After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the so-called Dark Ages began in Europe, during which numerous barbarian tribes performed their bacchanalia on the remains of the Roman cultural heritage. Against the backdrop of endless wars, a partial revival of the Roman architectural tradition took place, resulting in the Romanesque architectural style, which was formed around the 10th century and transformed into Gothic three hundred years later.

The Gothic style in architecture was formed in the XII-XIII centuries, along with the onset of the High Middle Ages. It was based on the same Romanesque heritage and the growing power of the Holy See, which had to be emphasized by the appropriate scale of church buildings.

It is worth noting that the church so controlled the minds of people in those days that its agents without much difficulty raised huge masses of people on an adventure, later called the First Crusade, as a result of which Jerusalem was captured and Christian states were founded in Asia Minor. This, in turn, contributed to the development of the pilgrimage, and already the pilgrims brought considerable income to the Church itself, whose representatives also enriched themselves by selling indulgences, displaying fake relics, and simply donations. But, despite such dubious methods, which were limited by the Literan Cathedral of 1215, first in France, and then in other European countries, beautiful cathedrals are being built, marking the emergence of a new dawn of European culture and Gothic as an architectural trend.

Bourges Cathedral

The pioneers in Gothic architecture were members of the Benedictine order. It was under the arches of the Burgundian abbey of Cluny that they developed their own type of basilica, first embodied in the five-aisled basilica of Cluny, built in 1088. The basilica was distinguished by the presence of two transepts and an altar part expanded due to the crown of chapels.

The use of the crown of chapels was due to the rapidly developing cult of relics at that time, which was mentioned a little earlier. In 1220, the basilica was expanded - a three-oil building was completed from the west, thanks to which the basilica became one of the largest Catholic churches of that time. The third basilica of Cluny, built on the basis of the first two, became the prototype of the vast majority of large-scale French Gothic cathedrals. But alas, only its drawings have survived to this day, and the building itself was demolished in 1807.

Third Basilica of Cluny (reconstruction)

For the development of Gothic in architecture, Abbot Sugery made a lot of efforts, under whose leadership the basilica of the abbey of Saint-Denis was rebuilt in the first half of the 12th century. It is this event that is considered to be the starting point for the exact history of European Gothic.

According to Suger's plan, the light flooding the temple is a symbol of the boundless divine light emanating from the Creator himself. The lighter premises of the Gothic temples, in comparison with the Romanesque ones, were facilitated by the revolutionary rejection of columns in favor of the Gothic frame. In addition to the fact that the internal space of the temple was henceforth unified, this technology made it possible to significantly save building resources and build higher structures. Another distinguishing feature of Gothic can be called strict symmetry, thanks to which the interior of Gothic cathedrals looks very harmonious.

Among the most famous representatives of the Gothic architectural style in France are Notre Dame Cathedral, as well as Chartres, Reims, Lans, Bourges and Amiens Cathedrals.

Gothic in the architecture of England began to appear at the end of the XII century. It is worth noting that while in France there was an active development of cities, English cities developed rather slowly and Gothic churches were predominantly of the monastic type. Salisbury Cathedral is considered to be the purest example of the early period of English Gothic, and Canterbury is considered the main Gothic cathedral in England.

The building of the London Cathedral of Westminster Abbey bears the most common features with French Gothic - it was here that the Norman rulers of England were crowned and buried, starting with William the Conqueror. Other notable examples of Gothic architecture in England include the cathedrals at Durham, York, Winchester, Ile, and Lincoln.

canterbury cathedral

Gothic came to Germany from France, but, over time, acquired its own unique features. Some of the buildings, the construction of which began much earlier, were completed using characteristic Gothic elements of decor and construction, becoming the basis of a kind of Romanesque-Gothic style, which includes the Michaelskirche, St. Bartholomeus Chapel, St. Kilian Cathedral and others.

One of the first buildings with exclusively Gothic features, experts call the Church of Our Lady in Trier, the shape of which is an equal-ended cross, elongated only in the altar part. A novelty not found in France was the arrangement of two chapels at each corner of the cross. German Gothic has other differences from French: more geometrically strict forms, entrance from the side facade, one or four turrets (traditionally two in France), more strict exterior decoration of buildings, etc. The only exception is the cathedral in Cologne, created in a characteristic for french gothic style.

In the northern part of Europe, due to the shortage of sandstone and marble, traditionally used for the construction of Gothic cathedrals, the so-called. brick gothic. The builders used figured bricks, which made it possible to create Gothic patterns no worse than from hewn stone.

