Petersburg were created. The ensembles of the Winter Palace, Tsarskoe Selo, Peterhof, Smolny Monastery, and the Stroganov Palace are decorated in the Baroque style, created in this and later periods. In Moscow, these are the churches of the Archangel Gabriel and John the Warrior on Yakimanka; the main entrance to the Arsenal Courtyard of the Kremlin is decorated with characteristic elements characteristic of this period. Among the important objects of provincial cities, it is worth noting the Peter and Paul Cathedral in Kazan.

Mid 18th century. Baroque and Rococo

Despite the fact that the death of Peter I was a great loss for the state, it no longer had a significant impact on the development of urban planning and architecture of that period. Russian architects working in St. Petersburg under the supervision of foreigners adopted their experience, and those who were sent to study abroad also returned to their homeland. The country at that time had strong personnel. The leading Russian architects of that period were Eropkin, Usov, Korobov, Zemtsov, Michurin, Blank and others.
The style characteristic of this period is called Rococo and is a combination of Baroque and emerging classicism. It shows gallantry and confidence. Rococo is more typical for interior solutions of that time. In the construction of buildings, the pomp and pomp of Baroque is still noted, and the strict and simple features of classicism begin to appear.
This period, which coincided with the reign of Peter’s daughter Elizabeth, is marked by the work of Rastrelli the son. Brought up on Russian culture, in his works he demonstrated not only the brilliance and luxury of palace architecture, but also an understanding of the Russian character, Russian nature. His projects, together with the work of his contemporaries Kvasov, Chevakinsky, Ukhtomsky, organically fit into the history of Russian architecture of the 18th century. With the light hand of Rastrelli, domed compositions began to appear not only in the capital, but also in other Russian cities, gradually replacing spire-shaped ones. The pomp and scale of his palace ensembles have no analogues in Russian history. But with all the recognition and luxury, the art of Rastrelli and his contemporaries did not last long, and in the second half of the 18th century it was replaced by a wave of classicism. During this period, the most large-scale projects were created - a new master plan for St. Petersburg and a redevelopment project for Moscow.

Late 18th century. Classicism

In Russian architecture in the last third of the 18th century, features of a new direction began to appear, which was later called Russian classicism. By the end of the century, classicism was firmly established as the main direction of art and architecture. This trend is characterized by the rigor of ancient forms, simplicity and rationality of designs. In contrast to the buildings in the Baroque style that filled St. Petersburg and its environs, classicism most manifested itself in the Moscow buildings of that time. Among many, it is worth noting the Pashkov house, the Senate building, the Tsaritsyn complex, the Golitsyn house, the Razumovsky palace, which are considered the most striking examples of classicism in architecture. In St. Petersburg at that time the Tauride Palace, the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, the Marble Palace, the Hermitage, the Hermitage Theater, and the Academy of Sciences were being built. Kazakov, Bazhenov, Ukhtomsky and many others are rightfully considered outstanding architects of that time.
The period of the 18th century also included changes that affected many provincial cities of that time - Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Nizhny Novgorod, Arkhangelsk, Odoev Bogoroditsk, Oranienbaum, now Lomonosov, Tsarskoye Selo, now Pushkin and so on. Petrozavodsk, Taganrog, Yekaterinburg and many other cities began in the 18th century and became important industrial and economic centers of the Russian state during that period and subsequently.

Description of the presentation Culture of Russia of the 18th century Architecture B by slides

Architecture The best national traditions of Russian architecture enriched with world heritage were embodied in the works of the largest Russian architects of the 18th century. The Mongol-Tatar system of city construction (radial rings with a square in the center) was replaced by the European one - to build cities according to a plan. The Byzantine style is being replaced by a lighter, Italian - Baroque.

Francesco Rastrelli (1700 - 1771) Born in Italy, but in 1716 he and his father came to Russia. He is the author of the largest palace ensembles: Winter Palace Grand Palace in Peterhof Grand Catherine Palace Stroganov Palace Smolny Palace St. Andrew's Church in Kyiv

Winter Palace The Grand Palace in Peterhof Richly decorated state rooms, plastered to resemble marble, with painted ceilings, inlaid parquet and gilded walls. The sculptures and vases installed above the cornice along the entire perimeter of the building add elegance and splendor to the silhouette of the building.

The Catherine Palace is one of the most famous buildings of the architect. The architect masterfully uses his favorite artistic means: the spatial scope of the composition, plasticity, relief of architectural forms, the expressive rhythm of the colonnades, the active inclusion of sculpture in the decor. The color scheme characteristic of Rastrelli is also fully used: the contrast of white columns, the azure-blue field of the walls and the gold of the architectural decor.

