Founded by Peter at the beginning of the 18th century, St. Petersburg today is considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and hundreds of thousands of tourists from different parts of the globe come to the city on the Neva to enjoy the magnificence and grandeur of its architecture. But today we’ll talk not about buildings, but about the people who built this beauty, and in our review the most famous architects of St. Petersburg, as well as their magnificent architectural creations. Indeed, it is the works of architects of the present and the past that create that unique image of St. Petersburg, which is rightly called the "city of palaces". For convenience, we will place the architects in chronological order.
Domenico Trezzini (1630-1734)
Domenico Andrea Trezzini in Russia was called in a Russian fashion by Andrei Petrovich Trezin. The great architect was born in a small town on the border of Italy and Switzerland, and in 1703 upon arrival in Russia, became the first architect of St. Petersburg.
In the photo: Peter and Paul Cathedral in the Peter and Paul Fortress
According to his projects, the Annunciation Church in the Lavra, Petrovsky Gates were erected, but the main thing was precisely according to his projects that the city buildings and street plans were built.
In 1712 he became the architect of the Peter and Paul Cathedral in the Peter and Paul Fortress, and in 1724 he began work on the construction of the Twelve Collegia Building.
Giovanni Maria Fontana (1670-1712)
Architect. Originally from Italy, he became famous for the construction of magnificent buildings in Moscow and St. Petersburg, among which the Menshikov Palace in the northern capital stands out.
In the photo: Grand Palace (Oraniebaum)
He worked in the exquisite Baroque style, often inspired by the architectural masterpieces of antiquity. But the Lefortovo Palace, built back in 1699, was rebuilt by Fontana at the direction of the new owner Alexander Menshikov.
Among his other works, it is also worth noting the Grand Palace in Oranienbaum, also erected by decree of a close associate of Peter I.
Jean-Baptiste Alexander Leblon (1679-1719)
The French architect was the first to develop a detailed development plan for St. Petersburg, centered on Vasilyevsky Island. In 1716, Leblon was appointed chief architect of the city and held this position until his death.
Peterhof
The architect Peterhof actively participated in the planning of the upper park, the decoration of the Summer Palace of Peter I, supervised the construction of fountains and the layout of the alleys.
According to one version, Leblon died, unable to bear the insults from the Russian emperor, who, believing the rumors, insulted and hit with a club the talented architect.
Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli (1700-1742)
Speaking about the architecture of St. Petersburg, I immediately recall the name of the great Italian architect. In 1715, the Francesco family came to Russia, where he began his brilliant career as an architect.
The Italian creates his first original architectural creations in Courland, and eventually becomes the chief architect Elizabeth Petrovna.
Zminiy Palace
The architect of the Mariinsky Palace in Peterhof, the architect of the Winter Palace in the city center, as well as the author of many other magnificent buildings in St. Petersburg, including the Grand Palace in Peterhof, Francesco Rastrelli became a vivid representative of the so-called Elizabethan baroque, and left a good memory of himself, frozen in magnificent buildings. The peak of his work was the Catherine Palace in the royal village, erected by personal order of Catherine I.
Savva Chevakinsky (1709-1776)
The famous Russian architect of the Elizabethan Baroque was born in the Tver province, and worked mainly on the orders of the Russian fleet, being the chief architect of the Admiralty.
In the photo: St. Nicholas Cathedral
The peculiarity of his buildings was the columns that Chevakinsky placed on the protruding corners of his buildings, thus making rounded facade lines. So before us appears the Shuvalov House and many other works of the architect.
In addition to the columns at the corners, Savva actively used wrought-iron balconies and plant-decorated facades of his buildings.
Antonio Rinaldi (1710-1794)
Another talented Italian architect who worked and became famous in Russia. He arrived in the Russian Empire in 1751, and before that he traveled around Europe for a long time, being inspired by the masterpieces of the best architects of the past.
In the photo: Marble Palace
Rinaldi became the author of the construction of the Grand Palace in Gatchina, erected the Catherine Cathedral in Yamburg. In St. Petersburg, the Marble Palace, the Bolshoi Theater, as well as many other civil and church buildings were erected according to his designs.
It was Rinaldi who completed the construction in 1783, which had begun in 1738 with the church of St. Catherine of Alexandria on Nevsky Prospect.
Jean Baptiste Wallen-Delamotte (1729-1800)
This Frenchman became famous for being the first in the Russian Empire to become a professor of architecture, and before arriving in Russia he studied art in Paris and Rome.
In 1756, the Academy of Arts in Russia was founded, and the project of its creation was entrusted to Jacques Francois Blondel, from whom Wallen-Delamot studied. The student, together with the Russian architect Kokorin, redid the project, and the Academy building became a magnificent symbol of the reign of Catherine II.
In the photo: Academy of Arts of Russia
Jean Baptiste, basically, developed only building designs, without taking a direct part in their construction. He brought up a new generation of Russian architects, and in 1775 he returned to France.
Etienne Falcone (1716-1791)
French sculptor, whose works clearly reflected European ideas of classicism. He was born in Paris, and from 1766 to 1778 he lived and worked in St. Petersburg.
Etienne worked in an art workshop on Bolshaya Morskaya Street, and went down in the history of the Russian city as the creator of the Bronze Horseman monument. It was in this creation of his own that Etienne embodied his old dreams to create a monumental work.
The creation dedicated to Peter I was installed on Senate Square in honor of the 20th anniversary of the reign of Catherine II, in 1782, when Etienne had already left Russia.
Yuri Felten (1730-1801)
Russian architect was educated in Germany. And for a long time he worked under the leadership of Rastrelli, and in 1772 received the title of academician. He was the director of the Academy of Arts and a leading architect at Her Majesty's court.
Many of its buildings of temple and palace architecture and today are the most important decorations of St. Petersburg. In 1764, he began work on the creation of the Small Hermitage, and in 1771 he developed a project and began construction of another magnificent palace complex - the Greater Hermitage.
He worked actively in the architecture of small forms, creating unique and original buildings.
Vasily Bazhenov (1737-1800)
The representative of classicism, artist, architect Vasily Bazhenov, as a student, began to work as an assistant to Chevakinsky in the construction of St. Nicholas Cathedral.
In the photo: Mikhailovsky Castle
He became the author of the Mikhailovsky Castle in St. Petersburg, which is also called Engineering - the largest architectural monument that completed the era of the XVIII century.
According to his project and under the direct supervision of the most beautiful buildings of St. Petersburg and its suburbs. Bazhenov worked at the court of Paul I. And also taught at Moscow University. He began a project to build the Smolny Institute, which he had already graduated from Quarenghi.
Giacomo Quarenghi (1744-1817)
In 1780, the Italian painter and architect was invited to work in Russia by Empress Catherine II herself. Giacomo gladly accepted the offer, and left a good memory of himself in the buildings and palaces created by his design.
In the photo: Hermitage Theater
He built many churches in the city, as well as the Hermitage Theater, the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo, the famous Yusupov Palace and the Saltykov house on Palace Embankment.
In addition to Petersburg, he worked in Moscow and other regions of Russia. The memory of a talented, creative person is immortalized in the names of the streets in his native Bergamo and St. Petersburg.
Continuation of the article READ on the next page ↓↓↓
>>> PART 2. ARCHITECTS OF ST. PETERSBURG <<<