Old Russian art Old Russian art is usually called the period in the history of Russian art, which began with the emergence of the Kievan state and continued until Peter’s reforms (from the 9th to the 17th centuries). In the thousand-year history of Russian art, this period accounts for more than seven centuries.
Russian medieval architecture is one of the most striking pages in the cultural history of Rus'. Architectural monuments fill our ideas about the development of culture with living, imaginative content and help us understand many aspects of history that are not reflected in written sources. This fully applies to the monumental architecture of the ancient, pre-Mongol period. As in the Western European Middle Ages, Russian architecture of the X-XIII centuries. was the main type of art, subordinating and including many other types, primarily painting and sculpture. From this time to the present day, brilliant monuments have been preserved, often not inferior in their artistic perfection to the best masterpieces of world architecture.
Wood was initially used in the architecture of the Eastern Slavs, who later formed the Russian state. At the end of the 10th century. Prince Vladimir adopted Christianity and proclaimed it the state religion. Along with Christianity, new methods of construction also penetrated into Kievan Rus. From the very beginning, church art here has a Byzantine character.
Old Russian architecture, despite its great monumentality, is characterized by extreme plasticity of forms, some special feeling of their calm and inviolability, commensurate with the size of a person, his scale and needs. All this also applies fully to the interiors of secular and religious buildings.
The initial period in the development of ancient Russian art is determined by the art of the Eastern Slavs. They were engaged in agriculture, worshiped deities who personified the forces of nature, and created images of these gods, so-called idols. Many of the mythological motifs, such as the images of the foremother-patron of the clan, sacred horses, and the firebird, have firmly entered the popular consciousness and have been carefully preserved in peasant embroidery and carving down to the present day. But they lost their original meaning and turned into an entertaining fairy tale, an intricate pattern motif.
The most ancient artistic creativity of the Slavs was most fully expressed in the production of jewelry and household items, especially metal products: rings, necklaces, wrists, earrings, often covered with a fine pattern of niello and enamel. This artistic craft was original and bore the stamp of high skill.
With the strengthening of the Kyiv state and the adoption of Christianity, art acquired a monumental, majestic character, enriched with the traditions of Byzantine culture, but largely lost its poetic freshness and fabulous naivety. New monumental art reached its peak already in the 11th century.
St. Sophia Cathedral is an example of a cross-domed church, which gained particular popularity among ancient Russian architects. The Cathedrals of St. Sophia in Novgorod (city) and Polotsk were built on the model of the Kyiv temple. The Kiev Sophia indirectly influenced the composition of many other church buildings of Ancient Rus', including the Assumption Cathedral of the Kiev Pechersk Monastery (exploded in 1942, restored in the 1990s), cathedrals in Rostov and Suzdal.
Small rural churches were built according to the type of hut, which is always based on a crown of four logs, which when connected form a square or rectangle, and the entire hut consists of several crowns superimposed on each other - a log house covered with a gable or hipped roof. This principle was preserved in more complex structures - towers, palaces, fortress towers. Sometimes, instead of a quadrangular frame (chetverik), an octagonal frame (octagon) is built. The principle of connecting fours and eights can be traced in the stone architecture of Rus' right up to modern times.
The process of development of ancient Russian architecture, as well as the entire culture of ancient Rus', was significantly slowed down by the Mongol-Tatar invasion. The connections and contacts between construction masters from various regions of Rus', already disrupted due to fragmentation, were reduced, princely courts and monasteries fell into decay - traditional centers of cultural life, builders and icon painters went to the Horde, willy-nilly. The state of shock lasted for about half a century. But already at the end of the 13th century, a revival of Russian architecture began on the outskirts of North-Western Rus'.
