Mikhail Grigorievich Zemtsov(1688, Moscow - September 28, 1743, St. Petersburg) - Russian architect, representative of the early Baroque.
Biography
He studied at the Armory Chamber in Moscow. In St. Petersburg since 1709; Studied Italian at the provincial office.
Since 1710, by order of Peter I, he was appointed assistant and student of D. Trezzini.
Since 1719, he supervised the development of Moscow in connection with the lifting of the ban on building stone structures. In 1720 he was transferred from student to Gezel. He was an assistant to Leblond and Michetti.
In 1720-1722 he worked in Reval as N. Michetti’s deputy on the construction of Ekaterinenthal (Kadriorg). Starting from the spring of 1721, the entire construction was carried out by Zemtsov alone, who completed it.
In 1723 he traveled to Stockholm for work.
From 1723 he worked in St. Petersburg on orders from the court.
In 1724 he received the title of architect. He taught architecture to I. Ya. Blanka.
After the execution of P. M. Eropkin in 1740, he was seconded to the “Commission on St. Petersburg Buildings” to edit and complete the treatise “The Position of the Architectural Expedition”, in which he apparently wrote the chapters: “On architecture and architects”, “What to do in buildings”, “About the positions of various arts masters working in buildings”, “About the Academy of Architecture”. From 1741 he served as court architect to Elizabeth Petrovna. The first Russian architect of St. Petersburg, who, along with Trezzini, embodied the main architectural plans of Peter I.
He worked in St. Petersburg, Tsarskoe Selo and Moscow.
In 1742 he received the rank of colonel. Had an architectural "team".
Works
- 1731-1734. Church of Simeon and Anna in St. Petersburg, consecrated on January 27, 1734. H. van Bolos was invited to build the spire. (preserved, partially rebuilt).
- 1733-1737. Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in St. Petersburg. The church has not survived; Zemtsov’s authorship is questionable.
- 1734-1739. Management of the construction of a church for hospitals on the Vyborg side (project by D. Trezzini, accepted for execution in connection with the death of the author) in St. Petersburg. The building was brought to the architrave, construction was stopped due to the exhaustion of the estimate. Until the end of the 18th century, the church stood unfinished; in 1771 it was decided to abandon the previous plan; the unfinished church building was later adapted as an auditorium for the Military Medical Academy.
- The Lookout Palace of Peter I (completion of construction and decoration; project author S. van Zwieten; lost)
- Project of the Hermitage pavilion in Catherine Park (Tsarskoe Selo)
- Cavalry and craftsman's yards in Peterhof (1732)
- Cascade "Golden Mountain" (Lower Park of Peterhof), together with Michetti
- Reconstruction of the ruin cascade (Lower Park of Peterhof)
- Anichkov Palace Project
- House for Peter the Great's boat in the Peter and Paul Fortress;
- 1743-1754. Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral in St. Petersburg. The temple was built from 1743 to 1754. Mikhail Zemtsov did not live to see the completion of construction; after his death, the work was led by the architect Pietro Antonio Trezzini, who slightly changed the project. The temple has not survived - it was completely rebuilt after the fire of 1825 by the architect V.P. Stasov.
Literature
- Pilyavsky V.I., Slavina T.A., Tits A.A. and others. History of Russian architecture. - M: Architecture-S, 2004. - ISBN 5-274-01659-6. - ISBN 5-9647-0014-4.
- Johansen M. V. Mikhail Zemtsov (series: Architects of our city). - L: Lenizdat, 1975.
(1686 or 1688-1743)
Little is known about the childhood and youth of Mikhail Grigorievich Zemtsov. The exact dates of birth and death, his origins are still unclear. Some authors believe that he was born in 1686, others say 1688. It is unknown how his childhood and youth proceeded.
The first reliable information about Zemtsov dates back to 1709 - the time when he studied Italian at the St. Petersburg provincial chancellery. In 1710, by decree of Peter I, “a student of Mikhail Zemtsov, who studied the Italian language,” was sent to the Anichkov Palace to the Office of City Affairs, created in 1706. The office was in charge of the work of replacing the earthen fortifications of the St. Petersburg fortress with stone ones, as well as the construction of the city growing near it.
Direct supervision of the construction work was carried out by “Lieutenant Colonel of Fortification and Architect” Domenico Trezzini. Mikhail was assigned to him.
Zemtsov was undoubtedly lucky that Trezzini turned out to be his mentor. Placed by circumstances at the head of the rapid construction activity on the banks of the Neva, he acutely felt the lack of well-trained specialists. The architect was interested in their preparation and strove to make every capable young man a reliable assistant as quickly as possible. Zemtsov was one of Trezzini's first students.
In those days, training was carried out through the direct participation of the future architect in the practical work of the teacher. At first, the student was given simple assignments, then more complex ones, gradually accustoming him to the task. This is how Mikhail studied.
Extraordinary abilities and great hard work contributed to the fact that Zemtsov developed as a master very early. Therefore, it was no coincidence that at the end of 1718 it was ordered again to build only stone buildings in the Moscow Kremlin and Kitay-Gorod, and, moreover, “along the streets, and not in the courtyards, as in the old days,” to guide development based on new principles, in At the beginning of 1719, Zemtsov was sent.
