What style did the famous architect Rastrelli work in? Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli

Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation

Ural State

Academy of Architecture and Art

Abstract on the topic:

"Palace architecture of B.F. Rastrelli"

Completed by student gr.

Checked:

Ekaterinburg 2008

1. Biography of Rastrelli

2. Buildings:

2.1. Peterhof 1747-1755

2.2. Winter Palace in St. Petersburg.

2.3. Catherine (Grand) Palace in Tsarskoye Selo

2.4.The Hermitage in Tsarskoe Selo 1743-1753

2.5.Grotto (“Morning Hall”) in Tsarskoye Selo 1749-1761

2.6. Vorontsov Palace in St. Petersburg 1749-1757

2.7. Stroganov Palace, construction 1752-1754

3. Applications

4. References

1. Rastrelli Bartolomeo Francesco (1700-1771)

Rastrelli(Rastrelli) Bartholomew Varfolomeevich (Bartolomeo Francesco), Russian architect, head of Russian Baroque of the mid-18th century. Italian by birth, son of B.K. Rastrelli. In 1716 he came with his father to St. Petersburg. Studied abroad (possibly in Italy) between 1725-30. In 1730-63 court architect. Mansard, with steeply broken roofs (in the so-called third Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, 1732-33), rustic [in the Biron palaces in Rundale (1736-40) and Mitava (now Jelgava, 1738-40); both points on the territory of Latvia], emphasizing the horizontal divisions and flatness of the interpretation of the facades, their restrained decor testify to the proximity of Rastrelli’s early buildings to Russian. architecture of the 1st quarter of the 18th century.

In the mature period (1740-1750s), the traditions of European Baroque architecture were reinterpreted by Rastrelli under the influence of Russian national artistic culture. This was manifested in the desire for the spatial scope of the architectural ensemble, the use of bell towers, domes, porches, thin columns, etc., characteristic of Russian architecture, and a passion for the colors of the walls, gilding, and plant motifs in the decor. New qualities in Rastrelli’s work were already evident in the first large buildings of the 40s. - the wooden Summer Palace in St. Petersburg (1741-44, not preserved) and St. Andrew’s Church in Kyiv (project 1747; built in 1748-67 by architect I.F. Michurin). In the last Rastrelli, creatively using Russian traditions. architecture of the 17th century, created a contrast between the massive central dome and four thin tower-shaped side domes, emphasizing their vertical orientation: the domes seem to be a continuation of the columns located at the corners of the building, and seem to grow from its base, giving the building dynamism and upward direction.

In 1747-52, Rastrelli worked on the construction of the Grand Palace in Peterhof (see Petrodvorets). Having preserved the basic composition of the palace of the Peter the Great era, Rastrelli expanded its middle part, attached to its ends the palace church and the “building under the coat of arms”, which stand out for their graceful proportions, expressive silhouette and festive decorative appearance, and recreated all the interiors. Rastrelli's lush and festive interiors are characterized by bright polychromy and an abundance of decor: reflections in numerous mirrors, shimmering gilding of wooden carvings, parquet patterns, painted lampshades, cartouches, shells, sparkling and shimmering, created a background full of splendor for palace ceremonies.

During the construction of the palaces M.I. Vorontsov (1749-57) and S.G. Stroganov (1752-54) in St. Petersburg completed the formation of Rastrelli’s mature style. The divisions of facades and the interpretation of walls acquire extraordinary plasticity in Rastrelli's buildings. Rastrelli makes extensive use of external columns; collected in pairs and bundles, sometimes heading towards the center, sometimes grouping around the main compositional nodes of the building, they do not play a direct constructive role and take on the character of tectonic decoration. Rastrelli also rebuilt the Great (Catherine) Palace (1752-57) in Tsarskoe Selo (see Pushkin). The longitudinal axis of the building became the main spatial coordinate in its plan; the enormous length of two parallel enfilades of the main rooms, the scale of which increases towards the center - the Great Hall and the Picture Gallery, is emphasized by the removal of the main staircase to the south-western end of the building. The rhythmic variety of the order system of the façade, the large protrusions of the colonnades with the entablature braces above them, the deep cavities of the windows creating a rich play of chiaroscuro, the abundance of stucco molding and decorative sculpture, the polychrome of the facades give the building an emotionally rich, festive and solemn appearance. Rastrelli’s two later buildings are also imbued with jubilant power and grandeur - the Smolny Monastery (1748-54) and the Winter Palace (1754-62) in St. Petersburg, which he conceived as grandiose, self-contained urban ensembles.

With the coming to power of Catherine II, the fashion for baroque went away, and the Smolny Monastery, although already established as an ensemble, remained unfinished (in particular, the giant bell tower planned by Rastrelli was not erected). Having ceased receiving orders, the master retired from the post of chief architect in 1763. In 1764 he decorated the Bironovsky palaces in Mitau and Ruenthal. In 1762 and 1767 he traveled to Italy in the hope of improving his affairs (including by exporting paintings by Italian artists for sale in Russia).

Rastrelli died in St. Petersburg in 1771.

2. Buildings:

2.1. Peterhof. Arch. B.F. Rastrelli. 1747-1755. Petrodvorets, Russia

Peterhof (Dutch Peterhof, “Peter's courtyard”) (Appendix 1) is a palace and park ensemble on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland, 29 km from St. Petersburg. Located on the territory of the city of Peterhof (since 1944 - Petrodvorets). The name of the Peterhof road comes from it. Belongs to the State Museum-Reserve (GMZ) Peterhof.

The center of the ensemble (Appendix 2) is the Great Palace, built on a seaside terrace and facing the sea. The first palace was built in the “Petrine Baroque” style in 1714-1725, then completed in the “mature Baroque” style. An important part of the ensemble is parks with fountains: the Upper Park (on the south side) with five fountains and the Lower Park, where the world's largest fountain complex is located. The area of ​​the lower park is 102.5 hectares, the fountains are fed from springs in the Ropsha area through a 22 km long water pipeline (1721-1724, engineer V. Tuvolkov). The decorative base of the palace is the Great Grotto with cascades framing it (Grand Cascade). A large cascade descends to the pool and sea channel. In the center of the pool there is a fountain with the sculpture “Samson tearing the mouth of a lion” (1802, sculptor M.I. Kozlovsky) with a jet height of 20 m. On the sides of the “ladle” there are Large (Italian and French) fountains and colonnades (1800-1803, architect Voronikhin); in the eastern part of the park - “Chess Mountain” and two Roman fountains, in the western part - the “Golden Mountain” (Marlinsky) cascade and 2 large (Menazherny) fountains.

B.F. In the mid-18th century, Rastrelli worked for more than ten years to rebuild Peterhof. He completed a number of significant structures that added scale and monumentality to the original Peterhof ensemble.

In 1745-1755, he remodeled and expanded the modest palace of Peter the Great's time - the so-called Upper Chambers, turning them into a representative Grand Palace, dominating the entire ensemble.

The architect created a new composition for a complex of buildings located on the sides of Monplaisir, and designed designs for a fountain in the eastern Labyrinth for the Lower Park, as well as designs for pavilions near the Grand Cascade. In 1755, according to his drawings, new trellis pavilions were built near the Adam and Eve fountains.

What was the Grand Palace and Cascade like after the reconstruction by F.B. Rastrelli, can be seen in the engraving of the second half of the 18th century.

2.2. Winter Palace in St. Petersburg

The first Winter Palace of Peter I was built in 1711 in the depths of the site, stretching from the bank of the Neva to the current Khalturin Street and limited on the west by the Winter Canal, dug in 1718-1720 (Appendix 3). In 1719-1721, according to the design of the architect G. Matarnovi, on the Neva embankment, on the site where the Hermitage Theater is now located, the second Winter Palace was built, facing the Neva. It was significantly expanded in 1726-1727.

The construction of the third Winter Palace was carried out by F. B. Rastrelli in 1732-1735. In 1754-1762, Rastrelli radically rebuilt it and created a new monumental building - the fourth, currently existing Winter Palace, far superior to all previous ones in size and splendor of architectural decoration.

The palace was conceived and implemented in the form of a closed quadrangle with a vast courtyard (Appendix 4). Its facades face the Neva, towards the Admiralty and the square, in the center of which F.B. Rastrelli intended to erect an equestrian statue of Peter I.

The facades of the palace are divided into two tiers by an entablature. They are decorated with columns of the Ionic and Composite orders. The columns of the upper tier unite the second, front, and third floors. (Appendix 5)

The complex rhythm of the columns, the richness and variety of forms of the platbands, the abundance of stucco details, the many decorative vases and statues located above the parapet and above the numerous pediments create the decorative decoration of the building, which is exceptional in its pomp and splendor.

The southern facade is cut through by three entrance arches, which emphasizes its importance as the main one. The entrance arches lead to the front courtyard, where the central entrance to the palace was located in the center of the northern building. (Appendix 6)

The main Jordan Staircase is located in the northeast corner of the building. On the second floor along the northern façade there were five large halls, the so-called “anti-chambers,” located in an enfilade, behind them was a huge Throne Hall, and in the southwestern part was the palace theater.

After 1762, work on the interior decoration of the palace was continued by Rastrelli’s assistants - S.I. Chevakinsky and Yu.M. Felten. Soon J.-B. were involved in this work. Vallin-Delamot and A. Rinaldi. They made a number of changes to the original layout and decoration of the palace. The work begun by these architects to remodel the baroque interiors of the palace was continued in the 1780-1790s by D. Quarenghi and I.E. Starov. At the same time, the palace theater and the Throne Hall were destroyed, and a new suite of halls with windows overlooking the Neva was created. (Appendix 7)

In the 1820s, K.I. Rossi created the famous Military Gallery of 1812 in the palace. In the early 1830s, O. Montferrand rebuilt a number of state halls: Field Marshal's, Petrovsky and some others. A strong fire on December 17-19, 1837 destroyed to the ground all the magnificent decoration of the Winter Palace. After the fire, only the walls and vaults, as well as details on the facades, were preserved.

