Vasili Bazhenov
Encyclopedia
Vasily Ivanovich Bazhenov (Василий Иванович Баженов in Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...

) (March 1 (12), 1737 or 1738 – August 2 (13), 1799) was a Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n neoclassical
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...

 architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

, graphic artist, architectural theorist and educator. Bazhenov and his associates Matvey Kazakov
Matvey Kazakov
Matvey Fyodorovich Kazakov was a Russian Neoclassical architect. Kazakov was one of the most influential Muscovite architects during the reign of Catherine II, completing numerous private residences, two royal palaces, two hospitals, Moscow University, and the Kremlin Senate...

 and Ivan Starov
Ivan Starov
Ivan Yegorovich Starov was a Russian architect from St. Petersburg who devised the master plans for Yaroslavl, Voronezh, Pskov, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, and many other towns in Russia and Ukraine...

 were the leading local architects of the Russian Enlightenment
Russian Enlightenment
The Russian Age of Enlightenment was a period in the eighteenth century in which the government began to actively encourage the proliferation of arts and sciences. This time gave birth to the first Russian university, library, theatre, public museum, and relatively independent press...

, a period dominated by foreign architects (Charles Cameron
Charles Cameron (architect)
Charles Cameron was a Scottish architect who made an illustrious career at the court of Catherine II of Russia. Cameron, practitioner of early neoclassical architecture, was the chief architect of Tsarskoye Selo and Pavlovsk palaces and the adjacent new town of Sophia from his arrival in Russia in...

, Giacomo Quarenghi
Giacomo Quarenghi
Giacomo Quarenghi was the foremost and most prolific practitioner of Palladian architecture in Imperial Russia, particularly in Saint Petersburg.- Career in Italy :...

, Antonio Rinaldi and others). According to Dmitry Shvidkovsky
Dmitry Shvidkovsky
Dmitry Shvidkovsky is a Russian educator and historian of architecture of Russia and the United Kingdom during the Age of Enlightenment. A 1982 alumnus and long-term professor of Moscow Architectural Institute, Shvidkovsky was appointed its rector in 2007....

, in the 1770s Bazhenov became the first Russian architect to create a national architectural language since the 17th century tradition
Vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture is a term used to categorize methods of construction which use locally available resources and traditions to address local needs and circumstances. Vernacular architecture tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural and historical context in which it...

 interrupted by Peter I of Russia
Peter I of Russia
Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...

.

Bazhenov's early success was followed by a tragic professional and private life. His two main construction projects were abandoned for political or financial reasons. His magnum opus
Masterpiece
Masterpiece in modern usage refers to a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or to a work of outstanding creativity, skill or workmanship....

, the neoclassical Grand Kremlin Palace, was cancelled shortly after groundbreaking. The imperial palace in Tsaritsyno Park fell victim to the Battle of the palaces
Battle of the palaces
The "battle of the palaces" occurred in the Russian Empire in the last decade of the reign of Catherine II and the reign of Paul I , with ripple effects extending into the beginning of the reign of Alexander I...

; Bazhenov's palace core were demolished to the order of Catherine II
Catherine II of Russia
Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great , Empress of Russia, was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia on as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg...

. Another project, for the Moscow State University
Moscow State University
Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...

 building, ended in a bitter conflict with Bazhenov's former benefactor Prokofi Demidov
Prokofi Demidov
Prokofi Akinfiyevich Demidov was a Russian industrialist and philanthropist.The eldest son of Akinfiy Demidov, Prokofi inherited the enormous Demidov family fortune on his father's death in 1745...

 and led Bazhenov into bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....

. Before his death, Bazhenov implored his children to stay aside from the treacherous construction business.

Bazhenov's legacy remains debated. The attributions of Pashkov House
Pashkov House
The Pashkov House is the famous Neoclassical mansion that stands on a hill opposite the western wall of the Moscow Kremlin, near the crossing of the Mokhovaya and Vozdvizhenka streets. Its design has been attributed to Vasily Bazhenov. It used to be home to the Rumyantsev Museum in the 19th century...

 and lesser projects to Bazhenov, backed by a sketchy paper trail, deductions
Deductive reasoning
Deductive reasoning, also called deductive logic, is reasoning which constructs or evaluates deductive arguments. Deductive arguments are attempts to show that a conclusion necessarily follows from a set of premises or hypothesis...

 and conjecture
Conjecture
A conjecture is a proposition that is unproven but is thought to be true and has not been disproven. Karl Popper pioneered the use of the term "conjecture" in scientific philosophy. Conjecture is contrasted by hypothesis , which is a testable statement based on accepted grounds...

s, are uncertain to the point where his life and work became subject of conspiracy theories
Conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...

. Even his place of birth and the location of Bazhenov's grave are unknown. His life story, as reconstructed by Igor Grabar
Igor Grabar
Igor Emmanuilovich Grabar was a Russian post-impressionist painter, publisher, restorer and historian of art. Grabar, descendant of a wealthy Rusyn family, was trained as a painter by Ilya Repin in Saint Petersburg and by Anton Ažbe in Munich...

 and popularized by the historians of the Soviet period, is regarded by modern critics as the "Bazhenov myth", and even most recent academic research fails to replace this myth with a reliable biography.