Gothic actively developed in Spain, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Italy - this style underwent certain changes everywhere, while maintaining common features. The development of Gothic was interrupted by the Black Death, which wiped out almost a third of the population of Europe in the 14th century. Subsequently, the Gothic received a certain revival under the name "flaming Gothic" - it already showed features of mannerism.

Duomo, cathedral in Milan, flaming gothic

Gothic in architecture finally came to naught at the beginning of the 15th century, replaced by the architecture of the Renaissance, whose masters drew inspiration from the spiritual and material culture of antiquity.

Neo-Gothic in architecture flared up with a bright flame in the 50s of the 18th century at the suggestion of the British aristocracy, after which they turned to Gothic in continental Europe. This was facilitated by the idealization of the Middle Ages and the rejection of the priorities of antiquity. Neo-Gothic became the national style of Victorian Britain. During this period, abandoned and unfinished cathedrals were completed and restored throughout Europe, a striking example of which is the already mentioned cathedral in Cologne.

On the territory of Russia during the dawn of European Gothic, there were more pressing problems than the construction of cathedrals, especially since the Gothic forms characteristic of Catholicism did not really fit into the Orthodox tradition. But in the 18th century, along with the dawn of Neo-Gothic in Europe, the Russian Empire nevertheless arose its own, unique, Russian pseudo-Gothic, which included traditional Gothic features, elements

Romanticism replaces the Age of Enlightenment and coincides with the industrial revolution, marked by the appearance of the steam engine, the steam locomotive, the steamboat, photography, and factory outskirts. If the Enlightenment is characterized by the cult of reason and civilization based on its principles, then romanticism affirms the cult of nature, feelings and the natural in man. It was in the era of romanticism that the phenomena of tourism, mountaineering and picnics were formed, designed to restore the unity of man and nature. The image of the “noble savage”, armed with “folk wisdom” and not spoiled by civilization, is in demand.

Romanticism (French romantisme), an ideological and artistic direction in the European and American spiritual culture of the end. 18 - 1st floor. 19th centuries Romanticism is a kind of reaction to the French Revolution (Karl Marx).

The great French bourgeois revolution ended the Age of Enlightenment. Writers, artists, musicians witnessed grandiose historical events, revolutionary upheavals that unrecognizably transformed life. Many of them enthusiastically welcomed the changes, admired the proclamation of the ideas of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.

Romantics often idealized a patriarchal society, in which they saw the kingdom of kindness, sincerity, and decency. Poetizing the past, they went into ancient legends, folk tales. Romanticism has received its own face in every culture: among the Germans, in mysticism; for the British - in a person who will oppose himself to reasonable behavior; the French - in unusual stories. What united all this into one trend - romanticism?

Before the revolution, the world was ordered, there was a clear hierarchy in it, each person took his place. The revolution overturned the "pyramid" of society, a new one has not yet been created, so the individual has a feeling of loneliness. Life is a flow, life is a game in which someone is lucky and someone is not

The painful discord between the ideal and social reality is the basis of the romantic worldview and art. Reflecting disappointment in the results of the French Revolution, in the ideology of the Enlightenment and social progress, romanticism opposed utilitarianism and the leveling of the individual with the desire for unlimited freedom and the "endless" thirst for perfection and renewal, the pathos of personal and civil independence.

Consider the difference between romanticism and classicism. We will see that classicism divides everything in a straight line, into good and bad, into black and white. Romanticism divides nothing in a straight line. Classicism is a system, but romanticism is not. The main task of romanticism was the depiction of the inner world, spiritual life, and this could be done on the material of stories, mysticism, etc. The attention to the inner world of a person, characteristic of romanticism, was expressed in the cult of the subjective, the craving for the emotionally intense. It was necessary to show the paradox of this inner life, its irrationality.

The affirmation of the inherent value of the spiritual and creative life of the individual, the image of strong passions, spiritualized and healing nature, for many romantics - the heroes of protest or struggle are adjacent to the motives of "world sorrow", "world evil", the "night" side of the soul, dressed in the forms of irony, grotesque poetics of duality.

Interest in the national past (often - its idealization), the traditions of folklore and culture of one's own and other peoples, the desire to create a universal picture of the world (primarily history and literature), the idea of ​​art synthesis found expression in the ideology and practice of romanticism.

Characteristic features of the style of romanticism

The creative problems of romanticism compared with classicism were more complex and not so unambiguous. Romanticism at its very beginning was more of an artistic movement than a doctrine of a particular style. Therefore, it is only possible with great difficulty to classify its manifestations and consider consistently the history of development until the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century.

Romanticism at first had a lively, changeable character, preached individualism and creative freedom. He recognized the value of cultures that were significantly different from Greek - Roman antiquity. Much attention was paid to the cultures of the East, whose artistic and architectural motifs adapted to European taste.