In 1838-1839, the palace was restored according to the designs and under the leadership of V.P. Stasov and A.P. Bryullov.

The decoration of some rooms, if possible, reproduced what existed before the fire; the decoration of other rooms of the palace was carried out according to projects developed anew. Of significant artistic value is the decorative decoration of the St. George's Hall, the Military Gallery of 1812 with portraits of participants in the Patriotic War, the Jordan Stairs, the Small Antechamber, the Petrovsky, Concert, Alexander, White and other halls.

The Winter Palace is one of the most famous Baroque monuments in Russia, built by Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli during the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna. This is the compositional center of old St. Petersburg. In artistic and urban planning terms, it belongs to the highest achievements of Russian architecture of the 18th century.

2.3 Catherine (Great) Palace in Tsarskoe Selo

The Catherine (Grand) Palace owes its existence to its brilliant mistresses, three empresses - Catherine I, Elizabeth Petrovna and Catherine II. They owned the palace in the 18th century, and they paid great attention to its construction. Their fantasies and personal tastes were brought to life by hundreds of talented architects, artists, sculptors, and gardeners. It got its name from the first owner of the palace, Catherine I.

Beginning in 1718, the architects I. Braunstein, M. Zemtsov, A. Kvasov, S. Chevakinsky, C. Cameron, D. Quarenghi, V. Stasov, I. Monighetti and many others consistently worked on the creation of the royal residence since 1718. However, the leading and determining role in the construction of the unique building belonged to the architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli. From 1752 to 1756, under Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, he led the construction of the Tsarskoye Selo palace and brought it to completion.

Rastrelli used buildings that had existed since the time of Peter the Great and which were repeatedly rebuilt and added to. The architect significantly increased the size of the palace and made the entire building the same height - three floors with a slightly elevated central part due to an additional mezzanine. As a result, he combined all the volumes of the building into a single and powerful whole.

The bulk of the palace spread out to 306 meters in length; Five gilded domes glittered above the eastern wing. Against the background of turquoise walls, rows of white columns, whimsical reliefs of platbands, as if flowing into one another, and an openwork belt of forged balcony grilles with gilded details can be clearly read. The sculpture, which amazes with its abundance and variety of forms, gives the facades a special sophistication. (Appendix 11)

On the western side (Appendix 8), instead of the Greenhouse Hall, Rastrelli builds a Grand Staircase with a high roof topped with a star. Hence the name - Corps under the Star. The architect increases the size of the church located on the eastern side (Appendix 9) and completes it with five domes. Between the church and the neighboring palace wing, on the second floor level, Rastrelli arranges an enclosed Hanging Garden. The architect seems to be trying to prove that the palace of Empress Elizabeth is in no way inferior to the palaces of the legendary ruler Semiramis.

The two-tiered, wide, light-filled Grand Staircase led to the second, or, as it was called, “belle-beautiful” floor, which consisted of a suite of ceremonial rooms. Between the Grand Staircase and the Great Hall (the main room of the palace) (Appendix 10), Rastrelli placed five anti-chambers. These spacious two-story living rooms, connected by three rows of doors, were unusually inventively decorated with double gilded columns, carvings, sculpture, picturesque lampshades, and stoves lined with tiles.

In general, the architectural image of the Catherine Palace is characteristic of the late Elizabethan Baroque style. True, over time, various artistic styles, mainly classicism, were reflected in the interior design of the palace. Several rooms, remodeled in the mid-19th century, were decorated in the style of so-called “historicism”.

Emperors and members of the Romanov family spent their leisure time at their country residence with great pleasure. It should be noted that each of the new owners (including the last owner of the palace, Nicholas II) considered it his duty to make any changes to the artistic decoration of the state rooms and numerous rooms of the palace.

2.4 Hermitage in Tsarskoe Selo

The Hermitage - one of the most outstanding monuments of Russian Baroque architecture of the mid-18th century - was intended for celebrations and relaxation in a circle of close associates. The compositional basis of the building is characterized by a typical baroque diagonal plan (Appendix 16). The central octagonal hall is connected by passage galleries with four small offices. (Appendix 12, 15)

The project of the Tsarskoye Selo Hermitage was developed in 1743 by M.G. Zemtsov. In the summer of 1746, the pavilion was roughly rebuilt. Construction work was carried out by S.I. Chevakinsky. He replaced the terraces - “passages with balustrades to the wings” - with wooden galleries, later rebuilt in stone. In 1748, Rastrelli completed a project for a new decorative design of the facades, enriching them with columns. The fustas [trunks] of the columns were hewn from Pudost limestone. (Appendix 13)

In 1751, stucco masters D.B. Gianni and G.F. Partier began work on the sculptural decoration of the building. They made allegorical statues, vases, moldings of small pediments, “stamps” with seated figures on two large pediments, and, finally, decorative treatment of windows and doors. (Appendix 14)

The models for the bas-reliefs on the pedestals of the columns were sculpted by the sculptor I. Dunker. The stucco details of the facades were gilded and the walls were painted pale green. The interior decoration of the Hermitage is typical of Baroque architecture. Numerous mirrors in carved gilded frames, alternating with wide windows, and illusory painting of lampshades seemed to expand the boundaries of small rooms, connecting the interior space of the pavilion with the surrounding expanses of the park.

Eight desudéportes [picturesque panels located above the door] for the central hall and the large ceiling “Feast on Olympus” were painted in 1752-1753 by D. Valeriani and his assistant A.I. Velsky. The lampshades in the corner offices and transition galleries were made by A. Perezipotti. Wooden carvings framing doors, windows and mirrors in the interiors were performed by carvers Pyotr Valyukhin, Dmitry Sakulisny, Ignatius Kanaev and other masters.

One of the features of the Hermitage was its lifting mechanisms, with the help of which the dining table and sofas were set in motion by a special team of twelve soldiers. The machine device was cumbersome and was replaced in 1840-1842 by a new, more advanced one, which has survived to this day. Of the two lifting devices that served to reach the second floor, one was replaced in 1812 by a stone staircase, and the other was destroyed in 1911 and a second wooden staircase was made in its place.

2.5. Grotto (“Morning Hall”) in Tsarskoe Selo. 1749-1761

The grotto, a garden pavilion decorated inside with shells and tuff, was a mandatory part of regular park ensembles of the 18th century. (Appendix 17)

The development of the Tsarskoye Selo Grotto project and its construction on the shore of the Big Pond are associated with the name of F.B. Rastrelli. The project was approved in August 1749. Work on the construction of the Grotto dragged on, and back in 1761, after the completion of the Grand Palace, it remained among the unfinished park structures.

In 1771, the architect A. Rinaldi developed a new design for the interior decoration of the Grotto. The work begun according to his drawings continued until the end of the 1770s. In 1782, figured iron bars were installed in the windows and doors of the Grotto, remarkable for their originality and beauty of design. After finishing the decoration of the Grotto, which was renamed the Morning Hall, a collection of sculptural works was placed in it - statues and vases made of colored stone, porphyry, etc.

Two symmetrical rooms adjoin the central hall of the Grotto. The volumetric and plan solutions of this building (Appendix 19) - rounded corners, niches for statues, large semi-circular exedra forming projections on the end facades - are characteristic of Baroque architecture. (Appendix 20)

The facades of the Grotto, decorated with complexly grouped columns supporting broken pediments, are distinguished by Baroque splendor and richness. A dome rises above the central part of the pavilion, cut through by four lucarne windows and topped with an image of a whimsical pyramidal fountain. The framing of the arched openings, lucarnes and the completion of the dome amaze with the abundance of decorative motifs and at the same time the organic unity of the compositions.

Masks of Neptune in the window locks, beautifully designed composite capitals with dolphins instead of volutes, figures of tritons, heads of Nereids emphasize the connection of the pavilion with the water element.

The facade of the Grotto closes the perspective opening onto the Old Garden from the shores of the lake. The exquisite silhouette of the building is drawn against the background of the dark greenery of the park's centuries-old trees and is reflected in the mirror surface of the lake. (Appendix 18)

2.6. Vorontsov Palace in St. Petersburg

The palace of the noble Elizabethan nobleman Count Mikhail Illarionovich Vorontsov (1714-1767) (Appendix 21) was built on a large scale, in exquisite baroque forms. Vorontsov was an active participant in the palace coup of 1741, winning the Preobrazhensky Life Guards Regiment to the side of Elizabeth Petrovna. From 1758 he became state chancellor. He was a friend and patron of M.V. Lomonosov.

Vorontsov Palace (26 Sadovaya Street) (Appendix 22) was created in 1749-1757 according to the design of the largest Russian Baroque architect F.B. Rastrelli. Although the site chosen for development overlooked the banks of the Fontanka, the composition of the estate was significantly different from previous similar buildings: land traffic in St. Petersburg became predominant by the middle of the 18th century, and Rastrelli oriented the main façade of the palace not towards the river, but towards the recently laid Sadovaya Street. By that time, this highway had already become one of the busiest, as it connected new areas of the city with the shopping center on Nevskaya Perspective.

To prevent city noise from bothering the residents of the estate, the layout of the complex was decided in Moscow style: between the highway and the central building of the palace, an extensive front courtyard was built - court d'honneur, on the sides of which there were service outbuildings.

The courtyard is separated from the street by a forged lace lattice, the links of which are enclosed between tetrahedral pillars. Two of them, flanking the entrance to the estate, are surrounded by attached columns. The entablature they supported once served as a base for statues or flowerpots, but these have not survived.

The main façade of the Vorontsov Palace is arranged according to a traditional three-part scheme, highlighting the central and side projections. However, the central risalit is unusually wide and raised to a half-story.

The decor of the building is exceptionally rich. The partitions between the windows, framed by frames of a complex pattern, are filled not only with pilasters and blades, but also with double columns.