Early career

The exact year and place of Bazhenov's birth is uncertain; he was born in 1737 or 1738 in a family of a church clerk either in Moscow or in the village of Dolskoye near Maloyaroslavets
Maloyaroslavets
Maloyaroslavets is a town in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Luzha River , southwest of Moscow and northeast of Kaluga. Population: 21,200 ....

. According to the second version, the family relocated to Moscow when Vasily was three months old. In 1753 Vasily volunteered (but was not formally hired) into the Kremlin
Moscow Kremlin
The Moscow Kremlin , sometimes referred to as simply The Kremlin, is a historic fortified complex at the heart of Moscow, overlooking the Moskva River , Saint Basil's Cathedral and Red Square and the Alexander Garden...

-based architectural company of Dmitry Ukhtomsky
Dmitry Ukhtomsky
Prince Dmitry Vasilyevich Ukhtomsky, Дмитрий Васильевич Ухтомский was the chief architect of Moscow, Russia during the reign of Empress Elizabeth.-Biography:...

, then the only Moscow institution providing basic architectural training. There Bazhenov acquired practical construction skills; poverty forced him to seek paid work instead of classroom training.

In 1755 Bazhenov joined the first class of the newly opened Moscow State University
Moscow State University
Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...

. Bazhenov's first biographer, Evfimy (Eugene) Bolkhovitinov (1767–1837, Metropolitan of Kiev since 1822), wrote that Bazhenov also studied at the Slavic Greek Latin Academy
Slavic Greek Latin Academy
Slavic Greek Latin Academy was the first higher education establishment in Moscow, Russia.-Beginnings:...

 but this opinion is firmly refuted by 20th century biographers. Bolkhovitinov, perhaps, knowingly twisted the facts to raise the prestige of clerical colleges.

In the beginning of 1758 the University, requested by Ivan Shuvalov
Ivan Shuvalov
Ivan Ivanovich Shuvalov was called the Maecenas of the Russian Enlightenment and the first Russian Minister of Education...

, dispatched a group of sixteen students, including Bazhenov and Ivan Starov
Ivan Starov
Ivan Yegorovich Starov was a Russian architect from St. Petersburg who devised the master plans for Yaroslavl, Voronezh, Pskov, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, and many other towns in Russia and Ukraine...

, to Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

 to continue training at the newly established Imperial 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...

. They, along with twenty boys selected in Saint Petersburg, became the first class of the Academy. In May 1758 the class was reduced to thirty students (8 nobles
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...

 and 22 raznochintsy
Raznochintsy
Raznochintsy was an official term introduced in the Code of Law of the Russian Empire in the 17th century to define a social estate that included the lower court and governmental ranks, children of personal dvoryans, and discharged military, The category of raznochintsy grew significantly during...

); at the first exam, twenty-year-old Bazhenov ranked first, also being the oldest student; fourteen–year–old Starov ranked seventh while the youngest student, Stefan Karnovich, was only twelve. Bazhenov, according to his own statement, was assigned to the class of Savva Chevakinsky
Savva Chevakinsky
Savva Ivanovich Chevakinsky was a Russian architect of the Baroque school. He worked in St. Petersburg and Tsarskoe Selo.Chevakinsky was born into a noble family in the village of Veshki in the Novotorzhsk district of Tver province....

, chief architect of the Russian Admiralty
Russian Admiralty
Admiralty Board was a supreme body for the administration of the Imperial Russian Navy in the Russian Empire, established by Peter the Great on December 12, 1718, and headquartered in the Admiralty building, Saint Petersburg....

, worked on the construction of the Saint Nicholas church and became a personal mentor and blood brother
Blood brother
Blood brother can refer to one of two things: two males related by birth, or two or more men not related by birth who have sworn loyalty to each other. This is usually done in a ceremony, known as a blood oath, where the blood of each man is mingled together...

 of younger Starov.

Three years later Bazhenov and painter Anton Losenko
Anton Losenko
Anton Pavlovich Losenko was a Ukrainian Neoclassical painter who lived in Imperial Russia and who specialized in historical subjects and portraits.- Life :...

 became the first students of the Academy of Arts to be awarded a scholarship out of Russia. Bazhenov trained in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 at the workshop of Charles De Wailly
Charles De Wailly
Charles De Wailly was a French architect and urbanist, and furniture designer, one of the principals in the Neoclassical revival of the Antique. His major work was the Théâtre de l'Odéon for the Comédie-Française...

 (Starov joined him there in October 1762). Bazhenov's entries to the competitions of the French Academy of Architecture
Académie d'architecture
The Académie royale d'architecture was a French learned society founded on December 30, 1671 by Louis XIV, king of France under the impulsion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert...

 were a success; he "triumphantly concluded" the scholarship, being elected to the Roman Academy of Saint Luke
Accademia di San Luca
The Accademia di San Luca, was founded in 1577 as an association of artists in Rome, under the directorship of Federico Zuccari, with the purpose of elevating the work of "artists", which included painters, sculptors and architects, above that of mere craftsmen. Other founders included Girolamo...

, Academy of Fine Arts of Florence
Accademia di Belle Arti Firenze
The Accademia di Belle Arti is an art academy in Florence, Italy and it is now the operative branch of the still existing Accademia delle Arti del Disegno that was the first academy of drawing in Europe.-History:The Accademia delle Arti del Disegno The Accademia di Belle Arti ("Academy of Fine...

 and Academy of Fine Arts of Bologna
Academy of Fine Arts of Bologna
The Academy of Fine Arts of Bologna is a post-secondary school for studies in the visual arts, founded in 1710.- External links :...

