Architect of the Russian estate. Architect of the Russian estate Gothic castle on Khodynka

The image of a characteristic Russian estate, sung by Russian literature, is almost always classic. It was in the "houses with columns" that Pushkin's, Lermontov's, Turgenev's characters lived. The formation of classicism in Russia is associated with the name of one of our most famous architects, Matvey Fedorovich Kazakov (1738-1812). His biography is enchanting even by the standards of the brilliant 18th century.

The architect, who was one of the founders of classicism in Russian architecture, was born into a peasant family. His father was a serf, sent by a landowner to the navy and, thanks to his talents, remained in Moscow at the Admiralty office as a copyist, i.e. scribe. Only this happy coincidence saved the Kazakov family from the usual fate of serfs.

M.F.Kazakov. Engraving by G. Afanasiev

Matvey Kazakov received his architectural education in Russia, beyond which he never traveled. In 1751, after the death of his father, his mother assigned him, aged 12, to the architectural school of the famous Moscow architect Prince D.V. Ukhtomsky, whose students were mainly engaged in the repair and restoration of the Moscow Kremlin. Matvey Kazakov worked for Ukhtomsky until 1760, when he was transferred with the rank of “ensign architecture” (that is, already an officer) to the workshop of P.R. Nikitin, who was a “city architect”. Practice in the architectural school, accompanied by careful measurements of dilapidated buildings, drawing up drawings and estimates, became Kazakov's main school, giving him his first experience in architectural activity. No wonder art historians consider him a pragmatist, with a usually sober view of things.

In the XVIII century. the duties of an architect included a lot - he was literally "everything". In addition to creating a project, the architect had to be able to negotiate with contractors, organize the delivery of bricks, and even its production, delve into a bunch of technical details. M.F. Kazakov learned this, but his friend and colleague V.I. Bazhenov, who was basically a “paper architect”, did not. As a result, Bazhenov remained an unrecognized genius, while Kazakov became a successful practicing architect.

Imperial estates.
City and country palaces

The first major work of M.V. Kazakov was connected with the restoration of Tver after the fire of 1763 - he participated in drawing up the city plan, designed and built the Travel Palace for Catherine II (1763-1767) - the main building of the city. It had to be erected in extreme haste, since in the winter of 1767 the empress was going to pass through Tver to Moscow to open the Commission for the new Code and use it during a short stop.

In 1768, an event occurred that determined the further creative fate of Kazakov - he began working with Bazhenov on the Expedition for the Construction of the Kremlin Palace (in the rank of architect, i.e. assistant architect) on the construction of "the most famous building in the world" - the Grand Kremlin Palace according to the project the last one. This work helped Matvey Kazakov to deeply understand and master the principles of applying classical forms in architecture, which influenced all his future activities. Bazhenov himself highly appreciated the activities of Kazakov, who presented him for production as a second major already at the end of the same 1768: “In the argument that he (M.F. Kazakov. - Auth.) by his knowledge of architecture, he acquired so much that not only at the beginning of the construction, but henceforth, he is capable of great things, and moreover, in the event of his illness, Bazhenov, he can send his very position on him! . Indeed, Kazakov had to “send” this post, but a little later, during construction in Tsaritsyn, which could not but worsen relations between colleagues. In the meantime, they became co-authors of the design project for the Khodynka field for the celebration of the Kyuchuk-Kainarji peace with Turkey, concluded by General Prince N.V. Repnin in 1775.

The first significant independent Moscow work of Matvey Kazakov, the Prechistensky Palace, also dates back to this time, testifying to the recognition of his talent and experience. It was for him that Kazakov received the rank of architect.

Before the celebration of the Kyuchuk-Kainarji peace, the Moscow authorities had a problem - where to settle Catherine II with the heir and their court? By that time, the royal chambers in the Kremlin were very dilapidated, so M.F. Kazakov was entrusted with the project of uniting three private houses into a single palace (called Prechistensky), connected by temporary halls and passages. The house of the princes Golitsyns at the corner of Volkhonka and Maly Znamensky lane (No. 14/1) was intended for the empress, for the heir - Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich - the house of the princes Dolgoruky (Volkhonka, no. allotted to the "cavaliers on duty", in fact - to Prince Grigory Potemkin. The halls and passages between them were built on piles, and not on foundations, in late autumn and winter, which testified to their temporary purpose. Three years later, all the private houses that made up the palace were returned to their owners, and the passages and halls between them were transferred to Sparrow Hills as independent structures.

The Empress did not like the palace. In a letter to Baron Grimm in Paris, she wrote: “Do you want to have a plan for my house? I'll send it to you, but it's not easy to recognize yourself in this labyrinth. I've been here for two hours and couldn't find the door of my office without error, it's a triumph of confusion. I have never seen so many doors in my life! I have already ordered half a dozen to be destroyed, and yet there are twice as many as required ... ". Of course, the forced use of buildings of different architecture did not allow the architect to create a true masterpiece, although experts who are accustomed to bow before the work of M.F. Kazakov usually positively evaluate the Prechistensky Palace.

One must think that Catherine II perfectly understood the difficult conditions in which M.F. Kazakov was placed, and gave him the opportunity to realize the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe royal palace, starting from the zero cycle. She entrusted him with the construction of the Petrovsky entrance palace (so named because this territory previously belonged to the Petrovsky (Vysokopetrovsky) Moscow monastery) - the famous "Petrovsky Castle", the decree on the construction of which the Empress signed on December 14, 1775. Soon it was approved by the Senate, and construction began . It went quickly, despite the limited funds and materials. Already by 1777 the main building was erected. By the autumn of the next year, the master Johann Just completed the sculptural decoration of the palace, made of ceramics. By 1779, outbuildings were built, outwardly looking like fortifications, kitchens, carriage houses, cellars for storing food. Finishing work was carried out until 1783.

Unlike the Prechistensky Palace, Catherine II was very pleased with the built Petrovsky and stayed there more than once during her visits to Moscow (the last time - on the way from the Crimea in 1787). On ordinary days the palace was open for inspection.

A significant milestone in the biography of M.F. Kazakov was the work in Tsaritsyn, the estate of Catherine II near Moscow. It is believed that after the former palace, built by Bazhenov, was not liked by the empress, who arrived in Tsaritsyno in 1775, Kazakov replaced his former colleague. However, the documents show that Bazhenov was given an attempt to correct his work. The Moscow commander-in-chief M.M. Izmailov ordered both architects "... to make plans separately, in which way it is possible to correct what has been done there." V.I. Bazhenov completed the task first, but the Empress preferred the Cossack vision of Tsaritsyn. By her order, in 1776, Kazakov replaced Bazhenov and became the only architect of such a great object. In Tsaritsyn, he erected a new building of the palace, using the existing buildings of Bazhenov.

The architecture of the Petrovsky Palace and the Grand Palace in Tsaritsyn - an imitation of Gothic family castles, a kind of free fantasy on the then fashionable "memorial-triumphal" theme of medieval European chivalry - gave rise to a wave of imitations. In this way, as the former chairman of the Society for the Study of the Russian Estate A.N. Grech figuratively put it in 1932: “A merchant who had definitely penetrated into the nobility, buying a country castle and portraits of his “ancestors”, tried random nobles and temporary workers, and after them representatives of the boyars who has lost his wooden mansion, to strengthen, only outwardly, symbolically, the roots of his imaginary family tree. Pseudo-Gothic and Old Russian elements were used in the decoration of the facades. In general, when creating the palaces, a brilliant artistic idea was realized, already embodied once on the Khodynka field - they, as if surrounded by a fortress wall with towers, were symbolically likened to the ancient capital - Moscow. These buildings put forward M.F. Kazakov in the first row of architects of that time.

The last time Matvey Kazakov returned to the theme of the imperial residence was at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries. Then he had to rebuild the Sloboda Palace (now the Bauman Moscow Higher Technical School) for Emperor Paul I.

Kazakovskaya Moscow

The name of M.F. Kazakov is strongly associated with classic Moscow, because it was his best buildings that created the image of this city of the Catherine's era - aristocratic, "pre-fire". His talent was most revealed in numerous projects of residential buildings and public buildings that organize large urban spaces. They testify not only to the high professional skill of the architect, but also to the originality of his artistic language. M.F. Kazakov also developed a new type of “profitable” house for the era, where there were both commercial premises and apartments for rent. M.F.Kazakov also became famous as a brilliant master of the interior. Since 1786, he led the Kremlin Construction Expedition, which carried out the main construction work in Moscow. Far from all architects managed (and manage) to create structures that determine the appearance of the whole city.

The construction of the Petrovsky Palace had just begun, and M.F. Kazakov had already set about designing a huge, triangular in plan, Senate building in the Moscow Kremlin, one of the most significant works of Russian classicism architecture, which became the anthem of the Enlightenment. The rotunda with a dome above the central hall, during the construction of which M.F. Kazakov used for the first time in Russia a dome covering of such a large diameter, became the accent of the transverse axis of Red Square.

Back in 1782, Kazakov began the construction of the Moscow University. The image of this forge of the “enlightened mind” was difficult for him, options were thought out: one, the other, the third ... The building was erected for more than ten years, in parts - in three stages. At the same time, Kazakov improved its architectural appearance: he abandoned complicated elements, an abundance of sculpture, and sought simplicity and majesty. As a result, the completed building, organically included in the ensemble of the center of Moscow, with its architecture resembled a large city estate.

Simultaneously with the construction of the university, M.F. Kazakov was engaged in the restructuring of the former house of Prince M.V. Dolgoruky, acquired by the Moscow (later Russian) noble assembly or, as they used to say in the old days, a club in the name of one of its founders - Prince A.B. Golitsyn. After blocking the courtyard of the house and placing magnificent columns of the Corinthian order around the perimeter, M.F. Kazakov turned it into the front Hall of Columns. The main structures of the hall, made of wood, largely contributed to its excellent acoustics (after a fire in 1812, the house was restored and rebuilt by architect A. Bakarev, a student of M.F. Kazakov).

The Golitsyn and Pavlovsk hospitals are one of the last major works of the master, built at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries. Creating extensive hospital complexes near the outposts, on the outskirts of what was then Moscow, he again turns to the universal model of his time - the estate.

The Kazakovskaya city estate is a large, massive, almost devoid of decor building with a columned portico - a kind of “chest house” that dominates the rest of the outbuildings and outbuildings. Usually it was located in the depths of a vast yard, and outbuildings and fences went to the red line of the street. The expressiveness of the interiors was achieved by the picturesque decor and the use of a "large order", as in the Hall of Columns of the Noble Assembly. Often they used sculpture, as was the case in the central hall of the Senate. Such a basic image of a city manor house was picked up and replicated by contemporaries and students. Without exaggeration, he influenced the architecture of country estates throughout Central Russia.

