One of largest representatives Russian pseudo-gothic. Developer of standard development projects.
Biography
Matvey Kazakov was born in 1738 in Moscow, in the family of the sub-office clerk of the Main Commissariat Fyodor Kazakov, who came from serfdom. The Kazakov family lived near the Kremlin, in the area of Borovitsky Bridge.
In 1749 or early 1750, Kazakov’s father died. Mother, Fedosya Semyonovna, decided to send her son to the architectural school of the famous architect D.V. Ukhtomsky. In March 1751, Kazakov became a student at Ukhtomsky’s school and stayed there until 1760.
From 1768 he worked under the leadership of V.I. Bazhenov in the Kremlin Construction Expedition; in particular, in 1768-1773. he participated in the creation of the Bolshoi Kremlin Palace, and in 1775 - in the design of festive entertainment pavilions on Khodynka Field. In 1775, Kazakov was confirmed as an architect.
Kazakov’s legacy includes many graphic works - architectural drawings, engravings and drawings, including “Pleasure buildings on Khodynskoye Field in Moscow” (ink and pen, 1774-1775; GNIMA), “Construction of the Peter’s Palace” (ink and pen, 1778; GNIMA).
Kazakov also proved himself as a teacher, organizing an architectural school during the Kremlin Building Expedition; his students were such architects as I. V. Egotov, A. N. Bakarev, O. I. Bove and I. G. Tamansky. In 1805 the school was transformed into the School of Architecture.
During Patriotic War In 1812, relatives took Matvey Fedorovich from Moscow to Ryazan. There the architect learned about the fire in Moscow - this news accelerated the death of the master. Kazakov died on October 26 (November 7), 1812 in Ryazan and was buried in the cemetery (now no longer preserved) of the Ryazan Trinity Monastery.
The former Gorokhovskaya Street in Moscow was named after him in 1939. The former Dvoryanskaya Street in Kolomna is also named after him.
At the end of October 1812, news of the terrible fire that broke out in Moscow after the entry of Napoleonic army there reached Ryazan.
The thought that two-thirds of Moscow's buildings had been destroyed was especially unbearable for one of the capital's refugees, because the architect Kazakov invested all his talent in decorating the Mother See with magnificent buildings in the style of classicism and “Russian Gothic.”
Truly Russian architect
He was born in 1738 into a family of serfs who rose to a significant clerical rank. Thanks to the merits of the father of the future architect Matvey Kazakov, in 1751 the famous architect Dmitry Vasilyevich Ukhtomsky (1719-1774), who built many buildings in the era of Queen Elizabeth, was accepted into the school. Besides the magnificent art school Kazakov acquired practical skills in organizing construction, choosing materials and technologies. This became his distinctive quality.
Light, accurate drawings, confident drawing of molded parts - all this was inherent in the master with youth. He practiced his graphic skills on the best examples of the architectural heritage of the past, studying ancient Greek orders. Architect Kazakov became a staunch supporter of the organic classical style, thought out to the smallest detail.
First experiments
In the spring of 1763, a terrible fire destroyed Tver. Ukhtomsky’s student Pyotr Romanovich Nikitin was entrusted with restoring the city. Matvey Kazakov, an architect included by Nikitin in his team, worked on one of the most important objects - the house for the church head of Tver. Catherine II herself highly appreciated the city restored according to new plans, calling Tver the second most beautiful (after St. Petersburg) in Russia.
The bishop's house, which became the palace in which Catherine stayed upon her arrival in the newly rebuilt city, made the name of the architect famous, and the architect Kazakov began to receive private orders from the richest and most noble people of Russia. So, for P.F. Nashchokin he built the magnificent Rai-Semyonovskoye estate on Serpukhov.
Kazakov and Bazhenov
Vasily Ivanovich Bazhenov (1738-1799) is a great Russian architect who was the same age as Kazakov. By the time they met, Bazhenov had already gone through the school of European architecture after graduating from the Academy of Arts, having spent long years in France and Italy. He completed models of St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome and the gallery absorbed the knowledge and experience of the leading masters of French classicism: Claude-Nicolas Ledoux, Jacques-Germain Soufflot and others.