. Later, Bazhenov became the principal promoter of French neoclassicism
French Rococo and Neoclassicism
18th-century French art was dominated by the Rococo and neoclassical movements. In France, the death of Louis XIV lead to a period of licentious freedom commonly called the Régence. The heir to Louis XIV, his great grandson Louis XV of France, was only 5 years old; for the next seven years France...

 in Russia and set the stylistic canon of neoclassical Moscow along the ideas of De Wailly.

He returned to Russia in May 1765 possessing "unusual and impeccable credentials for a Russian of that day" and applied for a degree and tenure at the Academy, but the new management had no intention to hire Bazhenov. He was subjected to a rigorous formal examination and was ordered to submit a new graduation project; he had no success with the Academy but was noticed by Catherine II
Catherine II of Russia
Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great , Empress of Russia, was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia on as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg...

 and her son Paul
Paul I of Russia
Paul I was the Emperor of Russia between 1796 and 1801. He also was the 72nd Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta .-Childhood:...

, who commissioned Bazhenov to design and build a private mansion on Kamenny Island
Kamenny Island
Kamenny Ostrov, Kamenny Island, or Stony Island is one of the islands in the Neva delta. It is part of Saint Petersburg, Russia....

. In the end of 1766 Grigory Orlov, then commander of imperial artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...

 and military engineers, hired Baznenov into his retinue, in the military rank of captain of artillery, and commissioned him the Arsenal in Saint Petersburg. Next year, Bazhenov followed Orlov into Moscow where he would live for most of his remaining life "giving a Russian reality to French Classical and Italian Palladian
Palladian architecture
Palladian architecture is a European style of architecture derived from the designs of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio . The term "Palladian" normally refers to buildings in a style inspired by Palladio's own work; that which is recognised as Palladian architecture today is an evolution of...

 modes to which he was exposed."

Kremlin Palace

Catherine suggested the idea of rebuilding the decrepit palaces of the Moscow Kremlin
Moscow Kremlin
The Moscow Kremlin , sometimes referred to as simply The Kremlin, is a historic fortified complex at the heart of Moscow, overlooking the Moskva River , Saint Basil's Cathedral and Red Square and the Alexander Garden...

 into a new government center of the reformed country (in 1767 Moscow hosted an elected congress framing a new code of laws) and Bazhenov eagerly responded; as early as 1767 he produced first drafts of his opus magnum
Masterpiece
Masterpiece in modern usage refers to a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or to a work of outstanding creativity, skill or workmanship....

, the utopia
Utopia
Utopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...

n Grand Kremlin Palace. Orlov, fascinated by the proposal, rightfully questioned the feasibility of the enormous edifice, but Baznenov went forward and finalized the design by the end of summer of 1768. The largest neoclassical complex in Europe, if ever completed, would have replaced the Kremlin itself, leaving only its cathedrals intact.

According to his plan, the new four–storey neoclassical palace
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...

 would take up the whole southern side of the Kremlin - 2,100 feet or 630 meters from Konstantino-Yeleninskaya tower in the east to Borovitskaya Tower in the west, and extending north along the western wall of the Kremlin up to the Arsenal
Kremlin Arsenal
The Kremlin Arsenal is a former armory built within the grounds of the Moscow Kremlin in Russia. Initially constructed in 1736, it has been rebuilt several times. It remains in military use to date, unlike the Kremlin Armoury, another arsenal within the walls of the Moscow Kremlin, which is now a...

. The palace would have completely enclosed the Kremlin Cathedrals, obstructing their view from across the Moskva River
Moskva River
The Moskva River is a river that flows through the Moscow and Smolensk Oblasts in Russia, and is a tributary of the Oka River.-Etymology:...

. Instead of building the palace on the top plateau
Plateau
In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...

 of the Kremlin Hill, Bazhenov placed it right on the steep slope between the plateau and the Kremlin wall slated for demolition, employing enormous stone buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...

es to prevent it from sliding into the river
Landslide
A landslide or landslip is a geological phenomenon which includes a wide range of ground movement, such as rockfalls, deep failure of slopes and shallow debris flows, which can occur in offshore, coastal and onshore environments...

. The river itself should have been cleaned up, regulated and flanked by an embankment sided with logs.

Layout of the new Kremlin "was the most inventive planning effort of Catherine's reign". Bazhenov retained the historical Cathedral Square and proposed creation of a new square in the eastern part of the Kremlin that would become the new center of Moscow and the start of three new radial streets projecting due north, north-west and north-east. The northern radius, passing through a planned opening in the Kremlin wall, would directly connect the palace with Tverskaya Street
Tverskaya Street
Tverskaya Street , known as Gorky Street between 1935 and 1990, is the main and probably best-known radial street of Moscow, Russia. The street runs from the central Manege Square north-west in the direction of Saint Petersburg and terminated at the Garden Ring, giving its name to Tverskoy District...

. Bazhenov expaded his planning into modernizing the city itself, which eventually led to the Projected Plan officially accepted in 1775, a joint effort led by Pyotr Kozhin and Nicholas Legrand.

Nikolay Karamzin wrote in 1817 that "plans of Bazhenov, the famous architect, are similar to Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...

's Republic or More
Thomas More
Sir Thomas More , also known by Catholics as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman and noted Renaissance humanist. He was an important councillor to Henry VIII of England and, for three years toward the end of his life, Lord Chancellor...

