Noi Trotsky
Encyclopedia
Noi Abramovich Trotsky was a renowned Soviet architect.
, graduated from the Academy of Arts
in 1920 (then named "Petrograd Free Art Workshops") and 2nd Polytechnic in 1921. He also apprenticed with "Red Doric" architect Ivan Fomin
around the same time.
Often cited for his turn from Constructivism
towards Stalinist neo-Classicism
in the 1930s, Trotsky's training under Fomin indicates a long familiarity with classical forms. The high point of his Constructivist work is probably the Kirov District Administration building of 1938.
Trotsky's best-known project is the House of Soviets
in Saint Petersburg. At the year of its completion, the building was the largest office building in Saint Petersburg (then Leningrad). In March 1936, the Leningrad Soviet decided to relocate all the city's administration to a new site at the southern end of International Avenue. In open tender, Trotsky's project was selected over ten others. It was completed after Trotsky death, with co-authors Modest Shepilevsky and Yakov Lukin, and it features an impressive 11-meter-high frieze by Soviet sculptor Nikolai Tomsky
.
Trotsky taught at the Academy of Arts
' successor, VKhuTeIn (:ru:ВХУТЕИН, :ru:Высший художественно-технический институт, Higher Institute of Arts and Design, later renamed into институт живописи, скульптуры и архитектуры (им. Репина), (Repin) Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture), from 1929, was Professor there from 1939, and taught at the Saint-Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering. He died in 1940 and is buried at the Volkovo Cemetery
in Saint Petersburg.
Biography
Born in St. Petersburg to a family of a typesetter, Trotsky took art classes from the renowned painter Nicholas RoerichNicholas Roerich
Nicholas Roerich, also known as Nikolai Konstantinovich Rerikh , was a Russian mystic, painter, philosopher, scientist, writer, traveler, and public figure. A prolific artist, he created thousands of paintings and about 30 literary works...
, graduated from the Academy of Arts
Imperial Academy of Arts
The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, was founded in 1757 by Ivan Shuvalov under the name Academy of the Three Noblest Arts. Catherine the Great renamed it the Imperial Academy of Arts and commissioned a new building, completed 25 years later in 1789...
in 1920 (then named "Petrograd Free Art Workshops") and 2nd Polytechnic in 1921. He also apprenticed with "Red Doric" architect Ivan Fomin
Ivan Fomin
Ivan Aleksandrovich Fomin was a Russian architect and educator. He began his career in 1899 in Moscow, working in the Art Nouveau style. After relocating to Saint Petersburg in 1905, he became an established master of the Neoclassical Revival movement...
around the same time.
Often cited for his turn from Constructivism
Constructivist architecture
Constructivist architecture was a form of modern architecture that flourished in the Soviet Union in the 1920s and early 1930s. It combined advanced technology and engineering with an avowedly Communist social purpose. Although it was divided into several competing factions, the movement produced...
towards Stalinist neo-Classicism
Stalinist architecture
Stalinist architecture , also referred to as Stalinist Gothic, or Socialist Classicism, is a term given to architecture of the Soviet Union between 1933, when Boris Iofan's draft for Palace of the Soviets was officially approved, and 1955, when Nikita Khrushchev condemned "excesses" of the past...
in the 1930s, Trotsky's training under Fomin indicates a long familiarity with classical forms. The high point of his Constructivist work is probably the Kirov District Administration building of 1938.
Trotsky's best-known project is the House of Soviets
House of Soviets (Saint Petersburg)
The House of Soviets is the office building built in Stalinist style in the late 1930s in Saint Petersburg . It is located in the Moskovsky District of Saint Petersburg....
in Saint Petersburg. At the year of its completion, the building was the largest office building in Saint Petersburg (then Leningrad). In March 1936, the Leningrad Soviet decided to relocate all the city's administration to a new site at the southern end of International Avenue. In open tender, Trotsky's project was selected over ten others. It was completed after Trotsky death, with co-authors Modest Shepilevsky and Yakov Lukin, and it features an impressive 11-meter-high frieze by Soviet sculptor Nikolai Tomsky
Nikolai Tomsky
Nikolai Vasilyevich Tomsky was a much-decorated Soviet sculptor, designer of many well-known ceremonial monuments of the Socialist Realism era.- Biography :...
.
Trotsky taught at the Academy of Arts
Imperial Academy of Arts
The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, was founded in 1757 by Ivan Shuvalov under the name Academy of the Three Noblest Arts. Catherine the Great renamed it the Imperial Academy of Arts and commissioned a new building, completed 25 years later in 1789...
' successor, VKhuTeIn (:ru:ВХУТЕИН, :ru:Высший художественно-технический институт, Higher Institute of Arts and Design, later renamed into институт живописи, скульптуры и архитектуры (им. Репина), (Repin) Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture), from 1929, was Professor there from 1939, and taught at the Saint-Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering. He died in 1940 and is buried at the Volkovo Cemetery
Volkovo Cemetery
The Volkovo Cemetery , is one of the largest and oldest non- Orthodox cemeteries in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Until the early 20th century it was one of the main burial grounds for Lutheran Germans in Russia...
in Saint Petersburg.
Work
(in St. Petersburg unless otherwise noted)- 2nd Power Station in Novgorodskaya Street, 1923
- Kirov Palace of Culture on Vasilievsky IslandVasilievsky IslandVasilyevsky Island is an island in Saint Petersburg, Russia, bordered by the rivers Bolshaya Neva and Malaya Neva in the south and northeast, and by the Gulf of Finland in the west. Vasilyevsky Island is separated from Dekabristov Island by the Smolenka River...
, 1931–1937 - Kirov District Administration, with the monument to Sergey KirovSergey KirovSergei Mironovich Kirov , born Sergei Mironovich Kostrikov, was a prominent early Bolshevik leader in the Soviet Union. Kirov rose through the Communist Party ranks to become head of the Party organization in Leningrad...
by sculptor Nikolai TomskyNikolai TomskyNikolai Vasilyevich Tomsky was a much-decorated Soviet sculptor, designer of many well-known ceremonial monuments of the Socialist Realism era.- Biography :...
, 1938 - Kirov Meat Plant, 1930–1935
- Bolshoy DomBolshoy DomThe Big House is an unofficial name of the building in Saint Petersburg, Russia, shared by the headquarters of the local Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast branch of the Federal Security Service of Russia and the Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast Main Department of Internal Affairs...
, prison of the internal security services, Liteyny ProspektLiteyny ProspektLiteyny Avenue is a wide avenue in the Central District of Saint Petersburg, Russia. The avenue runs from Liteyny Bridge to Nevsky Avenue....
, with co-designers Alexander Gegello and Andrey Ol, 1931–1935 - House of the SovietsHouse of Soviets (Saint Petersburg)The House of Soviets is the office building built in Stalinist style in the late 1930s in Saint Petersburg . It is located in the Moskovsky District of Saint Petersburg....
, 1936–1941 - Opera Theater in SamaraSamara, RussiaSamara , is the sixth largest city in Russia. It is situated in the southeastern part of European Russia at the confluence of the Volga and Samara Rivers. Samara is the administrative center of Samara Oblast. Population: . The metropolitan area of Samara-Tolyatti-Syzran within Samara Oblast...
, with Nikolai Katsenelenbogen, 1936–1938