Classicism in architecture In the 60s, classicism replaced decorative baroque. Features: symmetry of compositions, harmony of proportions, geometrically correct plans, restraint, rigor

V. I. Bazhenov (1737 - 1790) Son of a sexton of one of the Kremlin court churches. He studied at the school of D. V. Ukhtomsky and at the gymnasium of Moscow University, and worked in St. Petersburg. From the Academy of Arts he was sent to study in France and Italy.

Vladimir Church in Bykovo Pashkov House Two main facades - one looks at the roadway and has a solemn character, the other is oriented towards the courtyard and has a more comfortable appearance. A bizarre combination of Baroque and Gothic forms.

M. F. Kazakov (1738 - 1812) In Moscow, he developed types of urban residential buildings and public buildings that organize large urban spaces: the Senate in the Kremlin (1776 -87), the university (1786 -93), the Golitsyn hospital (1796 -1801), estate houses of Demidov (1779 -91), Gubin (1790s). He used a large order in interior design (Column Hall of the House of Unions). He supervised the preparation of the master plan for Moscow and organized an architectural school.

The Senate Palace was Kazakov's largest realized project. According to the architect's idea, the building was supposed to symbolize civil ideals, legality and justice, and the architects found the embodiment of these ideals in the classical forms of antiquity. This explains the strict and restrained laconicism of the building, topped with a dome, the classical form of which Kazakov wanted to enhance the architectural expressiveness of Red Square as the main square of the capital.

Architectural style - Classicism Architect - Vincenzo Brenna Founder - Paul I Founding date - February 26 (March 9) 1797 Construction 1797-1801

Sculpture In the second half of the 18th century. The foundations of Russian sculpture were laid. It developed slowly, but Russian educational thought and Russian classicism were the greatest incentives for the development of great civic ideas.

F. I. Shubin (1740 – 1805) Worked in an era when the idea of ​​the value of the spiritual world of man penetrates into the art of sculptural portraiture. He worked mainly with marble, very rarely turning to bronze. His works belong to the genre of classicism. Most of his sculptural portraits are in the form of busts.

I. P. Martos (1754 - 1835) I. Martos was an artist of a wide range, but he became especially famous as the author of magnificent monuments and classical tombstones.

Monument to Minin and Pozharsky. Dedicated to Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Mikhailovich Pozharsky, leaders of the second people's militia during the Polish intervention in the Time of Troubles, and the victory over Poland in 1612. The monument was built in 1818.

By advice. Didroempress. Catherine. II entrusted the sculptor Falcon with the creation of an equestrian monument. Petru. I. The wax sketch was made again. In Paris, after the master’s arrival in Russia in 1766, work began on a plaster model the size of a statue. Embossed on the steel pedestal is the laconic inscription “Petroprimo. Catharina secunda" (“To Peter. The First. Catherine. The Second”) was made according to a proposal. Falcon with minor editing itself. Catherine, the inscription initially looked like “Petra. First of all. Catherine the Second". The finishing of the bronze after casting (which was done by the cannon maker Emelyan Khailov) in 1775 was carried out by Falconev himself. Having left. Russia in 1778 before the installation of the monument (the grand opening of the monument was timed to coincide with the twentieth anniversary of the reign of Catherine II on August 7, 1782), Falconeuhalv. Holland and returned to 1781. France. For the last 10 years of his life, crippled by paralysis, he was unable to work or create. Etienne Falconet

Painting of the 18th century turned out to be unusually rich in talented artists. The paintings were distinguished by a variety of genres: from traditional portraits and historical painting to theatrical scenery, landscapes, still lifes, and scenes from folk life.

Portraiture The main place in the painting of the 18th century is occupied by the portrait. Portrait (French portrait, from Old French portraire - “to reproduce something feature by feature”) is an image or description of a person or group of people who exist or existed in reality.

I. P. Argunov (1729 – 1802) I. P. Argunov does not idealize the model’s appearance; he boldly conveys the squinting eyes and some puffiness of the face. At the same time, the artist’s masterful use of the brush in conveying texture and the sophistication of shadows attract attention.

Of the later works of I. P. Argunov, the most famous is “Portrait of an unknown peasant woman in a Russian dress.” It is now believed that the depiction was of a wet nurse, which is confirmed by the model’s costume. The artist embodied his idea of ​​female beauty on canvas.

D. G Levitsky (1735 – 1822) Levitsky’s works are characterized by a bright individuality of images. He is able to find an expressive pose and gesture, to combine the intensity of color with tonal unity and richness of shades.

In 1773, one of the most interesting works of D. Levitsky was created - a portrait of the philosopher Denis Diderot, a French encyclopedist philosopher and writer. The energy, creative restlessness and spiritual nobility of which were so vividly and directly conveyed by the Russian artist.

A. P. Antropov (1716 - 1795) A. P. Antropov avoided depicting superficial grace in portraits. His images are concrete, realistic and at the same time psychological.