's Utopia
Utopia (book)
Utopia is a work of fiction by Thomas More published in 1516...

: they should be admired in thought and never put into practice." Nevertheless, the project received a go–ahead and the government set up the Kremlin Construction Board (or Expedition in 18th century parlance), an institution that survived into the 19th century. The Expedition became a new architectural school for local students, starting with Bazhenov's aide Matvey Kazakov
Matvey Kazakov
Matvey Fyodorovich Kazakov was a Russian Neoclassical architect. Kazakov was one of the most influential Muscovite architects during the reign of Catherine II, completing numerous private residences, two royal palaces, two hospitals, Moscow University, and the Kremlin Senate...

. Kazakov, working in Kremlin since 1768, became Bazhenov's equal after 1770 and took over management of the Expedition in 1786. He surpassed Bazhenov as educator, revitalized Ukhtomsky school and trained Joseph Bove
Joseph Bové
Joseph Bové was a Russian neoclassical architect with Italian roots who supervised reconstruction of Moscow after the Fire of 1812.-Biography:...

, Ivan Yegotov and Aleksey Bakarev.

At the groundbreaking
Groundbreaking
Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are often attended by dignitaries such as politicians and...

 ceremony (1773) Bazhenov declared that "today we renew old Moscow". Work commenced by shaving of the southern slope of the Kremlin Hill and laying foundation for the supporting buttresses. Central part of the southern wall of Kremlin, Taynitskaya and First Unnamed towers were demolished. Earth pit began right next to the Cathedral of the Archangel
Cathedral of the Archangel
The Cathedral of the Archangel is a Russian Orthodox church dedicated to the Archangel Michael. It is located in Cathedral Square of the Moscow Kremlin in Russia between the Great Kremlin Palace and the Ivan the Great Bell Tower. It was the main necropolis for members of the Tsars of Russia until...

 and for the next year Bazhenov and his engineers struggled with the threat of landslides. In 1775 Catherine shut down the project, citing damage to the Cathedral of the Archangel and the unsuitable geology of the Kremlin Hill. Historians reason that she had other, more important concerns: enormous cost of the palace and reluctance to invest in Moscow, an old city that she perceived as a threat to her control and modernization
Modernization
In the social sciences, modernization or modernisation refers to a model of an evolutionary transition from a 'pre-modern' or 'traditional' to a 'modern' society. The teleology of modernization is described in social evolutionism theories, existing as a template that has been generally followed by...

 of the Empire, the demise of constitutional assembly or the simple fact that by 1775 "Catherine had nothing more to prove."

The original wooden model of the planned palace (1:44 scale, 17 meters long), made by Bazhenov's students is preserved at the Moscow Museum of Architecture. When the museum was based at the Donskoy monastery
Donskoy Monastery
Donskoy Monastery is a major monastery in Moscow, founded in 1591 in commemoration of Moscow's deliverance from an imminent threat of Khan Kazy-Girey’s invasion...

 the model was publicly displayed in its main cathedral. In 2001 City of Moscow proposed building a dedicated museum pavilion to display the model in Alexander Garden
Alexander Garden
Alexander Gardens was one of the first urban public parks in Moscow, Russia. The park comprises three separate gardens, which stretch along all the length of the western Kremlin wall for between the building of the Moscow Manege and the Kremlin.-History:...

 but the proposal was rejected.

Tsaritsyno

Bazhenov, at least in the first half of Catherine's reign, perfectly understood her taste and stylistic program, that of Age of Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...

 rather than of Neoclassicism. During the 1775 celebrations of the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca
Treaty of Kucuk Kaynarca
The Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca was signed on 21 July 1774, in Küçük Kaynarca , Dobruja between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire after the Ottoman Empire was defeated in the...

 on the Khodynka Field, Bazhenov "turned imitation of English Gothic Revival into an attempt to create a universal stylistic language for Russian architecture combining typical elements of medieval buildings of both East and West, motifs from Antiquity
Ancient history
Ancient history is the study of the written past from the beginning of recorded human history to the Early Middle Ages. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, with Cuneiform script, the oldest discovered form of coherent writing, from the protoliterate period around the 30th century BC...

 and pure fantasy." This ephemeral work paved way to Catherine's decision to build two imperial palaces in Moscow suburbs (in 1775 she lived in a temporary wooden building in Kolomenskoye
Kolomenskoye
Kolomenskoye is a former royal estate situated several kilometers to the south-east of the city-centre of Moscow, Russia, on the ancient road leading to the town of Kolomna...

). The lesser Petrovsky Castle on the road to Saint Petersburg was awarded to Kazakov, the larger Tsaritsyno to Bazhenov.

In summer of 1775 Bazhenov designed the first draft of Tsaritsyno, now lost. It followed Catherine's affection to "peasant style", featuring numerous neo-Gothic, country style lodges scattered on a carefully planned "natural" landscape. The same approach was employed in the second, "completely non-classical" master plan approved by Catherine in spring of 1776. This time Bazhenov added a dominant main palace, designed as two identical buildings connected with a greenhouse
Greenhouse
A greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...

. One wing was intended for Catherine, another for her son and heir Paul
Paul I of Russia
Paul I was the Emperor of Russia between 1796 and 1801. He also was the 72nd Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta .-Childhood:...