There is a reassessment of the architecture of the Middle Ages and the technical and artistic achievements of the Gothic are recognized. The concept of connection with nature gives rise to the concept of the English park and the popularity of the free compositions of the Chinese or Japanese garden.

In the visual arts, romanticism manifested itself most clearly in painting and graphics, less clearly in sculpture and architecture (for example, false Gothic). Most of the national schools of romanticism in the visual arts developed in the struggle against official academic classicism.

The main representatives of romanticism in the visual arts are the painters E. Delacroix, T. Gericault, F. O. Runge, K. D. Friedrich, J. Constable, W. Turner, in Russia - O. A. Kiprensky, A. O. Orlovsky . The theoretical foundations of romanticism were formed by F. and A. Schlegel and F. Schelling.

Building features of romanticism

The development of classicism and romanticism in architecture coincided with the beginning of the use of new designs, building materials and construction methods. At the end of the XVIII and beginning of the XIX centuries. metal structures were most common in England and France.

Initially, they were used in various engineering structures, which was accompanied by the development of scientific theories in this area. The issue of creating a metal bridge was first considered by French engineers in 1719, and then again in 1755. However, the widespread use of these designs became possible with the advent of cheap technology for producing iron, first in the form of cast iron, and later steel.

Instead of the simplicity and isolation of the architectural form of classicism, romanticism offers a complex silhouette, richness of forms, freedom of planning, in which symmetry and other formal compositional principles lose their dominant importance. Despite the fact that romanticism aroused a wide interest in various cultures that were far away to Europeans before, Gothic became the main one for it in architecture.

At the same time, it seemed important not only to study it, but also to adapt it to modern problems. Gothic artistic motifs were already used in the Baroque (for example, by J. Santini), but only in the 19th century. they are widely distributed. At the same time, there are sprouts of a conscious movement for the protection of architectural monuments and their reconstruction.

Types of buildings in the style of romanticism

The first cast-iron bridge was constructed only in 1779. It was a bridge over the River Severn in England. It had a short length (30.62 m), but already at the end of the century they began to build cast-iron bridges over 70 m long, for example, Sunderland Bridge in England (1793 - 1796).

From the end of the XVIII century. cast iron is being used in the construction of buildings. Of particular interest for that time was the project of a warehouse building in Manchester (1801), which was decided in the form of an eight-story cast-iron frame, as well as docks in Liverpool and London. In England, cast-iron structures of cathedrals appeared already in the 80s of the XVIII century, for example, in Liverpool.

Neo-Gothic or pseudo-Gothic (from Italian gotiko - "barbarian", neos - "new") - a trend in the architecture of the XVIII-XIX centuries, reviving the forms and design features of medieval Gothic. The Neo-Gothic style developed in an era of intensive development of capitalist relations, the emergence of imperialism and the colonization of continents by Europeans.

Neo-Gothic originated in the 40s. 18th century in Great Britain, where the traditions of Gothic art were strongest, along with the flourishing of landscape art and the "poeticization" of the medieval era. The Neo-Gothic style was most widespread in the Holy Roman Empire, France, Italy, Spain, as well as in the colonial possessions of Great Britain, which erected many public buildings in the metropolises.

Neo-Gothic was recognized as an exemplary style for the construction of Catholic and Protestant churches, as well as for large public buildings, country houses. At this time, monuments of medieval architecture were intensively completed and restored. For the European Neo-Gothic of the nineteenth century. characteristic is the desire to revive the integrity of artistic thinking characteristic of Gothic art, the awareness of the aesthetic value of the frame structure, along with the widespread use of cast-iron structures. The decline of the Neo-Gothic style in Europe came at the beginning of the century, when the excessive Gothic decor was replaced by the strict forms of the Romanesque style.

Unlike Europe, all neo-Gothic churches in Belarus were built at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, which is associated with the ban on the construction of churches, which the Russian Emperor Nicholas II canceled only in 1905 with the famous Manifesto. After that, Catholic churches in the neo-Gothic style began to be built everywhere on the territory of Belarus. Three of the tallest places of worship in Belarus were built in the Neo-Gothic style: the Trinity Church in Gervyaty, the Church of St. Peter and Paul in Zhuprany, the Church of St. Vladislav in Subotniki.

Neoclassicism

(Neoclassicism) - an aesthetic trend that dominated European art in the late 18th century - early. 19th century, which was characterized by an appeal to antiquity, and differed from classicism 17

century - early 18th century. In France, within the framework of neoclassicism, the style of Louis XVI, regency, Directory and Empire style arose; in England - the style of Adam, Hepplewhite and Sheraton in furniture business.