Unlike Bazhenov, Kazakov did not leave Russia, so he tried to add to his practical experience Bazhenov’s concept of architecture as high art, open new beauty in combinations of volumes, in planning solutions, in the sophistication of decor. Bazhenov liked the works of Matvey Fedorovich, and he invited him to collaborate on grandiose orders received from the Empress herself.
"Kremlin Expedition"
Catherine the Great had complex feelings towards Moscow. The difference between St. Petersburg - the magnificent European capital - and the Mother See, where the Byzantine, Asian spirit, the embodiment of which the Kremlin seemed to her, was ineradicable, was too great. It was from here that she wanted to begin the Europeanization of Moscow, entrusting the project of reconstruction of the city center to Bazhenov.
The grandiose project proposed by the “Expedition to build the Kremlin Palace” seemed too radical even to the empress. Bazhenov proposed demolishing ancient buildings and erecting a grandiose multi-story palace, facing the river with its majestic facades, and in its plan forming the closure of the main directions of the radial streets of the center of Moscow.
Over the course of five years, the project was completed and a colossal model of the Grand Kremlin Palace was made. Even a ceremonial laying of the new building took place and part of the wall was dismantled, but things did not go any further. Catherine lost interest in the project, which made Moscow a threat to the greatness of the Northern capital and required enormous expenses. Subsequently appointed to lead the reconstruction of the Kremlin, M.F. Kazakov (an architect who had more practical experience than Bazhenov) restored the destroyed part of the wall and built a new government building - the Senate - on the square prepared for the start of construction. But at first he continued working together with Bazhenov.
The birth of “Russian Gothic”
In 1775, at the behest of Catherine, a celebration was held in Moscow regarding the annexation of Crimea and the conclusion of the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi peace with the Turks. For this purpose, temporary wooden pavilions were erected on the Khodynka field, depicting Turkish cities. The implementation of these works was entrusted to the “Kremlin expedition” led by Bazhenov, whose closest ally was again the architect Kazakov.
As a result of the combination of fancy oriental elements and classical proportions, a festive, deliberately theatrical, decorative style was born, which is usually called pseudo-Gothic, or “Russian Gothic”. Empress Catherine really liked it, and she proposed to repeat it in a more durable material, building a Travel Palace near the Khodynsky Field, which she needed for relaxation after long journey from the Northern capital. Kazakov was appointed to manage the project. Petrovsky Castle became one of the pinnacles of “Russian Gothic”, making Kazakov a leading Russian architect.
Senate building in the Kremlin
When the need for a large state building arose in Moscow, it was natural that M. F. Kazakov, an architect who was at the zenith of fame and in the prime of her talent, was involved in its design. And the triangular building he built in the Senate became a new peak of his creativity.
Kazakov’s plan did not have a scale Grand Palace Bazhenov, but was not inferior to him in the quality of elaboration, perfection general solution and details. The dome over the hall where government meetings were supposed to be held is amazing in size and technical design. Giving the entire Senate solemnity and majesty, visible from Red Square, it helps to harmoniously fit into the classical government building to the ensemble main square and the entire city center.
Epic in Tsaritsino
The palace and park ensemble, called “Tsaritsyno,” was founded on lands purchased by Catherine in 1775. It was supposed to be the first such facility located outside of St. Petersburg. The project was commissioned from Bazhenov and involved the use of that fantasy style, which was called pseudo or “Russian Gothic”, and Bazhenov called “gentle” Gothic.
The architect took on the implementation of this project with all his passion; the construction of the complex was carried out for ten whole years, but Kazakov again had to complete its construction. Among the reasons for the royal anger that fell upon Bazhenov after Catherine’s visit to Tsaritsyn, they call the architect’s membership of the “free masons” - the empress saw in Freemasonry a force capable of elevating her son, Paul I, to the throne. There are other opinions, what the truth is is impossible to know , but M. Kazakov completed the construction of the palaces and their surroundings. The architect tried to treat the work of his friend and mentor with care, leaving some of Bazhenov’s buildings untouched. Tsaritsino never became a country residence near Moscow, but revived in modern form it is a popular holiday destination and one of the attractions of Moscow.
Masterpieces of pre-fire Moscow
Since the late seventies of the eighteenth century, the architect Matvey Fedorovich Kazakov actually became what in our time is called the Chief Architect of Moscow. Among his buildings are many places of worship, government buildings and private estates. Many of his works perished in the fire of the Napoleonic invasion, some were rebuilt, but some outstanding examples of his work can still be admired.
