ARCHITECTURAL STYLES

of Saint-Petersburg

Part I

The word baroque can simply mean that

something is "elaborate", with many details.

Baroque architecture certainly was

extravagant (buildings with complex

shapes, extravagant ornaments, opulent

paintings, and bold contrasts)

18 CENTURY

BAROQUE

Petrine Baroque

Rastrelliesque Baroque

Petrine Baroque is a name

applied by art historians to a

style of Baroque architecture

and decoration favoured by

Peter the Great and employed

to design buildings in the

newly-founded Russian

capital, Saint Petersburg,

under this monarch and his

immediate successors.

the Petrine Baroque

represented a drastic rupture

with Byzantine traditions that

had dominated Russian

architecture for almost a

millennium. Its chief

practitioners – Domenico

Trezzini, Andreas Schlüter, and

Mikhail Zemtsov – drew

inspiration from a rather modest

Dutch, Danish, and Swedish

architecture of the time.

Petrine Barique got the specific Russian

features: simplicity, humility, functionality.

Extant examples of the style in St Petersburg are

the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the Twelve Colleges,

the Kunstkamera, Kikin Hall and Menshikov Palace

and many others.

RUSSIAN EARLY BAROQUE STYLEFEATURES :

1. 4-th pitched roofs

2. Windows which are divided into many parts

3. Two-tone color of facades

4. Using of modest decorative elements

( pilasters,scrolls, projections)

5. Symmetry of the buildings

The Kikin Hall (Кикины

палаты) is one of the oldest

buildings in Saint Petersburg

, Russia. The diminutive

residence was commissioned

by Alexander Kikin in 1714.

The name of the architect is

unknown, but similarities to

the old Peterhof palace

abound, suggesting an

attribution to Andreas

Schlüter.

The palace was incomplete at the time of Kikin's disgrace

and execution in 1718. The building was confiscated by the

crown and housed the royal library and the

cabinet of curiosities of the Academy of Sciences (later

transferred to the Kunstkammer Building).

THE KUNSTKAMMER

THE KUNSTKAMMER

The word Kunstkammer comes from

the German words Kunst meaning

“art” and Kammer meaning “a

chamber” or “a room”.

The building of the Kunstkammer is

one of a few survived monuments of

the Russian Baroque.

Its construction started in 1718 by the

architects Georg Maternovi, Nikolay

Gerbel, Gaetano Quiaveri and was

completed by Mikhail Zemtsov in 1734.

The façade of the building is divided into three parts and

the parts are linked by a multi-tiered tower. The upper

part of the building was destroyed by fire in 1747 and

restored between 1948 and 1949. The building was

returned to its original appearance.

The private collections of Peter the Great

were exhibited in this building. There were

a lot of kinds of rare stones, exotic

animals, Buddhist idols and anatomical

preparations.

Peter I liked to travel

abroad and round Russia

and often brought back

different exotic things.

He kept those things in

his Summer Palace. The

collection grew very

quickly, because not only

Peter I brought such

things and he ordered his

people to bring different

rarities from everywhere.

Peter I started a museum for his collection in

the Kikin’s Mansion. But this building was far

away from the centre of the city. So Tsar

decided to build a new building for his

museum in Vasilievsky Island.

Until the late 18th century this building

was the seat of the Academy of

Science. Mikhail Lomonosov was the

founder of the Academy.

From 1741 to 1765, the great Russian scientist worked

there. The museum of Mikhail Lomonosov is located there

and consist of following sections:

- The life and Scientific Activity of Lomonosov

- Lomonosov and 18th century Russian Astronomy

- The Great Academic Globe

This building housed the country’s first

public library and observatory of the

Academy of Sciences.

In 1836, on the base of the

Kuntskammer collection several

Academic museums were created.

In 1878 the Peter the Great Museum of

Anthropology and Ethnography was formed.

Its collections are dedicated to everyday life

and culture of people of the world.

Andreas Schlüter (20 May 1664 – May 1714) was

a German baroque sculptor and architect associated

with the Petrine Baroque style of architecture and

decoration.

Rococo: In Germany, Austria, Eastern Europe, and

Russia, Baroque ideas were often applied with a

lighter touch. Pale colors and curving shell shapes

gave buildings the delicate appearance of a frosted

cake. The term Rococo was used to describe these

softer versions of the Baroque style.

Learn about Rococo Architecture

Rococo buildings tend to be softer and more graceful. Colors are pale

and curving shapes dominate.

Features of Rococo Architecture include:

Elaborate curves and scrolls

Ornaments shaped like shells and plants

Intricate patterns

Delicate details

Complex, asymmetrical shapes

Light, pastel colors