In processing the risalit of the first floor, the architect used only columns, which gave weight to this part of the building. This makes the upper tiers seem lighter. The decorative finishing of the side projections is somewhat simplified. The motif of double and strongly pushed forward columns supporting a loose entablature is used here. The complex plasticity of the risalits is emphasized by the almost devoid of decoration walls between them.

In the past, between the palace and the Fontanka there was a vast orchard with a pond, from which straight alleys diverged.

The luxurious interior decoration, also created according to Rastrelli's design, has not been preserved.

The Vorontsov Palace has an eventful destiny. Under Catherine II, Mikhail Illarionovich found himself out of work, and in 1763 the palace was bought back to the treasury. At the end of the 1790s. The building was granted by Emperor Paul I to the Order of Malta; the Chapter of Russian Orders was also located here. In 1798-1800, the Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (architect G. Quarenghi) was built in the palace, and on the side of the garden (according to his design) the Maltese Chapel was added to the main building.

In 1810-1918 the Corps of Pages was located here. In 1827, the interiors of the palace were reconstructed under the leadership of architect A.E. Staubert.

At the end of 1917 - the first half of 1918, the former Vorontsov Palace housed the party club and other bodies of the Party of Left Socialist Revolutionaries, then - courses for the command staff of the Red Army, and in the 1920-1930s - the Leningrad Infantry School named after. CM. Kirov. From 1958 to this day, the Suvorov Military School has been located here.

2.7. Stroganov Palace, construction 1752-1754.

Palace S.G. Stroganov (Appendix 23) is one of the best city palaces of the mid-18th century. Unlike the Vorontsov Palace-Estate, the Stroganov Palace is an example of a city house with its facades facing the red line of the street. The palace is located on a trapezoidal plot and, forming a closed block in plan with an internal front courtyard, has external facades facing Nevsky Prospekt and the Moika. (Appendix 24) The composition of the main facade along Nevsky with the central part corresponds to the general layout of the house. Marking the main entrance to the courtyard. This central risalit is highlighted by a pediment and groups of columns on the sides of the entrance arch. The shallow side projections are decorated with pilasters supporting a curved entablature. The enrichment of the decorative decoration of the façade, which intensifies towards the center, emphasizes the dominant importance of its slightly protruding middle part. In the external treatment of the facades, the architect revealed the layout of the interior of the palace, typical for that time. The lower, service floor has the appearance of a basement - rusticated, with small, modestly framed windows. The upper floors, separated along the facade from the lower floor by a draft, where the front and living rooms were located, were united by a large order. The high halls and front rooms located on the second floor are marked by large windows, rich stucco trim, and balconies with patterned metal latticework. The upper, residential, mezzanine is processed more simply and is artistically subordinate to the mezzanine. The facade facing the Moika River retained the system of developing the external volume common to the entire building, but received a slightly different interpretation in detail. The decorative skill inherent in Rastrelli was reflected here in the superbly traced sculptural details, especially in the central part of the main facade, where the relief mask above the gate, the stucco frames of the windows of the two upper floors and the coat of arms in the form of a cartouche on the pediment are intertwined into a complete pictorial composition that artistically reveals the main axis building. But despite the great plastic richness of decorative decoration, the facades of the house were generally treated more flatly than in the Vorontsov Palace. This resulted from the location of the house, located along the red line of the street and with its main façade corresponding to the “continuous” development of Nevsky Prospekt.

Bibliography

1. “History of Russian architecture”, V.I. Pilyavsky, A.A. Titz, Yu.S. Ushakov; Leningrad Stroyizdat 1984

2. “History of architecture: textbook”, N.V. Biryukova, Moscow INFRA-M 2006.

3. “Architectural and urban monuments of the Russian state of the 11th–19th centuries: textbook” R.G. Lyudmirskaya, Rostov-on-Don “Phoenix” 2006

4. “History of Russian architecture: higher school”, V.N. Tkachev, 1987.

5. “100 Great Architects”, Salin D.K. , Veche, 2000

Rastrelli Bartolomeo Francesco- a famous Russian architect with Italian roots. Also Francesco Rastrelli known as an adherent of the Baroque style.

Francesco was born in Paris in 1700, but the exact date is unknown. He continued the line of work of his father, who was a fairly famous sculptor. Father, Bartolomeo, worked at the court of Louis XIV, and when he died, he received an invitation to Russia.

Francesco received the first lessons of his future profession in the construction of palaces for A. Menshikov. For more correct and high-quality training, he trained in Europe several times.

After returning, independent work followed - one of them is considered to be a not particularly remarkable palace for the Moldavian prince D. Cantemir. Nevertheless, this was also a success, although in twenty years of living in Russia this was just the first job.

The next buildings - in Courland - were more interesting and showed that Francesco was developing and progressing. These were also the palaces that opened the way for the architect to the heart of the Russian empresses.

First it was Anna, and soon Elizabeth. Although before that he had already erected several buildings for royalty, it was for the Courland palaces that he received the title of chief architect.

To get acquainted with the classic Russian style, Francesco visited Moscow several times. After his return, he received an order to create the Peterhof palaces. He performed it for about five years, and before finishing it, he received the next one - already in Tsarskoe Selo.

At the same time, he developed a project in Kyiv. It must be said that other specialists were brought in for buildings far from the capital, although Francesco provided general management.

Later he became the curator of repairs in Strelna. The palace was built from large Courland bricks, which Francesco appreciated from the time of his first works.

Having learned about the famous imperial employee, all the noble people of St. Petersburg persuaded him to build and furnish a home for them. Ingoda the architect satisfied these requests - this is how the Stroganov and Vorontsov palaces appeared.

But the pinnacle of his career was, of course, the Smolny Monastery and the Winter Ensemble. The Smolny project was significantly different from what turned out in reality. On paper, the now famous tall bell tower was missing.

At this time, Francesco lived on Nevsky, and nearby began the construction of Gostiny Dvor. It was soon stopped due to problems with the cost of the project and excesses in the design.

After the death of Elizabeth, the Baroque lost its position, and the architect also lost it. First he left for Italy, and upon his return settled in Courland, where he also carried out assignments for Biron. The last years of the architect’s life are unknown; there is only evidence that he spent them in Lithuania.

Achievements of Francesco Rastrelli:

Built eight palaces that became cultural heritage
Author of the Smolny Cathedral and St. Andrew's Church in Kyiv
Combined Baroque and Naryshkin style

Dates from the biography of Francesco Rastrelli:

1716 moving to Russia with parents
1725 internship in European countries
1730 construction of palaces for Duke Biron
1738 became chief architect
1740 trips to Moscow to get acquainted with Russian style
1747 beginning of construction of the Peterhof Palace
1748 start of work on the Smolny Monastery
1750 renovation in Strelna
1754 Winter Palace
1758 foundation of Gostiny Dvor
died 1771

Interesting facts about Francesco Rastrelli:

When compiling a list of buildings created by him, Francesco attributed to himself all the creations of his father. True, during their construction he was still a participant in the work.
He was pleasant and friendly in communication, but despotic in his work.
For more than a hundred years it was not allowed to build buildings higher than the Winter Palace.
The location of the architect's grave is unknown.
During construction, he used powerful platforms as a foundation, which made the buildings stable even during subsequent redevelopment.

History is made by human hands, and the Northern capital owes its beautiful modern appearance to the talent of outstanding masters of past centuries. Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli is an architect who created many of the sights of St. Petersburg, emphasizing the austere beauty of this city.

Rastrelli: an outstanding architect and his works in St. Petersburg

The Russian Italian, who came from an Italian family that moved to St. Petersburg, studied with his father, an architect, and did not forget to travel to France and Italy in order to improve the level of his skills. One of his father’s wonderful works is a bust of Peter I. Rastrelli was able to achieve a high resemblance to the face of the emperor using a wax cast taken from the face of Peter I in 1719. You can see this work now at.
At the court of Anna Ioannovna, Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli received the position of chief architect, and continued his career under the next empress, Elizabeth. For her, he built a wooden one, which has not survived to this day. At the peak of his fame, Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli oversaw several grandiose projects at once: the Grand Palace in, St. Andrew's Cathedral in Kyiv and the reconstruction of the Catherine Palace in. Usually he developed the project, and other craftsmen monitored the progress of the work. Thus, it belongs to the hand of Rastrelli and the architect designed a three-part through arch on the side of the facade and the grandiose Jordan Staircase.

Francesco Rastrelli designed it on the orders of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna - it was there that she planned to retire in her twilight years. After the death of the Empress, Rastrelli's favorite style, Baroque, went out of fashion. The new empress, Catherine II, was disposed towards Antonio Rinaldi, who was well acquainted with the latest fashion trends thanks to his connections in Europe.
Having lost his job, Rastrelli, accustomed to living in grand style, experienced financial difficulties, despite the good pension assigned to him by the Empress.

The architect died in Mitau and was buried next to his wife Maria, who had passed away earlier. The complete collection of his drawings was bought by the Polish count, and now they can be seen in the National Library of Warsaw. And Francesco Rastrelli left sights for St. Petersburg, the exquisite lines of which will be admired by many more generations of residents and guests of the Northern capital.

Architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli is the creator of many amazing, beautiful structures. Its palaces and religious buildings amaze with their solemnity and splendor, pride and royalty. And this is not surprising. After all, Bartolomeo Rastrelli, whose biography interests many modern architecture lovers, created and created for emperors.

Briefly about childhood

Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli was born in Paris, in the family of the talented and famous Italian sculptor Bartolomeo Carlo Rastrelli. This happened back in 1700, when France was ruled by Louis XIV. The king greatly valued his court sculptor, so little Francesco’s childhood was spent in contentment and carefreeness.

The boy grew up very inquisitive and diligent. He liked to do things with his own hands, liked to imitate his father and hone his skills.

Moving to Russia

After the death of the “Sun King”, Carlo Rastrelli received an invitation from the Russian court to work for three years in the Northern Kingdom. At that time, it was common for talented craftsmen to go to work in Russia, so Rastrelli Sr., without thinking twice, gathered his family and went to St. Petersburg.