“Russian Gothic” was the whim of rich and royal customers, and Kazakov mainly built in his favorite classic style. This is the Church of Metropolitan Philip in Meshchanskaya Sloboda. It is interesting due to the combination of round volumes stacked on top of each other and high quality stucco decoration, where Kazakov’s talent as a draftsman is especially visible.
An amazing masterpiece - the Church of Cosmas and Damian on Maroseyka - is distinguished by a masterful combination of curvilinear volumes and almost modern approach to minimalism in decor. Besides large number palaces, churches, private mansions, educational buildings, he built 3 hospitals, each of which became the decoration of Moscow.
A special object for Kazakov’s Moscow is the building of the Noble Assembly - the House of Unions. The facades have been rebuilt several times over a long period of time, but the interiors (enfilades and, most importantly, the Hall of Columns) convey the architect’s plan in an almost original form. The huge volume, which can accommodate up to 5 thousand people, is impressive and classically harmonious.
Creator of Moscow in the 18th century
In addition to the buildings, another legacy of the architect is known - a brilliant series of masters, whose teacher was the architect Kazakov. The works of I. V. Egotov, A. N. Bakarev, O. I. Bove, I. G. Tamansky were in demand for the subsequent restoration of Moscow, and then another work of Kazakov came in handy: 13 albums with plans, facades and sections of the most significant Moscow buildings .
He died, unable to bear the thought of the death of his beloved city, but the fantastic talent and enormous work of Matvey Fedorovich Kazakov could not disappear without a trace, and the revived Moscow still preserves the memory of its great builder.
Matvey Fedorovich was born in 1738. The outstanding Russian architect of the Classical era M. F. Kazakov is known as one of the authors of unique types of Moscow residential buildings for the rich nobility and monumental public buildings in the capital. Much of what Kazakov created was destroyed by the fire of 1812, but much has survived to this day: the Senate building in the Kremlin, the Golitsyn hospital (now it is the first city Hospital) and some other buildings.
Discipleship
Kazakov's father was from a family of serfs, he worked as a copyist in the Main Commissariat, the family lived poorly. When his father died (1751), his mother enrolled her twelve-year-old son in the famous architectural school of Dmitry Vasilyevich Ukhtomsky, where Matvey studied until 1760, receiving the rank of “ensign of architecture.” Then - transfer to study and work with the city architect Nikitin. Under his leadership, the young architect began his first steps in architecture: he took part in the construction of the Kolovinsky Palace, the restoration of the Chernigov Cathedral, as well as the Church of the Savior on the Forest. But Matvey Kazakov’s first major work as an architect was participation in the restoration of Tver, which was burned in a fire in 1763: drawing up a city plan, design and construction of the Travel Palace for Empress Catherine the Second (1763 - 1767).
Working with Bazhenov
In 1768, the creative fate of Matvey Kazakov was determined - he was hired to implement the project “Expedition to the construction of the Kremlin Palace,” which was led by the famous architect Vasily Ivanovich Bazhenov. For the young architect it was a happy occasion. In collaboration with Bazhenov, Kazakov learned in practice the principles of applying previously acquired knowledge about classical forms and proportions. For five years they worked together on Bazhenov’s project for the Grand Kremlin Palace. This was the most serious period of study for Kazakov - higher architectural education. At this stage, Kazakov, in tandem with Bazhenov, developed a project for the reconstruction of the Khodynskoye field, where festivities were planned to mark the end of the Russian-Turkish war (1768 - 74) with the Kyuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace.
Independent activity
Since 1775, Kazakov began his independent architectural activity. And the architect’s first major work was the design and construction of the Senate building on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin (1776 - 1787). This greatest work architect It was the first to embody the idea of a dome covering of huge diameter. And in the famous round hall of the Senate, one of the most beautiful in Moscow, the author embodied the ideas of citizenship, equality and harmony, expressed in a solemn and lofty architectural composition. The magnificent Corinthian columns supporting the grandiose dome, the harmonious architectural forms of the Senate hall - all this seems to take us to the world of the Enlightenment, to the dream of a world order where development is limitless, where reason and universal harmony reign. Kazakov’s work was highly appreciated by experts and Catherine the Second herself, and at the same time placed the architect among the best architects of the era.