The most famous Cossack estates were the house on Gorokhovaya Street of the wealthy breeder Ivan Demidov, which preserved the magnificent gilded carving of the front interiors, the so-called "golden" rooms (1780s), the house of the breeder M.I. Gubin on Petrovka (1790s .), the Baryshnikov estate on Myasnitskaya (1797-1802), etc.

Holistic plastic architectural forms also prevail in the religious buildings of M.F. Kazakov. His favorite theme in church architecture was the rotunda. He used this architectural form in the churches of St. Philip on Bolshaya Meshchanskaya (1777-1788), Saints Cosmas and Damian on Maroseyka (1791-1803) and others. in the estate of E.A. Radilova (it belongs to the circle of works of the Kazakov school).

It is necessary to make a reservation that the classicism of M.F. Kazakov is entirely borrowed, ugly. He had never been abroad and could use exactly uvrazh - albums of drawings brought from Europe. The talent of the architect just manifested itself in the ability to create his own style from foreign elements, to assemble the “classic constructor” differently than others.

Moscow determined at that time the architectural taste and "fashion" of the entire empire. In Moscow, the whole era in architecture was defined by Kazakov, so that his manner, accordingly, determined the style of Russian architecture - "mature classicism", which is sometimes called strict. He replaced the early classicism that preceded him - French.

School of Kazakov

Almost the only one of the major artists of the Enlightenment in Russia, M.F. Kazakov created what can be called an art school. Therefore, with good reason, experts talk about Russian classicism of the Kazakov school. By the way, even his own house in Zlatoustovsky Lane was not just a family home, but also a kind of home university of arts. An architectural school quickly developed here and operated for many years, and the three sons of M.F. Kazakov became his active assistants. In 1805 the school turned into the School of Architecture.

Among the students of M.F. Kazakov, one can name the architects I.V. Egotov, A.N. Bakaryov, I.G. of them it was possible to restore Moscow, which burned down during the Patriotic War of 1812.

Kazakov albums

In 1800-1804, while retired, M.F. Kazakov worked on the creation of the general and "façade" (i.e., bird's eye view) plans of Moscow and a series of architectural albums of Moscow buildings. Work on the "facade plan" was never completed, even its finished parts did not reach us. Most likely they died during the famous Moscow fire. 13 “Architectural albums of M.F. Kazakov” have survived to this day, including plans, facades and sections of 103 “particular buildings”, both the author himself and the best architects of his era. This is a kind of architectural encyclopedia of Moscow during Catherine's time and the main source of information about the work of the great master. Thanks to the albums, one can trace the evolution of the main types of Moscow residential buildings and estates.

Although M.F. Kazakov himself claimed that the projects of the best “particular houses” were collected in the albums, a study of the albums showed that the selection of buildings was largely random. So, they do not have the famous Pashkov house, the Trubetskoy (Apraksin) house, the Batashov house and other large complexes. “This chance is more important for us than the most careful selection, it introduces an element of statistics into the Albums,” wrote the art historian E.V. Nikolaev. - The weakest point of our knowledge of the architecture of the late XVIII century. is the almost complete absence of materials about ordinary buildings - that sea of ​​\u200b\u200bhouses that made up Moscow. It is not for nothing that in the Albums, in fact, there is not a single ordinary house (as we used to understand it at the beginning of the 19th century) - such a house has not yet become an object of art, it was the greatest achievement of the next era.

Moscow, which M.F. Kazakov captured in his albums, left with him. Before the surrender of Moscow to the French, the relatives evacuated M.F. Kazakov to Ryazan. There he died on October 26, shortly before his death, having learned about the death and fire of the city, the appearance of which he was destined to determine. The great architect was buried on the outskirts of the city in the Trinity Monastery. His grave, unfortunately, has not been preserved.

Cossack myth

Many Kazakov attributions, especially in the provinces, must be treated with caution. There was a time when all architectural "Gothic" was attributed (together with most of Moscow classicism) only to M.F. Kazakov and V.I. Bazhenov. Then art historians were taught to “feel with the skin”, and not to analyze archival documents ...

It is sometimes very difficult to understand the real range of the master's work. Only relatively recently did the understanding of the architectural process of the 18th century come. - what was he really like? Then the architect was a very significant figure. There were few major specialists in this field of art, there was a queue for them, the first place in which was occupied by representatives of the imperial family, then came the courtiers, etc. Often the masters were limited to projects. Sent from St. Petersburg to some county town or country estate, the projects were embodied by local serf masters, who, not always being able to read the drawings and linking it to a specific place, brought their own understanding to the project. Often, the customer himself intervened in the construction process, who could demand either to simplify the project for material reasons, or, conversely, to introduce new architectural elements, such as a portico, completely ignoring the general style of the plan. The building created in this way was often the work of several authors ...

However, the architect usually did not design alone. In the XVIII century. the concept of "copyright" in its modern sense did not exist. Architects did not hesitate to use ready-made solutions from various industries. Particularly popular were the albums of the French architect, the famous Neforge (such a device was bought for the Expedition of the Kremlin Building). Many elements of classicist architecture, it must be said, operated with a clearly limited range of elaborate motifs and forms, were taken from such albums and used in a variety of buildings. They also freely used the achievements of their compatriot colleagues - this was in the order of things.

M.F. Kazakov was no exception in this regard. Therefore, the use of "Kazakov's forms" in the building cannot in itself serve as proof of its authorship, and the ephemerality of the attributions of the decades preceding our time, which are purely stylistic in nature, has now become obvious.

It is far from always that archival documents can shed light on the architectural process, it is far from always clear who signed a particular project, the author or the copyist. Not all texts can be interpreted unambiguously. Before the construction of the Grand Kremlin Palace, a plaque with an inscription was installed on the foundation stone, from which it follows: “The project was made for this building and the practice began by the Russian Architect, Muscovite, Vasily Ivanovich Bazhenov ... According to the drafting of the project, the titular Councilor Matvey Kozakov was behind the Architect” 10. On its basis, this palace can be fully attributed to M.F. Kazakov, if other documents showing the role of each of them in the construction of the palace were not preserved.

Unlike V.I. Bazhenov, M.F. Kazakov was “lucky” with his last name. In the XVIII century. there were several Kazakov architects, among them his brilliant student Rodion Kazakov. However, memoirists and writers of everyday life remember only one Kazakov - Matvey Fedorovich, whose genius is given part of the buildings of completely different Kazakovs.

The epoch also left its mark on attribution, especially the first post-war decade. Then in the USSR "unpleasant" foreign surnames were not welcomed. And the history of native architecture was no exception. It is much easier when there are M.F. Kazakov, V.I. Bazhenov and their students, and as for some foreigners, they cannot be called foreigners, they have become so Russified ...

V.I. Bazhenov began to be considered the first Russian architect, therefore Academician I.E. Grabar, who discovered the name of M.F. (already considered a classic of Russian art criticism) easily attributed the architecture of this estate as the work of V.I. Bazhenov. Time put everything in its place, but the authority of I.E. Grabar even in the 1970s. was still indisputable. Then Petrovskoe-Alabino was already officially considered the work of M.F. Kazakov, but it was somehow inconvenient to admit the fallacy of Grabarev's concept. Therefore, it was necessary to write in the “Aesopian language”, without calling Grabar by his last name: “However, a number of architectural and artistic techniques in solving the main group of buildings and the exceptionally rare centric layout of the ensemble found in V.I. Bazhenov served as a formal basis for some researchers to associate Petrovskoye with name of this architect" 12 .

Sometimes researchers considered even conscious false attributions as "holy lies" - in the name of saving specific monuments. And they were guided by the following - it is much easier to protect a building associated with the name of a major architect from demolition than a monument whose creator is unknown. In general, the official underestimation of architecture led to the fact that sometimes researchers deliberately “aged” buildings in order to save them. In fairness, we note that most of these works are in popular literature and guidebooks.

In general, we have two stories of Russian architecture - one is published in reference books and textbooks, the other is discussed only among specialists. Will the time come when the history of architecture will become unified in our country?

Searches and finds of recent years

Moscow monuments associated with the name of Matvey Fedorov are known in principle - all of them are included in the famous "Architectural Albums of M.F. Kazakov". It is believed that reattributions are possible only in forgotten estates and provincial towns. A sensation for all connoisseurs of Russian architecture was the release in 1999 of the third issue of the catalog "Architectural Monuments of the Moscow Region". Having opened it, everyone was amazed to see the architectural history of Kolomna without mentioning the name of Kazakov, which they had long been accustomed to over the previous decades. It turned out that Kazakov had never worked in this city, and absolutely without his participation the famous fences of the Kolomna monasteries were built: Brusensky, Novo-Golutvin and Staro-Golutvin, the architecture of which used decorative motifs of false Gothic and national romanticism. Moreover, these fences, previously considered constructions of the 18th century, even became noticeably younger. From the documents it turned out that these were buildings of the 1820-1830s, i.e. erected after the death of M.F. Kazakov.

However, when studying the capital's monuments, small discoveries periodically occur. Thus, in 2001, art critics I.V. Ryazantsev and O.S. Evangulova published a fragment of a document clarifying the attribution of the house of the nobles Baryshnikovs on Myasnitskaya Street in Moscow. Although the authorship of the mansion “with columns of very beautiful architecture” is quite convincingly attributed to M.F. and M.F. Kazakov is not even mentioned in it.

According to A.I. Baryshnikov, the mansion was “built” by a certain architect Strakhov - a completely unknown name in the history of Russian architecture. Whom to believe: a contemporary, besides the son of the customer of the work, or modern researchers? The truth most likely lies somewhere in the middle. The fact is that for the XVIII century. there is no difference between the concepts of “designer”, which, most likely, was M.F. Kazakov, and “builder”, who actually embodied the architectural project and was perceived by the customer as the author of the entire structure (in the literature, in connection with this house as a builder the name of another architect passes by - Zhdanov, the former serf of the Baryshnikovs) 14.