. Bazhenov planned to decorate Tsaritsyno with traditional Russian coloured tile
Tile
A tile is a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, or even glass. Tiles are generally used for covering roofs, floors, walls, showers, or other objects such as tabletops...

s, izraztsy, but Catherine objected and insisted on a simpler red (brick walls), white (ornaments) and yellow (glazed roof tiles) colour scheme. Roof tiles did not last long in Russian winters and were soon replaced with sheet iron.

Bazhenov began construction with the "front row" of small buildings, gates and bridges. Their white stone inserts feature finely carved ornaments that disappeared in later buildings either due to shortage in skilled craftsmen or Bazhenov's own stylistic decision. In 1777 Bazhenov demolished the old wooden manor house of the Cantemirs
Cantemiresti
Cantemireşti was a Moldavian boyar family. In the 17th and 18th century it brought forth several Voivodes of Moldavia. In the 18th century, the family moved to Russia.The most famous members are:*Constantin Cantemir , Voivode of Moldavia...

, former owners of Tsaritsyno, and started construction of the main palace. Shortage of government funds plagued the project from the start; in fact, most of Bazhenov's written legacy consists of business letters pleading the state treasury for money, skilled labor, and counting his private debts incurred in Tsaritsyno. In 1783 he actively sought new jobs, writing that "he was now quite free in Tsaritsyno."

The main palace, with an added central annex for Paul's children, was built in eight years. Governor Jacob Bruce, who inspected Tsaritsyno in 1784, was puzzled by the absence of a formal front courtyard, but nevertheless sent Catherine an enthusiastic report praising, in particular, bridges and landscaping. Catherine suddenly visited Tsaritsyno in June 1785, and left displeased by slow pace of the work; she scorned the palace in letters to Paul and Melchior Grimm as a "dark place with low vaults and narrow stairs, unfit for living."

By 1785 Bazhenov's palace layout became politically incorrect
Political correctness
Political correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...

: relations between Catherine and Paul irreversibly worsened, the empress entertained removing Paul from the order of succession
Order of succession
An order of succession is a formula or algorithm that determines who inherits an office upon the death, resignation, or removal of its current occupant.-Monarchies and nobility:...

 completely, and twin palaces had to make way for a single one – her own. Catherine announced her will to demolish and rebuild the main palace, but Bazhenov was not fired immediately; he and Kazakov were ordered to submit independent redesign proposals. Bazhenov presented a new design in the end of 1785, but it was rejected and Bazhenov was dismissed from the project "to improve his health and household matters". In February 1786 Catherine finally awarded Tsaritsyno project to Kazakov; Bazhenov's palace was demolished in summer of 1786. Public opinion incorrectly connected her anger to Bazhenov's association with the Free Masons or his Gothic styling; in fact, Kazakov retained both Gothic and Masonic features and most of Bazhenov's auxiliary buildings survived to date.

Demidov affair

By the middle of 1780s Catherine, once fascinated by the art of Bazhenov and Charles Cameron
Charles Cameron (architect)
Charles Cameron was a Scottish architect who made an illustrious career at the court of Catherine II of Russia. Cameron, practitioner of early neoclassical architecture, was the chief architect of Tsarskoye Selo and Pavlovsk palaces and the adjacent new town of Sophia from his arrival in Russia in...

, settled for the different version of neoclassicism professed by Kazakov in Moscow and Starov and Quarenghi
Giacomo Quarenghi
Giacomo Quarenghi was the foremost and most prolific practitioner of Palladian architecture in Imperial Russia, particularly in Saint Petersburg.- Career in Italy :...

 in Saint Petersburg. In December 1786 Bazhenov finally retired from state service and had to rely on private commissions alone. The extent of these private jobs, once considered to be numerous (see attribution problem) has been subsequently revised to a very small number of more or less reliably attributed buildings; in contrast, Matvey Kazakov's legacy of the same period has been documented far better. Shvidkovsky noted that Bazhenov set the style of neoclassical Moscow but it was Kazakov and his alumni
Alumnus
An alumnus , according to the American Heritage Dictionary, is "a graduate of a school, college, or university." An alumnus can also be a former member, employee, contributor or inmate as well as a former student. In addition, an alumna is "a female graduate or former student of a school, college,...

 who actually designed and built it. According to Shvidkovsky, residential Moscow before the fire of 1812
Fire of Moscow (1812)
The 1812 Fire of Moscow broke out on September 14, 1812 in Moscow on the day when Russian troops and most residents abandoned the city and Napoleon's vanguard troops entered the city following the Battle of Borodino...

 was influenced, through Bazhenov, by works of Charles de Wailly
Charles De Wailly
Charles De Wailly was a French architect and urbanist, and furniture designer, one of the principals in the Neoclassical revival of the Antique. His major work was the Théâtre de l'Odéon for the Comédie-Française...

 and his circle; Bazhenov enhanced the French style with use of sculpture and garden architecture. Kazakov lacked Bazhenov's refinement but his buildings "were considerably more practical than Bazhenov's, more adapted to Moscow life."

Bazhenov, eager to improve his finances, accepted what looked like a generous offer from Prokofi Demidov
Prokofi Demidov
Prokofi Akinfiyevich Demidov was a Russian industrialist and philanthropist.The eldest son of Akinfiy Demidov, Prokofi inherited the enormous Demidov family fortune on his father's death in 1745...

