Architect Starov is a famous domestic architect who was engaged in the construction and design of various buildings. He worked in St. Petersburg and the province of the same name, in Yekaterinoslav and Kherson. In total, his works are made in the style of classicism. The most famous of them are the Trinity Cathedral in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, the St. Sophia Cathedral in the Tsarskoye Selo area, the Tauride Palace, the Prince Vladimir Cathedral, the Pellinsky Palace, the country palaces in the estates of Sivoritsa and Thai, the Nikolskoye-Gagarino estate.
early years
The architect Starov was born in St. Petersburg. He was born in 1745. At the age of 10, he was accepted by a pupil to the gymnasium at Moscow University. A year later, having shown himself well in his studies, he received a transfer to the gymnasium at the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.
Initially, the future architect Ivan Starov showed a craving for art. Therefore, after the successful completion of the gymnasium, he entered the Academy of Arts. His first teachers were the architect Alexander Filippovich Kokorinov and the French professor of architecture, Jean-Baptiste-Michel Wallen-Delamotte.
Education
Having received a first-class education, the hero of our article went on a trip abroad. As a pensioner at the Academy of Fine Arts from 1762 to 1768, he lived and worked in Paris. Under the pensioner of the Academy of Arts at that time was understood a graduate of the imperial academy, who received the corresponding cash allowance. In fact, they were analogues of modern government or commercial grants.
In France, the young man had the opportunity to further improve his skills. In most cases, pensioners spent money to travel to Italy or France, where there was a huge amount of opportunity to hone their talent. It is worth noting that only the best students who completed the course with the Big Gold Medal could count on the boarding house. Starting from the XVIII century, the guesthouse was paid for three years, later this period was increased to six.
Architect Ivan Starov did just that. In Paris, he studied with one of the largest representatives of French classicism, Charles De Vailly, who had a great influence on him and on the whole Russian architectural tradition. Also, the architect Starov studied in Rome.
Homecoming
Returning to St. Petersburg, the hero of our article first set about the project of the gentry cadet corps. For the successful completion of work in 1769, he was officially recognized as an academician.
After that, he received the position of associate professor. Later in 1770 he was promoted to professor.
Among his most ambitious projects, it is worth noting the plan for the formation of the city of Nikolaev at the mouth of the Southern Bug and Ingul rivers in the area of ​​the constructed shipyard. This plan of a talented architect was distinguished by the right quarters and straight lines.
In 1794, the already famous architect Ivan Egorovich Starov became an associate rector. For several years he was the chief architect of the commission on the stone structure of Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Biography of Ivan Yegorovich Starov is of interest to many architecture connoisseurs. The architect died in 1808 at the age of 63. He was buried in St. Petersburg at the Lazarevsky cemetery at the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
Personal life
Starov was married to Natalya Grigoryevna Demidova, daughter of the famous domestic businessman, botanist and philanthropist Grigory Akinfievich. He continued the work of his father, having founded two plants, was also known as the creator of the first private botanical garden in Russia, was considered a correspondent of the Swedish botanist Karl Linnaeus.
During his career, Starov’s father-in-law was noted for the effective management of the Demidov factories. Remaining often in the shade, he did a lot of useful and important things for his family. In particular, he achieved the division of the inheritance between the brothers, gave the children a first-class education. His three sons traveled throughout Europe for many years, gaining knowledge in a wide variety of industries. Largely thanks to him, he managed to save the collection of the German naturalist and physician Georg Steller, which consisted of 80 unique plants.
Starov was a guarantor at the wedding of the sister of Natalia Pulcheria with the director of the Academy of Arts Alexander Filippovich Kokorinov.
Famous projects
The architect Starov in the style of classicism created almost all of his buildings. One of his very first striking works was the Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
The place for him was determined by the Italian architect Trezzini, it was to this point that it was planned to lay Nevsky Prospect. The original project was created by Schwertfeger. It was supposed to be a grandiose building with two impressive belfries topped with spiers. The cathedral was founded in 1722. However, cracks appeared during the settlement of the building, so the project was suspended for an indefinite period. In 1744, construction began to be dismantled to the "sole". By 1755, the cathedral was dismantled, although it was already ready in draft.
In 1763, a new competition was announced among architects, but Empress Catherine II did not like any of the projects. Only in 1774 they returned to construction again, entrusting it to Starov. The empress two years later approved the project proposed by him. In 1778, the solemn laying of the temple took place. Consecration took place in 1790. From that moment on, the cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky, the work of the architect Starov, actually became the chapel temple of the order.
Tauride Palace
The Tauride Palace is one of the most famous buildings built by the hero of our article. Initially, it was the St. Petersburg residence of Grigory Potemkin. Its construction was carried out from 1783 to 1789 in the style of classicism.
The palace was located on Shpalernaya Street, next to the Tauride Garden. It was built by decree of Empress Catherine II, who wanted to make her own favorite a pleasure. About 400 thousand rubles in gold were spent on its construction. It is worth noting that Potemkin himself was not often in it, since he was mainly involved in the management of Novorossia. In 1791, he came to him for the last time to win the Empress’s heart from his new rival, Plato Zubov.
