The style of architecture in the 17th century flourished, because the possibilities of the state expanded, stone construction reached a new level. In the Kremlin under Mikhail Fedorovich stone imperial chambers were built. It was in the XVII century, and more precisely in its first half, that such a cult object as the Spasskaya Tower appeared. And in the second half of the century, other towers of the Moscow Kremlin were built. These buildings were crowned with tents, and they took on the form familiar to us.
Temples in the 17th century
Of course, in the Middle Ages, church architecture was of the greatest importance. A special style of architecture of the XVII century can be seen in the Trinity Church in Nikitniki. It is located in the very center of Moscow, in Kitay-Gorod. This temple is crowned with five tents, and the belfries have a stone canopy. It was this building that became the model for stone church architecture throughout the country. This type of church was built in large numbers in old Russian cities, right up to the first half of the 18th century.
Roof Features
An interesting phenomenon of church architecture in the first half of the 17th century was the fascination with stone tents not over the belfries, but over the temple itself. This favorite element of the creators in the style of architecture of the XVII century came from a wooden church building. The fact is that a wooden tent is very practical, because rainfall flows from the roof. And from there, from wooden architecture, the stone tent was established in church construction.
But from the point of view of Patriarch Nikon, these roofs were uncomfortable, and in general the element was incorrect. For a long time it was believed that the patriarch forbids to marry the temple with tents, as they were considered secular elements that are unacceptable to use in church architecture. This was seen as a manifestation of the secularization of culture.
Recent studies have somewhat clarified this conclusion. The fact is that, having forbidden to crown stone temples with tents, Nikon ordered in his beloved Voskresensky monastery to build a building with such special roofs. Therefore, the intentions of the patriarch in this case are not entirely clear. Maybe he wanted it to be the only temple in this style of architecture of the XVII century. Be that as it may, the ban on church architecture extended to the whole country. Thus, the Church of the Nativity in Putinki, today located in the center of Moscow, is the last temple in this city, which was crowned with tents.
Architecture XVII
At the end of the century, one can observe completely new phenomena in church architecture. This is the so-called Naryshkin style. Sometimes buildings built in this style are also called Moscow Baroque. This is not entirely accurate, because officially this style in architecture will appear a little later. Only elements of the Baroque culture are represented in the churches, therefore it is more correct to call this style Naryshkinsky.
Temple of the Intercession at Fili
Fili is a village near Moscow boyar Naryshkina. This temple is noticeably different from the Trinity in Nikitniki. The building is a high centric composition, in such a temple a person feels like a center, this is not typical for a medieval worldview.
Here the estate is located directly under the dome and indirectly, of course, not directly, but indirectly, these are echoes of the idea of โโthe Renaissance. Man is the center of the universe, the measure of all things. This was precisely the main concept of Russian architecture of the 17th century. Although maybe at the end of the century this idea was not read clearly, architectural forms have survived to this day, and art historians claim that this is exactly the feature in which this idea could ever be embodied.
Monuments of architecture of the XVII century
The Naryshkinsky style was even more strongly reflected in another estuary building near Moscow - the Sign Church in the village of Dubrovitsy. This is the estate of the uncle, the teacher of Peter, Boris Golitsyn. In this building there are a lot of features, for example, the unusual completion of the temple - it is crowned with a crown - this is an element of European baroque of that time.
If you look closely at the steps of this temple, you can find a very specific loan from the famous staircase, which was designed by the great Michelangelo at the end of the 16th century. This element comes from Florence, the Medici Laurenzian library. The object became a model for many flights of stairs of that time and also from hand to hand, through Holland, Germany, the Commonwealth, the replica reached the Moscow state at the turn of the XVII-XVIII centuries.
Thus, it can be noted that at the end of the XVII century the connection of the Moscow state with all the processes that took place at that time in Europe is becoming more and more distinct.
Experience transfer
The Baroque era is another example of the style of Russian architecture of the 17th century. In history, for example, music or literature, a slightly different periodization is adopted. And in construction, it is believed that Baroque ends in the middle of the XVIII century. After this begins the era of neoclassicism.
At this time, Italy, more precisely, Rome, still serves as a model in all forms of art for Europe. Baroque architecture also arises in the ancient city. And the main architect of the style, naturally, the Roman is Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini. The most important creators of the next generation, which were built at the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th, are his students, not only Italians, but also some Germans. For example, a very famous good architect, Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach.
State influence on style
There are two political forces that Baroque architecture serves as counter-reformation and absolutism. No matter how strange it may be, but the style of architecture of the 17th century is a mixture of the political system with creativity.
What is the counter-reformation
In the XVI century, a certain transformation took place, so half of Europe renounced Catholicism and joined the new version of Christianity - Protestantism. The church could not come to terms with this and launched a large-scale propaganda campaign, during which the best network of higher educational institutions in the world was created - the Jesuit Collegium. Both clergy and laity studied there. And somehow it happened that the majority left the walls of these institutions by convinced Catholics.
Since Rome is the capital of the Christian world, and Baroque architecture was created in this city, it turned out that this particular style served as the decoration of Catholic propaganda. And from Rome, these motives spread all over the world. For example, the builders of the Jesuit missions, colleges, which covered the entire planet from Iquitos to Goa, took as their model the first buildings of the Suez Order in Rome.
The model for all the churches of the Catholic world, as noted above, was St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, completed in the Baroque era.
Palaces for the nobility
In the XVII century a new order of government was born - absolutism. Until then, European aristocrats were more or less sovereigns of their lands. They collected taxes there, maintained their own army, and often waged wars with their kings. In the XVII century, gradually, first in France, and then in some other countries of Europe, the aristocracy was deprived of its former privileges, and kings, no longer constrained by remnants of the medieval order, began to rule the states with the help of the powerless essence of bureaucracy.
From the end of the 17th century, according to the trend of Europe, Russian tsars and later emperors began to build huge country palaces for themselves with regular parks. In these palaces, sovereigns and their courtiers are often not easy to live, but also ministers and other employees of the state apparatus. The country palace serves as the office of the supreme authority in the state.
The imperial residences in the Petersburg suburbs are one of the largest and most luxurious palaces in the European Baroque style. Thus, it can be noted that the architecture in the 17th century in Russia was different.
Distinctive features
Baroque, like any other style, has its own special originality. Here are the most important features: an oval plan, uneven arrangement of columns and plentiful painted sculptures, picturesque scenery.
It can not be argued that these techniques are characteristic only for the Baroque era, but in these times they are much more common. However, the oval plan is not found in ancient or medieval architecture, nor in the Renaissance. Italians invented it in the 16th century. But the first ovals date back to the late Renaissance. An example is the small church of Sant'Anna in Rome.
Some researchers believe that the history of baroque architecture originated precisely from these buildings, Michelangelo Buonarroti is even sometimes called the father of Baroque. But nevertheless, it is believed that the first architects of the Roman Baroque were the masters of the next generation, who worked at the turn of the century, in particular Giacomo della Porta or Carlo Maderna.