, a wealthy and whimsical patron of arts. Demidov planned to donate a new building to Moscow University; he agreed to refinance Bazhenov's debts in exchange for his design and management services. Relations soon turned sour; Demidov, literally having Bazhenov in his pocket, rejected his design for a downtown campus and ordered Bazhenov to design a new green field
Greenfield land
Greenfield land is a term used to describe undeveloped land in a city or rural area either used for agriculture, landscape design, or left to naturally evolve...

 campus on the Sparrow Hills
Sparrow Hills
Sparrow Hills, Vorobyovy Gory is a hill on the right bank of the Moskva River and one of highest points in Moscow with an altitude up to 220 m ....

. This cat and mouse game (as presented in Bazhenov's own writing) continued for nearly a decade; the architect wasted years on a dead end project and remained bankrupt at the mercy of Demidov. Once again Kazakov picked up the job and completed the "old" downtown core of the University in 1793.

In 1792 Bazhenov relocated to Saint Petersburg and accepted an uninspiring but stable job of an architect of Kronstadt
Kronstadt
Kronstadt , also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt |crown]]" and Stadt for "city"); is a municipal town in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia, located on Kotlin Island, west of Saint Petersburg proper near the head of the Gulf of Finland. Population: It is also...

 admiralty; in his spare time he translated the complete works of Vitruvius
Vitruvius
Marcus Vitruvius Pollio was a Roman writer, architect and engineer, active in the 1st century BC. He is best known as the author of the multi-volume work De Architectura ....

. In April 1792 Bazhenov was impicated in the Nikolay Novikov
Nikolay Novikov
Nikolay Ivanovich Novikov was a Russian writer and philanthropist most representative of his country's Enlightenment. Frequently considered to be the first Russian journalist, he aimed at advancing the cultural and educational level of the Russian public....

 affair; police found Bazhenov's letter to Novikov about supplying masonic
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...

 books to Paul. Novikov spent four years in Schlisselburg fortress jail while Bazhenov escaped free. Masonic influence over Bazhenov's life and art led to him being called "the Russian Christopher Wren" and the theory that he was a long-term agent of martinists
Martinism
Martinism is a form of mystical and esoteric Christianity concerned with the fall of the first man, his state of material privation from his divine source, and the process of his return, called 'Reintegration' or illumination....

 tasked with winning Paul's support. Paul was aware of Bazhenov's real or alleged mission but by 1792 he stepped aside from freemasonry and personally warned Bazhenov against further conspiracies.

Late recognition

Emperor Paul I of Russia
Paul I of Russia
Paul I was the Emperor of Russia between 1796 and 1801. He also was the 72nd Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta .-Childhood:...

 supported Bazhenov as one of the alleged victims of his despised mother
Catherine II of Russia
Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great , Empress of Russia, was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia on as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg...

. Shortly upon ascension to the throne (1796) Paul summoned Bazhenov to Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

 and made him vice-president of the Imperial 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...

. The Academy of this period, influenced by the ideas of its second President Ivan Betskoy
Ivan Betskoy
Ivan Ivanovich Betskoi or Betskoy was a Russian school reformer who served as Catherine II's advisor on education and President of the Imperial Academy of Arts for thirty years...

, admitted boys at the age of six to nine years old, and provided nine-year general (elementary and secondary) education followed by at least six years of professional training in arts and architecture. Bazhenov believed that the Academy must dispose with elementary education and focus on its core subjects, admitting literate teenagers who could prove their talent in an open contest. He did not live enough to materialize this program; it was gradually implemented by Alexander Stroganov
Alexander Sergeyevich Stroganov
Alexander Sergeyevich Stroganov was a Russian baron and a member of the Stroganovs family. He was a member of the Private Committee of Alexander I and assistant to the Minister of the Interior, a long time President of the Imperial Academy of Arts, director of the Russian Imperial Library and a...

 (1802) and Alexey Olenin (1830).

Paul's main construction project, Saint Michael's Castle
Saint Michael's Castle
St. Michael's Castle , also called the Mikhailovsky Castle or the Engineers Castle , is a former royal residence in the historic centre of Saint Petersburg, Russia. St. Michael's Castle was built as a residence for Emperor Paul I by architects Vincenzo Brenna and Vasili Bazhenov in 1797-1801...

, was awarded to his house architect, Italian Vincenzo Brenna
Vincenzo Brenna
Vincenzo Brenna was an Italian architect and painter who was the house architect of Paul I of Russia. Brenna was hired by Paul and his spouse Maria Fyodorovna as interior decorator in 1781 and by the end of 1780s became the couple's leading architect...

, while Bazhenov was appointed to supervise Brenna. Historians of the 19th and early 20th centuries could not clearly separate the input of each architect and attributed the design to Brenna and Bazhenov jointly. Nikolay Lanceray
Nikolay Lanceray
Nikolay Lanceray was a Russian architect, preservationist, illustrator of books and historian of neoclassical art, biographer of Charles Cameron, Vincenzo Brenna and Andreyan Zakharov...

 (1930s) and subsequent Russian historians give full credit to Brenna; according to Lanceray, Bazhenov did not interfere in Brenna's designs that were, to a large extent, Brenna's renditions of Paul's own romantic
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...

 vision. According to Dmitry Shvidkovsky
Dmitry Shvidkovsky
Dmitry Shvidkovsky is a Russian educator and historian of architecture of Russia and the United Kingdom during the Age of Enlightenment. A 1982 alumnus and long-term professor of Moscow Architectural Institute, Shvidkovsky was appointed its rector in 2007....