Zemtsov did not stay in Moscow for long - a year. At the beginning of 1720 he was already recalled to St. Petersburg. Zemtsov’s sudden summons to St. Petersburg was obviously associated with the death of three prominent architects: Zh.B.A. Leblond, G. Mattarnovi and G.I. Ustinov's father. The most important buildings, and in particular the palace complexes of Peterhof and Strelna, were now transferred to N. Michetti.
Michetti found himself in a very difficult position. He had only lived in Russia for a year and still understood Russian speech poorly. Naturally, he wanted to have not only a reliable assistant, but also a translator. There were many “architecture students” in St. Petersburg, but the choice fell on Zemtsov. Thus began Mikhail’s collaboration with another experienced architect, which lasted about three years.
An interesting characterization given by Michetti to the young architect has been preserved. “I, the undersigned,” reported Michetti, “had to be named both in drawings and in practice by the proper name of Mikhail Zemtsov, and I found him by letter and worthy in architectural practice, and for this reason he is allowed to go manage the work... the house... which is being built in Reveli."
Only after such a flattering review was Zemtsov transferred from students to apprentices, or, as they were more often called then, in the “architecture of Gezel.” Now he began to receive 180 rubles a year.
Zemtsov spent the construction season of 1721 in Reval, but in January 1722 he had already arrived in St. Petersburg to receive instructions from the “general architect” - as Michetti was called in documents of that time - on the issues of “arranging fountains and gazebos in the garden, which should be there in Revel to compose.”
Zemtsov returned to Revel in April 1722 not alone, but with Mikhail Ogibalov. His companion was a student of Michetti. Zemtsov had to not only use him as an assistant, but also teach him “the practice of architectural science.” This is how Zemtsov got his first student. While supervising the construction of the Catherine Palace on site, Zemtsov had to finalize Michetti’s project and, naturally, contributed something of his own to it. This can explain the well-known diversity in the architectural treatment of the facades of the palace and its interiors.
The architect put a lot of effort into creating a regular park in front of the palace. The drawings made by Zemtsov stored in the Central Archive of Ancient Acts are clear evidence of this. In creating an elegant park with flowerbeds of complex designs, gazebos and fountains, he was helped by Ilya Surmin, a talented Russian master of landscape art, whom Zemtsov would later meet more than once at work in Peterhof, the Summer Garden and other objects.
The construction of the Revel Palace was a test of strength for the young architect, who convincingly proved by his example that one can become a “good architect” without studying abroad.
Then Peter I sent Zemtsov to Stockholm with important tasks for the construction of the capital. The similarity of climatic conditions along the entire coast of the Baltic Sea allowed us to hope that the recipe for plastering buildings used by the Swedes would also be suitable for St. Petersburg buildings. By decree of Peter I, Zemtsov was ordered not only to find out “how they keep the mask on the chambers,” but also to “sentence two people to our service, as well as other masters, if there are skilled craftsmen that we don’t have, or there are roads, or are not needed, and hire others that we need.”
Zemtsov successfully completed the assignment. He hired eight people. Among them were those who knew how to “make all kinds of mills”, a gardener, a stonemason, masters in the construction of “spitz”, bridges, dams, a carpenter and others. He also found experienced masons who knew “what kind of brick to use” and how to “grease the outside firmly so that neither frost nor wetness will harm it.”
A trip to Stockholm, as well as a long stay in Reval, allowed Zemtsov to get acquainted with examples of Gothic architecture and the works of masters of the northern Baroque, much more restrained than German, Italian and even French, on which the foreign masters who worked in St. Petersburg were brought up. All this expanded Zemtsov’s professional horizons and enriched him with new knowledge.
After Zemtsov returned to his homeland, significant changes occurred in his fate. Michetti left for Italy, deciding not to extend his stay in Russia. He left St. Petersburg, leaving many works unfinished. Zemtsov was entrusted with the performance of his many duties. However, neither his salary, nor rank, nor rank changed for the better. He was still an “architecture gezel” with a salary of 180 rubles a year, while Michetti received 1,500 rubles for the same work. Despite this injustice, the very fact of transferring the work of the “general architect” to Zemtsov, who did not yet have the title of architect, testifies to his actual recognition by both the Tsar and the leadership of the Chancellery of buildings as equal to the best foreign masters.
From that time on, Zemtsov headed all the work carried out in the capital and country royal residences. One of such works in 1723 was the improvement of the summer gardens of Peter I, which occupied the territory of the current Summer and Mikhailovsky Gardens, the Field of Mars, the Engineers' Castle and further to Nevsky Prospekt.
The Russian architect, in addition to completing the work begun before him, had the difficult task of implementing the grandiose plans of Peter I, recorded in the drawing made by the tsar after he rejected Leblond’s project.
Simultaneously with the work at the capital's summer residence, Zemtsov supervised the improvement of the park in Peterhof. No less remarkable are Zemtsov’s works related to the design of the Grand Cascade. In May 1724, not satisfied with the masks made in England in 1721 based on the drawings of Leblon and Braunstein, Peter I commissioned Zemtsov to create a project for a new sculptural design of wall fountains on the facades of the Upper Grotto. “Mascarons with ornaments” depicting Neptune and Bacchus, performed by B.K. The Rastrelli, according to Zemtsov’s drawings, were much larger and more consistent with the scale of the grandiose structure. Zemtsov also worked on the Marlinsky cascade, “niche” fountains along the Grand Canal, the sculptural groups of which were created based on the plots of “Aesopian plots,” and much more.