Kazakov's second major creation was Moscow University, which became the supporting structure of the city center (1786 - 1793). Later the university was rebuilt by D. I. Gelardi. The Empress personally ordered Kazakov to build 
entrance palace - Petrovsky Castle (nowadays the Air Force Academy is located here). The decor of the palace facades retained the classical basis, but was enlivened by Kazakov with pseudo-Gothic and Old Russian elements.
Creativity flourishes
M. Kazakov’s success also grew with private customers. Increasingly, they began to commission him to design houses and palaces. And as the work became more and more, Kazakov began to take on students and assistants. Old city estates were planned in such a way that the house on it was surrounded by service and ancillary buildings and ended up in 
center of the site. Kazakov introduced his own innovation into this tradition, making the estate more beautiful and comfortable: he placed the house on the street line, and other buildings behind it, deep into the estate. Therefore, the beautiful and luxurious houses built by Kazakov fit favorably into general form streets and cities. These houses and palaces throughout Moscow were evidence of the professional skill of the architect and his unique artistic language, so everything he created was recognizable.
Its buildings largely determined the appearance of Moscow before the fire of 1812. and even influenced the nature of its subsequent development. Over ten years (1780 - 1790), Kazakov built several dozen noble estates, rich mansions, churches and public buildings. Here are some of them: a house on Petrovka commissioned by the breeder Gubin, the Baryshnikov estate on the street. Myasnitskaya, Golitsynskaya and Pavlovskaya hospitals.
Last years
In 1800 - 1804 Kazakov created general plan Moscow and its “façade” plan, i.e. from a “bird’s eye view”, and in parallel he worked on a series of architectural albums containing the most significant Moscow buildings. Several surviving albums by Kazakov allow us to judge the evolution of the types of Moscow estates and residential buildings. Kazakov opened his own architectural school, in which many outstanding Russian architects studied: O. I. Bove, I. V. Egotov and others. When the French army began to approach Moscow in 1812, the Kazakov family left for Ryazan. Here the great architect learned the terrible news: Moscow burned down. Everything that he created with such love throughout his life turned into ashes. He did not survive this shock, and on November 7, 1812, the great builder of Moscow left this world.
The architecture of Russia in the 18th century is associated with the emergence of the era of classicism, which is characterized by laconicism, simplicity, adherence to traditions and lightness. The previous Baroque style, the main manifestations of which were exclusivity and splendor, required enormous costs. Therefore, it was necessary to change the direction of architecture to a more budget-friendly and democratic one.
Background
Early 18th century culture Russian Empire continued its expansion to the European level. It became possible to invite foreign masters to Russia and travel outside the country to Germany, England, and Italy.
The creation of a new direction in architecture was necessary in order to emphasize the individuality of the country and its greatness. The best architects took up the task of rebuilding cities. In Moscow, one of the architects was Matvey Fedorovich Kazakov.
Biography of the architect
M. F. Kazakov was born in 1738 in Moscow. The architect's father was a serf who, by great chance, was sent to work in a branch of the Admiralty. This circumstance allowed the family to live in the center of Moscow and get out of peasant bondage.
The father of the future architect died when the boy was only eleven years old. After this, his mother decided to send Matvey to an architecture school. Nine years of study were not in vain for the boy - by the age of twenty he had good and rich experience, because the main school time was busy repairing outdated Kremlin buildings.
Since 1768, the architect Kazakov began working with the great Russian master - Vasily Bazhenov. For more than seven years they worked together on the Kremlin Palace project. As a result of misunderstanding, the project failed, but the invaluable experience was preserved for many years.
The first independent work was the construction of the Prechistensky Palace. After the project was approved by the Empress, architect Kazakov received a heap of proposals. The architect was awarded the title of city architect, and he began working on the Travel Palace in St. Petersburg. At the same time, Matvey Fedorovich began designing the Senate building. It was the Senate building in the Moscow Kremlin that became the first monument of classicism.
The architect's favorite form of construction is the rotunda - a cylindrical building topped with a dome. A characteristic technique of the master is the bright contrast in the strict façade of the building and the lush, rich decoration of the halls inside.