The name of M.F. Kazakov is traditionally associated with the church-tomb of the Baryshnikovs in their Smolensk estate Nikolo-Pogoreloe, which does not exist now. The well-known Soviet art critic M.A. Ilyin, analyzing the artistic features of this monument, settled on the fact that its authors are M.F. Kazakov (architecture) and F.I. Shubin (sculpture). According to F.N. Glinka, published by the same I.V. Ryazantsev and O.S. Evangulova, “All these stucco paintings were made by the Russian artist Mr. Polyakov, a graduate of the Academy, which, as they say, sent a member on purpose to examine his work. in this church: glory to the Russian artist!” fifteen . It was possible to establish that Glinka had in mind Boris Ivanovich Polyakov, who was also an architect: in 1775 he oversaw the construction of the Khodynka pavilions, and therefore could not help but be personally acquainted with Kazakov. It cannot be ruled out that Polyakov could have been a co-author of not only the sculptural, but also the architectural designs of the temple-mausoleum in Nikolo-Pogorely. This idea is indirectly confirmed by the testimony of the art historian L.I. Batalov, who examined the church in Nikolo-Pogorely in 1940. “Here it is difficult to speak separately about the interior, such a single organism that it is impossible to separate” 17, he wrote. It is also necessary to take into account the duration of the construction of the temple, which dragged on for 18 years (from 1784 to 1802), but, despite this, it was distinguished by the thoroughness of execution.

Today, the seemingly textbook attribution of the church in the Bykovo estate near Moscow to V.I. Bazhenov, and not to M.F. Kazakov, no longer seems convincing. Yu.Ya.Gerchuk, working in the Russian State Archive of Literature and Art with the archive of the architect I.E. Bondarenko, discovered a document on the transfer in 1939 by the Ramensky District Executive Committee of the contract for the construction of this church to the Museum Department of the Narkompros, and the contract was "written by the contractor - builder Vladimir merchant of the 3rd guild Filat Stepanov Kiryukhin on the architecture of the architect of Russian architecture M.F. Kazakov "18.

The master's house in the Cheryomushki estate (now within the boundaries of Moscow), which was previously considered the work of the "Cossack school" 19, acquired the name of its author. But it turned out to be not a Muscovite, but a graduate of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, Francis-Konrad Christopher Wilster. This name is still little known to architectural historians, although it was included in reference books.

The author of these lines managed to clarify how fully Kazakov managed to realize his plan during the construction of the estate in Konkovo, because. So far, there has been no reliable data on this. In the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts, materials were found about a trip to Konkovo ​​in 1803 by the architect I.V. Egotov. The expedition of the Kremlin building sent him there to find out the state of the Kazakov buildings in Konkovo.

According to I.V. Egotov, by 1803 a palace, a horse yard with a barn and a wooden hut, as well as a “remains of a cellar” and a certain “stone building” were preserved there. Since I.V. Egotov found that the vast majority of buildings did not make sense to restore (with the exception of the “stone building”, which can be restored for the clergy of the local church), the Kremlin Building Expedition sold them for demolition. So M.F. Kazakov, like V.I. Bazhenov before, had to endure the demolition of his own buildings.

The fate of Kazakov's legacy

Despite the revolutionary changes of the last 15 years, it was not possible to solve the problem of protecting monuments in our country, and in other CIS countries as well. It is no coincidence that this time was a period of unfortunate losses, affecting even the brightest Cossack monuments. Here are the most significant ones.

In the 1990s The building of the Senate in the Moscow Kremlin was reconstructed for the residence of the President of Russia. In violation of the requirements of the law, a scientific restoration project was not carried out, field studies were not carried out, a semi-circle of cellars and the original white stone porch were destroyed, and the layout was partially changed.

The only unspoiled royal palace in Moscow - the Petrovsky Travel Palace - is being reconstructed into a departmental hotel of the Government of Moscow (dated May 19, 1998 No. 392). Moreover, the resolution operates with the term "reconstruction", which is not applicable to the architectural heritage.

Significant danger threatens the Grand Palace in the estate of Tsaritsyno. The Moscow authorities wanted to complete it - under a certain art gallery, which in reality does not exist. As a result, we will lose the original, which will turn into our own copy. Despite public protests, plans to complete the palace are in the works.

The economic building of the estate of the Moscow Governor-General (Voznesensky lane, 22) was completely demolished. This area in the early 1990s. was handed over for the construction of the Business Center of the Government of Moscow. By order of the Mayor of Moscow (No. 1008-RP dated 06/07/94), the monument was dismantled, and the vacant place was built up.

The buildings included in the famous “Albums of Particular Structures” by M.F. Kazakov are also leaving. Tarasov's estate (1/2 Sergiy Radonezhsky St.) was dismantled in 1995 by order of the Mayor of Moscow. Despite the clearly illegal nature of this order, the Moscow prosecutor's office twice refused the All-Russian Society for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments to open a criminal case into the demolition. The refusal is motivated as follows: dismantling is not demolition.

In 1996, by order of the Moscow authorities, a building with a store in the estate of the princes Meshchersky (17 Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street) was demolished, on the site of which a modern house was built. And in 1998, there were no four buildings of the monument of federal significance - the Saltykov estate (Tverskoy Boulevard, 27/10/1), which was previously occupied by the Central City Public Library. Nekrasov. Among the demolished buildings is the only outbuilding that retained the appearance of the Cossack time, overlooking Bolshaya Bronnaya Street 22.

Every year there is less and less of Kazakov's Moscow, and the bright name of one of the founders of Russian classicism is already powerless to save it...

Notes

Cit. on: Bazhenov V.I.. Letters. Explanations for projects. Contemporaneous testimonies. biographical documents. M., 2001. S. 185. Catherine II: "until the time is right to remain as before" S. 274.

Cit. by ed.:

12 Altshuller B.L. and other Monuments of architecture of the Moscow region. T. 2. M., 1975. S. 61.

13 Podyapolskaya E.N., Razumovskaya A.A., Smirnov G.K. Monuments of architecture of the Moscow region. pp. 15-26.

14 Baryshnikovs and their estates (according to family notes) // Russian estate. Collection of the Society for the Study of the Russian Estate. Issue. 7. M., 2001. S. 377-388.

15 Ryazantsev I.V. Evangulova O.S. A contemporary of Pushkin about the church-mausoleum in the "village of P ..." // Russian estate. Collection of the Society for the Study of the Russian Estate. Issue. 6. M., 2000. S. 114.

16 Ryazantsev I.V. Evangulova O.S. A contemporary of Pushkin ... S. 107-116.

17[Batalov L.I.] “Notes on the mausoleum in Nik. Pogorelom" architect L.I. Batalov // Russian estate. Collection of the Society for the Study of the Russian Estate. Issue. 6. M., 2000. S. 118.

18 Cit. on: Bazhenov V.I.. Letters. Explanations for projects. Contemporaneous testimonies. biographical documents. M., 2001. S. 32.

19 Ilyin M.A. Moscow. Artistic monuments of the city. M., 1968. S. 286.

20 Perfilieva L.A. Cheryomushki-Znamenskoye // Manor necklace of the South-West of Moscow. M., 1997. S. 29-31.

21 Korobko M.Yu. Palace of Catherine II in the village of Konkovo ​​// Royal and Imperial Palaces. M., 1997. S. 142-145.

M.K. (Matvei Matveevich Kazakov). About Matvey Fedorovich Kazakov // Russian Bulletin. 1816.
№ 11.

Bondarenko I.E. Architect Matvey Fedorovich Kazakov (1738-1813), M., 1938.

Ilyin M.A. Facade plan of Moscow by M.F. Kazakov // Architectural heritage. [c.] 9. M. - L., 1959.

Ilyin M.A. Kazakov. M., 1955.

Architectural albums by M.F.Kazakov // Preparation for publication, article and comments by E.A.Beletskaya. M., 1956.

Vlasyuk A.I., Kaplun A.I., Kiparisova A.A. Kazakov. M., 1957.

Mikhail KOROBKO,
laureate of the Makariev Prize

There is a legend that the great Russian architect Matvey Kazakov died at the age of 73 from a heart attack when he learned about the fire of 1812 in Moscow - he himself was forcibly taken away by children to Ryazan. Like it or not, we will probably never know. But the life and work of the architect, who spent his whole life decorating the Mother See, have been studied perfectly, and MOSLENTA invites you to read about the master. What's more, the story is very intriguing. But first, let us recall what Kazakov did for Moscow.

First urban planner

A significant part of the buildings built by Kazakov still survived the invasion of Napoleon. The master has always paid great attention to the quality of construction, he himself checked the materials and the accuracy of the work, therefore, his houses can be considered exemplary in terms of strength and durability. They withstood not only the fire of 1812, but also numerous hardships of subsequent centuries. Perhaps his main and iconic works are the Traveling Palace and the Kremlin Senate, which delighted Catherine the Great.

Moscow fire of 1812.

In addition, Kazakov was the first architect of Moscow who began to deal with issues of urban planning. At a certain stage, he realized that the development of the city cannot be based on the creation of separate houses, a unified system for designing streets, squares, quarters, etc. is needed. Buildings must obey a single idea, otherwise architectural cacophony is inevitable.

And the master brought up many talented students, for example, Osip Bove and Ivan Egotov, who not only rebuilt Moscow after the fire, but also continued his work. We may return to them, but later.

Serf's grandson

The origin of Matvey Fedorovich Kazakov, with all the desire, cannot be called noble. His grandfather was a serf, his father grew up in the countryside and, according to the recruiting quota, was commissioned into soldiers, or rather, into sailors. Fortunately, he was literate and had beautiful handwriting, thanks to which he was sent to serve not on a ship, but in the Moscow Admiralty Commissariat, where he was instructed to make copies of documents.

Over time, Fedor Mikhailovich advanced in the service and took the position of a sub-clerk, which freed him from serfdom. He started a family, children and settled somewhere near the Borovitsky bridge across the Neglinka. This is approximately where a monument to Prince Vladimir was recently erected.

When Matthew was only twelve, his father passed away. The family retained their freedom, but their livelihood was tight. And yet, Matvey's mother Fedosya Semyonovna, seeing her son's talent for drawing, was able to attach him to Dmitry Ukhtomsky's only architectural school in Moscow at that time. She did not have the opportunity to pay, but Ukhtomsky went to meet the widow. We have come across a very curious letter written by him:

Kazakov Matvei Fyodorovich

“... and I have seen the chief clerk of the commissariat of the deceased under-clerk Fyodor Kazakov, the son of Matvey Kazakov (who has not yet been assigned to affairs anywhere), who, according to my position, is capable of written correction and, due to his natural desire to study architecture, is inclined, who, according to his arithmetic in a short time almost all trained; For that, for the sake of the ruling senate of the office, I humbly ask that the aforementioned Matvey Kazakov be ordered to be assigned to my team as students for teaching architectural science with rewards against junior architecture students for a ruble for a month of salary, which, meanwhile, can correct written cases in my position ". (original spelling retained)

So, thanks to talent and diligence, already at the age of twelve, Matvey Kazakov began to earn and feed not only himself, but also his large family. Here it is necessary to talk in more detail about the person who played such an important role in the life of the future architect Kazakov - Prince Dmitry Vasilyevich Ukhtomsky.

teacher and benefactor

Prince Ukhtomsky (by the way, a real prince, Rurikovich, a direct descendant of Yuri Dolgoruky) undoubtedly played an outstanding role in the history of Russian architecture. Unfortunately, few of his creations have come down to us - except perhaps the gate church of the Donskoy Monastery and the bell tower in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra - but he brought up a whole galaxy of great architects.