, Bazhenov worked on an earlier, aborted, design of the castle and this fact was later interpreted as his participation in actual design; Brenna "was given the task of adapting Bazhenov's design" but created an independent work. At any rate, Bazhenov died in the middle of the project leaving Brenna in full control; the castle turned out not a Neoclassical building, but "a rare example of an imperial palace genuinely redolent of the Romantic era
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...

."

Paul also commissioned Bazhenov to design a new hospital near Danilov Monastery
Danilov Monastery
Danilov Monastery, in full Svyato-Danilov Monastery or Holy Danilov Monastery , is a monastery on the right bank of the Moskva River in Moscow, Russia...

. Bazhenov, again, responded with an extravagant plan that did not proceed past wooden frame and was replaced by Kazakov's extant Pavlovskaya Hospital built in 1802–1807. Shortly before his death Bazhenov began compilation of an album on Russian Architecture, collecting drafts of "all large buildings in two capitals."

Attribution problem


Reliable attribution of private 18th century buildings in Russia, even those that retained original styling and floorplans, is rarely possible. Wealthy patrons eagerly hired architects who made themselves famous by working on government megaprojects, but in many instances original drawings are missing. In these cases historians used general design features or specific features to deduce probable author. Uncertainty led to frequent misattribution, particularly in case of Bazhenov and Kazakov and subsequent changes in attribution or admitting inability to make one.

Buildings in Moscow

Attribution of specific Moscow buildings to Bazhenov in this article is based on the academic Pamyatniki arhitektury Moskvy series of books issued in 1983–2007.

Tradition of the first half of the 20th century, started by Igor Grabar
Igor Grabar
Igor Emmanuilovich Grabar was a Russian post-impressionist painter, publisher, restorer and historian of art. Grabar, descendant of a wealthy Rusyn family, was trained as a painter by Ilya Repin in Saint Petersburg and by Anton Ažbe in Munich...

, credited Bazhenov with designing numerous high-profile private buildings in Moscow. Later research has shown that in most cases his input cannot be reliable ascertained. Pashkov House
Pashkov House
The Pashkov House is the famous Neoclassical mansion that stands on a hill opposite the western wall of the Moscow Kremlin, near the crossing of the Mokhovaya and Vozdvizhenka streets. Its design has been attributed to Vasily Bazhenov. It used to be home to the Rumyantsev Museum in the 19th century...

, most likely, has been designed by Bazhenov while other residences once credited to him are now listed under "unknown architect" heading.
  • Pashkov House, Bazhenov's most conspicuous extant building and "one of Moscow's most graceful and handsome residential ensembles" is attributed to him "through the 19th century tradition supported by the majority of <20th century> researchers". Pashkov House, uniquely to 18th century architecture, retains its original external appearance and layout as conceived by the architect around 1784 and completed in 1787. The building was severely damaged by the Fire of 1812
    Fire of Moscow (1812)
    The 1812 Fire of Moscow broke out on September 14, 1812 in Moscow on the day when Russian troops and most residents abandoned the city and Napoleon's vanguard troops entered the city following the Battle of Borodino...

     and, for the first time in the history of Moscow, was rebuilt exactly to original drafts in recognition of its landmark significance.
  • Yushkov House on Myasnitskaya Street in Moscow (late 1780s - early 1790s) is simply "attributed" to Bazhenov. According to Schmidt, it represented architect's turn from French neoclassicism to Italianate architecture
    Italianate architecture
    The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...

    . Layout of this building, featuring a corner rotunda
    Rotunda (architecture)
    A rotunda is any building with a circular ground plan, sometimes covered by a dome. It can also refer to a round room within a building . The Pantheon in Rome is a famous rotunda. A Band Rotunda is a circular bandstand, usually with a dome...

    , became a widely copied standard for neoclassical architects in Moscow. The building later housed Palace School of Architecture and Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture
    Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture
    The Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture was one of the largest educational institutions in Russia. The school was formed by the 1865 merger of a private art college, established in Moscow in 1832, and the Palace School of Architecture, established in 1749 by Dmitry Ukhtomsky. By...

     (1844–1918), VKHUTEMAS
    VKhUTEMAS
    Vkhutemas ) was the Russian state art and technical school founded in 1920 in Moscow, replacing the Moscow Svomas. The workshops were established by a decree from Vladimir Lenin with the intentions, in the words of the Soviet government, "to prepare master artists of the highest qualifications for...

     (1918–1930) and, since 1989, Russian Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture.
  • Razumovsky
    Kirill Razumovsky
    Count Kirill Grigorievich Razumovsky was a Ukrainian Registered Cossack from the Kozelets regiment in north-eastern Ukraine, who served as the last Hetman of Left- and Right-Bank Ukraine until 1764; Razumovsky was subsequently elected Hetman of the sovereign Zaporozhian Host in 1759, a position...

     House on Vozdvizhenka Street
    Vozdvizhenka Street
    Vozdvizhenka Street, , is a radial street connecting Manege Square and Arbat Square in central Arbat District of Moscow, Russia. The street's name refers to a monastery that existed here since 1450 and perished in the Fire of Moscow...