Coronation portrait of Peter III (1762). The Emperor is depicted as if he had “run” into magnificent chambers: uncertainty, mental disharmony against the backdrop of a luxurious interior - this is what A.P. Antropov perspicaciously saw.

Rokotov. Fedor. Stepanovich The largest Moscow portrait painter who worked during the Russian Enlightenment. Perhaps the first “free artist” in Russia who did not depend on state and church orders.

Historical painting A genre of painting that originates in the Renaissance and includes works not only based on real events, but also mythological, biblical and evangelical paintings. Depicts events of the past that are important for an individual nation or all of humanity.

A. P. Losenko (1737 -1773) Founder of Russian historical painting. From 1753 he studied painting with I.P. Argunov, and from 1759 at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. He continued his studies in Paris and the French Academy in Rome.

Vladimir in front of Rogneda, 1770 Wonderful catch,

Literature The main trend in the literature of the 18th century was classicism. Russian classicism attached special importance to “high” genres: Epic poem Tragedy Solemn ode Since the 70s of the 18th century, a new direction has emerged - sentimentalism. New genres appear with it: Travel Sensitive story

D. I. Fonvizin (1745 - 1792) Fonvizin was not only a major and talented playwright of the 18th century. He is one of the founders of Russian prose, a wonderful political writer, a truly great Russian educator, who fearlessly fought against tyranny for a quarter of a century.

G. R. Derzhavin (1743 – 1816) The main object of Derzhavin’s poetics is man as a unique individual in all the richness of personal tastes and preferences. Many of his odes are philosophical in nature, they discuss the place and purpose of man on earth, the problems of life and death.

Writers and poets of the 18th century. A. D. Kantemir 1708 -1744 V. K. Trediakovsky 1703 -1769 M. V. Lomonosov 1711 -1765 A. P. Sumarokov 1717 -1777 D. I. Fonvizin 1744-1792 G. R. Derzhavin 1743 -1816 N. M. Karamzin 1766 -1826 A. N. Radishchev 1749 —

Theater German Johann Gregory is the creator of theater in Russia. Theater in Russia in the 18th century developed not only in Moscow, but also in St. Petersburg. An establishment with Russian actors opened at the court of Anna Ioannovna. The famous playwright Alexander Sumarokov wrote plays for him. Under Elizabeth Petrovna, the so-called imperial theaters appeared. These government institutions existed at the expense of the treasury. The director of the Imperial Theater on Vasilyevsky Island was Sumarokov. The first professional theater was opened in Yaroslavl by F. G. Volkov. The 18th century theater in Russia continued its development during the reign of Catherine II. Several professional troupes worked at her court. Italian opera singers occupied a special position. A Russian drama troupe also worked. During this period, the theater ceased to be a purely palace entertainment. Public entertainment establishments opened in the city, in which both Russian and foreign artists worked.

Theater. Creation. Ivan Dmitrievsky Theater of the 18th century in Russia knows the names of famous entrepreneurs: Titov, Belmonti, Medox. At this time, landowner troupes continue to exist in the provinces, where serf artists perform. Ivan Dmitrevsky was a wonderful actor. Later he became the main actor of the Imperial Theater on Vasilyevsky Island. To improve his skills, Catherine the Second sent Dmitrevsky abroad. In Paris, he studied the play of the famous tragedian Lequesne, and in London he watched performances with the participation of the great Garrick. Returning to St. Petersburg, Dmitrevsky opened a theater school. He later became the chief inspector of imperial entertainment establishments.

Gottlieb Siegfried Bayer (1694 -1738). He began by studying the tribes that inhabited Russia in ancient times, especially the Varangians, but did not go further than that. Bayer left behind many works, of which two rather major works were written in Latin. Much more fruitful were the works of Gerard Friedrich Miller (1705 -1783), who lived in Russia under Empresses Anna, Elizabeth and Catherine II and was already so fluent in the Russian language that he wrote his works in Russian. Miller's main merit was collecting materials on Russian history. Among the academicians of the 18th century. M.V. Lomonosov also occupied a prominent place in his works on Russian history, writing an educational book on Russian history and one volume of “Ancient Russian History” (1766). Story.

History His works on history were determined by polemics with academicians - the Germans. The latter separated Varangian Rus' from the Normans and attributed to Norman influence the origin of citizenship in Rus', which before the arrival of the Varangians was represented as a wild country; Lomonosov recognized the Varangians as Slavs and thus considered Russian culture to be original. Attempts to provide such an overview have emerged outside the academic environment. The first attempt belongs to V.N. Tatishchev (1686 -1750). In these 5 volumes, Tatishchev brought his history to the troubled era of the 17th century. The first popular book on Russian history belonged to the pen of Catherine II, but her work “Notes on Russian History” was much more important in scientific terms “Russian History” by Prince Shcherbatov (1733 -1790)