Complex
The basis of the Tauride Palace of Ivan Starov was a two-story central building located in the back of the main courtyard. The palace was originally opened to the Neva. This architectural perspective existed before the construction of a water tower opposite the palace, as well as other structures related to the city waterworks.
It is worth noting that the facade of the main building is distinguished by a Doric portico, and the garden - a semi-rotunda with a balcony. Two small wings are crowned with domed towers.
Currently, the palace complex includes a garden master’s house, built in 1794 by architect Volkov.
Resurrection Church
Ivan Starov built the Resurrection Church from 1782 to 1785 at the Volkovsky Cemetery.
A one-story stone building was laid in 1782 on the site of a pre-existing wooden church. The second tier of the bell tower, which was located above the refectory, was crowned with a spire, built on much later, in 1831.
The general composition of the building is a typical variant for Russian architecture of the XVII-XVIII centuries. In it, the refectory, the bell tower and the main building of the church are organically linked together.
Potemkin Palace
Not only in the capital was the iconic building built by the hero of our article. The palace of Ivan Potemkin Yegorovich Starov was built in the small Belarusian town of Krichev. Work was carried out from 1778 to 1787. Today it is considered a real architectural monument of the era of classicism.
In its original plan, the building looks like a monogram from the letters "P" and "E", which means the initials of the count and the empress. Nearby was a manor park, from which only a few trees have survived to this day.
The palace itself is two-story, on the main facade you can see the central rhizolite. On both floors in the center were round halls of impressive size. The windows of the central risalit were lancet, and on the side - with original sandriks. The internal layout, according to the custom of the time, was enfilade. It was radically changed in the middle of the 20th century. In total, the palace had about sixty spacious rooms. The parade group was located on the ground floor; it was crowned by a lobby with a staircase and an oval-shaped hall. All rooms were richly decorated with stucco decorations; throughout the courtyard there was a system of tiled fireplaces.
Behind the palace was a stable and orchard. Catherine II first arrived in Krichev in severe frosts in the winter of 1787, when she traveled around the Crimea. In the palace she dined and slept. The next morning she left for Cherikov.
The fate of the building
Little is known about the fate of this work by architect Ivan Starov. One can only argue that Potemkin lost the building, either by losing it to the cards, or by selling. Shlyakhtich Jan Golynsky, who became the new owner, did not save the palace during a fire in the 1840s, when he was significantly damaged.
Moreover, over time, the descendants of Golynsky decided to remake it in accordance with modern fashion trends. Lancet sandriks were molded above the windows on the second floor, which have not survived to our time. At the main entrance appeared risalit with faceted pylons in a pseudo-Gothic style.
In 1917, all values ​​were nationalized by the Bolsheviks, and a school was opened in the building itself. In the 1950s, a boarding school was located here. By that time, the palace was in decline, was in a very dilapidated condition. Work on restoration and restoration began only in the 80s of the XX century. They were mothballed for almost two decades. In 2008, the restoration was officially completed. The building now houses the registry office and the local history museum.
Sophia Cathedral
From 1782 to 1788, Starov, together with the Scottish architect Charles Cameron, built the St. Sophia Cathedral near St. Petersburg on the territory of the modern city of Pushkin. He was the titular temple of the Order of St. Vladimir.
Initially, there was a wooden temple on this site, which it was decided to demolish. Cameron did the main work, and Starov advised him more and helped with any difficulties that arose.
In 1788, the temple was consecrated in the presence of Empress Catherine II.
Prince Vladimir Cathedral
This Orthodox church is located in the Northern capital in a quarter bounded by Blokhin Street, Temple Lane, Dobrolyubova Avenue and Talalikhin Lane.
Originally the temple was wooden. He was destroyed by a fire in 1772. The fire also damaged the unfinished stone foundation of the temple, which by that time had already begun to be built.
Only in 1783, work was resumed when Starov joined the project. He made a decisive contribution to the design of the facades. The temple was consecrated in honor of Prince Vladimir.
Nowadays, it is considered an architectural monument in a style that is transitioning from Baroque to classicism. Its main volume is crowned with a powerful five-domed head, and the interior is divided into three naves by impressive pylons.
Manor Nikolskoye-Gagarino
Starov worked a little in Moscow. In particular, he designed the noble estate of the Catherine period, which before the October Revolution belonged to the princes Gagarin.
The house built by the hero of our article rises on a gentle hill. It is picturesque, which is facilitated by a complex layout, including oval halls and rectangular rooms resembling the tsaritsyn pavilions of Bazhenov.
The road to the estate itself passes through a pine alley. The front yard is decorated in the fashion of those times. The ensemble includes the main house, which has a flat facade, and several two-story brick outbuildings, which are interconnected by Baroque decor and arches of a brick fence. Behind the palace is a terrace that goes down to the river. Also, on the estate's territory, a service wing, livestock and horse farm yards were built.
Among other significant works of Starov it should be noted:
- Holy Transfiguration Church in the village of Spasskoye-Bobriki and the palace ensemble in Bogoroditsk (this is the Tula region);
- Surb-Khach church on the territory of the former Nakhichevan in Rostov-on-Don (today it is the oldest of the buildings that have survived to this day within the modern borders of the city);
- Catherine Cathedral in Kherson;
- Potemkin Palace in Yekaterinoslav.