As Moscow rose and its pretensions grew, the role of trendsetter in the sphere of secular and temple architecture passed to it, rather than the primacy among the Russian lands. Already in the 14th century, architects, stone craftsmen, and icon painters began to flock to Moscow, with whose ideas and hands white-stone Moscow was rebuilt. The 14th century in the history of Moscow architecture was marked by the construction of the first stone walls of the Kremlin, the Assumption and Archangel Cathedrals, which have not survived to our time. Moscow architecture developed in line with the traditions of the Vladimir-Suzdal school.
Preserve the culture of our country! Unfortunately, the turbulent Russian history and merciless time have left us not much authentic evidence of those years. In the 20s of the last century, a gang in leather jackets walked like a monstrous skating rink through Russian monuments, then a “peacemaker” with a shoe in his hand, and then the “reformers”. Over the past ten years alone, more than 150 architectural monuments have been destroyed in Moscow. And in the provinces there is often no need to destroy anything - everything is destroyed just like that. However, much still survives.
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Urban development
Europeans called Rus' “Gradariki” - a country of cities.
Medieval cities were centers of culture. The largest in Europe were Kyiv, Novgorod, Galich.
Crafts developed, of which there were about 70. Many goods were for sale.
Torzhok. Engraving16th century.
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Inside the Kremlin there were monasteries, churches, and princely mansions.
The townspeople were literate people and had broader horizons than the villagers. They traveled to other countries and received merchants.
Kyiv planall R. 12th century.
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Entering the city symbolized its power. As a rule, the Golden Gate was built at the entrance. These were complex architectural structures.
Scientists find many inscriptions on the walls.
Golden Gate in Vladimir.Reconstruction.
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Architecture. Painting
Most of the buildings of Kievan Rus were wooden. Even princes lived in such buildings. The mansions consisted of 6-7 rooms.
Typical viewboyar choir.
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Architecture. Painting.
In the 11th century, stone mansions of princes appeared in large cities. On the 1st floor there were small rooms, and the second floor was occupied by a spacious hall. The outside of the building was decorated with arches, stone carvings, and colonnades.
Princely mansions in Chernigov.Reconstruction.
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The appearance of 2-3 storey buildings led to an increase in the height of churches and cathedrals.
The cathedrals of Kyiv, Novgorod, Smolensk, and Chernigov have reached us from that period.
Unlike today, the cathedrals were not white, but red, because... they were not plastered.
Torzhok. 16th century engraving.
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Architecture of Ancient Rus' XI-XIV centuries
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Fragmentation of Rus'
“And the whole Russian land was angry.” ( from the chronicle)
“In Rostov land -a prince in every village."
In the 13th century, Kievan Rus broke up into one and a half dozen small principalities.
The fragmentation of Rus' continued and by the 14th century, instead of 15 appanage principalities, approximately 250 were formed.
This was the process of formation of various Russian principalities, which were subsequently united by Moscow into a new state.
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Architecture of Ancient Rus'
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Architecture styles
Novgorod style:
- power, monumentality;
- short, strong;
- 5 or single headed;
- instead of mosquito bars there is a pitched ceiling;
- decorations: niches, arches, crosses, rosettes;
- Arches and triangles on the reels.
Vladimir-Suzdal style:
- temples became taller and slimmer;
- the walls are thinner and lighter;
- instead of modest decorations;
- rich stone carvings on the walls;
- arcature belt;
- elongated drums.
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Novgorod architectural school
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"Mr. Veliky Novgorod" - successor of Kyiv
St. Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod, built in 1045-1050 at the behest of Prince Vladimir Yaroslavich.
The 11th century is the era of the “three Sophias.”
Three cathedrals - Sophia of Kiev, Sophia of Novgorod and Sophia of Polotsk, repeating the dedication of the main temple of Constantinople.
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One of the three St. Sophia Cathedrals, built in Rus' in the middle. XI century
- Representative princely temple, city cathedral;
- Erected on the banks of the Volkhov River on the territory of the ancient Kremlin;
- Built of white stone - plinth, limestone slab;
- The interior is painted with frescoes.