The capital greeted foreigners favorably. The family settled in their own home and enjoyed respect and honor. Peter I, busy with the development of the new city, treated talented artisans with kindness and consideration. He, seeing their skill and skill, supplied the specialists with orders, which were followed by a good, truly royal reward.

The beginning of creativity

From a young age, Bartolomeo Rastrelli was engaged in serious architectural work under the guidance and supervision of his father. For example, he participated in the completion of some of the palaces of Prince Menshikov, an energetic and power-hungry ally of Emperor Peter.

The first relatively independent work of Bartolomeo Rastrelli (by the way, in Russia the young architect was called Bartholomew Varfolomeevich) was the construction of a three-story palace made of natural stone for His Serene Highness the prince, statesman and scientist Dmitry Konstantinovich Kantemir.

The architect did not endow his first building with any distinctive features and properties. No, the palace was built in accordance with the generally recognized style of Peter I; it was characterized by volumetric completeness, clarity of divisions and flatness of the facades. Rastrelli will choose his own style a little later.

In the 1720s, the aspiring architect made several trips to France and Italy to get acquainted with new fashion trends and directions in the art of construction.

Political coup

In the early 1930s, at the dawn of Anna Ioannovna’s reign, Rastrelli the father decided to establish relations with the new empress and went to an audience with her, taking with him his son and drawing sketches.

The young queen, with a penchant for pomp and sophistication, favorably accepted the talented architects and gave them the honor of building her own palace. So the young architect had the opportunity to distinguish himself before the empress. All his projects were approved and implemented.

Winter Palace

With Anna Ioannovna coming to power, the gifted architect begins the work of his whole life - he is entrusted with completing the construction of the main royal palace in St. Petersburg. What is Bartolomeo Rastrelli doing? The Winter Palace, built in the early 1700s, seemed small and ordinary to the empress, so she happily approved the grandiose plan of the inspired architect, according to which it was necessary to buy four houses nearby and erect a magnificent building complex in their place.

A few years later, the construction was completed, and a solid four-story building appeared before the eyes of St. Petersburg residents, with its facades facing the Neva and containing almost seventy state rooms and more than a hundred bedrooms, as well as a theater, gallery, chapel and many service and guard rooms.

The palace was skillfully and richly decorated, had round rusticated columns and pediment sculptures, and the entire first floor of the house was occupied by huge galleries with arches.

It is noteworthy that Rastrelli had to redo the Winter Palace again. This happened twenty years later, during the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna.

The new empress found the Romanovs' main residence dirty and inconsistent with her status. She wanted to increase the building in height and length. To do this, it was necessary to demolish the building and build a new one in its place, more appropriate for receiving foreign ministers and holding festive celebrations.

What is remarkable about the structure of the new Winter Palace, erected under the supervision of Bartolomeo Rastrelli? The building consisted of one and a half thousand rooms and occupied an area equal to sixty thousand cubic meters.

The palace, shaped like a huge rectangle, had an internal front block and a massive, superbly decorated facade, which was equipped with widely spaced columns and spacious windows, all kinds of window frames and numerous vases and statues placed above the parapets.

It is noteworthy that the modern appearance of the Winter Palace, also called the Hermitage, almost completely corresponds to the last project of the great architect.

Architect for Biron

In 1730, Bartolomeo Rastrelli began to communicate closely with Biron, Anna Ioannovna’s favorite. Under the patronage of the uncrowned emperor, the architect becomes the royal architect of the current empress. By the way, Elizaveta Petrovna, who came to power fifteen years later with the help of a palace coup, also used the services of Rastrelli as chief architect.

For Biron, the architect develops and implements projects for the construction of Mitavsky and Here the master creates large-scale buildings, gravitating towards a closed structure, where the dominant element is the elongated central building.

With each new drawing, the art of Bartolomeo Rastrelli develops and improves, the lines and techniques become more flexible and more prominent.

Work on restructuring. Anichkov Palace

With the arrival of the next mistress, the talented architect began to receive interesting and amazing orders, one of which was the completion of construction on the embankment of the Fontanka River, begun by the architect Zemtsov.

The luxurious building, erected in the Baroque style, went down in history as the Anichkov Palace. Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli supervised the construction and decoration of an unusual structure, shaped like the letter “H”.

Work on restructuring. Peterhof

Rastrelli's next order was the reconstruction of Peterhof.

Elizaveta Petrovna wanted with all her heart to improve and enrich the residence of her deceased father. To do this, she ordered that the Petrine style and atmosphere of that time be preserved in the appearance of the building, but she ordered that the building be endowed with modern splendor and scale.

Bartolomeo Rastrelli managed to expand and modify the palace complex, leaving its expressive central building virtually unchanged. He added buildings to the sides and erected new pavilions, connecting them with colorful galleries, and also added a third floor and developed a picturesque park system.

The most spectacular element of the Peterhof interior is the square main hall with a two-color staircase, decorated with luxurious finishes.

Everything is present here - expensive gilding of objects and luxurious wall paintings, as well as stucco molding, wood carving and forging.

Work on restructuring. Tsarskoe Selo

Another important construction project that needed to be redone was the royal summer residence, which the Empress considered too old-fashioned and small.

What changes needed to be made in order to improve Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli, to satisfy the wishes of the empress, makes perestroika in the Russian Baroque style, sparing neither money nor any other means. More than a hundred kilograms of gold are spent decorating the facades and statues.

During the process of reconstruction, the architect moved the main staircase to the southwestern side of the palace, revealing the length of parallel, adjacent main halls; deepened the cavities of the windows, creating a rich play of chiaroscuro; decorated the facades with stucco and sculpture, decorating them in soft blue and rich gold colors. All this gave the Empress’s favorite palace a festive, solemn look and rich emotional expression.

New projects

However, the architectural work of Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli was not limited to just rebuilding other people's projects. The architect created his own talented and original drawings, according to which he erected luxurious and ceremonial buildings. One of these buildings was the Smolny Cathedral. Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli executed it in a lush and pretentious style, decorating it with lucarnes and pediments and painting it in a soft light blue color.

The complex of the religious building is made in an unusual and special way. The cathedral was built with five domes, however, only one single dome (which has the largest size) directly relates to the temple, while the other four are bell towers.

Another talented creation of the architect is the Stroganov Palace. Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli combined three buildings into one with a common facade, in the center of which he installed a portico with a coat of arms, and also created a large main staircase, decorated with rich stucco and gilded forged railings, and a spacious gallery, decorated with gilded sculpture and huge mirrors.

Inside the building there was a grand hall with an area of ​​one hundred and twenty-eight square meters.

Decline of creativity

With the death of Elizabeth Petrovna, the pompous and expensive Baroque style sank into oblivion, so Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli found himself out of work. He was replaced by new masters who were more knowledgeable in modern art. Having no orders and experiencing financial difficulties, the aging architect decides to ask for leave and goes to Italy, supposedly for treatment.

Here the architect is intensively looking for customers, but nothing works out for him. At the same time, the talented Rastrelli learns that Empress Catherine is using the services of another architect. So the great Italian receives a sad resignation and a worthy pension of a thousand rubles.

Together with his family (the architect had a beloved wife and two children), Rastrelli left Russia. On the way, he meets his former patron Biron and goes to his homeland in order to rebuild and improve the Courland property of the former regent of the Russian Empire.

They say that the last work of the talented master was the project of the Church of St. Simeon and St. Anna, which was presented by the gifted craftsman personally to Count Panin with a request for a reward of twelve thousand rubles. However, the count did not consider it necessary to respond to Rastrelli’s request, although he built the church in accordance with the drawings after the death of the architect.

Last days

The great architect spent the last years before his death in oblivion and loneliness. World art no longer needed his new creations; no one asked him for new projects and buildings. The talented master whiled away his days sadly and despondently. His existence became especially sad after the death of his wife.

Historians and art historians do not fully know the exact date of Rastrelli’s death. Presumably, he died in March-April 1771. The place of his burial is still unknown.

However, he left behind a huge, priceless and luxurious legacy - his great creations that have passed through centuries and adversity. They still cause admiration and delight among tourists from all over the world.

Essay

"BARTOLOMEO FRANCESCO RASTELLI"

I. Introduction 3 pages

II. Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli 4 pages

1. Arrival of Rastrelli in Russia 5 pages.

2. Activities at the Russian royal court 6 pages.

III. 9 pages

1. Youth of Bartolomeo 9 pp.

2. Starting independent work 11 pages.

3. The era of Anna Ioannovna 12 pages

Portrait works are not the only thing that Rastrelli left behind. He worked a lot as a master of decorative sculpture in Strelna, the Summer Garden and especially in Peterhof. Rastrelli's work had a noticeable impact on the development of medal art in Russia. Of significant interest is Rastrelli's participation in the work on the project of the Triumphal Pillar, the idea of ​​which was put forward by Peter in imitation of the Roman Trajan's Column. According to Peter, the “pillar in memory of the Northern War” was supposed to perpetuate the military exploits of the Russian army, which led to the formation of the mighty Russian Empire. But after the death of Peter, the column began to be called “The Pillar of Memory of Peter I and the Northern War.”

("3") The grandiose column, surrounded by bas-reliefs on the themes of the events of the Northern War, was to be crowned by a statue Peter I. However, the Triumphal Pillar was never erected either under Peter I or under his successors. The model of the statue was not even finished. Only in 1938 was the model of the pillar reconstructed, and now it is in the Hermitage.

Rastrelli is responsible for the architectural design of the column. It is possible that he began to make the model and some of the bas-reliefs. But after Peter's death Catherine I handed over this work Andrey Nartov- a talented carver and lathe master. It is difficult for researchers to determine which part of the work was carried out by Rastrelli and which by Nartov. Nevertheless, the solution to this unique monument is characteristic of Rastrelli’s work.