In the middle of the 18th century, the first archaeological excavations of ancient monuments began in Italy, and all the major representatives of English neoclassicism visited Rome. They went there to see the ruins of ancient buildings and to perceive the true spirit of antiquity. Many English architects also went to Greece, where they studied ancient Greek buildings, which were practically unknown at that time.

Neoclassicism most clearly manifested itself, apparently, in architecture, which is confirmed by the work of the brothers Adam John Nash, Alexander Thompson in England; Langhans in Germany, Jean-Francois Chalgrin, Alexandre-Théodore Brongniard, Ledoux in France and Andrey Zakharov in Russia.

Among the pioneers of neoclassicism should be called Jacques Ange Gabriel, who planned the Place de la Concorde in 1754, and his Petit Trianon at Versailles was considered the most perfect example of "attica" in French architecture. Of course, one cannot fail to mention Souflot, who introduced elements of a new aesthetic into the plans for the reconstruction of Paris.

If in France neoclassicism found its expression mainly in the designs of public buildings, then in England architects built private estates and city houses in this style. Their very manner was different from the French. In France, neoclassicism acquired severe, sometimes heavy forms, while in England, on the contrary, all buildings were lighter and more elegant. English neoclassical interiors are especially famous: always bright and decorative, they seemed to want to please the owners of houses and their guests.

The most important role in the architecture of English neoclassicism was played by two masters - William Chambers (1723-1796) and Robert Adam (1728-1792).

Neoclassicism

"style of Adam" in honor of its creator. In 1754-1756. Robert Adam traveled to Italy and returned from there a passionate admirer of antiquity.

In his work, the influence of English Palladianism was also felt. However, his style was very distinctive and easily recognizable.

Neoclassic" is a term adopted in modern art history to refer to artistic phenomena of the last third of the 19th-20th centuries, different in social orientation and ideological content, which are characterized by an appeal to the traditions of ancient art.

often referred to simply

eclectic and modernist architecture

In a number of countries, neoclassicism of this period used new constructive techniques developed by "

modern",

In Russian architecture of the 1910s. the prevailing desire was to establish the basic principles of architectural classics (I. A. Fomin, I. V. Zholtovsky, V. A. Shchuko and others), although in the same years representatives of Russian modernism also turned to the stylization of classical motifs (F. O. Shekhtep, F. I. Lidval, S. U. Soloviev, etc.). In the USA, France and Great Britain, neoclassicism of the 1910-30s. It developed mainly in official architecture and was distinguished by ceremonial representativeness and emphasized monumentality.

In the 1930s the means of neoclassicism, in their hypertrophied-monumental, emphatically coarsened forms, were widely used in the architecture of Italy (M. Piacentini and others) and Germany (P. L. Trost and others) to create structures that served the purposes of propagating fascist ideology.

The principles of neoclassicism also had a certain influence on the development of Soviet architecture in the 2nd half of the 1930s and early 1950s, as well as the architecture of the Scandinavian countries, Poland, and Czechoslovakia. Bulgaria, Hungary, where they were often combined with an appeal to the motives of national architecture.

Since the end of the 50s. Neoclassicism developed predominantly in US architecture; among the most significant structures of this direction in the official and commercial

construction -

Lincoln Center in New York (1960s, architects F. Johnson, W. Harrison, M. Abramowitz, E. Saarinen), whose buildings form a strict and symmetrical frame of a rectangular square.

Palace "Peter Trianon" in Versailles

To the right of the Grand Canal of Versailles is the Trianon complex, consisting of the Grand and Petit Palaces with their own garden setting. The Small Palace, or Petit Trianon, is a true masterpiece of French neoclassicism of the 18th century.

In 1761, Madame de Pompadour suggested to Louis XV the idea of ​​building a palace in the French Garden. Two years later, the king decided to fulfill the request of the favorite. The project is entrusted to Gabriel Jacques Anjou (1698-1782). In 1763, construction began, and already in 1768 the Petit Trianon was solemnly opened. But Madame de Pompadour was not destined to use the castle - she did not live 4 years before the completion of construction.

This masterpiece of neoclassical architecture is without a doubt Gabriel's finest creation. The building, located on a square platform, rests on a plinth, above it rises a floor and an attic, which ends with a balustrade that hides the roof in the Italian style. Due to the unevenness of the relief, the basement level is visible only from the side of the facade overlooking the Front Courtyard, as well as from the side of the Temple of Amur. The facades are decorated with pilasters and powerful Corinthian columns.

The facades of the building, which is square in plan, are made according to the same compositional scheme. The interior of the palace is decorated in the style

The proportions of the Petit Trianon are classically clear and noblely simple. This monument of world architecture embodies the idea of ​​intimate comfort, achievable only in unity with nature. Bridges over seemingly overgrown canals, pavilions arranged on seemingly wild islands, trees growing in precisely calculated disorder, give the ensemble a charm of genuine romance.