Then the architect Kazakov was designing the Prechistensky Palace, which after the invasion of Napoleon's troops burned and was rebuilt. At the end of the 18th century, the architect Kazakov erected the building of the Golitsyn Hospital in Moscow.
Matvey's main project is his participation in 1782 in the construction of the first building of Moscow University, which was built over thirty years and rebuilt many times. In every district of the Russian capital there is at least one estate built under the leadership of Kazakov.
In connection with the events taking place in the country at the beginning of the 19th century, his relatives took him away from Moscow. The news of the fire brought swipe architect. The thought of the masterpieces he created being destroyed forever was very disappointing to him. In October 1812, the great architect of Russia died in Ryazan.
Projects of an outstanding master
Many monuments were damaged during the fire of 1812 and were reconstructed. Among them:
- Prechistensky Cathedral in Moscow.
- Church of Metropolitan Phillip.
- Old building of Moscow State University.
- Noble meeting.
- Temple of the Ascension.
- Pavlovsk and Golitsyn hospitals.
- Estate houses of Gubin, Demidov and Baryshnikov.
Senate Palace
Construction of the Senate building in the Moscow Kremlin began by decree of Empress Catherine in 1776.
The palace is a triangle with a small courtyard inside, which is divided into three parts. Corridors were built along the perimeter of the courtyard, connecting all parts of the room to each other. The corners of the building are cut off and decorated with neat balconies. The palace consists of three floors standing on a high, wide base. The first floor is faced with rusticated stone, the second and third are separated by pilasters. Arch opening the entrance to inner part courtyard, rests on stable columns, decorated with a four-wheeled marble portico.
At the top of the isosceles triangle is the Catherine Hall with a huge dome. Its diameter is 24 m. There is a legend that claims that to prove the strength of such a wide round dome, the architect Kazakov had to climb to the top and stand and dance for more than thirty minutes. Inside, the hall is decorated with plaster and bas-relief portraits of the great Russian princes and rulers, sculptural panels on allegorical scenes from the life of Empress Catherine. The height of the hall to the top of the dome is about 30 m. The dome was decorated with a zinc sculpture of St. George the Victorious, which was destroyed by Napoleonic troops.
Construction of the palace lasted until 1787. Initially, it was assumed that the building would house the seat of the Senate, the Supreme Authority of the Russian Empire. During the reign of V.I. Lenin, his office was located here. Currently, the palace is the working residence of V.V. Putin.
Construction of the Prechistensky Palace
It began in 1774 on the occasion of Catherine II’s arrival in Moscow to celebrate the victory over Turkey. The Empress did not like to settle in the Kremlin, considering it unsuitable for life. Having received the news in the fall that Catherine would visit Moscow with her entire retinue, Prince Golitsyn created a fuss. Architect Matvey Kazakov was commissioned to transform the house for his dear guest.
The Golitsyn house on the corner of Volkhonka was taken as the basis for Catherine’s chambers; they decided to add the houses of the Lopukhins and the Dolgoruky princes to it. Combining three buildings into one is not an easy task. Unfortunately, the cunning plan failed - the empress was dissatisfied with the construction. The cold, cramped rooms, the round-the-clock smell from the stables, and the long corridors did not delight anyone. Catherine lived in the palace for about five months.
In 1860, the Golitsyn Museum was located here, and later the People's Museum of Culture of Moscow was opened. The Prechistensky Palace is currently located at Znamensky Lane, building 1/14.
Temple of Philip, Metropolitan of Moscow
In 1777, Matvey Fedorovich began an extensive reconstruction of the stone building. Construction lasted for ten years. Currently the temple is located at st. Gilyarovskogo, house 35.
After the 1917 revolution, the church had to be closed; services resumed only in the early 1990s. Fortunately, the appearance of the church was not damaged and is currently a unique example of classicism in architecture.
University on Mokhovaya in Moscow
This is the old building of the Moscow state university. It was built by decree of Empress Catherine II. The design was undertaken by the architect Kazakov in 1782; construction lasted until 1793.
The architecture of the building fits perfectly into the picture of the center of Moscow in the 18th century. Matvey Fedorovich achieved both majesty and simplicity, recreating the project in the style of classicism. Columns with porticoes were erected, huge halls with high domes were created, and rustic cladding was used.