According to the agreement, Rastrelli was supposed to teach gifted people “arts and crafts.” He tried to organize a professional school of sculptors, but there were no conditions for systematic classes. It is still known that the sculptor had many students and some of them became his assistants. Died in 1744.

FRANCESCO BARTOLOMEO RASTELLI

4")
The cheerful empress longed to have new luxurious palaces. The scale and splendor of the buildings were supposed to demonstrate the strength and power of the state, and the lushly decorated facades were supposed to hide the upset finances. Only Rastrelli with his indefatigable imagination could build such buildings. Willy-nilly I had to contact him. The architect's first order of business was to complete the Summer Palace, a smaller copy of the famous palace of Louis XIV at Versailles. Then it was necessary to complete the Anichkov Palace on Nevsky Prospekt, begun by the talented Mikhail Zemtsov. Then make an extension to the Winter Palace, significantly expand the old palace of Tsar Peter in Peterhof and begin making a model of the future first convent in St. Petersburg. This is how his talent was recognized.

However, the true flowering of F. Rastrelli’s creativity, his establishment as the author of a new style, “Elizabethan” or “Russian” baroque, occurred during the reign of Elizabeth (1,

After the coup of 1740, which was carried out by Minich in favor of Anna Leopoldovna, mother of John VI, Rastrelli was ordered to stop all work in Courland and urgently report to St. Petersburg. Minich, who had now become the first minister, instructed him to build the Russian Versailles in the Summer Garden for the new ruler Anna Leopoldovna. At the end of February 1741, Rastrelli prepared a project for the new Summer Palace, and in June of the same year, its foundation stone took place in a solemn ceremony.

In November 1741, another palace coup took place, which brought the daughter of Peter I, Elizaveta Petrovna, to the royal throne. At first, the new reign for Rastrelli did not bode well. In the first two months, no one remembered him. Then he was demanded to explain why he was listed as chief architect. In addition to all the troubles, a verbal order followed: not to give any orders to the Italian. Zemtsov, who knew Rastrelli well and tried in every possible way to attract him to work, began to run all architectural affairs.

The palace coup of 1741 and the accession of Elizabeth Petrovna contributed to the flourishing of Russian art in the 18th century. And “for the first time, Russian architecture of modern times reaches the aesthetic heights to which it aspired in the previous half century”*.

This is the heyday of the style, which in Russia was called developed or high Russian baroque, covering various types of artistic creativity and spreading widely throughout the country. “On this fundamentally unified basis, the synthetic nature of art is formed - an almost indivisible union of architecture, decorative sculpture and painting.”
The socio-political situation of that era puts in first place the need to create palace and church buildings, which are the leading buildings in Western European Baroque. Its main representative was an Italian by birth, Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, who received in Russia the name Bartholomew Varfolomeevich, which is more familiar to Russian ears. His most important projects were carried out during the reign of Elizabeth. His role in the development of a new style is so great that it is impossible to imagine the Russian developed baroque without the work of this brilliant artist, who brilliantly and powerfully synthesized Russian national traditions with the artistic trends of Western Europe.

For Elizabeth, who did not like and, at times, feared Anna, Rastrelli was a typical representative of the “Courland court.” He even changed his signature from “de Rastrelli” to “von Rastrelli”, later explaining this act by Russian reality - which you cannot do for the sake of your daily bread. And he wrote in his General Description: “The architect in the service has nothing but his salary, without any remuneration, which is always permissible in other countries.”
Rastrelli waited for seven years for confirmation of the chief architect's patent issued by Anna Ioannovna. In Russia you have to be able to wait.
Klyuchevsky wrote about Peter’s daughter: “Having ascended the throne, she wanted to make her girlish dreams come true into a magical reality.” Endless holidays and celebrations under Elizabeth required appropriate scenes and framing. The construction of palaces became a matter of state necessity. Their impressive size and splendor hid financial distress and a secret desire to appear stronger than you are.
By 1743, architects I. Korobov, A. Evlashev, S. Chevakinsky,

A. Kvasov and G. Dmitriev. The Admiralty architect Korobov was too strict and utilitarian in his designs and was unsuitable for the construction of palaces. Chevakinsky and Kvasov were still considered “architectural gazelles.” And Evlashev and Dmitriev, to a small extent, their talent and the scope of architectural imagination were not taken into account. There was only Rastrelli left, whose “inventions” were always magnificent.

Elizaveta Petrovna longed to have her own luxurious palaces and was forced to turn to Rastrelli. In the spring of 1744, she instructs him to complete the construction and interior decoration of the wooden Summer Palace in St. Petersburg. In 1741 - 1744 Rastrelli built in St. Petersburg, at the confluence of the Moika and Fontanka rivers, the Summer Palace (on which, due to the whims of the empress, he had to work for 10 years (it was not preserved). And a few months later, he continued the construction of the Anichkov Palace, begun by Zemtsov.

Soon she will demand the completion of the Anichkov Palace and at the same time prepare drawings of the palaces in Perov near Moscow and in Kyiv, and at the same time expand the Grand Palace in Peterhof, her father’s favorite residence. What kind of work ability did you have to have in order to be able to carry out all these commands?
And so in 1747, the ruler approved the plan for the future of Peterhof. But the patent
Chief Architect has never been confirmed. The maestro continues to wait. In Peterhof they were already preparing the foundations for the palace, when suddenly Rastrelli announced that he was going to leave Russia. The yard is perplexed. The “buildings office” is at a loss. The Empress is forced to yield. In November 1748, by her decree, the patent of chief architect Count Francesco de Rastrelli was confirmed and his salary was increased. The architect, nevertheless, achieved his goal.

Tsarskoye Selo Palace.

The Empress could not do without Rastrelli’s imagination and talent. Although I didn’t understand it right away. In 1742, when the architect was considered one of the opponents of the new rule, Elizabeth decided to rebuild and expand the Tsarskoye Selo Palace, entrusting this to Mikhail Zemtsov. After his death in 1743, Andrei Kvasov and Giuseppe Trezzini continued the work. In 1745 they were replaced by Savva Chevakinsky. But in 1749, Rastrelli had to be invited. And he started a complete redo of what had already been done. A researcher of the architect’s work subtly noted that the work was carried out “as if he were dealing not with a rebuilt building, but with a life-size model...”.
The palace, indeed, seems to be entirely carved out of a huge block of malleable stone. He is a magnificent example of Russian Baroque. It is distinguished from the Western by its all-facade design (each side of the building has its own appearance), the multi-colored design so inherent in ancient Russian architecture, and the special elegance of its decor with Rococo elements. All this corresponded to the triumphant, luxurious luxury characteristic of the Elizabethan era. It is no coincidence that houses and mansions built in the Rastrelli style were in fashion at that time.

Smolny Monastery.

In 1749, Elizaveta Petrovna issued a decree on the construction of the Smolny Monastery in St. Petersburg and entrusted it to Rastrelli.

https://pandia.ru/Images/38/4E63B71ADE38813DC325711C00809A38/%25d0%2593%25d0%25be%25d1%2582%25d0%25be%25d0%25b2%25d1%258b%25d0%25b9.doc/img5.gif" al t ="Pfanzelt" width="300" height="226 src=">Для честолюбивого Растрелли, автора многих прекрасных творении, трагедия вдвойне. И, едва получив наказ из Москвы, он пишет, ведавшему всеми дворцо-выми постройками: «Проект, который я сделал вышепомянутой соборной церкви на по-добие римскому маниру, но по - гречески видно будет сделана». С одной стороны, вроде признает ошибку, а с другой - оправдывается: мол, посмотрим, когда изготовим модель... А сам, в итоге, перехитрил всех, создав огромный параболический купол, прижав к нему четыре изящных башенки с луковичными главками. Неведомо, как восприняла это решение заказчица. Но на прием в честь закладки монастыря виновник торжества - архитектор приглашен не был. То, что не разглядела царица, оценили потомки. Как гласит предание, ярый адепт классицизма Джакомо Кваренги, каждый раз, проходя мимо собора Смольного монастыря, восклицал: «Великая архитектура!».!}
It is a pity that the treasury did not have enough money to build the monastery’s bell tower. The six-tiered pillar could be twice as tall as the bell tower of Ivan the Great in Moscow and a third as tall as the spire of the Peter and Paul Cathedral. Petersburg, which grew up on a swampy plain, never acquired a grandiose, solemn verticality.

The Smolny Cathedral is called the most “Russian” of Rastrelli’s works; this building is the clearest example of the developed Russian Baroque and one of the most grandiose creations of this great architect.
The cathedral was built over a number of years, combining the features of the master’s mature and late style, and in the end he was never finished.
The place where the Smolny Cathedral now stands has been inhabited since ancient times. Here, on the cape itself, the Novgorodians founded the Russian settlement of Spasovshchina, destroyed by the Swedes after the capture of the Neva banks, and later, in its place, Fort Sabina was erected - a fortification made of a rampart and a ditch, which Russian soldiers called the “Spassky Trench”.

