Art Nouveau architecture in Russia

Art Nouveau is an international style of art, architecture and applied arts, especially the decorative arts, that was most popular between 1893 and 1910. In the Russian language it is called Art Nouveau or Modern (in Cyrillic: Ар-нувo, Моде́рн).

Art Nouveau architecture in Russia was mostly built in large cities by merchants and Old Believers, and was highly influenced by the contemporary movements^[1] that constituted the Art Nouveau style: the Glasgow School, Jugendstil of Germany, Vienna Secession, as well as Russian Revival architecture and the National Romantic style of Nordic countries (one of which, Grand Duchy of Finland, was a part of Russian Empire) In some Russian towns, there also were earlier examples of wooden architecture, the architecture of Kievan Rus', which influenced the style.

Some Russian Art Nouveau buildings were built on territories that were part of Germany and the Grand Duchy of Finland during the Art Nouveau period and were ceded to the Soviet Union after World War II. Russian architects also worked on the development of Harbin in China after 1898, which explains the presence of Art Nouveau architecture there.

The first Art Nouveau building in Russia was built in Saint Petersburg in 1898.^{[nb 1]} It was Hauswald summer house built by Vladimir Chagin and Vasily (Wilhelm) Schoene.

As Saint Petersburg was situated close to the border with Grand Duchy of Finland, there was a strong influence of its National Romantic style on Art Nouveau Architecture in Saint Petersburg. This style is called "Severny modern" in Russia (in Cyrillic: Северный модерн) meaning "Northern Art Nouveau". But European movements influenced local architecture as well.

Notable examples

Seven Saint Petersburg buildings^{[nb 2]} are sometimes considered as notable examples of Art Nouveau,^[2] all by different architects:

Eliseyev Emporium by Gavriil Baranovsky (1903),
Whiplash motifs at the Vitebsky railway station by Sima Mihash and Stanislav Brzozowski (1904),
Singer House by Pavel Suzor (1904),
Duke of Leuchtenberg apartments by Fyodor von Postels (1904–1905), which includes a facade-wide frieze by Sergei Schelkovy,
Kshessinskaya House by Alexander von Hohen (1904–1906),
Lidval apartments by Fyodor Lidval (also known as Johan Fredrik Lidvall, 1899–1904),
Basseynaya Condominium by Ernest Wirrich, Aleksei Zazersky, Nikolai Vasilyev, Alexey Bubyr (1912–1917).

Eliseyev Emporium
Singer House Dome
Duke of Leuchtenberg apartments
Kshessinskaya House
Lidval apartments
Basseynaya Condominium

National Romantic style

The last two building are examples of Nordic National Romantic style. Other notable examples of that movement are:

Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of Lourdes^[3] by Leon Benois and Marian Peretyatkovich (1903–1909),
Putilova Apartments (also known as House with owls) by Hyppolit Pretreaus (1906–1907),
Bubyr' Apartments by Aleksei Bubyr and Nikolai Vasilyev (1907),
Bolsheokhtinsky Bridge (also known as Peter the Great Bridge) by Vladimir Apyshkov (1908^[4] or 1909–1911),
"New Passage" Trade house by Nikolai Vasilyev (1912–1913),

Church of Our Lady of Lourdes
Portal of Putilova Apartments
Bubyr' Apartments
Bolsheokhtinsky Bridge
"New Passage" Trade house

Islamic Revival architecture

The Saint Petersburg Mosque (1910–1921), designed by the architect Nikolai Vasilyev in the Islamic Revival style, is modelled after the mosque of Gur-e-Amir, the tomb of Tamerlane in Samarkand (14th century).^[5]^[6]^[7]

Saint Petersburg Mosque, by Nikolai Vasilyev (1921)

Russian Revival influence

Many Russian Orthodox churches constructed in the Art Nouveau period are primarily examples of Russian Revival architecture, though they often include some modern elements. In Saint Petersburg these are:

The Old Believers Church of Our Lady of the Sign^[8] by Dmitry Kryzanowski (1906–1907),
The Church of Peter the Metropolitan^[9] by Andrey Aplaksin (1907).

Church of Our Lady of the Sign by Dmitry Kryzanowski (1906–1907)
The Church of Peter the Metropolitan by Andrey Aplaksin (1907)

Lev Kekushev

One of first Art Nouveau buildings in Moscow was the List House (1898–99) by Lev Kekushev. Kekushev was acquainted with Victor Horta, the initiator of Art Nouveau movement, and the house shows the natural curving forms, open interiors and floral designs of Horta. Kekushev's buildings are notable for his skilful use of ceramic and iron ornaments. His buildings also have a signature feature: a ceramic depiction on the facade or a sculpture of a lion, or 'Lev', after his first name.