The “Palace School” he created, located in the house of the Senate Printing House in Okhotny Ryad, became the first special architectural educational institution in the country, all our Moscow Architectural Institutes, Stroganovkas, etc. begin with it. Ukhtomsky played a huge role in the life and creative development of Pyotr Nikitin, Vasily Bazhenov, Ivan Stary, Alexander Kokorinov and, of course, Matvey Kazakov. With regard to the latter, one can say not only that Ukhtomsky was a teacher - he became a second father to a poor orphan.

For ten years - approximately from 1750 to 1760 - Kazakov studied at the Ukhtomsky school. He comprehended in it general education sciences, and painting, and mathematics, and the ability to behave in a decent society. And, of course, architecture, both theory and practice. Of course, an outstanding talent was given to Matvey by nature, but such professional skills as the ability to understand the customer’s desire, draw up a project that satisfies him and accurately calculate the estimate (which will always be Kazakov’s hallmark) were laid down at Ukhtomsky’s school.

The project of the architectural school of Dmitry Ukhtomsky.

After graduation, Kazakov continued to work in the prince's workshop and began teaching at the junior courses of his school, until the moment when the school was closed, and the master himself did not come under investigation. However, this is a completely different and rather tragic story.

Kazakov received his first independent practice in Tver. The city burned down badly in 1763, and a team of Moscow architects was sent to restore it, under the leadership of Pyotr Romanovich Nikitin, a student and associate of Ukhtomsky. Kazakov, who already had the title of "architecture lieutenant", also went to Tver and drew attention to himself when creating the Travel Palace. Upon returning to Moscow, the architect goes to work in the Expedition of the Kremlin Building, which had just been headed by his old friend Vasily Bazhenov.

Two masters

The fates of these two outstanding masters surprisingly turned out to be intertwined. They are the same age, both native Muscovites, coming from the very bottom of the social classes (which, by the way, leads one to think about the supposed absence of “social elevators” in the serfdom era). Thanks to their outstanding talent, both ended up in the Ukhtomsky school, but Vasily Bazhenov, under the patronage of Ivan Shuvalov, quickly moved to St. Petersburg, and Matvey Kazakov remained in Moscow.

Then Bazhenov went to Europe, became an academician of several French and Italian Academies, while Kazakov did not leave Tver. By 1768, Bazhenov was one step ahead of his comrade both in terms of rank in the table of ranks and in terms of fame in society, therefore he became the head of the Kremlin construction, and Kazakov - one of his assistants. Soon everything will change - Bazhenov's grandiose plan will not be realized in this way, and Kazakov will build the Senate in the Kremlin and rebuild the Arsenal, at the same time restore the dismantled walls.

It is believed that the whole thing is in politics - it is no secret that Bazhenov was a Freemason and was friends with Novikov. Perhaps, although the personal qualities of the masters are also important. Bazhenov was an artist, creator and romantic. For him, the artistic conception, ideology and aesthetics of the project were primary, even to the detriment of the customer's wishes. Kazakov, on the other hand, knew how to correlate his creative ambitions with reality. Apparently, he was more flexible than his colleagues, he was better able to negotiate and convince. He was more realistic, and therefore managed to build much more.

Monument to Vasily Bazhenov and Matvey Kazakov in Tsaritsyno.

Ruslan Krivobok / RIA Novosti

And the Kremlin's history will repeat itself in Tsaritsyno - Bazhenov will begin the construction of the palace complex, and Kazakov will finish it. During the construction of the Grand Palace, he preserved the ideas of his comrade as much as possible, bringing them in line with the requirements of the customer, that is, he kept the sheep whole and the wolves turned out to be full.

There was an episode when they worked together as equals. This happened when creating pavilions on the Khodynka field for the celebration of the victory over the Turks in 1775, and the joint experience was successful: after that, Catherine the Great instructed Kazakov to build the Petrovsky Travel Palace. But after the death of the empress, fate again changed her attitude towards the masters. Bazhenov finally gained recognition: he became vice-president of the Academy of Arts, received an order from Paul for the construction of the imperial palace. Kazakov remained in Moscow. But the monument in front of the Tsaritsyno Palace was placed together by two masters, and this is absolutely fair.

Gothic castle on Khodynka

The Petrovsky Travel Palace is one of the brightest creations of Kazakov and, perhaps, the least characteristic. Kazakov is considered an apologist for classicism, one might even say, one of the pillars of this new style for Russia at that time, and suddenly - unexpected gothic with a clear touch of primordially Russian traditions. It is possible that this was the result of the influence of Bazhenov and their joint work on the Khodynka field, where their first experiments with neo-Gothic took place. Then Bazhenov uses this experience in Tsaritsyno, and Kazakov during the construction of the Petrovsky track.

In the scientific literature, an opinion has formed that the author of the neo-Gothic style is still Bazhenov, although there are no exact indications of this and, rather, this is a tribute to the tradition and image of Vasily Ivanovich as an innovator and dreamer. However, in this Kazakov was not much inferior to his comrade, and it is quite possible to say that the new style was the result of a creative dialogue between architects.

The masters seemed to compete with each other, inventing completely new architectural motifs within the framework of the chosen theme. So Bazhenov in Tsaritsyno focused on Moorish motives. And Kazakov’s Gothic arch decor is quite combined with clear classical symmetry and the “signature” rotunda with a dome above the central building of the palace.

Petrovsky Travel Palace.

V. Robinov / RIA Novosti

And here is a mass of purely Russian details: architraves, arches with weights, patterned belts, pitcher-shaped pillars, which make this pseudo-Gothic castle related to Russian palaces of previous centuries - the Kremlin Teremny or Kolomna. A closer look at it makes it clear that the author was not going to strictly adhere to the Gothic canon - rather, he plays with different styles, combining and intertwining elements.

By the way, the Travel Palace is called because it stands on the road - the Tsar's way from St. Petersburg to Moscow. Along it there was a chain of such palaces, Kazakovskiy - the closest to Moscow, exactly one unhurried equestrian crossing from the Kremlin. There the empress was going to rest and spend the night on the eve of entering the Mother See. And Petrovsky - since these lands previously belonged to the Vysokopetrovsky monastery, the one on the corner of the boulevard ring and Petrovka street.

Moscow classic

The pseudo-Gothic Petrovsky Palace is just an experiment, a stylistic exception, and Kazakov created almost all his other creations in the traditions of “pure” classicism, or “Palladianism” (the name of the classical style, according to an established tradition, is associated with the name of the great Italian architect Andrea Palladio). In fact, he created it, at least in Moscow, although the first experiments in this style still belong to Bazhenov.

The surviving model of the Bazhenov Kremlin shows typical classical porticoes, squares rusticated in the antique manner, colonnades, pilasters and other style attributes. Kazakov worked with Bazhenov for six years and, apparently, was imbued with these ideas. And by the way, neither Ukhtomsky, nor Nikitin, nor any of the teachers and senior colleagues of Matvey Fedorovich worked in this direction.

Senate building.

Kremlin.ru / Wikipedia

One of the first and most famous creations of Kazakov in the tradition of classicism is the building of the Senate, founded in 1776. Ideologically, this is a continuation of Bazhenov's work. Despite the complexity of the layout - it had to be built on a triangular site, since the Kremlin was built up - Kazakov managed to maintain the symmetry of the wings, inscribe order features and, of course, a dome with a rotunda, which would become the hallmark of the master. A minimum of decor, no frills, no more than two colors, but at the same time, incredible structural strength. The building managed to serve the imperial Senate, then the Moscow city services and the Soviet government. Now it is the residence of the head of Russia and the presidential standard is flying over the Kazakov rotunda.

An amusing legend is connected with the construction of the Senate. Kazakov designed the dome of the rotunda of the central Catherine's Hall with a thickness of only one brick, which caused bewilderment and even fear among the high commission. Then the architect climbed onto the dome and did not leave it for half an hour, dancing and stamping his feet. The commission was convinced.

For the last two decades of the 18th century, the master and his students worked hard and created: they built residential buildings, palaces, estates near Moscow, hospitals, churches. There were so many orders that Kazakov began to make conditionally standard projects, on the basis of which, with minimal modifications, it was possible to quickly create a specific house.

For example, it was Kazakov who came up with the idea of ​​a city palace, with a facade right along the so-called red line of streets. Prior to this, the estates were made mainly U-shaped with a palace in the depths, side wings and front gates between them went out onto the street, respectively. Bazhenov began to make high multi-storey palaces in the classical style, which stood right on the street, and outbuildings, on the contrary, moved inward.

The work of the outstanding architect of the 18th century, Matvey Fedorovich Kazakov, one of the founders of the architecture of Russian classicism in Moscow, can rightly be considered a remarkable phenomenon in the history of Russian culture.

THE SON OF THE ARCHITECT WRITTEN SUBSEQUENTLY ABOUT THE FATHER:

“HE DID NOT TAKEN LESSONS FROM ANY OF THE FOREIGNERS

AND NEVER LEAVED RUSSIA; LEADING

NATURAL ABILITIES AND EXAMPLES OF THEIR PRECURSORS ... "

LIFE AND CREATION

Activity - Matvey Fedorovich Kazakov covers more than 50 years, starting from the 60s of the XVIII century and ending with the first decade of the XIX century. The "industrious genius" left a mark on the history of architecture, and as the most prolific Russian architect of the 18th century, the number of his Moscow buildings is almost unbelievably large. The works of Kazakov and his famous contemporaries - V. I. Bazhenov, I. E. Starov and others - put forward Russian classical architecture to the first roles in the history of world architecture. Their buildings and projects testify to the brilliant creative development of the methods and principles of the world architectural heritage, to the harmonious combination of new art with the artistic traditions of national architecture. So, in St. Petersburg, Starov created the Tauride Palace, glorified by poets, in Moscow Bazhenov developed a project for the grandiose Kremlin Palace and built the famous Pashkov House, Kazakov erected in the same city the majestic Senate building and the unsurpassed university building, as well as many other beautiful public and private houses. At the same time, he did not receive education abroad, did not study at the Academy, but was brought up in a Moscow environment under the influence of its cultural and artistic traditions. The architect had almost no contact with the architectural life of St. Petersburg, remaining aloof from the huge construction activity of the rapidly growing capital. In addition, he left a great graphic legacy: he depicted the best examples of the classical architecture of Moscow, almost completely destroyed in the fire of 1812.