And it was on this place, already being an empress, that Elizabeth decided to build a monastery, where she was going to retire in her old age. It was ordered to build a monastery of unprecedented beauty and splendor - a monument to a prosperous reign.
The name Smolny comes from the Smolny Dvor, which was built on this site shortly after the construction of St. Petersburg began. In the Smolny Dvor - one of the many utility rooms of the Admiralty Shipyard - resin was stored, "prepared for the entire ship fleet." Behind the Smolny Dvor, a small wooden house with a garden was built for Peter - the Smolny House. It quickly fell into disrepair, and after the death of Peter, Catherine I ordered the house to be demolished and a country summer palace built in its place, which later passed to her daughter Elizabeth Petrovna.
The ceremonial foundation of the monastery took place on October 30, 1748, and one can only marvel at the amazing ability of the architect, who managed to simultaneously design for different places and people: at that time he rebuilt the royal residences in Peterhof and Tsarskoye Selo, erected the Stroganov Palace on Nevsky Prospect and the Vorontsov Palace on Sadovaya street.
Rastrelli, knowing the love of life of the customer, planned to build a monastery as magnificent as a palace. The location was chosen very well - erected on the picturesque bank of the Neva, the cathedral sets the scale and rhythm for the entire left bank. “Its exquisitely modest beauty, smoky domes, discreet gilding, azure walls and white columns, piers, and moldings fascinate and delight.”
The architect designed the Smolny Monastery, which had another name - the Resurrection Novodevichy, in the traditions of ancient Russian monastic ensembles with a dominant five-domed cathedral and a multi-tiered bell tower that forms the main entrance to the monastery territory on the western side. The desire to return from Western European to ancient Russian national traditions was characteristic of the era of Elizabeth Petrovna.
But Rastrelli made significant changes. First of all, “Old Russian monasteries were built like fortresses - with thick stone walls and impregnable defensive towers, with narrow loopholes cut through them. And the Smolny Monastery, with its richness of architectural forms, sculptural decoration and interior decoration of the cathedral, should have differed little from palace buildings and had a secular appearance. Asymmetrical The layout of the ancient Russian monastery was determined by the nature of the site allocated for it, and the internal territory was built up, as a rule, with chaotic structures of various sizes and scales, including temples, refectories, cells, and so on." Rastrelli, on the other hand, developed a strictly symmetrical composition, subordinated to the requirements of regular development approved back in Peter’s time, and used the most harmonious proportions (the principle of the “golden section”). Thanks to this, the entire building is composed on the basis of a polyphonic construction. This feature distinguishes the Smolny Cathedral from other centric churches of that time, including Moscow. No less important is another feature of the Smolny Monastery Cathedral: “the side domes here are closely pressed to the central dome, rest on its girth arches and, not being open inward, are used for secondary needs. This creates a very compact, monolithic composition. One gets the impression that the upper part seems to grow organically from the lower main volume of the cathedral. He turned the small two-tier bell towers at an angle of 45 degrees so that from any facade the two sides of each bell tower were clearly visible. With this simple architectural technique, Rastrelli enriched the artistic image of the cathedral as a whole. cathedrals built by other architects, the side domes are far removed from the central one. According to the old tradition, they are open into the building and cover the corner cells of the cross-domed church. The constructive technique introduced by Rastrelli gives the five-domed structure unprecedented compactness, visually merging the gigantic middle dome into a single massif with the side ones

heads - turrets."

(“5”) In their corner parts closest to the cathedral, single-domed churches are built, echoing the four lateral chapters of the cathedral. In turn, the body of the cells is surrounded by a blank stone fence, repeating the character of the outlines of the cells. The peaked turrets of the monastery wall are reminiscent of the tents of the Kremlin towers, and the wall itself, blank and low, is reminiscent of the powerful defensive fortifications of ancient Kremlins and ancient Russian monasteries. However, here it is nothing more than a festive decoration, an artistic device.”
So, the overall composition of the ensemble is pyramidal: a one-story stone fence, two-three-story cell buildings and a soaring cathedral. The general pyramidal composition is repeated in the composition of the cathedral itself.
And there is one more significant difference between the mature Russian Baroque and Western European, which is clearly seen in the example of the Smolny Monastery. The Western European Baroque temple is designed to be viewed from the main facade. A wealth of architectural forms and sculptural decor is concentrated here. Often the facade covers the main volume of the cathedral, which is not designed for all-round visibility. The Smolny Cathedral can be walked around from all sides and you can find countless perspective viewpoints, that is, it works much richer in space.
The interior space of the monastery was closed in the project by a monastery wall, in the center of which it was planned to erect a pillar-shaped multi-tiered bell tower similar to the bell tower of Ivan the Great in the Kremlin, marking the entrance to the territory of the monastery. It was supposed to rise to a height of 140 meters, significantly exceeding the bell tower of the Peter and Paul Cathedral, which remains today the most significant architectural dominant of the city.
However, this grandiose plan was not realized. They just laid a granite foundation under the bell tower. Due to the death of Elizaveta Petrovna, the bell tower was not built, just as they did not have time to carry out the rich decoration of the interior of the Smolny Cathedral according to Rastrelli’s design. A clear idea of ​​the architect’s original plan is given by the unique wooden design model of the entire ensemble. On the model, the bell tower is six-tiered. The two lower tiers are elegant and magnificent, and smaller towers are pressed closely against them. Starting from the third tier, each subsequent one is narrower and lighter than the previous one and at the same time merged with it. Columns and tapering arches set the rhythm of the ascension. The uppermost, pillar-shaped part of the bell tower, as it were, restrains this movement rushing from below and balances the stormy temperament of the building. The model is not only painted and gilded, its cathedral also fully preserves its interior decoration. It was made according to Rastrelli's drawings under his direct supervision and was constantly located on the territory of the future monastery until construction was completed. Now this model can be seen in the museum of the Russian Academy of Arts.
The cathedral is magnificently decorated. White details glow against the blue background of the walls. "The gilding on the domes and domes sparkles. Clear protrusions and bunches of columns, pediments of various shapes and easily rounded volutes - all this creates a rich play of light and shadow, gives the building expressiveness and splendor. Columns and pilasters in different tiers are so located one above the other that the gaze involuntarily rushes upward."

the first front" facing the Neva, two years later they were brought under the roof. Up to 2000 people worked on the site at the same time - soldiers of the Moscow, Nevsky, Astrakhan and other infantry regiments and peasant masons from near Yaroslavl and Kostroma. Construction was carried out on an exceptional scale, however, the cathedral grew slowly.
The Seven Years' War, which began in 1756, first froze work, and then construction came to a standstill. When Elizaveta Petrovna died in 1761, the cathedral was not even plastered on the outside. Soon, due to petty supervision and disagreements between Rastrelli and the new head of the Office of Buildings, the architect was forced to submit his resignation, and, to his surprise, it was accepted “due to old age and poor health.” And although Rastrelli was alive and there were design materials, tastes changed: classicism began its victorious offensive on the Baroque.
The Resurrection Novodevichy Convent was never consecrated. The cathedral was not completed, and populating the monastery turned out to be difficult. In the southern building in 1764, by order of Catherine II, the Educational Society for Noble Maidens was located, and in the northern one, a year later, the Bourgeois School for girls of non-noble origin was opened. At the same time, the Empress ordered the establishment of a community of nuns in Smolny, selecting twenty “old women of honest and good life” from Moscow and Smolensk monasteries to serve the noble pupils. They recruited only fourteen “who could read and write,” but they soon disappeared. But even without nuns, it was cramped for two educational institutions.
In the mid-1770s, an architect next to the monastery erected a special building for the Bourgeois School, which was renamed the Alexander Institute.
Next to the building of the "educational society" on the territory of the "master's yard" it was decided to build a "Widow's House" (year) - a hostel for the elderly and impoverished widows of courtiers and military officials. The construction of this almshouse was entrusted to the architect Giacomo Quarenghi. An outstanding master of classicism in architecture, a supporter of clear forms and clear proportions, Quarenghi at the same time admired the genius of Rastrelli. There is a legend that, when passing by the cathedral built by Rastrelli, he took off his hat as a sign of respect.
The "Widow's House" was located in the depths of a vast square (both the garden and the propylaea appeared already in Soviet times). The building, erected according to Quarenghi's design, belongs to the best examples of Russian classicism in architecture. “The two-hundred-meter facade is almost devoid of decorative decoration; the central part is decorated with arcades of the main entrance. They carry an eight-column portico topped with a strict pediment; the strongly protruding wings of the building and the arched fence form the front courtyard.
The interior decoration is even more strict. Particular attention is paid to the architectural design of the Assembly Hall: the vast room, occupying the second and third floors of the southern wing of the building, is decorated with a solemn colonnade and a restrained stucco frieze."
The building of the “Widow’s House” sharply contrasts with the architecture of the neighboring Smolny Monastery, but, despite the classicism of its forms, it does not “conflict” with the cathedral, built in the Baroque style, but only emphasizes the colorfulness of Rastrelli’s fantasies. Both of these buildings successfully complement each other, creating a single architectural ensemble in the complex.
After the construction of Quarenghi was completed, the Smolny Institute of Noble Maidens was transferred here, and the “Widow's House” was transferred to a monastery. Thus, the creation of a colossal urban ensemble, which is designated by the word Smolny, was completed.
But the cathedral that gave it its name, which became a decoration of the Neva banks, was still not completed. Only in 1828, during the reign of Nicholas I, a competition was announced for the project of completing the cathedral, in which the most famous architects were invited to participate - C. Rossi, O. Montferrand, L. Charlemagne. The project was entrusted to Vasily Petrovich Stasov.
Ironically, he was sixty-three years old - the age at which Rastrelli was forced to retire due to old age.
Under the leadership of Stasov, the facade was only updated: the walls were whitewashed and painted, the blue domes were decorated with golden stars, and the garlands and cherubs were re-gilded. The main work was carried out inside. Stasov retained the author's main idea - the radiant height of the snow-white interior of a huge space that can accommodate up to 6,000 people. But, unlike Rastrelli, the spectacular, luxurious interior in its own way has become more restrained, stricter, and more laconic.
The main decorations of the temple were a coldly shiny huge white colonnade and in front of the altar a unique crystal balustrade in which the rays of light refracted and shimmered with all the colors of the rainbow, forming a kind of flowing curtain. According to Stasov's design, carved iconostases were created, decorated with icons in gilded frames and precious frames. Bells cast in Valdai were placed in the side belfry towers.
In 1834, Stasov began landscaping and landscaping the pre-cathedral and monastery squares. He demolished the long residential building, erected at the beginning of the 19th century on the foundation intended for the bell tower, and opened the cathedral for viewing from Shpalernaya Street. But he did not build a bell tower.
Unlike the masters of the Baroque, the architects of the Classical era sought to create urban ensembles rather than self-contained spaces. The bell tower would have blocked the view of the cathedral from the outside. Instead, he opened a wide entrance to the cathedral, and in front of it formed a vast city square, bearing the name of Rastrelli since 1923. Stasov removed part of the outer monastery wall and in its place, on both sides of the passage, he erected two three-story wings, like entrance propylaea. True, they were built in the style of classicism, and in 1860 the architect Tamansky rebuilt them, bringing their appearance closer to Rastrelli’s style.
The Stasov fence at the Smolny Cathedral, which closed the space of the pre-cathedral square, became a kind of wreath in memory of Rastrelli. In its design, Stasov for the first time abandoned his favorite military attributes - spears, swords, shields, halberds, which he often used in previous buildings. He replaced them with grape leaves, ripe ears, flowers, branches and garlands.
On July 22, 1835, the cathedral was finally consecrated and named the cathedral of all educational institutions. Until the 20s of the 20th century, divine services took place here." Nowadays, the cathedral hosts cultural events of the city.