Prominent buildings by Lev Kekushev in Art Nouveau style include:

List House (1898–99)
Kekushev House, also known as Kekusheva House, as he had to cede it to his ex-wife in settling their divorce, (1900–1903),
Mindovsky House and Nosov House (both in 1903),
Isakov Apartments (1904–1906).

Lev Kekushev also took part in the construction of the Hotel Metropol Moscow. In 1898–1899, he won the first prize in the open contest, but the commissioner of the project Savva Morozov discarded the decision of a professional jury and awarded the prize to William Walcot. However, the owners retained Kekushev as an overall project manager. Kekushev's assistance was probably crucial to the final realization of the complex structure.^[10]

List House (1898–99)
A lion's statue on top of Kekushev House
Mindovsky House
Metal ornament of Isakov Apartments
Nosov House
Maiolica panel of Mikhail Vrubel and bas-reliefs at the facade of Hotel Metropol

Franz (Fyodor) Schechtel

Another influential master of Russian Art Nouveau who worked in Moscow was Franz (Fyodor) Schechtel. Starting his career with Neo-Gothic buildings and finishing career with Neoclassical ones, he built his best-known masterpieces in Art Nouveau style. In 1901 he was commissioned to build the pavilion of Russia at Glasgow Exhibition. There he gained international recognition and got to know Charles Rennie Mackintosh who influenced Schechtel's art. Another influence was Joseph Maria Olbrich, the founder of the Darmstadt Artists' Colony, whose Ludwig Habich House was an inspiration for the Gorky Museum (1900–1903).^[11] His other works in Moscow included:^[12]

Derozhinskaya House [ru] (1901),
Yaroslavsky railway station (1902–1904). The Yaroslavsky station was enlarged, with a new facade in Russian Revival style, with elements of Art Nouveau decoration in the interior.^[13]^[1]

Gorky Museum
Derozhinskaya House
Yaroslavsky railway station by Franz (Fyodor) Schechtel (1902–04)

National Romantic style

The influence of Nordic National Romantic style was weaker in Moscow than in Saint Petersburg. Buildings with National Romantic influence in Moscow are:

Lomakina Apartments and Tsirkunov Heirs Apartments by Vitaly Maslennikov,
Kalinovskaya Apartments by Ernst Richard Nirnsee with ceramics of Alexander Golovin,
Loskov Apartments by Alexander Zelenko.

Lomakina Apartments
Tsirkunov Heirs Apartments
Kalinovskaya Apartments
Loskov Apartments

Old Believers churches

After the restriction to build Old Believers churches was withdrawn in 1905, construction of numerous Old Believers churches was started. Along with two churches listed above, some of them shared both Russian Revival and Art Nouveau characteristics:

Holy Virgin Protection Church by Vladimir Adamovich and Vladimir Mayat (1907–1911),
Belfry Church of Resurrection by Fyodor Gornostaev (1910),
Saint Nicholas Church by Anton Gurzhienko (1914–1921),

An Old Believers chapel was also built on the upper floor of the Ryabushensky House in Moscow, with a mixture of Russian Revival architecture and Art Nouveau decoration.

Holy Virgin Protection Church
Belfry Church of Resurrection
Saint Nicholas Church
Interior of the chapel in the Ryabushinsky House

Other architects

Other notable architects of Art Nouveau in Moscow include:

Illarion Ivanov-Schitz, who developed a unique personal style, blending the Vienna Secession school with Greek Revival features,
Ilya Bondarenko, who was the architect of two Old Believers churches,
Alexey Shchusev, who is mostly known for his works during USSR time and notably design of Lenin's Mausoleum, was an architect of the katholikon of Marfo-Mariinsky Convent (also known as Martha and Mary Convent, 1908–1912). The commissioner of the complex, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna was born near Darmstadt that was the center of Jugendstil at the time,
Sergey Malyutin, an artist of Mir iskusstva movement, who after leaving Talashkino colony stood behind Pertsova House (also known as Pertsov House, 1905–1907)