Now the name of Matvey Fedorovich Kazakov defines a whole era in the architecture of Moscow. Thanks to Kazakov, the ancient capital turned from a "large village", as the inhabitants of St. Petersburg called it, into a city with beautiful architecture. Although the architect's activity has far crossed the borders of his native city, his creations are often called "Kazakov's Moscow" - a holistic and significant concept that reveals the features of the art of Russian classicism at the end of the 18th century.

ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION

Matvey Fedorovich Kazakov was born on October 28, 1738. His father, Fyodor Kazakov, came from a serf, was a petty employee of the old Moscow Commissariat. A poor family lived in Sadovniki near the Kremlin, near the Borovitsky bridge. The boy received his initial knowledge of reading and writing from the deacon of the neighboring Kosmodemyanskaya church.

He lost his father early. The petition filed by Kazakov’s mother to appoint his son to the service was followed by a Senate decree: “To teach the architecture of the Main Commissariat of the deceased under-clerk Kazakov’s son Matvey ... to determine with the award of salaries against younger students at a ruble per month.” The boy was helped by M. M. Izmailov, who was then the head of the Commissariat. He drew attention to a teenager walking through the scaffolding of construction sites and constantly drawing. So in 1751, at the age of 13, Kazakov entered the famous first architectural school of Prince D. V. Ukhtomsky, opened two years earlier. Particular attention was paid to drawing and drafting, familiarization with practical work. The training took place according to the famous treatises of Vitruvius, Palladio, Vignola, the writings of the French theorist of the XVIII century Blondel. In addition to the theory of architecture, these books contained excellent engravings of the most famous buildings of classical antiquity, the works of the great architects of Italy and France of the 16th-18th centuries. At the same time, a love for ancient Russian architecture was persistently instilled in the students.

Kazakov's youth was spent in stubborn comprehension of theory in close connection with practice, which consisted of careful measurements of antiquities, restoration of dilapidated buildings of the Kremlin, drawing up drawings and estimates, and work on construction sites for teachers. This turned out to be his main school. Hence, a characteristic feature of all Kazakov's work is the synthesis of the foundations of the classics and traditions of ancient Russian architecture. Soon he became a junior assistant to Ukhtomsky, who during these years was building the Kuznetsky Bridge across the Neglinnaya River, completing the Arsenal in the Kremlin, the “reserve palace” at the Red Gate, reconstructing the building of the Main Pharmacy and adapting the buildings of the former government offices for the newly opened Moscow University. Subsequently, all theoretical principles and practical exercises were perpetuated by the already established master Kazakov in the "new" classical style.

In 1760 Ukhtomsky retired. The school was headed by P. R. Nikitin, who had previously been his assistant. In his place, he nominated the young Kazakov, who in the same year left the school and received the rank of "ensign architecture".

FIRST INDEPENDENT WORKS

Matvey Fedorovich was appointed to the team of Nikitin, who became the chief architect of Moscow. At this time, Kazakov was building in the city of Yablonev, while working in the Moscow Kremlin. In one of the Kremlin churches, he completed the design of the iconostasis, which was later transferred to St. Basil's Cathedral.

For the first time, Kazakov's talent manifested itself especially clearly during the restoration of Tver after the fire of 1763, when the city burned down almost entirely. That event made a huge impression on the whole country: the need to carry out serious urban reforms in many cities became obvious, since crowded buildings, crooked streets and lanes contributed to natural disasters and fires.

A team of architects was sent to Tver, headed by Nikitin, who included the young Kazakov in it (they also included: Kvasov, Beletsky, Karin, Selekhov, Egotov, Obukhov). Nikitin in a short time thought over the project of a new Tver, deservedly considered one of the best in Russian urban planning of the 18th century. Kazakov was entrusted with the detailing and refinement of the general plan, the creation of plans for the facade development. Here the architect acted as an independent master: he designed N. A. Demidov’s trading office, grocery stores, facades of government buildings on the main square, “business” and residential buildings, including standard projects designed for various social strata. Catherine II, who attached great importance to Tver as a large settlement on the way between St. Petersburg and Moscow, instructed Kazakov to build, "without sparing human labor", on the ruins of the burnt bishop's house, the empress's travel palace - the main building in the city.

The restoration of Tver in two and a half years, a short period for that time, immediately promoted Kazakov to the ranks of the country's first architects. He also attracted attention as a talented craftsman who knew how to build in the “new taste”. Therefore, it was to him that P.F. Nashchokin ordered the project of the church in his estate near Moscow, Rai-Semenovskoye. Kazakov did an excellent job with his first serious private assignment. And when I. I. Betsky had the idea to arrange an Orphanage in Moscow, Matvey Fedorovich was invited to carry out the projects of the “facade part”. He drew up a plan for the façade and the whole vast area with picturesque cultivation of squares, green spaces, embankments and beautiful slopes to the Moscow River.

COOPERATION WITH BAZHENOV

Of great importance for the creative growth of Kazakov was cooperation with V.I. Bazhenov, who in 1768 called him, as his closest assistant, to the "Expedition to build the Kremlin Palace." Fate united the efforts and talents of two remarkable Russian architects for seven years for the sake of building "the most glorious building in the world" - the Grand Kremlin Palace. This work became for Kazakov the highest architectural school. Bazhenov studied in the largest art centers in Europe: Paris, Rome, Florence; behind him was the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. His broadest architectural erudition, extraordinary creative scope complemented and polished Kazakov's talent. In the creations of Matvey Fedorovich, techniques are found similar to those of his boss: in the compositions of plans and volumes, in the architecture of facades.

Bazhenov's grandiose plan was not carried out to the end: the construction of the palace, which began in 1773, was canceled in 1775 due to the excessive costs ahead and the precipitation of the Kremlin cathedrals. In the same 1775, Kazakov was approved as an independent architect, but nevertheless, until the mid-80s of the 18th century, his joint work with Bazhenov continued in the Expedition.

At this stage, they developed in the forms of Russian architecture a design project for the Khodynka field, where festivities were planned on the occasion of the end of the Russian-Turkish war (1768-1774) by the Kyuchuk-Kaynardzhy peace treaty. In a series of etchings, Kazakov depicted the Khodyn entertainment buildings. He worked hard on the drafting of individual halls and their construction. Catherine II, noting her satisfaction with the work of the architect, entrusted Kazakov with the project of the new Petrovsky "access" palace, located opposite the Khodynka pavilions. Having built this ensemble, Matvey Fedorovich stood on a par with the largest representatives of the pseudo-Gothic direction: Russian, or false Gothic, to the forms of which he repeatedly returned in his creative activity. Thus unfolded the broad activities of Kazakov, who by that time had grown into a fully mature architect. Huge success since then did not leave him until his death.

FIRST MAJOR PROJECTS

In the 1770s, Kazakov showed great skill in his first major buildings in Moscow. Independently continuing the reconstruction of the Moscow Kremlin, he also erected the Senate building in 1776-1787 - one of his most significant creations, in which the principles of Russian architecture of the second half of the 18th century were already clearly identified. At the same time, Kazakov was building the estate of Petrovskoe-Alabino (1775-1785) on the Demidov estate near Moscow. A feature of the ensemble was an unusual composition. In the center of the square front yard is the main building, which has the shape of a square with cut corners, which is why the volume of the building seemed triangular. According to the project of Kazakov, in 1776, a city estate was built for Prince S. V. Gagarin at the Petrovsky Gates, its style of early Moscow classicism, tectonics, and light decorative design were perfect.

A distinctive feature of Kazakov's work is versatility. With the same perfection, he built monumental government buildings, palaces of original architecture, large estates. He owns the idea of ​​the classical form of expression of temple structures - the roton church, which was used by him in the construction of the Baryshnikov mausoleum in Nikolskoye-Pogoreliy (1774-1802), in Moscow - when creating the churches of St. 1788-1793), Saints Cosmas and Damian on Maroseyka (1791-1793) and others.

In the late 1770s - 1780s, large-scale palace and estate construction was carried out, especially private, or, as they were called, "particular" houses in Moscow. The formation of the architecture of Russian classicism was accompanied by the rise of urban planning. From the point of view of urban development, the state and private buildings built at that time by Kazakov were of great importance, they were among the highest achievements of Russian classicism.

In 1782, Matvey Fedorovich began the construction of the Moscow University building, which was carried out in three stages for more than ten years. The architect abandoned the complicated elements, the abundance of sculpture, seeking simplicity and majesty of the structure. As a result, the building of the university organically entered the ensemble of the center of Moscow, and its appearance resembled a large city estate.

In 1786, Kazakov led the "Kremlin Expedition", which carried out the main state construction work in Moscow. In fact, he became the chief architect of the city. At this time, his talent was revealed most fully. The architect continuously received orders for the construction of private palaces and houses, and also carried out state design orders in Moscow and other cities of the Russian Empire (Ekaterinoslav, Istra, Kolomna and others). In those years, the old capital experienced a real "construction fever".

URBAN PLANNING AND ARCHITECTURAL DEVELOPMENTS OF KAZAKOV

Of the town-planning and architectural developments of Kazakov, the arrangement of the central squares and streets of Moscow is of interest. The houses erected by him determined the appearance of Ilyinka - the only Moscow street in the 18th century, the buildings on which stood with a "solid facade" in compliance with a single height. Among them is the house of the merchants Kalinin and Pavlov (not preserved), built in the late 1780s on the site of the demolished old Embassy yard. It is famous for being one of the first buildings in Moscow that combined residential and commercial functions and met the practical requirements of the time, that is, it was something like a residential Gostiny Dvor. And the public purpose of the building was an innovation.

This house occupied a considerable part of the street and ended up on it, thus making out the main entrance to the new square planned on Ilyinka. In accordance with its place and social significance, it was executed in solemn monumental forms, and its leading place in the ensemble being created was emphasized by a “strong” Corinthian portico. The quarter next to it was occupied by Khryashchev's house (not preserved), which had rounded corners and a gallery that went around it; it was close in height to the neighboring Kalinin house, but was made in other architectural forms. Viewed mainly from the street, and not from the square, it was without major plastic drops. It was dominated by horizontal articulations, emphasized by a cornice that was heavily extended and enriched with modulons, which completed the second floor.