April 7" href="/text/category/7_aprelya/" rel="bookmark">April 7, 1747. The architect completed all the main work on the reconstruction of the Great Peterhof Palace in three years. Rastrelli also completed interior decorative projects. It took five more years.

The creation of a new palace in Peterhof began in 1747 and was completed in 1752. The elegant building, stretching for 300 meters, stands on a high bank and faces the endless expanses of the sea. The famous art historian and artist of the 20th century Alexander Benois wrote, admiring Rastrelli’s creation: “Peterhof seemed to be born from the foam of the sea. Peterhof is the residence of the king of the seas

On June 15, 1752, Elizaveta Petrovna held a reception for the first time in the renovated Peterhof Palace. The courtiers and invited guests who attended were delighted with the external splendor and interior decoration of the palace.

But the Peterhof Palace served as a preparation for a much more significant and integral work of the architect - the Great (Catherine) Palace of Tsarskoye Selo. Rastrelli's work in Tsarskoe Selo began in 1748. Initially, they consisted mainly of alterations to the old palace. In 1752, Rastrelli began a new reconstruction of the entire building. The Catherine Palace of Tsarskoe Selo is one of the most grandiose palace compositions of the 18th century. In terms of its scale, integrity of spatial construction, unity of façade motifs and interior decoration, and unusual saturation of architectural forms with plasticity and color, this work by Rastrelli is a one-of-a-kind phenomenon.

February 16" href="/text/category/16_fevralya/" rel="bookmark">February 16, 1753, Elizabeth Petrovna issues a decree on the construction of a new Winter Palace. However, more than a year passed before the fourth project of the Winter Palace was finally approved According to Rastrelli's plan, the Winter Palace is being built on the Palace Meadow. The square in front of the palace will be surrounded by a gallery with a wide gap opposite it.

What didn’t the Ambassador like, what’s missing here?” And in the ensuing silence I heard the answer: “I didn’t see the most important thing... A worthy case for such a great jewel.”

Elizabethan" or "Rastrelli's Baroque".

The nobleman" href="/text/category/velmzmozha/" rel="bookmark">The noblemen tortured the chief architect with their requests. The palace of Count M. Vorontsov on Sadovaya Street (1749), the house of the court supplier G. Stegelman on Moika (1750), Palace of Counts Stroganov on Nevsky (1753).

This is great architecture!" The temple rose in the center of a cruciform courtyard formed by two-story cells, very similar to small country palaces. Directed upward, the slender and elegant huge cathedral seems very light, capable of tearing itself off the ground at any moment. And the abundance of columns and decorative ornaments gives birth to the feeling that it was not built, but sculpted from stone. Unfortunately, Rastrelli did not have the chance to fully realize his plan: the interiors were not finished and only the openwork 140-meter bell tower remained in the model. Money was needed for the war with Prussia (1756-1762) and for construction new Winter Palace.

Winter Palace.

The Winter Palace in St. Petersburg is considered the pinnacle of the architect's creativity. But it was the history of its creation that reflected the most serious and long-term confrontation between the architect and the customer. For a long time, she limited herself to alterations and additions to the old palace of Anna Ioanovna. These troublesome fragmentary works pushed Rastrelli to the idea of ​​​​creating a completely new palace. But the empress had to be convinced of this. On January 1, 1753, a Decree was issued on further reconstructions in the Winter Door. To approve them, the architect is summoned to Moscow, where Elizabeth is again staying. In early February, he sets off on the road, and with him follow two carts with drawings and drawings of the new Winter Palace. The persistent Italian nevertheless managed to convince the empress that the construction of this luxurious palace was her desire, and its construction would cost less than the endless alterations of the previous one.

(“6”) In July of the same year, Rastrelli presented a new project: the area in front of the palace is surrounded by a gallery with a wide gap in. center, and in the middle of the square is an equestrian monument to Peter the Great, the work of Rastrelli's father. The construction of a new palace is an ordinary, habitual act for the empress. Creating an ensemble is a social act, still incomprehensible to Elizabeth. Therefore, the square with the gallery and the monument was rejected, and the construction of the palace was finally ordered to begin because, as the Empress herself would later note in the Decree: “the construction of that stone palace by the builder for the sole glory of the All-Russian Empire.” These loud words prompt the ruler to make more and more amendments to the architect’s plans. As a contemporary of that era, playwright N. V. Kukolnik, wrote: “The work and grief from the stops were the cause of Rastrelli’s rather long illness.” A convincing confirmation of the words of the architect himself: “The work of an architect in Russia is quite difficult.” Especially if he wants independence.
The last work of the great Rastrelli was an attempt to solve an urban planning problem, which Empire architects would especially address. The Winter Palace became not only the political center of the city, but also an urban planning center. At that time, thin threads of possible projections around the lying buildings were drawn to its facades, each of which has its own appearance. And the ban that soon followed to build residential buildings above the Winter Palace determined the architectonics of St. Petersburg for a long time.
Not a single European palace of that time can be compared with the Winter Palace in terms of impressiveness and grandeur. This is the pinnacle of Russian Baroque of the mid-18th century, its completion and the beginning of the end.
The history of its creation is also remarkable in that it reveals one of Rastrelli’s character traits. An interesting conversationalist, sociable and friendly, he was well received in society. True, in the service the architect became tough and even despotic. Many of his harsh reports have been preserved with threats to quit work due to the lack of experienced craftsmen, necessary materials and false replies from officials with promises to “immediately” fix everything. But in order to implement his plans, he knew how to be patient, diplomatic and even flattering. Elizabeth tormented him with endless demands for additions and alterations to the old Winter Palace and did not agree to the construction of another. Rastrelli meekly complied with all her whims, but gradually inspired the empress that the construction of a new, magnificent Winter Palace

Her long-standing and cherished dream. And in the end, Elizabeth believed him.
The palace was founded in 1753 on the site of the previous one, from the time of Anna Ioannovna, and adjacent buildings. In July 1754, Elizaveta Petrovna issued a personal decree on the start of construction, while the Empress expected a period of two years. As Empress Elizabeth wrote in her Decree: “...for the glory of the All-Russian Empire alone.” On December 25, 1761, Elizaveta Petrovna died without ever moving to the Winter Palace. Alas, she did not have the chance to see the palace completed. In April 1762, the new Russian Emperor Peter III settled there.

The new Emperor Peter III ordered the palace to be quickly finished military-style by April 6, 1762. Surprisingly, in such a short period of time they managed to finish about a hundred rooms, a theater, a church and a gallery.

Rastrelli's last and most grandiose creation features four large square volumes at the corners, connected by wide galleries. Inside there are over a thousand elegant rooms. The palace became the main dominant feature in the city. And it is no coincidence that for more than a hundred years it was forbidden to erect buildings higher than the Winter Palace. The satisfied emperor awarded the chief architect the rank of major general and the Order of St. Anna. The first and only awards for 46 years of faithful service.

The palace is the pinnacle of the Russian Baroque of the mid-18th century, its completion and the beginning of the end. It was in the Winter Palace that Rastrelli perfected the compositional and architectural techniques that he had used in all previous years. Paradoxical as it may seem, it was Peter III who was the only one of all the sovereigns and empresses under whom Rastrelli worked who awarded the architect for his work. He awarded Rastrelli the rank of major general and the Order of St. Anna. This was the last favor of fortune for the Italian.

https://pandia.ru/Images/38/4E63B71ADE38813DC325711C00809A38/%25d0%2593%25d0%25be%25d1%2582%25d0%25be%25d0%25b2%25d1%258b%25d0%25b9.doc/img15.gif" alt ="Pfanzelt" width="251" height="160 src=">Франческо Бартоломео Растрелли. Зимний дворец. Интерьер. 1754-1 762 гг. Санкт Петербург.!}

The Winter Palace was a whole city, without leaving which one could pray, watch theatrical performances, and receive foreign ambassadors. This majestic, luxurious building symbolized the glory and power of the empire. Its facades are decorated with columns, which are either crowded together, forming bunches, or more evenly distributed between window and door openings. The columns unite the second and third floors and visually divide the façade into two tiers: the lower, more squat one, and the upper, lighter and more ceremonial. On the roof there are decorative vases and statues that continue the rotation of the columns against the sky.

The decline of the “Russian Baroque”.

Two and a half months later, the architect’s life changed. Having thrown off her husband, Catherine II sat on the throne. And immediately new interests and a new fashion reigned: a passion for French encyclopedists and classicism.

On June 28, 1762, Catherine II came to power. From that time on, clouds began to gather over Rastrelli's head. Having ascended the throne as a fan of the French Enlightenment, Catherine II rejected the Baroque as a tasteless style. Classicism took hold in Russia. Francesco Rastrelli found himself out of work.