    , another corner rotunda completed in 1799, has been attributed to Bazhenov by Schmidt, but Russian sources agree on inability to ascertain architect's identity.
  • Tutolmin House in Tagansky District has been attributed to Bazhenov by Igor Grabar
    Igor Grabar
    Igor Emmanuilovich Grabar was a Russian post-impressionist painter, publisher, restorer and historian of art. Grabar, descendant of a wealthy Rusyn family, was trained as a painter by Ilya Repin in Saint Petersburg and by Anton Ažbe in Munich...

    ; later researchers attributed it to Starov. Prior to rebuilding in 1900s, the building's landmark role rivalled that of Pashkov House. Same attribution uncertainty applied to now demolished Prozorovsky
    Prozorovsky
    Princes Prozorovsky were a Russian noble family of Rurikid stock descending from medieval rulers of Yaroslavl and Mologa. Their name is derived from the village of Prozorovo near Mologa, which used to be their only votchina in the 15th century...

     House on Bolshaya Polyanka Street, "one of most charming estate houses in this street."
  • The Dolgov House in Bolshaya Ordynka Street, has been once attributed to Bazhenov based on the fact that his wife was related to the owner of the building. This opinion has been since discarded.
  • The belltower of the Church of All Sorrows in Bolshaya Ordynka Street, across Dolgov House, is unconditionally attributed to Bazhenov while the church itself has been built by Joseph Bove
    Joseph Bové
    Joseph Bové was a Russian neoclassical architect with Italian roots who supervised reconstruction of Moscow after the Fire of 1812.-Biography:...

     in 1828-1833.
  • Panukhina (1994) suggested that Bazhenov could have been involved in the late stages of construction of Moscow Kriegskomissariat (present-day headquarters of Moscow Military District
    Moscow Military District
    The Moscow Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Leningrad Military District, the Northern Fleet and the Baltic Fleet to form the new Western Military District.-History:In the beginning of...

    ) in Zamoskvorechye
    Zamoskvorechye
    Zamoskvorechye District is a district of Central Administrative Okrug in Moscow, Russia. Population: The district contains the eastern half of historical Zamoskvorechye area , and the territories of Zatsepa Street and Paveletsky Rail Terminal south of the Garden Ring...

    , designed by Nicholas Legrand.

Country estates and churches

Even less certainty applies to attribution of country estates and churches:
  • The best known of these, in Bykovo
    Bykovo
    Bykovo may refer to:*Bykovo, Moscow Oblast, an urban-type settlement in Moscow Oblast, Russia*Bykovo, Volgograd Oblast, an urban-type settlement in Volgograd Oblast, Russia*Bykovo Airport, a regional airport in Moscow...

    , belonged to Mikhail Izmailov, Governor of Moscow and Bazhenov's direct superior. Probable extant Bazhenov's works there include the main mansion and neo-Gothic church of Saint Vladimir, while most of 18th century buildings have been lost.
  • A church in Starki (present-day Kolomensky District), estate of prince Cherkassky, built in 1759–1763, was one of the first Gothic Revival buildings in Russia. If attribution to Bazhenov is correct, he designed it while still a student at the Academy of Arts.
  • Church of Annunciation in Polivanovo, former Razumovsky
    Razumovsky
    Razumovsky , originally Rozumovsky , formerly transliterated as Rasumowski, Rasumofsky and Rasoumofsky) is a Ukrainian noble family from Russian Empire. Surviving branch remains in Austria.-History:...

     estate, is "typical to Bazhenov" which fact remains the sole ground for attribution.
  • Neoclassical Сhurch of Theotokos of Vladimir in Dolgoprudny
    Dolgoprudny
    Dolgoprudny is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located about north of Moscow city center. The town's name is derived from Russian "" —a long and narrow pond situated in the northeastern part of the town. The town's name is sometimes colloquially shortened as Dolgopa. Population:...

     (1772–1777), with an unusual triangular layout, has been attributed to either Kazakov or Bazhenov despite complete lack of written evidence. Layout of the church is most likely inspired by the Temple of War by Jean-Francois Nefforge.

Sources

Note: the book was written in 1935–1938 and first printed in 2006.
  • Pamyatniki arhitektury Moskvy (Памятники архитектуры Москвы) series, in Russian:
Pamyatniki arhitektury Moskvy. Kreml (Памятники архитектуры Москвы. Кремль, Китай-город и центральные площади). Iskusstvo. 1983.
Pamyatniki arhitektury Moskvy. Bely Gorod (Памятники архитектуры Москвы. Белый город). Iskusstvo. 1989. ISBN
Pamyatniki arhitektury Moskvy. Zemlyanoy Gorod (Памятники архитектуры Москвы. Земляной город). Iskusstvo. 1989. ISBN
Pamyatniki arhitektury Moskvy. Zamoskvorechye (Памятники архитектуры Москвы. Замоскворечье). Iskusstvo. 1994. ISBN 5-210-02548-9
Pamyatniki arhitektury Moskvy. Okrestnosti staroy Moskvy (Памятники архитектуры Москвы. Окрестности старой Москвы (северо-западная и северная части города)). Iskusstvo. 2004. ISBN 5-98051-011-7
Pamyatniki arhitektury Moskvy. Okrestnosti staroy Moskvy (Памятники архитектуры Москвы. Окрестности старой Москвы (юго-восточная и южная части города)). Iskusstvo. 2007. ISBN 978-5-98051-041-1
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