The most integral in terms of architecture at that time was Tverskaya Street in the segment between Okhotny Ryad and Tverskoy Boulevard. It was the main street of the city, almost entirely occupied by the palaces of the nobility. In 1773, during a fire, the wooden houses on it burned out, and almost all of the stone ones were damaged, which made it possible to build up Tverskaya in a relatively unified architectural appearance. For twenty years, Kazakov erected and reconstructed almost all the most significant buildings on this site and developed a plan for the layout and architectural design of Tverskaya Square. Here, the distinctive features of Kazakov's work appeared, striving for the maximum strengthening of regularity and giving balance to the sides of the street. This was especially clearly demonstrated by the buildings placed on the red line, the order of architecture, approximately the same number of storeys and height of buildings. The House of the Governor-General (now - the Moscow Mayor's Office) on Tverskaya Square was built by Kazakov and supplemented with buildings in 1782. There was already a project for it and even the basement was laid out. This is the only case when the architect built a building according to someone else's plan. But the entrance from the street, the interiors and the main staircase were planned by him personally. In the early 1790s, simultaneously with the completion of the construction of the university building on Mokhovaya Street, the architect also completed the University Noble Boarding House on Tverskaya (a noble institute with a boarding house), decorating it with a strict Tuscan portico.

A NEW VISION OF A RESIDENTIAL HOUSE

The role of Kazakov is also great in the creation of a new classical type of urban residential building of the late 18th century - a palace that was put forward on the red line of the street, and the outbuildings and services were located on the sides of the house or were transferred behind it. Of the residential buildings erected by Kazakov in Moscow, Golitsyn's house on Lubyanka, Prozorovsky's and Kozitskaya's houses on Tverskaya, Demidov's on Gorokhovsky Lane and Gubin on Petrovka were distinguished by a common compositional scheme. Characteristic for them were the compactness of the plan and volume, as well as proportional ratios of length, height and width (approaching the ratio of two squares and their diagonals, or three squares). However, despite the generality of the basic constructions, their architecture is diverse in artistic techniques. Matvey Fedorovich also built estates according to the traditional scheme of Russian noble estates - with a cour d'honneur, which was often determined by the way of life of customers.

Kazakov was the first in Moscow to build large apartment buildings, as well as relatively small comfortable residential mansions, which then only began to appear in the city. These buildings are master examples of the unity of functional, constructive and aesthetic principles of architecture. In them, Kazakov boldly used new techniques, introducing the achievements of science and technology of his time into architecture. Deep understanding of architecture from the point of view of its vital, public purpose, great economy, expediency and wit of planning and constructive methods, artistic perfection of the whole and every detail distinguished Kazakov's buildings.

When designing residential buildings, Matvey Fedorovich strove for greater expressiveness of architectural elements and, following the peculiarities of the development of style, moved away from being crushed, more revealing the tectonics of the wall. At the end of the 1780s, a system of three-part facade construction with a portico of a large order in the center and a small order framed by windows or balcony doors of the side risalits, which became characteristic of his work, developed in the late 1780s. This technique achieved the expressiveness of Baryshnikov's house on Myasnitskaya Street.

The architect paid much attention to the development of interiors, the monumentality of which in most cases was emphasized by the simple volumes of the halls, covered with domes or mirror vaults. Columns, pilasters, cornices were used in their decorative processing. The architectural decoration of the walls was complemented by painting. The surviving interiors of the "Golden Rooms" in the Demidov's house, the Senate building, the Hall of Columns of the House of the Noble Assembly allow us to judge Kazakov as an amazing master of interior decoration.

In one of the last and most significant works of Kazakov - the Golitsyn and Pavlovsk hospitals - the progressive features of Russian architecture of the second half of the 18th century were generalized.

By the beginning of the 1800s, the architectural forms of Kazakov's buildings became even more concise, and techniques began to be traced in his work, which were further developed in the architecture of the first quarter of the 19th century.

PEDAGOGICAL TALENT KAZAKOV

It should be noted that Matvey Fedorovich had a great pedagogical talent, having organized a new system of education. His house in Zlatoustovsky Lane was not just the home of the Kazakov family: it was here, under the guidance of the master, that the architectural school operated for many years, from which came Yegotov, Bakarev, Bove, Karin, Mironovsky, Tamansky, Selekhov, Rodion Kazakov, the Polivanov brothers and others. All three sons of the architect - Vasily, Matvey and Pavel - became his assistants and, guided by their father, carried out their projects. Continuous continuity connects the "Kazakov school" with the current Moscow Institute of Architecture.

In 1799, the Academy of Arts, at the suggestion of its vice-president Bazhenov, issued a decree on the publication of books "Russian Architecture", including drawings with plans, facades and sections of buildings and unrealized projects for various purposes, "which, according to their good taste and architecture, deserve will." Kazakov took an active part in the preparation of the unrealized edition of the drawings, compiling albums of "official" (10) and "particular" (6) buildings of Moscow. The first album contains drawings of 19 Kazakov's buildings, of which only five have survived in their original form: Dolgorukov's house (later - the building of the Noble Assembly), Gubin's house on Petrovka, Baryshnikov's house on Myasnitskaya street, Demidov's house in Gorokhovsky lane, Gagarin's house in Armenian lane. At the same time, Kazakov was doing the difficult work of compiling a "facade", that is, an axonometric plan of Moscow and shooting a general plan of the city showing all its buildings. They were carried out not to fix the architecture of the city, but also to indicate the "situation" for its further development. One of the features of the "facade" plan was the illustration of the tables of the atlas with large-scale views of the architectural ensembles of the city. According to Kazakov's drawings, one can judge the original appearance of the few buildings that have come down to us, which were destroyed by a fire in 1812.

When the French army approached Moscow in 1812, the Kazakov family took the sick architect to Ryazan. Here he learned about the fire in the old capital and that almost everything he created throughout his life turned into ashes. He could not bear this shock, and on November 7, 1812, the great builder of Moscow died. Matvey Fedorovich Kazakov was buried in the Trinity Monastery on the outskirts of the city.

In the creative biography of Kazakov, attention is drawn to the unusual variety of practical activities of the master. A complete list of the works of this architect takes many dozens of pages. For his time, he was a leading architect and major urban planner, who created a number of remarkable ensembles of Moscow at the end of the 18th century and largely determined new ways of developing the architectural appearance of the city. Unlike the architects of St. Petersburg, who built the city, essentially, from scratch, the master was able to successfully fit the works of the "new" style into the ancient quarters of Moscow. In the best works of Kazakov, Russian classicism appears as a deeply independent architectural style, as a phenomenon of Russian artistic culture, bursting like a full-flowing and powerful stream into the general channel of world architecture.

Today, November 7, is the birthday of the architect Matvey Kazakov (not to be confused with Rodion Kazakov). As for me, then ... "GUY, I DO NOT REPRESENT MOSCOW WITHOUT A KING LIKE HE" - HE, this is MATVEY KAZAKOV, and not Lenka, like Bulat Okudzhava, sorry for paraphrasing, but MATVEY KAZAKOV is the real KING of Moscow pre-fire architecture, and post-fire too.
And since I started with myself, my beloved and my impression of Kazakov’s works, and his creations have accompanied me all my life, I want to show you one of his buildings, not the best, not the most famous, but very dear and close to me:

Matvey Kazakov Manor of Muravyov-Apostol on Staro-Basmannaya street.

This building has a very interesting history. And the point is not only that in the niches of the basement, then still peeling, among dust and debris, we sat with classmates and leafed through our notes, trying, contrary to the well-known proverb (*saying???) "breathe before" ... an exam, or just whiled away the time between lectures. It was in the very beginning of the 70s. And then no one knew that the estate was designed by Kazakov. The house was inhabited by people who were not lucky with a separate apartment, but were lucky with living in the center. They lived in outhouses and outbuildings. The house was going to be resettled, our institute fought for the right to own the vacated building - we were sorely lacking territory. But, when the builders began to free the facade from alterations, it turned out that this is the same building, the drawings of which, signed by Kazakov, were preserved in the archive, but the construction on them was considered unrealized. So this building "rose from the ashes" or oblivion, was cleaned, acquired its original appearance and became the "Museum of the Decembrists". True, in the early 2000s it turned out that this building was built according to the project not of Kazakov, but of his student I.D. Zhukov, it’s just that students often inherit the teacher’s handwriting ...
And very close, across the square, on the former Gorokhovskaya, and now in Gorokhovsky Lane, was the famous and famous palace of Nikolai Nikitich Demidov - the Institute of Geodesy and Cartography - where my friend's husband taught drawing. So something from the "distant" turns out to be quite close.

Demidov's house in Gorokhovsky Lane. Architect M. Kazakov, 1781-1791.
Well, since I lived at that time on Leninsky Prospekt, I saw the Goditsinskaya hospital through the window of the trolleybus that was taking me to the center.

M. F. Kazakov. Golitsinskaya (now the 1st city) hospital in Moscow. 1796 - 1801. Central part.

Having reached the final stop and looking to the right (if you are facing the Manege (architect Beauvais), you will see the building of the University, slightly changed after the fire in 1812 by the architect Gilardi.


Moscow University (old building on Mokhovaya).

And if you look to the left, you see the Kutafya tower of the Kremlin and you immediately want to walk along the Trinity Bridge and enter there, into the holy of holies of Moscow. On the left, between the Nikolskaya and Spasskaya towers, there is the Senate building built according to Kazakov's project. Its green dome is also visible on Red Square.

Senate building in the Kremlin

View of the Senate building from Red Square

A memory from childhood is not far away: the New Year Tree in the hall of columns, also designed by Kazakov.

Hall of Columns

To these memories, we can add earlier ones - a house on Myasnitskaya, the former Kirovskaya Street (I worked side by side at one time, and in childhood my parents took me to Kirovskaya to visit relatives), and later ones - the unfinished Grand Palace in Tsaritsyno, where I took my children on excursions, and the Traveling Palace, which I ran past, hurrying to visit relatives, and the already built palace of the Yeltsin period, located "within walking distance from my today's house.

M. Kazakov. House of Baryshnikov.

Tsaritsyno. Grand Palace before restoration.

Petrovsky Travel Palace.

Grand Palace today.