Later, a mill, a poultry house and a dairy farm appeared in the royal village (1783-1786). Now in this place, guides usually tell visitors an entertaining story that cups are kept here, their shape representing a cast from the breasts of Marie Antoinette.

From these cups, the queen in "her dairy" loved to treat guests with milk from her cows. The guides also say that the private royal chambers subsequently often served as a place for scandalous adventures of influential people who came here to spend a comfortable night.

Queen Marie Antoinette was strongly influenced by Jean-Jacques Rousseau's idea of ​​the need to return to

"untouched nature".

She tried her best to learn how to provide at least her family with agricultural products by her own work: she looked after the cows, milked and fed them from the royal table. However, the revolutionary people for some reason regarded her works as a refined mockery of the starving Paris.

The emergence of neoclassicism (as a programmatic appeal to the art of the past) is due to the desire to oppose some "eternal" aesthetic values ​​to disturbing and contradictory reality. The ideological and formal structure of currents based on the search for a direct correspondence to reality, in neoclassicism, is opposed by the ideality and majesty of forms and images, "cleared" from concrete historical content.

In the architecture of neoclassicism, 3 periods are distinguished: the first (around 1910-mid-1920), the second (mainly the 1930s) and the third (beginning in the late 1950s). In the first period, the logic of the organization of the classical form and its laconicism were put forward as an antithesis to stylistic arbitrariness and excessive decorativeness.

Neo-Gothic is an architectural style that appeared in England in the 18th century. Associated with the interest of the general public in the chivalric culture that dominated Western Europe from the 12th to the 16th centuries.

The starting point for the emergence of neo-Gothic was the construction on the estate of Strawberry Hill, near London, a building stylized as a Gothic castle. The owner of the house and the ideological inspirer of this project was the writer-historian Horace Wappole, who was passionate about medieval architecture. In Britain, where many fine examples of the Gothic style have been preserved, such buildings were considered an integral part of the national history and culture. In this regard, the construction of a house designed in the spirit of ancient cathedrals and castles attracted everyone's attention, became a bright event in the cultural life of that time and served as an impetus for the development of neo-Gothic architecture not only in England, but also in Europe.

Despite the fact that the principles of construction in the 18-19 centuries were already different, and individual elements of buildings made in the neo-Gothic style were actually alien to medieval Gothic, contemporaries perceived the departure from strict adherence to style as a necessity, and not as an unfortunate mistake. architects. It was not about literally reproducing Gothic architecture, but about copying patterns and forms, using more modern knowledge and technology.

Neo-Gothic mixed different styles and directions belonging to different eras and countries, as well as mixed methods for building cathedrals and castles (which was unacceptable in the Middle Ages). For example, during the formative years of the style during the construction of a residential building, its doors could be made as portals of cathedrals, and bedrooms with their wall paintings could resemble tombs.

Over time, eclecticism was creatively reworked, and architects developed universal requirements for a new style. The main feature of Neo-Gothic architecture is the use of a frame vault as a structural element. Other elements of medieval architecture were also adapted: battlements, stained-glass windows, stucco, lancet arches, high elongated pediments, turrets, internal columns, narrow windows, heraldic motifs.

The heyday of neo-Gothic dates back to the 19th century. The architects sought to create unusual, romantic buildings, catering to the taste of the public of the time, inspired by medieval aesthetics. The construction of both residential and public buildings was actively going on - cathedrals, government buildings, universities, schools, town halls, and railway stations were erected. The return to the Gothic style was perceived as a return to the roots. In addition, the Gothic Revival marked a departure from previously popular styles that drew inspiration from the classical forms of ancient Greece and Rome.

The neo-Gothic was celebrated by the construction of the Palace of Westminster in London. This happened after the British Parliament burned down in a fire in 1834. A special royal commission decided that the palace needed to be rebuilt on the same site, while the new building should organically fit into the urban landscape of the historic center of the English capital. The commission announced a competition for which almost 100 projects were submitted. The proposal of Charles Barry, who proposed to erect the building in the spirit of the best achievements of English Gothic, was recognized as the best. After many years of construction, a massive, majestic palace stretched along the Thames. Its facade is adorned and balanced by two towers located in its northern and southern parts. The palace, despite its size, does not overwhelm with its size, but gives the impression of classical austerity. It's all about the right proportions.

In the middle of the 19th century, the British cabinet officially adopted neo-Gothic as the national architectural style. In the future, neo-Gothic ideas were creatively accepted by the architects of France, Germany, Austria, Russia, as well as the English and French colonies - in this regard, beautiful examples of the neo-Gothic style can be found in the New World.

