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.
Delicate Gothic - this is the style of most of Bazhenov’s surviving creations. In this manner, the Tsaritsyno complex was built. Most of the buildings and structures suffered greatly from time, however, 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 on March 1, 1737 or 1738, died on August 2, 1799. The great Russian architect was from the family of a petty church official. According to some reports, he was born in Moscow, according to others - in Maloyaroslavets, and moved to Moscow at the age of three months. In 1753, Vasily entered the disciples of Dmitry Ukhtomsky. He received the first lessons in architecture and construction from him. The future architect Bazhenov did not complete the full training course, as the difficult financial situation of the family forced him to drop out of school and go to work. In 1755, he began to study at Moscow University. The first biographer of Bazhenov, Kiev Metropolitan Evgeny Bolkhovitinov, wrote that Vasily also studied at the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy. Subsequent researchers refuted this fact. Probably, in this way the clergy tried to raise the prestige of the educational institutions subordinate to him.
Manifestation 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. A talented student Vasily Bazhenov passed his first exam brilliantly and took first place in the ranking of academic performance. The chief architect of the Russian Admiralty 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 scholarship students of the Academy of Arts.
Further training in 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, based on the ideas of De Vaye, established the stylistic canon of neoclassical Moscow.
He returned to Russia in May 1765 with brilliant reviews regarding his impeccable professional and moral qualities. Nevertheless, the new leadership of the Academy subjected his work to rigorous examination and demanded the provision of a new draft of the thesis . The young Russian architect was spotted by Catherine II and her son Paul. The heir to the throne ordered Bazhenov to design and build a mansion on Kamenny Island, and in 1766 Grigory Orlov commissioned him to build the Arsenal. This was the end of Vasily Ivanovich’s activity in St. Petersburg. The architect Bazhenov moved to Moscow, where he lived and worked until the end of his life.
Kremlin Palace
Catherine proposed the idea of updating the dilapidated palaces of the Moscow Kremlin. Bazhenov enthusiastically set to work. Already in 1767, he submitted for the highest consideration a fantastic project of the Grand Kremlin Palace. Orlov doubted the feasibility of constructing 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 creation of the project. According to his plan, the largest palace complex in Europe, executed in the neoclassical style, was to be obtained. He had 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 south side, that is, a six-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 occupy 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 bulk and tarred logs.
According to the project, the historic cathedral square was preserved, and in the eastern part of the Kremlin a new one was to be broken. It was supposed to lay the foundation for new radial streets running from the center to the north, northwest and northeast. An exit to Tverskaya Street was planned from the palace. The implementation of the project was to be the beginning of the modernization of all of Moscow. In 1775, by joint efforts under the leadership of Peter Kozhin and Nikolai Legrand, the plan was officially approved.
Tsaritsyno
In the summer of 1775, Bazhenov developed the first Tsaritsyno project, which has not yet been preserved. Bazhenov’s buildings were an agreed complex of detached buildings in the Russian neoclassical style. After refinement 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 Paul. As a design, traditional Russian colored tiles with ornaments were planned. Catherine objected and insisted on a simpler option - red brick walls with white decorations and yellow glazed roof tiles.
Bazhenov began construction of the complex from the front row of small buildings, gates and bridges, decorated with fine graceful decoration, which was subsequently lost. In 1776, the decorative Figured bridge over the ravine was finally completed. Work went hard due to the lack of highly skilled craftsmen and interruptions in funding.
In 1777, Bazhenov demolished the old wooden house of the former owners of the estate and began construction of the main palace. It was erected for eight years. Another main building was added to the two main buildings - the central one, for the children of Paul. Governor Jacob Bruce, who examined Tsaritsyno in 1784, was puzzled by the lack of a main, official building. Nevertheless, he sent Catherine an enthusiastic report.
Termination of work on the Tsaritsyno project
In June 1785, Catherine unexpectedly visited Tsaritsyno and was unsatisfied with the slow pace of work. The Empress rated the palace as unsuitable for living: very dark rooms, low ceilings, narrow stairs. This year, relations between Catherine and Paul have irreversibly worsened. The Empress dealt with succession issues. And the twin palaces became a politically incorrect phenomenon. Catherine ordered to demolish the buildings and erect a new main palace. Bazhenov and Kazakov were ordered to develop new projects. The architect Bazhenov submitted his project by the end of 1785, but he was rejected, and Vasily Ivanovich was fired. Ekaterina chose Kazakov’s project. Bazhenov Palace was demolished in the summer of 1786. It is believed that Catherine did not accept the Bazhenov project because of Masonic symbolism and the Gothic style. This cannot be true, since Kazakov in his projects preserved and repeated Gothic and Masonic symbols.
Kitchen building
In Tsaritsyno, another Bazhenov building was preserved - the kitchen building, or the Bread House. This square building with rounded corners was originally intended for kitchens, storage rooms and shelters for servants. The entrances to it are made from the inside - so that the servants and various economic movements do not catch the eye of the guests and owners of the estate. In the basement, white stone lined with glaciers that perfectly keep the temperature. The entire facade is decorated with various symbols: loaves of bread with salt shakers, garlands of glasses, Masonic rulers, etc. Currently, the Bread House is used for concerts and other cultural events. Sometimes it hosts banquets.
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 never used. From it there were only walls. In 1988, eight-year restoration work began. The excellent acoustics of the building allows concerts to be held in it. Exhibitions of works of art 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. A recognizable structure can often be found in paintings, prints, postcards, postage stamps, candy boxes, etc. After removal from the Tsaritsyno project, Vasily Ivanovich Bazhenov began to take private orders from wealthy Muscovites. So, on Vagankovsky hill he built a magnificent palace of white stone for the captain-lieutenant of the Semenovsky regiment and his wife. The facade of the building looks in the direction of the Starovagankovsky lane, and its back is facing the Kremlin. It is assumed that in this way the architect showed the empress his insult to Tsaritsyno.
After the death of the childless owners, Pashkov inherited the house from a distant relative who, happily marrying 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.
The revival of the Russian style in architecture
Adherent of the neoclassical Russian school of architecture, graphic artist, theoretician of architecture 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, foreign architects Quarenghi set the tone in Russian urban planning, Rinaldi, Cameron and others.
The sad fate of a talented architect
An early manifestation of the architect’s talent led Bazhenov into the circle of wealthy, robbed tycoons and courtiers politicians. Inexperience in commerce and diplomacy caused tragedies in the personal and professional spheres of life of Vasily Ivanovich. Two of his main construction 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, led to an acute conflict with the former benefactor of the architect, Prokofy Demidov, and led Bazhenov to complete bankruptcy. Before his death, Vasily Ivanovich was most worried about the fate of his children, because he was afraid that they would not be involved in the construction business, which he considered a dishonest and treacherous affair.
Bazhenov's legacy
Bazhenov’s legacy is still not fully understood. There are doubts about the authorship of some of the objects attributed to him. In particular, regarding whether the architect Bazhenov built the Pashkov House? There is an opinion that this is the work of his students, whom he prepared 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 have studied its heritage, in particular, Igor Grabar, Shvidkovsky D.O. Thanks to them, much, though not all, has become clearer. In "Notes on the Sights of Moscow," Karamzin compares Bazhenov's projects with the Republic of Plato and the utopia of Thomas More. Maybe that's why they were not implemented.