But these are only my memories of buildings designed by Moscow Kazakov, and there are also buildings in the very interesting city of Golutvin (Kolomna), where, according to Kazakov’s project, the towers of the Staro-Golutvinsky Monastery and some buildings in the city center were built ...
I offer you an article about the work of Matvey Kazakov, written by experts, and not by a nostalgic element like me:

Matvey Fedorovich Kazakov (1738-1812)

Upon entering Moscow, I was overcome with surprise, mixed with admiration, because I expected to see a wooden city, as many people said about it, but, on the contrary, almost all the houses turned out to be brick and of the most elegant and most modern architecture. The houses of private individuals looked like palaces, they were so rich and beautiful," one of the officers of the Napoleonic army wrote from Moscow in September 1812. The great fire had not yet incinerated the ancient capital. buildings of Paris. One of the creators of Moscow architecture, its famous public buildings, palaces and houses was the architect Matvei Fedorovich Kazakov. He was born in Moscow, lived, studied and became a recognized master. He dedicated his entire working life, his knowledge and talent to his native city. architect. Matvey Fedorovich Kazakov was born in the autumn of 1738. His father served in the Moscow commissariat, rose to the rank of "under-clerk" and was in good standing. In view of his impeccable service, after his death, M. F. Kazakov in 1751 was enrolled in shortly before this, the open architectural school of the architect Ukhtomsky. It was formed from his workshop and, according to the custom of that time, was called tor team".
Along with the study of theory, students were trained here and practical work. They were sent to various construction sites, which were led by the head of the school, Ukhtomsky. They not only helped the workers and foremen, but also monitored the quality of the construction, compiling reports about everything they noticed. Such training gave excellent results, helping students to become independent architects. By the end of M. F. Kazakov's stay at the school, she received books on architecture from abroad. Among them were the works of modern French architects and the famous architectural treatises of Vitruvius, Palladio and other masters of the past. Their study not only expanded the knowledge of the young architect, but also determined his love and faith in the ideals of classical art for life. In 1761, M. F. Kazakov graduated from school with the rank of "ensign architecture" and was appointed to the workshop of the chief "city architect" of Moscow, P. R. Nikitin. In May 1763, Tver burned to the ground. The Tver fire shook the country. A few days later, the government issued an order to restore the burnt city. A group of architects headed by Nikitin left for Tver. M. F. Kazakov was also in his new "team". In Tver, it was necessary to restore government buildings and houses of the population. But it was not a simple restoration of the old. It was necessary to create a new city that met the then rules of urban planning.
M. F. Kazakov spent five years in Tver. He participated in the development of the master plan of the city and in the drafting of individual buildings. Nikitin entrusted him with the project, and then the construction of the Tver Palace. Initially, this building was intended for the local bishop, so it was called the "bishop's house" for a long time. The palace stood not far from the ancient city Kremlin, on the middle of the three main streets of the city, which diverged from the semicircular city square like a trident.
M. F. Kazakov conceived the palace without unnecessary embellishment and complexity. In front of a simple rectangular building was a front yard. From the sides it was covered by light galleries - passages leading to the corner pavilions. The decoration of the palace was beautiful, simple and clear. The walls were sometimes decorated with light stucco garlands and wreaths. Instead of columns with magnificent capitals, M. F. Kazakov used flat pilaster blades. To give them more expressiveness, he covered them with flutes - semicircular grooves-notches. This created frequent beautiful shadow stripes, visible not only on sunny, but even on cloudy days. Despite the simplicity of the overall composition and the modesty of decoration, the palace in the new Tver was undoubtedly the best building. Finished in 1767, it brought its author not only recognition, but also fame. One of the Moscow landowners - Nashchekin - orders him the project of his estate near Moscow Rai-Semyonovskoye. M. F. Kazakov did an excellent job with this, apparently, the first major private order. Still full of impressions from the layout of Tver and romantically experiencing the idea of ​​his first building, he created a plan for the estate, in many respects similar to the plan of the main part of Tver. From the house, as from the Tver Kremlin, there was a central alley lined with lindens and birches. The pond interrupting it looked like a large Tver square. Nearby, on a hill, M. F. Kazakov built a manor church. In its external decoration, it resembled the pavilions of the Tver Palace. Already in these early works of M. F. Kazakov, one of his characteristic features is revealed: the architect, having found a successful solution, returns to it more than once, varying and developing its individual forms and details.
The following year, 1768, the young architect began a great deal of work with Bazhenov. The five years spent by M. F. Kazakov on the development of the Bazhenov project for the Grand Kremlin Palace became the years of his second teaching, were his higher education.
Catherine instructed Bazhenov to draft a palace in the Kremlin. The yard, which often visited Moscow during these years, was in dire need of it. The project was based on the idea of ​​glorifying the Russian people and their military glory in connection with the brilliant victories over the Turks and the liberation of Russian lands in the south. As conceived by Bazhenov, the palace was to be not only the residence of the empress, but also a grandiose public building. All the ancient buildings of the Kremlin were located in its vast courtyards, and the adjacent new squares were intended for public gatherings, celebrations and festivities. The grandeur, beauty and variety of architectural forms used in the design of the palace amazed contemporaries. Despite the fact that for a number of reasons this grandiose building was not carried out and remained only in the model, it had a great influence on Russian architecture of those years. The talent of M. F. Kazakov grew and grew stronger in the work on this project. For many years he served as a source of inspiration for many works by M. F. Kazakov.
Working side by side with Bazhenov, M. F. Kazakov comprehended what the famous Russian architect mastered so masterfully.
Work on the project and model of the Kremlin Palace taught M. F. Kazakov to systematic, purposefulness and logic of architectural construction. He realized in practice that the success of an architectural concept depended on the thoughtfulness, integrity and clarity of the project.
The construction of entertainment buildings on the Khodynka field on the occasion of the celebration of the Kuchuk-Kainarji peace was entrusted to Bazhenov, who was also appointed chief architect here. A holiday dedicated to the national victory over the Turks, the exoticism of oriental architecture and great freedom in the construction of pavilion-type buildings prompted Bazhenov to choose a completely new style. Later it was called pseudo-Gothic due to the frequent use of lancet arches. The walls of red brick with white stone details, many techniques borrowed from the ancient Russian architecture of the 17th century, such as jug-shaped columns at the entrance, pointed pyramids with balls at the top, etc., were especially liked by M. F. Kazakov. Therefore, the order he received for the construction of the access Petrovsky Palace (now the premises of the Academy of the Air Fleet), located in the immediate vicinity of the Khodyn entertainment buildings, was executed by him in the same fabulous forms. Turrets, fences of various heights and patterns surround the building of the palace. The latter stands in the middle of a large courtyard. Intricate white stone architraves adorn its windows. A porch with a wide staircase with pot-bellied columns meets the incoming one. The building is crowned with a dome, at the base of which there are lancet windows. M. F. Kazakov, with exceptional flair, perceived the festive nature of Russian national architecture and embodied it in his new work. The success of this building determined the future path of the young master.

From this time begins his ever-increasing success as an architect. The biography of M. F. Kazakov is poor in everyday, everyday facts, but it is rich in the great legacy that he left us. The life of M. F. Kazakov, as it were, is contained in his works.
The Petrovsky Palace had not yet been completed, when M.F. Kazakov received a new order. He was entrusted with drafting the Senate building in the Moscow Kremlin. The Senate was supposed to be built opposite the Arsenal. The site was inconvenient, triangular in shape, but M. F. Kazakov managed to use it as the basis for the building he was erecting. The center of the whole composition was occupied by a grandiose domed hall. M. F. Kazakov calculated his building so that the dome of the hall fell just behind the tower, located in the center of Red Square, between the Spassky and Nikolsky gates. Thus, the Senate building was not only a Kremlin building, but also became a citywide building, entering as a link in the general ensemble of buildings of the most important square of the ancient capital. The boldness of the decision of the entire building, especially its dome, struck contemporaries and even aroused fear among Moscow society in the strength of the structure. To refute such fears, M. F. Kazakov stood with his assistants on the dome during the rounding. "Kazakov was greeted with cheers," contemporaries note. Catherine II, who came to inspect the building, exclaimed: "What art!" The construction of the Senate building put M. F. Kazakov among the best architects who worked in Russia at that time. It still adorns the Moscow Kremlin.

The success of M. F. Kazakov grew. Individuals increasingly turned to him with a request to draw up projects for houses or palaces. Over the years, orders have become more and more, M.F. Kazakov has students and assistants.
M. F. Kazakov brings a lot of new things to the architecture of the city house. He is reworking the old manor house planning system. The latter, surrounded by services, was usually placed in the depths of the site. M. F. Kazakov, on the contrary, pushes him to the front of the street, puts him on the red line. Thus, his houses are included with all their, often downright palace, architecture in the general appearance of the city. Several dozen houses and palaces excellently created by him, not counting many large public buildings, adorned the streets and alleys of the capital. Particularly famous are the house of Demidov in Gorokhovsky Lane (now the Institute of Geodesy), Gagarin on Petrovsky Boulevard (the building of the Polyclinic), Menshikov on B. Nikitskaya, Baryshnikov on Myasnitskaya (now one of the medical institutions is located in it) and many others.
Among the buildings of the 70-80s of the 18th century, made by M.F. Kazakov, the estate in Petrovsky (near the Alabino station of the Kyiv railway) occupies an outstanding place. According to the owner Demidov, the building was not supposed to be an ordinary estate with outbuildings, but a complex ensemble that included a church with a free-standing bell tower, a park with numerous sculptures, and separate outbuildings. In addition, the house was to be crowned with a statue of Catherine.
M. F. Kazakov planned the main part of this estate in the form of a regular square. Small outbuildings stood at its corners, while the center was occupied by the main house. From all four sides it was decorated with columned porticoes. At the cut corners, balconies were made, supported by two small columns. The cut corners made the building look triangular instead of square. The church, bell tower and services were located along the main road leading to the main house. On the opposite side of the house adjoined a park with numerous and skillfully planned alleys. The ingenious layout of the house with a round hall in the center made it possible to combine rooms and halls of various shapes and sizes.

From the end of the 70s, M.F. Kazakov actually became the chief architect of Moscow. His exceptional honesty, calmness and friendliness attracted people to him. A school of disciples boundlessly devoted to him quickly developed around him. He never fawned over the "powerful of this world", which was so typical in those days and bore the apt name of "search". Not a single architect enjoyed such success, such popularity, which accompanied M.F. Kazakov. By origin, upbringing and work, M. F. Kazakov belonged to that non-official intelligentsia of Moscow, which nominated the best cultural figures of the era from their midst. He creates his architectural projects with rare ease. But this lightness was only apparent, since behind it lay years of hard work and ever-improving skill. In all his works, the red line is the unity of his work, his style. Classics was for him an eternally living ideal. He is undividedly devoted to her beauty and charm.
In addition to a large number of private works of an architectural order, M.F. Kazakov performed many government orders. It was either necessary to go to Yekaterinoslav (now Dnepropetrovsk) to build up the central part of the city, or to go to Kaluga on the same business. This is followed by work in Kolomna and its district, and many others.