Neo-Gothic was recognized as the ideal style for the countryside: its complex and irregular forms fit perfectly into the natural landscape. Also, the new style was popular for the construction of churches, where elements such as openwork high windows, turrets, stained-glass windows, lancet arches, and spiers were actively used.

The most striking example of neo-Gothic architecture in Germany is the Cologne Cathedral, one of the tallest and most massive buildings of the 19th century. German architects also designed such masterpieces of world architecture as the castle in Schwangau and the incredible beauty of Neuschwanstein Castle, built on the site of a destroyed knight's watchtower.

In Cardiff (England), Cardiff Castle (in the city center) and Coch Castle, or Red Castle, which is located in the suburbs, have been restored. In the 20th and 21st century, Koch Castle has been the setting for historical and fairy tale films several times.

One of the masterpieces of neo-Gothic architecture is the Parliament building in Hungary (Budapest). This is one of the most beautiful government buildings in the world. The graceful turrets of the parliament, located on the banks of the Danube, are effectively reflected in the water, and the sharp spiers - an indispensable attribute of the neo-Gothic style - make the silhouette light, directed to the sky. During the construction of the Hungarian Parliament, 40 million bricks, 500 thousand precious stones and 40 kilograms of gold were used.

Beginning in the second half of the 18th century, Neo-Gothic becomes popular in Russia. Initially, the construction of Catholic churches in the neo-Gothic style began in the west of the country, then the fashion for “knightly” architecture expanded: architects began to build private and profitable city mansions, as well as manor houses in wealthy estates using Gothic forms. Profitable houses in Moscow and especially St. Petersburg were distinguished by luxurious front porches, lancet windows, richly decorated gables, spiers and turrets.

An interesting example of the Russian Neo-Gothic of the mid-19th century is the complex of buildings erected in Peterhof. Among them are the chapel in the Alexandria park, decorated with many decorative elements made of cast iron, the Farm Palace, the Cottage Palace, as well as the railway station, post office and imperial stables.

Publications in the Architecture section

Russian Pseudo-Gothic and European Neo-Gothic: Architectural Cousins

And the maned XVIII century - the century of powdered wigs, pink men's stockings and huge crinolines - had not yet come to an end, but the souls of the European aristocracy already wanted something else. Exuberant, exciting and unusual. This is how romanticism arose - a style "for true intellectuals", full of strong passions and loving wild, pristine beauty. And also ancient history, because ancient history, as you know, is completely full of strong passions and completely devoid of boredom. Studying with Sofia Bagdasarova.

Nicholas Lancre. Marie Camargo. OK. 1730. Hermitage

Caspar David Friedrich. Sunset (Brothers). 1830–1835 Hermitage

Jean Honore Fragonard. Stolen kiss. 1780s. Hermitage

The Middle Ages suddenly became incredibly popular: every writer, poet or artist was sure to create something of this kind, romantic, medieval ... Architects did not lag behind, especially since the example was before their eyes. Indeed, throughout Europe, there were many Gothic buildings that were considered old-fashioned in the era of classicism, and now suddenly became a role model. The tone was set by the British. So, in the 1740s-50s, neo-Gothic was born, and in the 1780s it reached the Russian Empire.

But we did not have our own majestic cathedrals and gloomy castles, which Russian architects could look back at. Only a lot of brick churches and chambers and the unusual pattern of the Moscow "Naryshkin baroque". From this mixture, Russian pseudo-Gothic appeared - an amazing stylization that combined the features of both architectural styles. Let's compare Gothic buildings of the same age in Europe and Russia in order to better feel the uniqueness of the Russian invention.

Tsaritsyno and Strawberry Hill House

The Tsaritsyno palace and park ensemble began to be built in 1776 according to the project of architect Vasily Bazhenov for Empress Catherine the Great. It is believed that Russian pseudo-Gothic began with this project.

Strawberry Hill House ("House on Strawberry Hill") is the villa of Earl Horace Walpole, not only the son of the Prime Minister of Great Britain, but also the founder of the Gothic novel genre. The construction of the "castle", invented by the writer, was carried out from 1749 to the 1770s. Walpole's housing and his books set the world's gothic fashion for a long time.

Palace and park ensemble "Tsaritsyno"

Strawberry Hill House. Photo: Chiswick Chap / Wikimedia Commons

Petrovsky Travel Palace and Beaver Castle

The Petrovsky Travel Palace, the second important example of Moscow's pseudo-Gothic, was also commissioned by Catherine the Great. In 1776–1780, it was erected by Matvey Kazakov, who finished Tsaritsyno after Bazhenov.