All works of 1723-1724 indicate that Zemtsov was in fact the chief architect of the royal residences. Now he was not a executor of other people's projects, forced to coordinate every innovation with the author and customer, but a self-confident construction manager who carried out his own plans and supervised the work of many foreign craftsmen. They were ordered to be “constantly and to do with all haste, as he, Zemtsov, will show.”
By this time, Zemtsov’s skill as a graphic artist was revealed in full force. After Michetti's departure, he was considered the best performer of perspective views and drawings. Peter I chose him to “copy” Peterhof and Strelna. Peter I wanted to engrave their views based on the well-known albums with perspectives of famous French and Italian palaces and parks.
During these years, despite the incredible workload, Zemtsov devoted a lot of time and effort to training domestic specialists. He not only had a vested interest in well-trained assistants, but also loved teaching. The teaching system in Zemtsov’s team was structured as follows. First, the “youngsters” were taught arithmetic, then geometry. After this, there was a study of architectural orders according to the “three books of architecture” by the famous Italian architect and theorist Vignola. These “studies” took about two years, and only after mastering the architectural alphabet did the students move on to the next stage - drawing up drawings and then working on construction. The fame of Zemtsov as a teacher grew quickly, and in the mid-1720s he had the largest architectural team in St. Petersburg.
Despite the indisputable evidence of Zemtsov’s maturity, he remained in the same rank of “Gesel architecture”, like the recently arrived pensioners. There was nothing left to do but to declare this injustice yourself. On November 10, 1724, he was awarded the title of architect with a salary of 550 rubles.
Before the architect had time to get used to his new title, an event occurred that had a great influence on his future fate: on January 28, 1725, Peter I died.
The first building executed in kind according to the design of Zemtsov the architect was the Hall for glorious celebrations built in the Summer Garden on the banks of the Neva. For its construction, “a large number of all kinds of craftsmen and artists were gathered,” and the leadership was in the hands of His Serene Highness the Prince. Menshikov was tireless in such matters and knew how to make people work.
The building made a strong impression on contemporaries. And indeed, the “hall” was a success for its creator. The building was elegant and majestically solemn. Among the trimmed greenery of the Summer Garden and the rather simple facades of other buildings, the building stood out for its festive decoration. Almost its entire internal volume was occupied by a large two-story hall, illuminated by 52 windows. Painting and tapestries were widely used in its decoration. The facades of this part of the building were the richest. In the spaces between the windows there were pilasters of the “grand order” with magnificent Corinthian capitals. Graceful garlands connected them, forming a beautiful wavy line that ran around the central part of the building. Along the lower edge of the roof there was a parapet of balusters, interrupted by vases rhythmically arranged on pedestals in a pattern characteristic of Zemtsov. On both sides of the hall there were two small one-story rooms. The entrance was in the center. Built “directly from the street,” it connected the interior space of the “hall” with the environment surrounding the building, thanks to which the “hall” became, as it were, part of a much larger celebration venue located in the open air. This was a typical feature of many Baroque buildings.
In addition to the construction of the “hall,” Zemtsov during these years carried out previously begun work in the Summer Garden, Strelna and other places. Peterhof required especially a lot of care, where complex work on decorating the ceremonial interiors of the Grand Palace and Marly continued, and service buildings at Monplaisir were erected according to his designs. T. Usov, P. Eropkin, and a little later - I. Mordvinov helped him cope with all these matters. Zemtsov also took part in the reconstruction of the Italian Palace, located on the left bank of the Fontanka, not far from the Anichkov Bridge.
But the architect was not only involved in palace buildings. At the beginning of 1726, he had to design the guardhouse at the Anichkov Bridge, “an architecturally cobbled gallery and paint it properly.” Zemtsov devoted a lot of time in 1726 and 1727 to executing measurement drawings of “local buildings,” the preparation of which was prescribed by decrees.
The work of 1731 marked the beginning of a new stage in the life of the city. However, at the same time, B.K. is usually friendly towards Zemtsov. Rastrelli used all his connections in court circles to ensure that the most significant orders of the new empress were given to his son Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli. The efforts of the sculptor father were crowned with success, and Rastrelli the architect was entrusted with the design and then the construction of two new palaces - the Summer and Winter. The success of both buildings exceeded all expectations. Recently, a little-known architect immediately gained fame and powerful patrons. Soon he received the title of “chief architect.”
The rapid rise of Rastrelli the son in the early 1730s largely relegated Zemtsov to the background. Moreover, they decided to build a new Summer Palace on the site occupied by the Hall for Glorious Celebrations. You can imagine how hard it was for Zemtsov.
Zemtsov's works for the court of Empress Anna were limited to Peterhof. Here he was tasked with expanding the Upper Chambers. Zemtsov quickly coped with this task. At the same time, he completed the Marlinsky cascade and continued the construction of the Ruin cascade.