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Cathedral of St. George in the Yuryev Monastery
- customer book Vsevolod;
- plinth, limestone slab;
- An asymmetrical, cross-domed, six-pillar cathedral with three light domes;
- The inside is painted with frescoes, which are partially preserved.
In the 12th century, monumental princely churches were built - monuments to the passing princely era. One of them was built in 1119.
Architect Peter:“...and the master worked, Peter” (from the chronicle).
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Construction of temples in the 13th century
Since the 13th century, churches have been built at the expense of boyars, merchants and other residents. They are united by common features of the Novgorod style:
- single-headed;
- short;
- small in volume;
- three-bladed covering (in the form of a trefoil) or pitched ceiling.
Architecture examples:
- Spasa on Ilyin Street, 1374;
- Church of Simeon in the Animal Monastery;
- Church of Fyodor Stratilates on the Stream 1360 – 1361
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Decorations of Novgorod churches
- figured niches;
- recessed sockets;
- brick crosses;
- on drums;
- small arches;
- triangles on the reels.
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Examples of Russian architecture
- Church of the Nativity in the Cemetery;
- Church of Paraskeva Pyatnitsa in Torg.
Construction material: boulders, brick, Volkhov limestone slab.
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“One glance at the strong, stocky monuments of Veliky Novgorod is enough to understand the ideal of a Novgorodian, a good warrior, not very well-hewn... but on his own mind...
In his architecture, simple and strong walls, like himself, are the same as himself..., powerful silhouettes, energetic masses... Not always neat, but always magnificent, because it is strong, majestic, captivating.”
I.E. Grabar
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Vladimir architectural school
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Temples of the Vladimir-Suzdal land
In the 12th century, separate principalities emerged in Rus'.
Each prince-ruler in his appanage principality sought to build a temple. Byzantine and Kyiv architects were invited.
Kyiv traditions were complemented by local style features:
- Temples were built with three naves and one dome;
- The proportions are elongated and the temples are taller;
- They used white stone to richly decorate the walls.
Golden Gate in Vladimir.
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Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral in Pereyaslavl-Zalessky 1152-1157
- They were built by craftsmen from Galich;
- It was built as a fortress bastion;
- It has the shape of a cube, axial symmetry;
- Single-headed, four-pillar;
- The walls are divided by flat blades and finished with semicircular zakomaras;
- Under the dome there are jagged decorations - “towns”;
- Narrow loophole windows;
- Temple-hero.
The sun “thought to create a church of the Most Holy Theotokos and sent masters from the Greeks.” The brick church was founded in Kiev next to the princely court in 989. Prince Vladimir gave it a tithe of his income, so the church was called Tithe. This is the oldest monumental building known to us in Rus'. The multi-domed Tithe Church consisted of three naves, separated by three pairs of pillars; It had three apses. Its dimensions were 27.2 x 18.2 m. It was surrounded on three sides by galleries. Inside the temple there were choirs - a balcony for the prince and his entourage. The church building was built from plinth. Plinfa is a flat brick measuring 30x40x5 cm. In Kyiv, the plinth was special, thin - only 2.5-3 cm thick. Greek craftsmen brought with them many marble details of interior decoration (Rus did not yet know marble). On the square in front of the temple they placed “four horses of the copperhead” - trophy sculptures from Korsun. The church collapsed during the capture of Kyiv by the Mongols in 1240, when the surviving inhabitants of the city took refuge in it. Only the remains of the foundation have survived.
Architecture.
St. Sophia Cathedral of Kyiv 1037
St. Sophia's Cathedral was built in the 11th century in the center of Kyiv by order of Yaroslav the Wise. Inside the Cathedral, many ancient frescoes and mosaics have been preserved, including the famous mosaic of Our Lady of Oranta
St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv reflected a combination of Slavic and Byzantine traditions: thirteen joyful domes of the new temple were placed on the base of the cross-domed church. This step pyramid of the St. Sophia Cathedral resurrected the style of Russian timber architecture. The St. Sophia Cathedral, made during the establishment and rise of Rus' under Yaroslav the Wise, showed that construction is also politics. And indeed, with this temple, Rus' challenged Byzantium, its recognized shrine - the St. Sophia Cathedral of Constantinople.