The Trinity Church Apartments building (also known as House with Beasts) includes a stone carving made by Sergei Vashkov inspired by carvings of Cathedral of Saint Demetrius in Vladimir and Saint George Cathedral in Yuryev-Polsky of XII and XIII centuries.^{[citation needed]}

Lenkom Theatre by Illarion Ivanov-Schitz
Tarkhova Apartments by Georgy Makayev
Sytin Publishers building
Old Believers church in Maly Gavrikov lane
Old Believers church in Tokmakov lane
Marfo-Mariinsky Convent by Alexey Shchusev
Pertsova House
Bas-reliefs at facade of Trinity Church Apartments

Art colonies

Art Nouveau in Russia was promoted not only by single architects but also by art colonies who worked in the Russian Revival style. The two best-known colonies were situated in Abramtsevo, funded by Savva Mamontov, and Talashkino, funded by Princess Maria Tenisheva. They mostly dealt with interior and ceramics but also left architecture monuments:

The Church of the Holy Spirit in Talashkino by Sergey Malyutin with mosaics of Nicholas Roerich (1903–1905),
Teremok House in Talashkino by Sergey Malyutin (1901–1902) who later developed a project of Pertsova House in Moscow (see above).

Some researches include Church of the Holy Mandylion in Abramtsevo in the list of Art Nouveau buildings,^[14] but it was built in 1881–1891, before the inception of Art Nouveau movement.

Other Orthodox churches

Most Art Nouveau churches in Russia are also considered Russian Revival. Along with the already described examples, some notable exampled include:

Church of the Holy Trinity in Balakovo, Saratov Oblast by Fyodor Schechtel (1908–09),
Church of the Holy Trinity in Bekhovo, Tula Oblast by famous artist Vasily Polenov who acted as the architect for the church in his own estate (1904–1906),
Seraphimo-Znamenskiy Skit in Bityagovo, Moscow Oblast by Leonid Stezhensky (1912),
Resurrection cathedral in Tver by Nikolay Omelyusty (1912–1913),
Church of the Holy Mandylion in Klyazma, Pushkino, Moscow Oblast by Sergei Vashkov and Vasily Motylyov (1913–1916).

Balakovo
Bekhovo
Bityagovo
Tver
Klyazma

Wooden art

Wood carving is also a distinctive feature of the Russian Revival style and has become a feature of Russian Art Nouveau wooden houses. Houses with wood carvings can be found not only in Central Russia but also in Ural (Kungur and Kurgan) and Siberia (Tomsk and Tyumen).

The territories of Karelian Isthmus and partly East Prussia that belonged to Finland and Germany respectively were ceded to Soviet Union after World War II. The Art Nouveau heritage at Karelian Isthmus consisted of:

secular buildings of Vyborg and Sortavala, one of which was built by famous Finnish architects Herman Gesellius, Armas Lindgren and Eliel Saarinen in 1905,
three Lutheran churches by Josef Stenbäck in Primorsk, Melnikovo and Zelenogorsk (that has been included into Saint Petersburg city limits).

In East Prussia (that became Kaliningrad Oblast) houses in Zelenogradsk and the water tower in Svetlogorsk can be noted.

House in Vyborg
Bank in Sortavala
Ex-Lutheran church in Primorsk
House in Zelenogradsk
Water tower in Svetlogorsk

[N 1]
Some researchers (e.g. Boris Kirikov) note that the first Art Nouveau building in Russia was the estate of Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich in Tsarskoye Selo that was built in 1896–1897Kirikov, Boris (2014). Architecture of Art Nouveau in Saint Petersburg. Estates and Tenement Houses (in Russian). Saint Petersburg: Kolo. pp. 15–27. ISBN 978-5-4462-0044-3.
[N 2]
One masterpiece is the interior of Grand Hotel Europe rather than a building itself