Among the new author's works of Zemtsov, carried out in the early 1730s, is the stone church of Simeon and Anna, which still stands on the corner of Belinsky and Mokhovaya streets. The consistent application of the order gives exceptional integrity to the construction. The walls of the church and the first floor of the bell tower are decorated with pilasters of the Roman Doric order. Higher up, on the tiers of the bell tower and on the drum of the dome, lighter Ionic and Corinthian orders are used. Despite the rather significant changes this building has undergone, it is still distinguished by its noble architecture, picturesque combination of volumes and well-defined silhouette.
In the late 1720s and early 1730s, Zemtsov had to take on a huge amount of very complex and responsible work related to the completion of the protracted construction of the largest buildings, erected according to the designs of various architects. It would not be an exaggeration to say that this type of activity occupied most of the architect’s time in the first half of the thirties. At the end of 1727, the objects on which G. Chiaveri had worked until the day he left for his homeland were transferred to him. Among them were buildings of impressive size, very different in purpose: court stables, St. Isaac's Church, the first museum in Russia - the Kunstkamera, as well as the former palace of Queen Praskovya Fedorovna located next to it.
On March 2, 1734, Trezzini died without having had time to completely complete a number of his largest buildings - the building of government institutions - the “Twelve Colleges” and the “Gospital” on the Vyborg side. Now this honorable, but at the same time difficult task had to be solved by the already very busy Zemtsov. In addition to the duties of a practicing architect, which he performed to an extent that not everyone could withstand, all these years he systematically carried out a great deal of pedagogical work and was constantly involved as an expert.
In the mid-1730s, significant changes occurred in the architect’s professional biography. On June 4, 1735, he was appointed architect of the Chief Police Office, whose role in the construction of the city increased sharply after the reorganization of the construction business in St. Petersburg in 1732. From that time on, the Main Police Chief's Office became the most important institution, actually directing the entire mass development of the city.
On August 20, 1739, the chancellery adopted a decree “On the regulation of places in the Admiralty part from the Moika to the Fontannaya River according to the plan considered by the commission for those places.” Developers had to build stone houses “for heating one, and for those who wish, two apartments and cover them with tiles.” Service buildings and the outbuilding facing the garden were allowed to be built of wood. Owners of plots on Nevskaya Perspective were given five years to build a stone house.
One of the plots “against Gostiny Dvor” was assigned to Zemtsov and his heirs. The new site was significantly larger than on First Liteinaya Embankment Street. This made it possible to build a house large enough to comfortably accommodate the Zemtsov family, which had greatly expanded in the 1730s. In addition to his wife Maria Ivanovna, he had two daughters - six-year-old Maria and three-year-old Alexandra, and in 1739 his first son was born, named Mikhaila in honor of his father. It was probably for the sake of his heir that he began to build a new stone house - an expensive undertaking.
In the summer of 1741, Zemtsov created one of his largest projects - the project of the stone Trinity Cathedral. According to the project, in the center of the large new semicircular Trinity Square it was planned to erect a stone temple, the plan of which was given the appearance of an equal-ended cross. There was supposed to be a bell tower next to the cathedral.
The cathedral project is the most significant of all the identified graphic heritage of the architect. It is also extremely interesting architecturally. In it, Zemtsov was the first Russian architect to consistently and successfully solve the problem of creating that type of monumental city church, which received widespread development much later, during the period of the dominance of classicism. Unlike the pillarless and basilica churches common in St. Petersburg, the Trinity Cathedral was supposed to be a centric structure, which was prompted in this case by considerations of urban planning - the building was planned in the center of the square and should have been visible from all sides. The composition of the structure is clear and simple, the proportions and silhouette are well found. The laconicism of the cathedral's architecture is noteworthy. Unfortunately, this wonderful project remained on paper.
At the same time as drawing up projects for such significant buildings as the Trinity Cathedral, Zemtsov had to deal with urgent current affairs, for example, the quartering of the Persian embassy.
On November 25, 1741, another palace coup took place, as a result of which the daughter of Peter I, Elizabeth, ascended the Russian throne. Elizabeth entrusted the duties of the court architect and the execution of her most important orders to Zemtsov. This honorable and very troublesome appointment did not free the architect from matters “concerning the Police.” Moreover, the role of the “Police” in the construction of the capital has increased significantly.
One of the urgent matters was the renovation of Moscow palaces in connection with the upcoming coronation of Elizabeth, the design of which was entrusted to Zemtsov.
The architect was no stranger to creating spectacular green vistas and elegant triumphal structures, but this time he was especially successful with them. Probably, the high spirits of their author had an effect. He could not help but rejoice at the political changes and, like most Russians, hoped that Elizabeth would put an end to the dominance of foreigners and their tyranny. The resulting surge of creative energy was reflected in the work. It is no coincidence that his Red Gate was recognized as the best triumphal building among those created for the coronation. The clarity of the compositional concept, which was also characteristic of Zemtsov’s other buildings, was here combined with the festive decorativeness of the decoration. At the same time, the gate remained a light, harmonious structure.
The coronation celebrations were over, and he could return to St. Petersburg, where not only his family, which was replenished in 1741 with another child, his son Alexander, was waiting for him, but also interesting work - the construction of a palace near the Anichkov Bridge.