St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv
Fresco - Painting with water paints on freshly applied, damp plaster. Mosaic - an image made up of small pieces of marble or smalt (colored glass).
.
The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (in common parlance the “Great Church”) is the main cathedral temple of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, the “God-created” prototype of all monastic churches of Ancient Rus', the tomb of the Kyiv princes. Founded in 1073 on the initiative of Theodosius of Pechersk and built in three years with the money of Prince Svyatoslav Yaroslavovich.
Novgorod Sofia.
The Cathedral of St. Sophia is the main Orthodox church of Veliky Novgorod, created in 1045-1050. In 1046, Grand Duke Yaroslav the Wise and Princess Irina went to Novgorod to see their son Vladimir to lay the foundation stone for the St. Sophia Cathedral, which was founded in place of a burnt wooden temple. Initially, the walls of the temple were not whitewashed, with the exception of the curved apses and drums in the plan, covered with a layer of cement. The inner sides of the walls were also exposed, while the vaults were originally plastered with cement and covered with frescoes. This design was chosen under the influence of the architecture of Constantinople, in which marble wall cladding was combined with mosaics on the vaults; however, marble was replaced by limestone and mosaics by frescoes. The bronze Magdeburg Gate in the Romanesque style with a large number of high reliefs and sculptures is mounted on the western portal.
The Church of the Savior on Nereditsa is the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord, located 1.5 km south of Veliky Novgorod on the right bank of the former riverbed of the Maly Volkhovets, on a small hill next to the Rurik Settlement. It was erected in one season around 1198 under the Novgorod prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich in memory of his two dead sons. The frescoes of Nereditsa are the most precious monument of Novgorod monumental painting of the 12th century.
The Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir - before the rise of Moscow, was the main (cathedral) church of Vladimir-Suzdal Rus', where the Vladimir and Moscow princes were married for their great reign. One of the few churches in which unique frescoes by Andrei Rublev have been preserved. The original white stone cathedral was built under Grand Duke Andrei Bogolyubsky in 1158-1160.
Demetrius Cathedral of the city of Vladimir is a court cathedral, erected by Vsevolod the Big Nest at the princely court and consecrated in honor of the Great Martyr Dmitry of Thessalonica, built in 1194-1197.
Church of the Intercession on the Nerl is a white stone temple in the Vladimir region of Russia, one and a half kilometers from Bogolyubov. In 1165, the Church of the Intercession was built in memory of the deceased son of the Grand Duke Izyaslav Andreevich.
Golden Gate
an outstanding monument of ancient Russian architecture, located in the city of Vladimir. Built in 1164 under the Vladimir prince Andrei Bogolyubsky. In addition to defensive purposes, the gate also had a triumphal character. They decorated the main entrance to the richest princely-boyar part of the city. During the reign of Andrei Bogolyubsky, the city was surrounded by an extended rampart and had seven entrance gates (besides the Golden ones, these are Copper, Irininy or Orininy, Silver, Ivanovo, Trade and Volzhsky). Only the Golden Gate has survived to this day.
St. George's Cathedral of the Yuryev Monastery is an Orthodox church of the Yuryev Monastery (Veliky Novgorod). Built in 1119, it belongs to the monuments of ancient Russian architecture of the pre-Mongol period. Construction of the cathedral, which became the main temple of the Yuryev Monastery, began in 1119. The initiator of the construction was Grand Duke Mstislav Vladimirovich. Construction of the cathedral lasted 11 years; before completion, its walls were covered with frescoes. The cathedral became the tomb of the abbots of the monastery, a number of Russian princes and Novgorod mayors.