Beaver Castle - from the 16th century to this day, the residence of the Dukes of Rutland. The old building at the end of the 18th century was completely rebuilt in the spirit of the then fashionable "brick Gothic" (in 1801-1832 it was renovated after a fire). The castle is considered one of the finest examples of this style during the Regency era.

Petrovsky Travel Palace

Beaver Castle. Photo: Craigy / Wikipedia Commons

Chesme Church and Gothic House

The Court Chesme Church was founded in 1777 by order of Catherine II in honor of the anniversary of the victory in the Battle of Chesme. The architect was the German Yuri (Georg Friedrich) Felten. The church turned out elegant and unlike anything else.

The Gothic house in the Park Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz of the Duke of Anhalt-Dessau was built in 1773–1813. The "kingdom" itself is one of the first English landscape parks, not only in Germany, but in general in continental Europe. Of course, he could not do without the Gothic pavilion, which the Duke of Anhalt liked so much during his visit to Strawberry Hill House.

Chesme Church

Gothic house. Photo: Heinz Fraßdorf / Wikimedia Commons

Priory Palace and Church of the Holy Cross

The Priory Palace in Gatchina was built in 1799 by the architect Nikolai Lvov by order of Emperor Paul as the residence of the prior of the Order of Malta, who settled in Russia because of Napoleon. The architect in his project focused not on the then fashionable lancet Gothic, but on the more boring Swiss castles and Lutheran churches. Neogothic churches in this style have not yet been created, in large numbers they will begin to appear only in the 2nd half of the 19th century. The Priory Palace is the only building in Russia built using earth beaten technology (compressed loam).

The Church of the Holy Cross in Stateburg, USA, is another neo-Gothic building made of earthen brick. Built in 1850-1852 on the land of the legendary General Sumter, it stands in a city that was founded in 1783 in South Carolina, one of the most "aristocratic" states. Its author was the famous architect Edward K. Jones.

Priory Palace

Church of the Holy Cross. Photo: Pollinator / Wikimedia Commons

Mozhaisk Nikolsky Cathedral and Mariahilfkirche

Nikolsky Cathedral in the Mozhaisk Kremlin was built in 1802-1814 by the architect Alexei Bakarev. It is curious that during its construction, the ancient fortress gates of the 14th century were included in the first tier of the church. As in other buildings of Russian pseudo-Gothic, mysterious signs associated with Freemasonry are found in its ornaments.

Mariahilfkirche (Church of Mary Help of Christians) in Munich was built in 1831-1839. During this period, the architects were already tired of romantic Gothic cliches, stopped reading Walter Scott and began to copy medieval temples in neighboring quarters, rather than English examples from albums and books.

Mozhaysky Cathedral. Photo: Ludvig14 / Wikimedia Commons

Mariahilfkirche. Photo: AHert/Wikimedia Commons

Nicholas tower and chapel in Krakow

The Nikolskaya tower of the Moscow Kremlin was built in 1491 by Pietro Antonio Solari, but until 1806 it had only one lower quadrangular tier. The tall tower familiar to us in the "white lace" of brick patterns was built on by the Swiss Luigi Ruska. It is curious that in his project he follows the example of Moscow, and not Western architects. After the fire of 1812, Osip Bove was involved in the restoration of the tower.

The Chapel of Blessed Bronislava in Krakow was built in 1856-1861 according to the design of Felix Ksienzharsky. Before there was a medieval building, which was destroyed by the Austrians. The demolition caused great indignation, and the chapel had to be rebuilt - this time already inside the fortification lines. As a result, it turned out to be built into the wall. In these decades of the 19th century, historicism already arose, sometimes with meticulous copying of ancient buildings, and this neo-Gothic chapel is quite in the spirit of the times.

Nikolskaya tower. Photo: Vladimir Tokarev / Wikimedia Commons

Chapel of Saint Bronislava. Photo: Dawid Galus 2 / Wikimedia Commons

Chapel in Peterhof and the Palace of Westminster

The Church of St. Alexander Nevsky ("Capella") in Alexandria Park, Peterhof, was built in 1831–1833 by order of Nicholas I and designed by Karl Schinkel under the supervision of Adam Menelas. This building is no longer a patterned Russian pseudo-Gothic, but a real European neo-Gothic. After all, it was erected for an educated German princess, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, who adored the Middle Ages and even decorated her palace chambers in this style.

The Palace of Westminster, in the past - the residence of the English kings, and now the British Parliament, was built on the remains of a medieval building that burned down in 1834. The current palace, designed by architects Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin, is a neo-Gothic exercise in history, albeit an extremely successful one.