Unfortunately, the body of the building has not retained its original appearance. Over the almost 250 years of its existence, the building was rebuilt many times. Currently, students are also studying there.
Noble Assembly
Built by order of Prince Dolgoruky in 1787 in the very center of Moscow.
A two-story building, decorated with a portico with columns resting on a plinth and connected by an elegant arch. The main attraction of the project is the Hall of Columns. Unfortunately, in 1812, the building of the Noble Assembly suffered the same fate as many buildings in the capital - it also burned. There were some restorations. The last one was carried out at the beginning of the 20th century: a third floor was added, however Big hall remained untouched. The building has remained in this form to this day.
Architect Kazakov paid special attention to interior decoration: large crystal chandeliers, monumental columns along snow-white walls. At first the walls and ceiling were decorated with canvases famous artists, but after the fire they were not restored.
The noble assembly served not only as a meeting place for princes and court officials. Balls were also held here, which at one time attracted Pushkin, Lermontov, and Yusupov.
Temple of the Ascension
Built at the beginning of the 17th century, and in 1793 reconstructed by Matvey Fedorovich. It is one of the monuments of Russian early classicism. A voluminous round hall surrounded by columns, a wide overhanging dome with a spire - everything that is characteristic of the works of the architect Kazakov.
In the refectory two chapels are consecrated: St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and in the name of Moses the Seer of God. The latter appeared as a result of the use of materials from the destroyed Moiseevsky Monastery (located on the site of Manezhnaya Square).
After the revolution, the temple was closed and began work only in the early 1990s.
Golitsyn Hospital
It was opened at the beginning of the 19th century. Built at the expense of Prince Golitsyn by the outstanding Russian architect Matvey Fedorovich Kazakov.
In the 19th century it was included in the list of the best hospitals in Europe. The hospital housed the clinical base of the Moscow Medical University.
The hospital building, like the rest of the creations of the architect Matvey Kazakov, is an outstanding monument of Moscow architecture of the classical era. The portico, organized from six large columns, creates a kind of main entrance to the hospital. The wide dome with a towering belvedere allows you to see the building from afar.
Currently part of the Moscow City Hospital.
Baryshnikov Estate
It was built by Kazakov in 1802. Currently located on Myasnitskaya Street.
The owner of the mansion, Ivan Baryshnikov, was a great connoisseur of architecture and art. There was large collection paintings by famous artists. The merchant devoted time to self-education, on his initiative they built educational establishments in Russian cities. The house miraculously survived the fire, but was looted.
The estate was built by the architect Kazakov in the shape of the letter P, which allowed the owners to consider their house a real palace. The forward portico, which was widely used in the Classical era, visually increases the area of the courtyard. Columns standing on a high plinth add solemnity to the façade of the building.
Nowadays the mansion houses an office Russian newspaper"Arguments and Facts".
Kazakov is the first major Russian architect who did not receive foreign education; his work indicates that at the end of the 18th century Russian architecture had become strong enough to make its own contribution to world art. Kazakov’s contribution to the construction of Moscow was enormous: he connected a “gathering of cities”, a collection of motley buildings, with buildings that later set the style of urban development. Even the architecture of the 30-50s of the twentieth century included many references to the Cossack city buildings. Kazakov combined great ability to work and passion for all the details of the construction business. In particular, he introduced a number of improvements even in the development and application of new building materials. Brick, the main material for masonry walls, received more from him standard sizes, on his initiative, new factories with improved furnaces were built (Kalitnikovsky and in the village of Voronovo). Kazakov examined stone deposits in the vicinity of Moscow and began to use it in his works, including for decorative elements. Thus, he made a significant and varied contribution to the construction of Moscow.
Matvey Fedorovich Kazakov was born in 1738 in Moscow, in the family of a minor official. Unlike other famous Russian architects of this era, such as V. Bazhenov and I. Starov, Matvey Kazakov did not receive his education abroad. He studied only in Moscow, under the guidance of R. Nikitin. In the year Kazakov entered the independent work Tver, which played a large role in the economy of the Volga region and was a major intermediate point along the St. Petersburg-Moscow highway, burned down. Nikitin was sent to work on the restoration of Tver. He organized a special team, putting Kazakov at its head. The opportunity opened up for Kazakov to demonstrate his talents to the fullest.