It turned out that Zemtsov completed the design of the Anichkov Palace with a large, elegant regular garden back in the summer of 1741. However, the work did not move too quickly. After Zemtsov’s death, when Dmitriev was at the head of the creation of the ensemble, the construction of the palace was still carried out according to Zemtsov’s drawings. The actual building differed from his project only in that it was made “against the design of the architect Zemtsov... above the chamber, in order to order the use of ready-made window frames transported from Courland.”
At the end of 1742 or the beginning of 1743, Zemtsov developed a broad program for the reconstruction of the Tsarskoe Selo palace ensemble, the implementation of which was to transform the modest Tsarskoe Selo with the small palace of Catherine I into a grandiose ensemble.
One order followed another, the affairs of the “Police” constantly required Zemtsov to resolve various complex issues. Teaching students also took a lot of time. The architect had so many responsibilities that this gave rise to an anecdotal story that after his death, thirteen people allegedly had to be appointed to cope with the tasks that he alone performed.
Fate turned out to be merciful to the orphans of the architect. Soon Maria Ivanovna married Major of the Manufactory Collegium Ivan Andreevich Baranov. The stepfather was not indifferent to the fate of the children. In addition, on December 4, 1747, when the widow decided to move to Moscow, Elizabeth ordered “to buy for us the deceased architect Mikhail Zemtsov from his wife Marya Ivanova’s daughter, the courtyard lying opposite the Gostiny Dvor, with all the stone and wooden buildings in that courtyard for 6000 rubles."
The exact place and date of birth of Mikhail Grigorievich Zemtsov is not known. It is believed that he was born in 1686 or 1688. He probably received his primary education in Moscow at a school at the Armory Chamber.
The first reliable information about Mikhail Zemtsov dates back to 1709, when he studied Italian at the St. Petersburg Provincial Chancellery. In 1710, by decree of Peter I, a capable young man was sent to serve in the Office of City Affairs. The office then supervised the construction of the stone fortress "St. Petersburg" and the construction of the city around it. It was headed by Domenico Trezzini, with this architect Mikhail Zemtsov having the opportunity to learn a lot.
The extraordinary abilities of Mikhail Zemtsov were noticed by Domenico Trezzini, who often even left his student to work with other students. It was Trezzini who recommended Zemtsov for a trip to Moscow when work began in the Moscow Kremlin and Kitay-Gorod in 1718. Mikhail Zemtsov was appointed construction manager.
Domenico Trezzini died in 1734. All his works were transferred to Zemtsov. In 1735, he became the architect of the St. Petersburg Police Chief's Office, thus becoming in fact the chief architect of the city. In 1741, Zemtsov began work on his main project - the stone Trinity Cathedral on Trinity Square. The project was never implemented. At the same time as working on the cathedral project, Zemtsov was also engaged in other matters, for example, housing the Persian embassy.
Under Elizaveta Petrovna, Zemtsov again became a court architect. He was entrusted with the restoration of Moscow palaces before the coronation of Elizabeth. Upon his return to St. Petersburg, Mikhail Grigorievich was entrusted with the construction of the Anichkov Palace. At the same time, the architect developed a plan for the reconstruction of the palace in Tsarskoe Selo.
Despite the enormous employment, Mikhail Zemtsov’s wages were not revised for a long time. By the beginning of the 1740s, he received the same amount as in 1724. Only shortly before his death, the architect received the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Mikhail Grigorievich Zemtsov died on September 28, 1743. Thanks to the master’s high efficiency, after his death there were rumors that his work was distributed among thirteen architects, so there were a lot of these cases.
Mikhail Grigorievich Zemtsov (1688-1743) "- one of the chicks of “Petrov’s nest”, the first Russian architect. Born in Moscow in 1688, he was sent to St. Petersburg among the first settlers of the new capital. In St. Petersburg, at first he was in a school at the city chancellery, and in 1710 he was sent to science by Trezzini with a salary of 5 rubles. His studies with Trezzini were very successful: in 1715 his salary was increased to 10, and the next year to 15 rubles. Soon, however, Zemtsov passed from Trezzini to the architect Michetti, who made him his assistant and sent him to Revel and Catherine to oversee the construction of the palace designed by Michetti. Obviously, here Peter the Great recognizes Zemtsov and draws attention to the talented architect. From this time on, he began to be given a number of assignments. On August 19, 1723, the head of the galley fleet received an order “to send the architectural apprentice Zemtsov to the boat “Elsenfors” to Sweden to hire workers and craftsmen and purchase tools. In the last years of the reign of Peter the Great, Zemtsov also took part in the work of the Peterhof fountains; for example, , he was tasked with “redoing the pyramid, making the pool lower and removing one ustup (ledge) in the Cascades; in the canal along the stairs, on the right side of the chambers, make dolphins, as on the other side"; further, he works in the royal gardens, for example, he makes "a gallery against flower beds or an oak gallery for paintings by old masters." All these works were given to Zemtsov architect's rank (1724), and less than a year later the Senate gave him a salary of 550 rubles.