Description of the presentation by individual slides:
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Stone construction received a certain development from the end of the 10th to the beginning of the 11th centuries, which was associated with the baptism of Rus', and initially prevailed in church architecture. The first stone building of Rus' known from the chronicles can be considered the Tithe Church (Church of the Holy Mother of God) in Kiev, built in the first years after the Baptism of Rus', in 989-996, and combining the traditions and techniques of Byzantine and Bulgarian church architecture.
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The desire to follow Byzantine models is also noticeable in the largest temple of Kievan Rus, the Cathedral of St. Sophia in Kyiv, which played the role of the main temple of Orthodox Rus. St. Sophia Cathedral is an example of a cross-domed church, which gained particular popularity among ancient Russian architects. The Cathedrals of St. Sophia in Novgorod (1045-1050) and Polotsk were built on the model of the Kyiv temple. Kievan Sophia indirectly influenced the composition of many other church buildings of Ancient Rus'
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Small rural churches were built according to the type of hut, which is always based on a crown of four logs, which when connected form a square or rectangle, and the entire hut consists of several crowns superimposed on each other - a log house covered with a gable or hipped roof. This principle was preserved in more complex structures - towers, palaces, fortress towers. Sometimes, instead of a quadrangular frame (chetverik), an octagonal frame (octagon) is built. The principle of connecting fours and eights can be traced in the stone architecture of Rus' right up to modern times.
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15-17 centuries marked by intensive construction of fortresses and other defensive structures. Since ancient times, they have been built from both wood and stone. The height of the walls of the fortresses in some cases reached 20 meters, the thickness was 6 meters, the height of the towers with loopholes for shooting was up to 25-30 meters. An example of the most ancient fortifications is the tower of the Bratsk fort, now located in the Kolomenskoye museum-reserve in Moscow. Powerful brick fortress of the late 16th and early 17th centuries in Smolensk
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The Intercession Cathedral, which is a whimsical combination of a central tent-roofed temple, four small pillarless churches with kokoshniks and four pillarless tower-shaped churches and giving the impression of a small temple of the city, could be associated with the image of Jerusalem and symbolize the material embodiment of the idea of Moscow as a new Jerusalem, as if anticipating the unrealized dream of Boris Godunov to build in Moscow, an exact copy of the Jerusalem Churches of the Resurrection and the Holy Sepulcher.
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The Church of the Intercession on the Nerl is a white stone temple in the Vladimir region of Russia, one and a half kilometers from Bogolyubov, an outstanding monument of architecture of the Vladimir-Suzdal school. The church was consecrated in honor of the Feast of the Intercession of the Virgin Mary, established in Rus' in the middle of the 12th century on the initiative of Andrei Bogolyubsky. This is probably the first Church of the Intercession in Rus'. The walls of the church are decorated with carved reliefs. The central figure in the composition of the three facades of the temple is King David seated on the throne with a psalter (a stringed musical instrument) in his left hand, blessing with two fingers with his right hand. Also used in the design are lions, birds and women's masks.
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The Golden Gate in Vladimir was built in 1164. The height of the passage arch made their defense extremely difficult. Therefore, approximately in the middle of their height, an arched lintel was built, to which adjoined huge oak gates, sheathed on the outside with sheets of gilded copper. On the sides of the arch there are still loops for hanging heavy gate panels and a deep groove for the thick beam of the bolt. For these magnificent sections, the entire structure received the name Golden Gate.
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The Cathedral of St. Archangel Michael (Arkhangelsk Cathedral) in the Kremlin is an Orthodox repository located on Cathedral Square of the Moscow Kremlin. The temple has five domes, six pillars, five apses, eight aisles with a narrow room separated from it by a wall in the western part (on the second tier there are choirs intended for women of the royal family). Built of brick, decorated with white stone. Motifs of Italian Renaissance architecture were widely used in the decoration of the walls (order pilasters with plant capitals, “shells” in zakomars, multi-profile cornices). Initially, the heads of the temple were covered with black-polished tiles, the walls were probably painted red, and the details were white.