Chapel in Peterhof

Westminster Palace. Photo: Clpo13 / Wikimedia Commons

Muromtsevo and Neuschwanstein

The Khrapovitsky Manor in Muromtsevo, Vladimir Region, is an estate on whose territory a real neo-Gothic castle was built in 1884-1889 by the architect Pyotr Boitsov, of which there were many built all over Europe at that time. Today, the luxurious estate is in ruins. Recently, it was transferred to the Vladimir-Suzdal Reserve, which is planning its reconstruction.. It was built in 1893-1898 for the wife of a millionaire

Bakhrushin Museum and Palazzo Genovese

The building of the Bakhrushin Theater Museum was commissioned by the founder of the museum in 1896 and designed by the architect Karl Gippius. The facades of the building, inspired by examples of English Gothic, are also reminiscent of Moscow projects of the 18th century. Just like in the Shekhtel's mansion, you can also feel the Art Nouveau reigning around with its smooth lines.

Palazzo Genovese (Palace of the Genovese family) on the Gran Canal in Venice was built in 1892 by the architect Edoardo Trigomi Mattei. In fact, this is an example of the late neo-Gothic of the 19th century, but the author follows historical patterns so carefully that the palazzo does not stand out at all against the background of medieval Venetian buildings. By the way, Gothic in such southern latitudes suddenly turns out to be some kind of “Moorish”, not without reason there is a theory that the crusaders spied on many of its elements in the Arab countries.

Bakhrushin Museum. Photo: Ludvig14 / Wikimedia Commons

Palazzo Genovese. Photo: Wolfgang Moroder / Wikimedia Commons

The age of the rapid industrial revolution and the subsequent processes of urbanization, the scale of which no one could have predicted at the beginning, decisively changed the landscape of the city and the countryside. Perhaps more than any other form of artistic creation, architecture reflected the contradictory aspects of the time.

An urgent need, both because of new needs, and as a result of the emergence of new materials and technical means provided by industry, however, for a long time, architectural thought was fettered by traditional concepts. Even in the middle of the nineteenth century. projects in the neoclassical style were widely implemented, i.e. it was about the proposal of sought-after neo-Greek or neo-gothic architectural modules. Only in the second half of the 19th century, there were shifts in architectural design associated with the use of previously never used together.

Origins of neo-Gothic

During the nineteenth century cultural phenomena of a retrospective nature repeatedly arose - with an appeal to the elements of Greek or Gothic architecture. One of the most notable among this kind of phenomena was neo-Gothic, which took off as a "Gothic revival", gothic revival.

Origins in the 18th century. in England, where this trend was not interrupted, as a trend of the picturesque and sublime, and then it spread throughout Europe.

Neo-Gothic Features

The aspects and factors of the formation of the Neo-Gothic direction seem diverse and complex, but its very statement is definitely connected with romanticism, which saw one of the tasks of art in expressing the spirit of the people, and the architecture of the Middle Ages was considered precisely as a symbol of history and national tradition in different European countries, in an obvious connection with the revival of the medieval spirit by the historical novel (beginning with Walter Scott) and the romantic melodrama.

Another important aspect was the flourishing - for the first time on a scientific foundation - of historical-critical studies of medieval art, with a close study of especially famous monuments, for the restoration practice, which was becoming more widespread everywhere. But there were two countries where by the middle of the nineteenth century. Neo-Gothic achieved the most striking results: these are England and France.

Gothic Revival in England

In England, ethical and social teachings played their role, which also affected the work of the London architect Augustus W. Pugin (1812-1852), the author, together with Charles Barry, of the Houses of Parliament in London (1836-1860), a masterpiece of English neo-Gothic.

Striving for an organic connection between architecture and society, Pugin emphasized the "moral" value of the Gothic and, at the same time, the dignity of its constructive system.

Neo-Gothic in France

In France, the architect, theorist and restorer Eugene Viollet-le-Duc (restoration of Notre Dame in Paris in 1845, the cathedral in Reims, the Abbey of Saint-Denis) considered the Gothic an example of constructive rationality, which is also important for the development of modern technology.

Viollet-le-Duc's widely used method of complementary, or interpretive, restoration, which is now considered unacceptable, emphasized his desire to give Gothic relevance to modern society.

In Italy, the strong position of the Classical and Renaissance traditions made it almost impossible for the Neo-Gothic style to spread, which is scarcely represented by a few examples.

Gothic Revival in the USA

in the United States in the 19th century. the neo-gothic revival was a manifestation of familiarity with European romanticism. Neo-Gothic (revivalism) was especially liked and influenced all of American secular and religious architecture. Main representatives: R. Upjohn, J. Renwick, A. J. Downing.