The fire of Moscow in 1812 destroyed the interior decoration of most of Kazakov's buildings. Of the significant number of works he created, only the so-called "Golden Rooms" of Demidov's house have been preserved and the famous Column Hall of Dolgorukov's house has been restored. If the "Golden Rooms" speak of the high skill of the architect in the field of decorating small rooms, then in the Hall of Columns, which is the center of the current House of the Unions, M.F. Kazakov achieves an exceptional impression of solemnity, moreover, in a very simple way. Along the walls are Corinthian columns. Their magnificent capitals, chandeliers located between them and the balustrade of balconies are the only decorative details of the decoration of the hall. This front ballroom is one of the best in Russian classicism.
In the same years, M.F. Kazakov built a number of public buildings in Moscow - Moscow University, government offices, a palace in Tsaritsyn and the building of the "New Commissariat" (the building of the Quartermaster on the former B. Sadovnicheskaya Street). All of them resolve the theme of a public building in different ways. Thus, the building of Moscow University (its facade and hall were redesigned by the architect D. Gilardi after a fire in 1812) proceeds in its layout from the scheme of a city estate (front courtyard between two protruding side wings). The palace in Tsaritsyn, built on the site of a palace built according to the project of Bazhenov and broken by order of Catherine, is two large almost square multi-storey buildings connected by a longitudinal, of considerable height, with an exit in the center. The Tsaritsyno Palace was built in the same "pseudo-Gothic" style as the Petrovsky Access Palace. In the "New Commissariat" M. F. Kazakov used the old models of industrial structures of ancient Russia. They were usually surrounded by walls with towers at the corners. The same idea lies in the grandiose building of M. F. Kazakov, which occupies an entire city block. In its center, on the side of the Moskva River, he erected a large building with a columned portico, which was part of the system of buildings standing around a square courtyard. Round towers with low domes rose at its corners.

Remains of the Tsaritsyno Palace

In the 80s of the XVIII century. MF Kazakov's talent reaches its peak. The best building he created at that time was the mausoleum for Baryshnikov in Nikolo-Pogorely, Smolensk region (1783). The mausoleum, round in plan, bearing a stepped dome, is surrounded, like a wreath, by sixteen Ionic columns. The main parts of the building are lined with fine white stone and the walls are painted pink. More than thirty sculptural panels adorn this amazing building, standing on a high slope to the Dnieper. They were made by the famous Russian sculptor F. Shubin.
The shape of the mausoleum is so perfect, the fusion of architecture with sculpture is so organic, the drawing of details is so complete that you can admire this monument for hours. It seems that the immortal creation of the master lives and breathes in the rays of the sun and the amazing landscape surrounding it. The mausoleum in its architecture can be quite compared with the beautiful monuments of antiquity.
Drawing up drawings, details, estimates, monitoring the construction, of course, required not only attentive, but also gifted assistants. Having replaced Bazhenov as head of the "Kremlin Expedition", M.F. Kazakov organizes an architectural school with her. At the same time, M. F. Kazakov's concern for the creation of precisely Russian masters of architecture is characteristic. In the petition for the organization of the school, he pointed out that it was necessary in order to have perfect "Russian masters, that other provinces could borrow, and therefore there would be no need for foreign ones who were ignorant of either the goodness of the local materials, or that the local climate can produce." He draws up a detailed training program for future architects. Among the courses planned were: "Drawing, Pure Mathematics, Mechanics..., Perspective and Landscape and Ornamental Painting, Painting of Living Figures". A drawing room is organized. M. F. Kazakov orders "to fill the drawing room with drawings and drawings not only of the best buildings and views in Russia, but also of other eminent buildings and views of all four parts of the world. Try to collect as many drawings and views of ancient buildings as possible, even more so in the Kremlin, which were already destroyed , to have drawings of those private buildings, which, with the permission of the authorities, will be produced by architects and expedition assistants, to keep the best drawings of students, to start parts of models.

Mausoleum in Nikolo-Pogorely, Smolensk region

This instruction of his testifies not only to the great outlook and deep knowledge of the master, but also to his great love for Russian national architecture.
M. F. Kazakov created a true school of masters. From here came out: Egotov, Tamansky, Bove, namesake Rodion Kazakov and the sons of the founder of the school Matvey, Vasily and Pavel. After the fire of 1812, O. I. Bove became the chief architect of Moscow and recreated the burnt capital.
In the 90s, M. F. Kazakov created a number of new original buildings. Among them, Razumovsky's house occupies one of the first places. The house is built in the shape of the letter U, covering the front yard. In the center under the pediment is a large semicircular niche. On its sides stand, protruding forward, light columned porticoes. Between them are stairs leading to the main entrance. The slender columns of the porticos and the niche itself give this part of the building an extraordinary lightness and airiness. The modesty and rigor of the processing of the side wings of the house emphasize the richness of the solution of its center.
In 1796, M. F. Kazakov, commissioned by Golitsyn, began building a hospital on Kaluzhskaya Street. It was the master's swan song, for shortly after the completion of this outstanding building, illness bedridden him. The Golitsyn Hospital (now the Second City Hospital) is one of the best works in the work of M. F. Kazakov. The old manor layout of the house with outbuildings seems to come to life again in this building. But this is only a first impression, since M. F. Kazakov uses here such new techniques that significantly change the old familiar forms. He places the side buildings along the street, while maintaining the positive features of the old layout, i.e., he places the central part with a portico and a dome above it in the depths of the site. This original technique not only singled out the main part of the building, but connected the hospital with the street, introducing it as a certain link into the city's organism. Behind the portico rises a large dome with characteristic semicircular lucarnes. It is located above the round room of the church. Its walls inside are decorated with two orders of columns, which Kazakov, contrary to all the canons, rearranged: between the large Ionic columns are placed smaller Corinthian, bearing arches (usually the Ionic order was subordinate to the Corinthian). This unexpected technique speaks of the unrelenting perseverance of the aged master, who is looking for new solutions in the circle of classical forms and details.

Golitsyn hospital

In the year the construction of the hospital was completed, M.F. Kazakov retired. His last work was a collection of drawings of his own buildings. The head of the "Kremlin Expedition" Valuev, supporting the aged master's resignation, wrote about him: "Only the famous and most skillful architect, State Councilor Kazakov, famous throughout Russia for his excellent knowledge of this art and practical production ..., filled not only Moscow, but also many regions of Russia are good architects..., having left behind a lot of his great arts..., he wishes to devote the rest of his days to the school of architecture...".
Having retired, M. F. Kazakov never ceases to be interested in the artistic life of his beloved city. According to his son, in these last years of his life, he "was curious to learn something new for him and tried to get acquainted with people in whom he noticed any knowledge."
When the French approached Moscow in 1812, the family took M. F. Kazakov to Ryazan. Here he learned about the terrible fire. "This news," his son wrote, "caused him a mortal defeat. Having devoted his whole life to architecture, decorating the throne city with magnificent buildings, he could not imagine without a shudder that his many years of work had turned into ashes and disappeared with fire smoke."
The emotional shock from the news received intensified his illness. November 7, 1812 the famous architect, builder of Moscow, died.
The significance of Kazakov's work for the architecture of Moscow and Russian art can hardly be overestimated. It can be said without exaggeration that Kazakov created a new classical Moscow of the 18th century. All his work is distinguished by the integrity of artistic ideals, being an expression of genuine national artistic mastery.
About M. F. Kazakov: Bondarenko I. E., Architect Matvey Fedorovich Kazakov (1738-1812), M., 1912 (new revised edition, M., 1938); "Architecture of the USSR", 1938, No. 1 (articles dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the birth of M. F. Kazakov); Ilyin M., Matvey Fedorovich Kazakov, M., 1944.

Matvey Kazakov was born in the autumn of 1738. His father Fyodor Kazakov, a serf, was once given by the landowner as a sailor. By chance, Fedor remained to serve at the Admiralty office as a copyist (copy of papers), which gave him and his family freedom, while his hard work provided his son with a great future.

At the age of 13, as a reward for his father's impeccable service, Matvey was enrolled in the architectural school of architect Dmitry Vasilyevich Ukhtomsky. His students not only studied theory, but also gained practical skills: they controlled the construction process, compiling reports on all the errors noticed. At the age of 23, having received the title of architecture ensign, Matvey Kazakov entered the workshop of the chief city architect of Moscow, P.R. Nikitin. And two years later, in 1763, Tver burned to the ground, and the team of the architect Nikitin was entrusted to restore it. Kazakov is involved in the development of the master plan for the new city, in addition, he is drafting the Bishop's House or, in other words, the Tver Palace. The palace became the best building in the city and brought deserved recognition to its author.

After Tver, there was work with Bazhenov on the project of the palace in the Kremlin, the construction of the access road to the Petrovsky Palace. The palace has not yet been completed, and Kazakov is already receiving a new order - the building of the Senate in the Kremlin. The inconvenient location of the planned building, plus a brilliant solution to the problem and - the architect is among the best of his time. There are countless orders from private individuals. M.F. Kazakov brings a lot of new things to the architecture of the city house. He reworks the old manor planning system of the house and now he is not placed in the depths of the site, but opposite - along the red line. Thus, the houses are included with all their, often downright palace, architecture in the general appearance of the city. Several dozen houses and palaces he created, apart from many large public buildings, adorned the streets of Moscow. Especially famous are the houses of Demidov in Gorokhovsky Lane, Gagarin on Petrovsky Boulevard, Menshikov on Bolshaya Nikitskaya, Baryshnikov on Myasnitskaya.

Having replaced Bazhenov as head of the Kremlin expedition, M.F. Kazakov organizes an architectural school with her. Among the students are three of his sons: Vasily, Matvey and Pavel. Vasily studied architecture from the age of ten, but at the age of 22 he submitted a letter of resignation due to illness - consumption. At the age of 13, Pavel applied for admission to the service on the same day as his older brother, Matvey, who at that time was 16. A year later, both brothers already received a salary of one hundred rubles a year. In 1800, together with his father, they worked on drawing up a "facade" plan for Moscow. In 1810, at the age of 25, Pavel Kazakov died, a little earlier Vasily also died of consumption. Matvey lived until the age of 39, was well known in Moscow for his work.

In 1800-1804, M. F. Kazakov worked on the creation of the general and "facade" ("bird's eye") plans of Moscow and a series of architectural albums (13) of the most significant Moscow buildings. Several “Architectural albums of M. F. Kazakov” have been preserved, including plans, facades and sections of 103 “particular buildings” of the architect himself and his contemporaries. The head of the Kremlin expedition, Valuev, wrote: “Only the famous and most skillful architect, State Councilor Kazakov, famous throughout Russia for his excellent knowledge of this art and practical production ... filled not only Moscow, but also many parts of Russia with good architects.”

In 1812, the family took M.F. Kazakov from Moscow to Ryazan. Here he learned about the fire. “This news,” wrote his son, “has dealt him a mortal defeat. Having devoted his whole life to architecture, decorating the capital city with magnificent buildings, he could not imagine without a shudder that his many years of work turned into ashes and disappeared with fire smoke.