Under Peter the Great, Zemtsov studied and carried out the work entrusted to him based on the designs of other architects, and since he was also a skilled draftsman, he made those drawings that required elegant finishing and artistry; for example, the “grotto in the Summer Garden” designed by Peter the Great has survived to this day in Zemtsov’s drawings. Next, Zemtsov also performed the duties of a sculptor: he drew up designs for statues that were going to decorate the building under construction for the Cabinet of Curiosities of the Academy of Sciences. Having become an architect, Zemtsov showed such enormous activity over the course of 20 years that nowadays one cannot help but be amazed at how this still far from appreciated first Russian architect could work so hard. From 1725 to 1732, Zemtsov was listed in the office of buildings, i.e., he held a position corresponding to the current position of the architect of the Court; in 1732 he received a special assignment - “assigned to complete the construction of the monastery buildings of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.” The terrible St. Petersburg fires came. We had to rebuild. city. A special commission for the organization of St. Petersburg appeared, and Zemtsov in 1735 was appointed as an architect at the police office. From 1740 to 1743, i.e., the year of his death, Zemtsov again fulfilled a special assignment - supervision of the construction of the Neva Lavra, and at the same time he was entrusted with a number of the most diverse palace buildings.
Zemtsov’s first independent building was a wooden hall, approximately where the palace of the Prince of Oldenburg is now located on the Champ de Mars. This hall was built for the wedding of Peter the Great's daughter Anna Petrovna with the Prince of Holstein and, like most buildings of that time, it was built hastily. In Berchholtz’s notes we find an indication that “Prince Menshikov spent last night in new rooms and now intends to spend the night in them in order to have constant supervision over the workers and by all means to hasten them to finish the construction.” Then in the same 1725, with such but, if not with greater speed, he had to rebuild and re-build the Summer Palace for Empress Catherine I and, finally, re-decorate the Italian Palace. All these buildings have not survived: the ceremonial hall stood until 1731, the Summer Palace of Catherine I was replaced first by the Summer Palace of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, built by Count Rastrelli the son, and then by the Mikhailovsky Castle of Emperor Paul and, what is now the Engineering Castle, on the site of the Italian The Gwarengi Palace was built by the Catherine Institute. In addition to these fundamental buildings, Zemtsov had to oversee a number of smaller ones, for example, he completed the lookout palace, built palaces in Yekateringhof and Annenhof, rebuilt the triumphal gates, etc.
During the reign of Empress Anna Ioannovna, Zemtsov’s activities were aimed at organizing St. Petersburg and church construction. Zemtsov took an active part in Zachheim’s drawing up of the first topographic plan of St. Petersburg in 1738. For this purpose, Zemtsov compiled an inventory of philistine houses in St. Petersburg (April 15, 1736). Further, he was responsible for drawing up: 1) regulations on paving work, i.e., on paving streets, and 2) conditions for government contracts. According to his drawings and drawings, all the entrances to the capital, police boxes and, finally, slingshots that were used to close the streets at night were built. As a police architect, Zemtsov also built a building for the main police, which was second along the Moika, from Nevsky Prospekt, behind the Dutch church. It is interesting to note that according to his designs, during the harsh winter of 1739, special heating pads were built on the streets.
As the architect of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, Zemtsov could not prove himself to be anything special, mainly because, despite the very frequent, strict orders from the Highest to complete the construction of the monastery, they did not give enough money. But having accepted this construction, Zemtsov indicated that, in all likelihood, it would be necessary to dismantle the vaults of the cathedral, which were unfinished. This assumption of Zemtsov was justified.
Of the churches built by Zemtsov, two in particular attracted attention - Simeonovskaya and the old Church of the Kazan Mother of God, which was later replaced by the Kazan Cathedral of Voronikhin. In church construction, Zemtsov has already shown a certain independence; True, the plan of the Zemtsov churches resembles the plan of the Trezzini churches: the same elongated bell tower placed in front of the church, behind which there is a gallery leading into the church itself, but the details of the construction are no longer Trezinovsky: the bell tower, first of all, is not as simple as Trezzini’s - the influence of the Baroque style is already clear is felt, especially in the upper part of the bell tower, in the round windows of one of the tiers of the bell tower and, finally, in the slightly curved shape of the spitz itself. Then Zemtsov completely changed the shape of the dome: instead of the small Trezzini lantern, a rather significant main dome appeared. Church of St. Simeon and Anna has been preserved in a relatively untouched form. As for the already disappeared Church of the Kazan Mother of God, its plan was similar to Simeonovskaya and, judging by the surviving painting by an unknown master, it had a beautiful colonnade of Corinthian-style columns inside.
A small elegant building - the pavilion-boat of Peter the Great in the Peter and Paul Fortress - should certainly testify, as I. Grabar says, “to the presence of reliable architectural imagination in Zemtsov, who knew how, when opportunity allowed, to create the most charming forms using the simplest means.”
On April 6, 1742, the quartermaster of Empress Elisaveta Petrovna Shargorodsky gives the order to the architect Zemtsov to build the Anichkov Palace, and warns that this construction must be done in a hurry - such is the desire of the empress; she wants a palace to be erected where the prefabricated hut of the Preobrazhensky Regiment stood, from where the Empress - then still Princess Elizabeth - at the head of her life-companions went to gain her father's throne. And the construction of this palace is entrusted not to a foreigner, but to a Russian architect.