A city plan was drawn up with a center and a series of radial streets converging to the Volga. The city center - a round square with surrounding buildings - has been preserved to this day. On the scale of that era, these were large buildings, with strict facades, the planes of which were broken up by pilasters and clear rustications. Perestroika of Tver in short term(two and a half years) immediately promoted Kazakov to the ranks of the first architects, and attention was paid to him as a talented master who knew how to build in a “new taste.”
A surviving fragment of the Tver Travel Palace
In 1768, the “Expedition to build the Kremlin Palace” was formed according to the ingenious project of Kazakov’s school friend, Bazhenov, who conceived the idea of creating a palace “worthy of glorifying the Russian state.” Bazhenov immediately appreciated the magnitude of the talent of his comrade, whose great experience and hard work he considered a sure guarantee of the success of the architectural enterprise. After the Russian-Turkish War, Catherine stopped work on the construction of the Kremlin Palace. Meanwhile, working with Bazhenov significantly influenced Kazakov, and after famous architect Kazakov began to become interested in the pseudo-Russian style (which he called “Gothic”), Palladianism and Baroque at the same time, and linked these styles into the buildings he was designing.
In honor of the victory in the same Russian-Turkish war Catherine commissioned Kazakov to build the Petrovsky Travel Palace (1776-1780). The southernmost travel palace on the road connecting the two capitals was originally conceived as a residence for the most important persons who could rest there after a long journey from St. Petersburg and proceed to the Moscow Kremlin with special pomp. Catherine II stayed in the palace for the first time only in 1787. According to surviving legend, the empress sent away her personal retinue and guard and remained in the palace “under the protection of her people,” which led to a massive gathering of people and almost caused a stampede.
In 1797, before his coronation, Emperor Paul I, the son of Catherine II, visited the Travel Palace. Since then, the palace has become a constant witness to official coronation ceremonies: on the way from St. Petersburg, Russian sovereigns stopped here before being crowned kings.
The Senate Palace of the Kremlin became Kazakov's largest implemented project. According to the architect's idea, the building was supposed to symbolize civil ideals, legality and justice, and the architects found the embodiment of these ideals in the classical forms of antiquity. This explains the strict and restrained laconicism of the building, topped with a dome, the classical form of which Kazakov wanted to enhance the architectural expressiveness of Red Square as the main square of the capital.
The palace has a triangular shape, thus fitting into the space limited by the Kremlin wall, the Arsenal and the former Chudov Monastery. The cavity enclosed inside the structure is divided into three parts by two transverse buildings. Into the courtyard of the building from the side Senate Square There is a triumphal entrance arch with an Ionic four-column portico and pediment, above which is the dome of the oval hall. In the recess of the courtyard is the main compositional center of the structure - the domed hall of the Senate (Catherine or White Hall).
The buildings of the Moscow University on Mokhovaya were also originally built by Kazakov, but after the fire of 1812 they were rebuilt by Domenico Gilardi. Now these buildings house the Faculty of Journalism and the Institute of Asian and African Countries.
The house of the commander-in-chief (now the Moscow City Hall), for which there was already a design and the ground floor had been laid out, was beautifully furnished by Kazakov with buildings (1782). In the explanation of the plan, Kazakov writes: “This structure of the main building was built by me, but it is unknown who designed it.” This is the only case when he built according to someone else’s design, which was reflected in the heaviness of the entire façade, which was unusual for Kazakov. But the interiors and main staircase- the work of Kazakov, as well as the entrance from the street, previously decorated with four large figures of Roman soldiers.
Kazakov’s next major project was the Golitsinskaya Hospital (now First Gradskaya). The construction of the Golitsyn hospital went beyond the boundaries of an ordinary hospital building. The huge court d'honneur is closed by the main hospital building with side wings. The building is located taking into account street development and ground level access to the Moscow River. This descent was treated with artistically arranged landscaping in the form of tree and flower plantings, garden greenhouses and gazebos, of which two round ones completed the treatment of the Moscow River embankment, closing the space of the garden. The architecture of the building is exquisitely simple: planes of smooth walls, their horizontal division is emphasized by rods, the growth goes from two-story side parts to a three-story central building, with a richly shaped portico and a crowning dome, balanced by two stands that play a purely decorative role.