[1]
Lecture on Art Nouveau of Alexander Ivanov (in Russian)
[2]
List of Art Nouveau objects in Saint Petersburg – Art Nouveau World
[3]
Kirikov, Boris (2017). Architecture of Art Nouveau in Saint Petersburg. Public buildings. Book 2 (in Russian). Saint Petersburg: Kolo. pp. 353–370. ISBN 978-5-4462-0083-2.
[4]
Bolsheokhtinsky Bridge – Art Nouveau World
[5]
Vityzeva V.A. Saint Petersburg Mosque — a monument of National Romanticism in Saint Petersburg // History of Saint Petersburg. — SPb., 2002. — № 1. (in Russian)
[6]
Saint Petersburg Mosque — Citywalls.ru (An architecture website of Saint Petersburg, in Russian)
[7]
Kirikov, Boris (2017). Architecture of Art Nouveau in Saint Petersburg. Public buildings. Book 2 (in Russian). Saint Petersburg: Kolo. pp. 485–514. ISBN 978-5-4462-0083-2.
[8]
Kirikov, Boris (2017). Architecture of Art Nouveau in Saint Petersburg. Public buildings. Book 2 (in Russian). Saint Petersburg: Kolo. pp. 405–420. ISBN 978-5-4462-0083-2.
[9]
Kirikov, Boris (2017). Architecture of Art Nouveau in Saint Petersburg. Public buildings. Book 2 (in Russian). Saint Petersburg: Kolo. pp. 431–454. ISBN 978-5-4462-0083-2.
[10]
William Craft Brumfield, "The Origins of Modernism in Russian Architecture", University of California Press, 1991 contents chapter 3
[11]
Lecture of Ilya Pechenkin on Art Nouveau style and method (in Russian)
[12]
List of Art Nouveau objects in Moscow – Art Nouveau World
[13]
Fahr-Becker 2015, pp. 190–191.
[14]
Church of the Holy Mandylion – Art Nouveau World

Fahr-Becker, Gabriele (2015). L'Art Nouveau (in French). H.F. Ullmann. ISBN 978-3-8480-0857-5.
Makinson, Randall (1977). "Greene & Greene: Architecture as a Fine Art". Salt Lake City, Utah: Gibbs Smith. ISBN 0-87905-023-3.
Taschen, Aurelia and Balthazar (2016). L'Architecture Moderne de A à Z (in French). Bibliotheca Universalis. ISBN 978-3-8365-5630-9.

Moscow Art Nouveau walking route - Discover Moscow

[2] [N 1]
Some researchers (e.g. Boris Kirikov) note that the first Art Nouveau building in Russia was the estate of Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich in Tsarskoye Selo that was built in 1896–1897Kirikov, Boris (2014). Architecture of Art Nouveau in Saint Petersburg. Estates and Tenement Houses (in Russian). Saint Petersburg: Kolo. pp. 15–27. ISBN 978-5-4462-0044-3.

[3] [N 2]
One masterpiece is the interior of Grand Hotel Europe rather than a building itself

[Ivanov-1] [1]
Lecture on Art Nouveau of Alexander Ivanov (in Russian)

[4] [2]
List of Art Nouveau objects in Saint Petersburg – Art Nouveau World

[5] [3]
Kirikov, Boris (2017). Architecture of Art Nouveau in Saint Petersburg. Public buildings. Book 2 (in Russian). Saint Petersburg: Kolo. pp. 353–370. ISBN 978-5-4462-0083-2.

[6] [4]
Bolsheokhtinsky Bridge – Art Nouveau World

[7] [5]
Vityzeva V.A. Saint Petersburg Mosque — a monument of National Romanticism in Saint Petersburg // History of Saint Petersburg. — SPb., 2002. — № 1. (in Russian)

[8] [6]
Saint Petersburg Mosque — Citywalls.ru (An architecture website of Saint Petersburg, in Russian)

[9] [7]
Kirikov, Boris (2017). Architecture of Art Nouveau in Saint Petersburg. Public buildings. Book 2 (in Russian). Saint Petersburg: Kolo. pp. 485–514. ISBN 978-5-4462-0083-2.

[10] [8]
Kirikov, Boris (2017). Architecture of Art Nouveau in Saint Petersburg. Public buildings. Book 2 (in Russian). Saint Petersburg: Kolo. pp. 405–420. ISBN 978-5-4462-0083-2.

[11] [9]
Kirikov, Boris (2017). Architecture of Art Nouveau in Saint Petersburg. Public buildings. Book 2 (in Russian). Saint Petersburg: Kolo. pp. 431–454. ISBN 978-5-4462-0083-2.

[12] [10]
William Craft Brumfield, "The Origins of Modernism in Russian Architecture", University of California Press, 1991 contents chapter 3

[13] [11]
Lecture of Ilya Pechenkin on Art Nouveau style and method (in Russian)

[Moscow-14] [12]
List of Art Nouveau objects in Moscow – Art Nouveau World

[FOOTNOTEFahr-Becker2015190–191-15] [13]
Fahr-Becker 2015, pp. 190–191.

[16] [14]
Church of the Holy Mandylion – Art Nouveau World

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