Zemtsov showed intense activity: drawing after drawing was produced by a talented architect, and his assistant Dmitriev took these drawings to the empress for approval in Moscow. They started work, beat piles, laid foundations, began to build walls; In order to be closer to the construction, Zemtsov begged himself a plot to build a house almost opposite the palace. And in the midst of this work, Zemtsov dies. A report to the Empress about his death was made on November 29, 1743. The work on finishing the palace was entrusted to Rastrelli, who, not being able to change the general plan, nevertheless had his hand in the details, as a result of which the character of the building turned out to be different from what Zemtsov would have given him .
Zemtsov was certainly distinguished by his enormous energy and ability to work, but having been educated at the school of Trezzini, who was not an architect, but an engineer, Zemtsov, of course, could not develop his great inclinations as an artist. Unfamiliar with either the theory of architecture or the outstanding architectural monuments of Europe (Zemtsov had never been anywhere except Stockholm), our Russian nugget had to figure out everything on his own, discover America everywhere. But Zemtsov could not engage in architecture continuously and systematically due to the conditions of that time: he was constantly torn away from his main occupation, he had to carry out thousands of small assignments, had to be not only a builder, but also a police architect, and at the same time deal with contracts and participate in bidding for various works. It is quite clear that the result was insignificant. Judging by the pavilion-boat, by the bell tower of the Simeon Church, Zemtsov’s talent could unfold, and, perhaps, we could repeat the name of Zemtsov with the same pride as we now repeat the name of the Russian Italian Rastrelli.
Being an active builder, Zemtsov was almost the only leader of that first school of architects in St. Petersburg, which was founded by Leblon; We know very little about it, but from it came those numerous architects who were sent as builders throughout Russia.
Saint PetersburgPeterhof
As a result of mastering the material in this chapter, the student should: know
- main trends in Russian architecture and urban planning; creativity of architects;
- main complexes and architectural monuments of the mid-18th century; be able to
- distinguish between the architectural styles of the 1730s and 1750s; own
- skills of independent stylistic analysis of works of architecture of the mid-18th century.
Architecture of Anninsky Petersburg. M. G. Zemtsov
“The Great City of Petrov” - the favorite brainchild of the great emperor - has changed a lot since the time of Peter I. After the death of Empress Catherine, the city was abandoned. Together with the court, the nobility, who had always lived in St. Petersburg under duress, moved to Moscow, followed by the merchants. Private construction fell into disrepair; no one was involved in the improvement and order of the city; no new large structures were erected, only what had been started earlier was completed. Thus, D. Trezzini continues work in the Peter and Paul Cathedral, which was illuminated in 1733, and on the Spit of Vasilievsky Island (Gostiny Dvor and the building of the Twelve Colleges). The frenetic creative activity gave way to calm. Although the boundaries of the city did not narrow, as is usually written when talking about St. Petersburg in those years, the city stopped developing; his life as a kind of living organism froze.
However, the desolation did not last long. From the beginning of the 1730s. attention to St. Petersburg is growing again in connection with the approaching return to the capital of the new empress, so the Senate orders Count Minich, the then governor of St. Petersburg, to “see that houses are not taken away.” In 1734, Peter the Great's decree on construction in St. Petersburg only from stone was confirmed, and a year later a decree was issued on the return of unfinished houses on Vasilyevsky Island to homeowners. With the move of the yard from Moscow to St. Petersburg, construction is picking up. The Empress needs apartments. F. B. Rastrelli urgently closes the houses of Apraksin, Raguzinsky, Yaguzhinsky, erecting the Third Winter Palace, which will be completed under the niece of the current empress, Anna Leopoldovna, and then rebuilt and decorated under Elizabeth Petrovna. In 1733, construction began on the Summer Palace, the favorite creation of Empress Anna. Old palaces (which can still be repaired) are also being repaired, old lampshades are being repaired, their paintings are being renewed, and new triumphal arches are being erected. But from Anna’s time little will remain in its original form: at best it will be rebuilt and changed, at worst it will simply be demolished.
In the middle of the century, in Russia, as in the time of Peter the Great, foreign masters worked - Johann Schumacher, Carlo Giuseppe Trezzini, Pietro Antonio Trezzini, etc. At the beginning of the century, foreign architects were assigned a leading role, but already in the 1720s, i.e. . Even during Peter's lifetime, the independent creativity of their former students - M. G. Zemtsov, I. K. Korobov, P. M. Eropkin, I. A. Mordvinov, T. N. Usov and others - became increasingly important. the relationship between foreign and domestic masters is gradually becoming equal, becoming “parity”, in the words of O. S. Evangulova, and this applies not only to architects, but also to painters. Eropkin, Korobov and Michurin were trained in Europe. The theoretical views of Russian architects are set out in the treatise “The Position of the Architectural Expedition,” written under the leadership of Pyotr Eropkin (remained in manuscript). Here advanced thoughts were expressed about the social purpose of architecture, about the necessary freedom of the artist; a system of state management of urban planning, interaction between the architect supervising construction and the customer was approved. In fact, this was the first set of rules and regulations for construction in Russia, based on the classical principles of the treatises of Vitruvius and European theorists of the Renaissance. The treatise-code provided for the founding of an architectural academy for the training of construction personnel.