The architect's special attention was focused on the central part, where a large round hall for the church was built. The shape of the hall is decided by a colonnade of the Ionic order, supporting a richly coffered spherical dome, illuminated by lucarnes. The repeated range of the colonnade in the form of a second row of smaller columns of the Corinthian order is very impressive. The arched design of the surrounding planes perfectly completes the architecture of the rotunda.
Unusual for Moscow was the building of the “Public Hall”, built in the hospital park. Prince Golitsyn, on whose instructions the hospital was built, had a significant collection of paintings and sculptures, for which a two-story gallery was built in the hospital park. This first private museum in Moscow existed only during Golitsyn’s lifetime; after his death, the hospital authorities sold the entire collection and rebuilt the gallery into hospital premises.
Estate "Tsaritsyno"
After the construction of the Petrovsky Palace, Kazakov more than once returned to the idea of creating “picturesque architecture” that interested him, which he called “Gothic”, but in which there was a lot of borrowing and processing of ancient Russian architecture. The peak of this style in Kazakov’s work was the Tsaritsyno estate.
The sad fate of the palace in Tsaritsyn, almost completed by Bazhenov, is known. At the whim of Catherine, this building was destroyed. Bazhenov, the great Russian architect, fell into disgrace. After the demolition of the palace, Catherine had no new construction: war with Sweden was brewing. But Prince Potemkin seeks to continue Tsaritsyn construction. Kazakov is entrusted with re-building the palace - a difficult task, creating awkwardness in relation to his offended friend and threatening the prospect of falling under a new royal whim.
Kazakov understood the vileness of vandalism, expressed in the order to tear down to the base a building built with passion and love by a great artist. The walls were dismantled to the ground, but Bazhenov’s main idea was not broken. The picturesque buildings surrounding the palace remained intact, among which it was necessary to create a building that would not disturb the harmony of the surroundings. In Western European architecture it is difficult to find a resemblance to the Tsaritsyn Palace, enriched with fresh forms of Cossack “Gothicism”. Despite all the apparent exoticism of the palace, its architecture is strict, and the execution of all the details of the structure is excellent.
City planning as the basis of urban construction in the 18th century. just planned. Ekaterinina created the “Commission for the Construction of the Capital Cities of St. Petersburg and Moscow.” Kazakov had little interest in the work of this commission; he knew its bureaucratic essence and the helplessness of its representatives. But, observing the planned construction in St. Petersburg, the great architect dreamed of creating good streets in Moscow with beautiful buildings decorating the surrounding unsightly background. General landscape of Moscow in the second half of the 18th century. was extremely diverse and original in its contradictions.
The notes of foreign travelers and the memoirs of domestic writers, which give pictures of the external appearance of the “first throne,” noted the picturesqueness of the city, but at the same time, excessive lack of culture and dirt.
“Moscow,” writes V. Volkonsky in his notes, “is more a collection of cities than one city; it represents a huge variety of buildings varied style, magnificent palaces, wooden houses surrounded by very extensive gardens, many shops, sheds, storehouses... Sometimes large elegant houses rise, and next to them are huts of poverty with their poverty and dirt.”
Against the backdrop of the picturesque chaos of the city, with its medieval network of undeveloped streets, Kazakov over the course of fifteen years created a number of beautiful mansion houses, thereby giving a different character to the urban development, which received completed architectural ensembles. Before Kazakov, a Moscow street was almost rural landscape, where stone buildings were rare and architecturally treated houses were exceptions.
After an extremely intense fifty years of activity, Kazakov in 1801 submitted a petition to be relieved of his official duties. In this petition, he writes: “Having learned the art of construction here in Moscow to the best of my ability, during my life, which is approaching the end, I made the following number of government buildings alone”; further, having listed the buildings and mentioning that their drawings are collected in the presented books (“Albums”), he ends: “due to the depressing old age in my life, finding myself unable to continue my sacred service, I dare to ask for dismissal from service and a merciful view of this and my poor fortune, surrounded by a large family, and especially by three girl daughters.” Having retired with a pension, Kazakov devotes himself exclusively to pedagogical activity. During the War of 1812, his relatives transported him to Ryazan; The news of the Moscow fire worsened his condition, as a result of which he did not live to see the end of the war.