They stopped giving him orders, believing that his Baroque style had become unfashionable. The chief architect asked to be given leave, and on August 10, 1762, Catherine II signed the corresponding decree. Rastrelli and his family go to his homeland, Italy. A year later he returns with the secret hope that he will return to work again. But during his absence the situation worsened. Rastrelli learns, in particular, that the architect Wallen-Delamot is remodeling the inner chambers of the Winter Palace. On October 23, 1763, Catherine II decided to dismiss the chief architect Francesco Bartolomeo de Rastrelli and assign him a pension of one thousand rubles a year.

He devoted forty-seven years to Russia, erecting many buildings and ensembles that now constitute the glory of world architecture. Now he had to leave the capital and compile his “General Description” and list of students in the evenings.
He submits his resignation.

The year 1764 is interesting for many significant events. Former Emperor Ivan VI Antonovich was killed in the Shlisselburg fortress. Catherine II carried out the secularization of the monastery peasants and bought a collection of paintings from the merchant I. Gotzkovsky, laying the foundation for the Hermitage Museum. Voltaire began preparing the Philosophical Dictionary, and the German Winckelmann published The History of Ancient Art. In St. Petersburg, according to Delamot's designs, they began to build the Small Hermitage and the building of the Academy of Arts.
It was then that he was sent into retirement; Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli compiles “A general description of all the buildings, palaces and gardens that I, Count de Rastrelli, Chief Architect of the Court, built during the entire time when I had the honor of being in the service of Their All-Russian Majesties, from 1716 to this year 1764 of the year" . Amazing multi-page document. The first such report by an architect in the history of Russia, written with a sense of self-esteem. Each point of the treatise begins proudly: “I have completed it. .”, “I did...”, “I directed...”. Even created together with his father, Francesco attributes it to himself.
The happiest and most difficult 20 years of the maestro’s life ended in complete oblivion.

In 1764, Rastrelli went to Mitava, the capital of Courland, to his old patron and well-wisher Ernst Johann Biron. He worked for almost a year in Mitau and Ruenthal. But soon the son of Ernst Johann Biron, Peter, who now managed all affairs, made it clear that he wanted to take on the young architect. This meant nothing more than a polite refusal of Rastrelli's services.

The old master of magnificent baroque, Francesco Rastrelli, was no longer needed by the court. In vain he offered his services to the Duke of Courland and the King of Prussia. The Baroque era is over. For the sake of his daily bread, he had to start selling paintings that he brought from Italy.

In February 1769, Rastrelli again went to Italy with a commercial goal - to buy paintings by Italian painters there in order to then resell them in St. Petersburg. There is no news of how successful this commercial action was, but something else is known - Rastrelli’s request to be accepted as a member of the Imperial Academy of Arts. In October 1770, Rastrelli asked to be accepted as a member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. In January 1771, the Academy, by a vote of 19 to three, accepted the recently renowned chief architect as a “free associate.” And in April of the same year, he died. Time and the cataclysms of Russian history have erased traces of his grave. In 1923, the square in St. Petersburg in front of the Smolny Monastery was named Rastrelli Square.

Rastrelli's controversial project.

Elizaveta Petrovna supposedly entrusted the building of a palace for her husband to a famous court architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli. Who, if not him, could carry out the will of the empress? Since 1730, he was at court and built a lot in both St. Petersburg and Moscow. Here he built a wooden palace and a magnificent theater for the empress, and magnificently decorated the Great Hall of the Kremlin Palace for the ceremonial throne dinner on the day of her coronation. Elizaveta Petrovna liked everything he did.

But not only the mention of Rastrelli’s name in legend gave reason to call him the creator of the building. At the Historical Exhibition of Architecture, organized in 1911 in St. Petersburg, a project for the palace on Pokrovka, dated 1752, was presented, which in the exhibition catalog was listed as an unrealized project by Rastrelli. The further fate of the drawing is unknown. Today we can only speculate: perhaps the project was really carried out by the great architect for Elizabeth Petrovna and the count, but for some reason the palace was not built. Or maybe they meant the palace in the royal estate of Pokrovskoye-Rubtsovo, located at the very end of Pokrovskaya Street (for many years bearing the name Bakuninskaya)?

(“7”) It is interesting that Rastrelli himself did not include this palace in the list of his works completed from 1716 to 1764. There is not a word in the list about the house that interests us, although he writes about the assignment received from the empress “on the occasion of the wedding of their imperial highnesses.”

It seems that the organizers of the exhibition in 1911 mistakenly attributed the project to Rastrelli. Nevertheless, thanks to the legend, the architectural features of the building, and the mention of the unrealized project of 1752, the opinion was firmly established for a long time that the house was built in the late forties - early fifties of the 18th century by an architect for Count Razumovsky. For many years, this information wandered from one publication to another. The house on Pokrovka was even called the Winter Palace in miniature. However, in fairness, it should be noted that some serious architectural guides of the turn of the century point to the “legendary” nature of such information and deny the authorship of Rastrelli.

Over time, the version of Rastrelli’s authorship finally disappeared. In addition, in 1764 the architect had already moved to Courland, where he completed the construction of Biron’s palaces, which he had begun almost thirty years earlier. And in stylistic features, all the works of the master known to us differ from what we see on Pokrovka. However, if not Rastrelli, then who?

Rastrelli? But his works, despite the splendor of baroque decor, have strict logic and a clear, consistently developed system of elements, interconnected and subordinate details that cannot be found in a dresser house. But here there are obvious “overexposures” that are unacceptable for a great master. For example, the pedestals of the columns on the first floor contain wide semicircular niches with molded shells. Not to mention the fact that this detail is unusual for an urban residential building and goes back to estate architecture; it destroys the tectonic basis of the building; The courtyard façade, which is rich in decor and completely lacks caesuras, does not look elegant either. And original planning solutions are completely alien to Rastrelli; he always used clear, linear plans, simple volumes of buildings. So the complicated axial constructions of the Apraksin-Trubetskoy house also do not in any way correlate with the work of the genius of the Russian Baroque.

Conclusion.

Rastrelli's work has been studied quite fully. Most of his works have survived. The most talented master of the mid-18th century, creator of the bright architectural style "Elizabethan Baroque". Together with Quarenghi and Rossi, he is rightfully considered the greatest Russian architect. Main works: in St. Petersburg - Smolny Monastery (not finished), palace (partially rebuilt), palace (interiors redone), Travel Palace on Srednyaya Rogatka (destroyed in the 40s of the XX century), Summer Palace of Elizabeth Petrovna (located on the site of the Engineers' Castle), the Great Peterhof Palace, Grand Palace and park pavilions in Tsarskoe Selo, Winter Palace (the interiors were rebuilt after the fire); in Moscow - Winter Annerhof in the Kremlin (does not exist), Summer Annerhof in Lefortovo (does not exist); In Kyiv - St. Andrew's Church; In Courland - Biron's palaces in Rundale and Mitau

Possessing a fantastic capacity for work, who designed and at the same time supervised the construction of several huge structures, Rastrelli transformed the appearance of the capital in just fifteen years. By the sixties of the eighteenth century, St. Petersburg and its environs sparkled with mirrored windows and gilding of the buildings he erected. Vorontsov Palace on Sadovaya Street, Stroganov Palace on Nevsky Prospect, Winter Palace on the Neva embankment, temporary Winter Palace on the corner of Moika and Nevsky, Smolny Monastery, palaces and pavilions in Strelna, Peterhof, Tsarskoye Selo... Decorated with white columns and pilasters, strewn with relief masks and other sculptural decorations, with their nationality and festivity they stood out sharply against the background of the mostly business-like and modest architecture of the first quarter of the century. Rastrelli turned the city - a port, a city - a shipyard into a palace city.

In 1869, visiting Kyiv for the first time, he was delighted with the St. Andrew’s Church built according to Rastrelli’s design and sang its praises:

Air-luminous temple

It goes up in the air - it’s a miracle to my eyes,

As if soaring to the heavens.

But these lines can also be applied to the Church of the Assumption.

History has not preserved for us the details of the architect’s biography, but, like any great artist, his biography is, first of all, his works. The Russian people called him Bartholomew Varfolomeevich and respected him for his work and inexhaustible ideas. It is unknown where and with whom he studied, and whether he had other teachers besides his father. According to one version, after traveling to Italy, Rastrelli returned to St. Petersburg, where he died in the spring or summer of 1771. But one thing can be said for sure: Rastrelli drew his inspiration from Russia, great and powerful, which showed him the whole breadth of the Russian soul, which raised and educated him. Russia inspired some inexpressible thoughts in him, which constantly tormented and occupied him, later being embodied in his buildings.

And there were always Russian latitudes in the heart of the native of France, his soul was open to the Russian people, and his memory preserved and carried through time memories of the country that replaced his home.

The son of a Spaniard and an Italian, a native of France, who became one of the largest architects in Russia, Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli with his entire creative life proved that the true homeland of the artist is not the country on whose soil he was born, but the one that raised and helped to reveal his talent through the traditions of his national art.

List of information sources.

1. Architects of St. Petersburg in the 19th - early 20th centuries. SPb.: Lenizdat. 1998, p.574

2. “Architectural ensemble of Smolny”. N. Semennikova.

3. , Evangulov Russian and Soviet art. M.: 1989.
4. Russian Baroque Whipper. M.: 1978.
5. Architecture of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus in the 14th - first half of the 19th centuries. // General history of architecture in 12 volumes. M.: 1968.
6. Glinka N. “Beauty, city of Petrov...”. Golden age of architecture. St. Petersburg: 1996.
7. Grabar I. Petersburg architecture in the 18th and 19th centuries. St. Petersburg: 1994.
8., Startsev of St. Petersburg XVIII - XIX centuries. St. Petersburg: 1999.
9. Sights of Leningrad. L.: 1961.
10., Levina city - St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg: 1998.
11. , Along these streets, along these banks. St. Petersburg walks. St. Petersburg: 1997.
12. Ovsyannikov Yu. Great architects of St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg: 1996.
13. Shuya baroque and early classicism. St. Petersburg: 1997.

14. Glinka N. “Strict, slender appearance...” Children's literature. Moscow.1992.

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