In the harsh 1730s. It was three Russian architects - M. G. Zemtsov, I. K. Korobov, P. M. Eropkin - who played the main role in the architecture of post-Petrine Petersburg.
Mikhail Grigorievich Zemtsov(1688–1743) did not receive a European education, was not a pensioner (and even when, on Peter’s orders, he went to Stockholm, it was with a different task - to hire craftsmen). And in general, at first he studied to become a translator from Italian, then he helped N. Michetti in decorating the Catherine Palace in Reval, but quickly became on a par with the leading foreign masters with whom he worked a lot in Peterhof. Since 1726 he was already a “city architect” (now this is the position of the chief architect of the city), and since 1733 he was the architect of the Alexander Nevsky Monastery and the main leader of the architectural school, organized by J.-B. Leblon. His first independent work in St. Petersburg was the wooden “Hall for Glorious Celebrations” in the Summer Garden. Then Zemtsov built the Italian Palace on the Fontanka, on the site of which G. Quarenghi later built the Catherine Institute; Shortly before his death, Anichkov Palace begins, which is completed by F.B. Rastrelli already under Elizabeth.
In the Church of St. Simeon and Anna on Khamovaya (Mokhovaya) Street (1729–1734), the old structure of the temple - a traditional octagon on a quadrangle, single-apse with a refectory on the west, apses on the east and a bell tower above the entrance - was transformed by Zemtsov in the spirit of the new “regular” architecture . He divided the refectory into naves with pylons, found an unusual shape of a multifaceted dome, used the motif of balconies on paired columns above the entrances, and most importantly, he completed the bell tower with a high spire, which became a typical element of the new St. Petersburg architecture. The silhouette of the church is given special lightness and grace by the consistent use of the order: Roman Doric in the pilasters of the church walls and the first floor of the bell tower; Ionic and Corinthian - in the tiers of the bell tower and on the drum of the dome. In Zemtsov’s work there was a convergence of Moscow and St. Petersburg tendencies, and if defined more broadly, a combination of the principles of the new school (on a European basis) with national old Russian traditions. It was these traditions that allowed him, in the Church of Simeon and Anna, dating back to the type of the Peter and Paul Cathedral of D. Trezzini, to destroy, as B. R. Wipper writes, the fragmentation of the Trezzini composition and create an organically united ensemble. Thanks to ancient Russian motifs, the silhouette of the bell tower and the dome, increased in size and closer to it, turned out to be richer, and the proportions became more harmonious.
Mikhail Zemtsov designed and built a lot, but among the architect’s works, only the Church of Simeon and Anna has survived to this day, which, as already noted, is typical for Anna’s time. Zemtsov’s activities were unusually large-scale. I. E. Grabar wrote that after the death of the architect, his duties were distributed among 14 masters. In 1742, Zemtsov, who traveled to Moscow to prepare the coronation of the new empress, returned completely ill and soon died. The coronation work was completed by his student Johann (Ivan) Blank, whose Tsarskoe Selo Znamenskaya Church has a completely Zemtsov style. Under the leadership of Zemtsov, Blank erected a basilica, with a spire similar to the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary (1733–1737), on the site of which in the 19th century. A. N. Voronikhin built the Kazan Cathedral. In addition, Zemtsov was engaged in endless additions - the Kunstkamera after Nicolo Michetti’s departure to his homeland, the “Hospital” on the Vyborg side, in the “Senate Hall” of the Twelve Collegiums. After Ivan Korobov left for Moscow to prepare work for the coronation of the new empress, Zemtsov, in fact, managed all the affairs of the Commission on the St. Petersburg building, and then he himself was sent to Moscow to renovate the old Moscow palaces and festive decorations of the capital for the upcoming coronation.
The latest projects of Mikhail Zemtsov in St. Petersburg open the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna. Undoubtedly, she intended to make him a court architect, ordering three most important, actual votive, buildings that marked her accession to the throne. First of all, the church of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, whose “life-company” helped Elizabeth ascend the throne: about it we only know that it was supposed to be, by order of the Empress, five-domed. Then the construction of a palace near the Anichkov Bridge, on the spot where Elizaveta Petrovna made the final decision to remove Ivan Antonovich. The three-story Anichkov Palace with a pier gallery, a pond, and a garden, designed by Zemtsov for the Empress, opened up a new scale of urban construction and became a standard for noble estates along the Fontanka. Already in the 1740s. it belongs to Elizabeth’s secret husband, A.G. Razumovsky. The third commission concerned a new country residence: the transformation of a modest Saarland manor
Catherine I, where Elizabeth visited as a child, into the ceremonial palace and park ensemble of the future Tsarskoye Selo. All three projects were drawn up by Zemtsov in 1741–1742. and formed the basis of the completed buildings, the construction of which was carried out by other architects who modified and developed his ideas: the Transfiguration Cathedral (Pietro Antonio Trezzini), Anichkov Palace (Grigory Dmitriev, F. B. Rastrelli), Catherine Palace (Andrei Kvasov, Savva Chevakinsky, F.B. Rastrelli).