Giacomo Quarenghi: biography, works

In creating the unique appearance of the two Russian capitals, Moscow and especially St. Petersburg, the architects of Italian origin made a notable contribution. Creativity Giacomo Quarenghi - a bright page in the history of European and Russian architecture of the era of classicism. In addition to projects of buildings of a very different scale and purpose, among which many are embodied, in his heritage - graphic sheets with real views of cities (vedets) and fantasy architectural compositions. Several generations of architects were trained on them.

The southern motherland

Believing himself to be a truly Russian architect, Giacomo Quarenghi (1744-1817) was born in a family member of the city court of the northern Italian city of Bergamo. The propensity for fine art was hereditary: his grandfather and father were considered skillful painters. The choice of architecture as the main occupation in life was influenced by the acquaintance with Vincenzo Brenna (1745-1820), who later became the court architect of Paul I, and with JB Piranesi (1720-1778), the great master of architectural graphics.

Stylistic preferences of Giacomo Quarenghi formed during the acquaintance with the famous treatise of Andrea Palladio (1508-1580) "Four books on architecture". In this work, the schemes of traditional orders used in the ancient architecture were designated and a system of applying classical techniques for building planning and the development of facade solutions was developed. Palladianism for a long time was the main trend of the classical style.

Mastering the Classical Heritage

Samples for the study of order systems were for Giacomo Quarenghi attractions of many Italian cities - Rome, Florence, Verona, Venice. They were not only full of ancient monuments, but also were real centers of Renaissance culture.

The Renaissance was in the meantime, when the principles of high harmony, worked out in ancient Greece and in ancient Rome, were picked up by masters in different areas of European culture. Measured and sketched by Giacomo Quarenghi, built by the best masters of the time - Alberti, Bramante and, of course, Palladio - became for the young architect an example of creative mastering of ancient traditions in architecture. He showed interest in the buildings that were built by the masters of early classicism in England and France.

The beginning of the creative path

The first large order for Quarenghi was the reconstruction of the church of Santa-Scolastico, located in the town of Subiaco near the Italian capital. In the interior of the church, he applies classical elements: niches, pilasters and columns of the Ionic order. Cleverly organized lighting helped to achieve an easy and spectacular impression of the interior decor.

Simplicity and rigor of artistic and compositional decisions become the defining features of his handwriting. These techniques were used by the architect Giacomo Quarenghi and when he started his activities in Russia.

At the court of Catherine the Great

Since the fall of 1779, the service of the 35-year-old Italian architect at the Russian court began. He possessed a lot of knowledge about Palladian flow in classical architecture and sufficient experience in applying them in practice. His arrival was timely, as the taste of the Russian Empress in relation to the official style changed.

Her ceased to arrange the heavyweight traditions of French classicism, the ideal was a refined Palladian neoclassic. Giacomo Quarenghi as a loyal student and a strong supporter of Palladio quickly became the head of a new trend of Russian architectural thought. His talent was enriched by studying the best examples of ancient Russian architecture, communicating with recognized domestic architects: I. Starov, N. Lvov, C. Cameron and others.

The English Palace in Peterhof

The first significant project on Russian soil was the palace, located in the English Park of Peterhof. Giacomo Quarenghi began work on it in 1780. According to his aesthetic views, the Italian architect put the palladian house of the cubic form with the dominant in the form of an eight-column portico of the Corinthian order as the basis for planning and voluminous decisions. The solemnity and monumentality of proportions were combined with the simplicity and refinement of the decor.
The creative approach, which architect Giacomo Quarenghi designated in this project, the works created for the country residence in Tsarskoe Selo - four churches and numerous religious buildings - fully corresponded to the tastes of the main customer, the Empress Catherine. Behind the Italian firmly entrenched the title of "architect of the court."

A period of prosperity and success

C work on the Concert Pavilion in Tsarskoe Selo, near the Catherine Palace (1782), the most successful decade for the architect began. During this period, he created the most significant projects for St. Petersburg and Moscow. At the direction of the Empress, he is renovating the interiors of the Winter Palace, erecting many buildings around the main imperial residence. Giacomo Quarenghi, whose biography is now closely associated with the Russian capital, erects a number of structures that determine the political image of the capital and the entire state. Among them - a complex of administrative buildings of the Academy of Sciences (1783-1785) and the building of the Assignation Bank (1783-1799). He works a lot on private orders, decorating the capital and the surrounding area with beautiful examples of the Russian classical manor. Among them are the Bezborodko estate on the right bank of the Neva (1783-1784), the Yusupovs' mansion on the Fontanka (1789-1792), the house of Fitingof (1786), and others.

Theater on the Dvortsovaya Embankment

The real masterpiece of this period is the Hermitage Theater Giacomo Quarenghi (1783-1787). The building with a two-storeyed rustic loggia, slightly recessed between two projections - the risalites - and decorated with a large Corinthian warrant, became a real decoration for the complex of major government buildings. A faithful follower of Palladio, Quarenghi, when decorating a theater hall, allowed himself an almost verbatim replica of the construction of his great teacher. In the layout of the stage and the spectator seats, in the decor elements, the Hermitage Theater is very similar to the Olimpico Theater in Vicenza, built by the design of Andrea Palladio.

Projects for Moscow

One of the most notable objects erected by the Italian architect for the priests is the old Gostiny Dvor. Giacomo Quarenghi began its construction in 1789. The building has reached the present time significantly changed in the course of rework and restoration after numerous fires. But from the preserved arcade with the Corinthian columns one can appreciate the harmonious classical character of the building.

Among the Moscow buildings - the Golovinsky Palace in Lefortovo (1780) and the shopping arcade on Red Square (1786). Buildings on the main metropolitan area were not preserved, and another building - Sheremetyev's Hospice House on Sukharevskaya Square (1803-1807) - still impresses with scale and harmony.

Late period of life and creativity

Designed and built by Giacomo Quarenghi, the sights of St. Petersburg, dating back to the early 18th century, are educational, medical and public buildings. The horse-riding arena (1804-1807) is distinguished by its majestic appearance, which is determined by the eight-column portico of the Roman-Doric warrant. Mariinsky Hospital on Liteiny (1803-1805) is distinguished by rational planning decision and strict decor. Quarenghi's favorite child of the late period was the Smolny Institute (1806-1808). Harmoniously inscribed in the environment, this building became the embodiment of the most important ideas of Palladianism. Expressiveness of the architectural appearance is achieved by a combination of a smooth extension of the walls with a plastic rich accent in the center of the composition. They became a magnificent portico on the ground in the form of an arcade.

Giacomo Antonio Quarenghi worked a lot not only for the capitals, but also for the provincial cities of the Russian Empire. There are also known its European buildings. Linking his fate to Russia, he remained her patriot until the end of her days. When in Bonaparte time all Italians were ordered to return to their homeland, Quarenghi refused and was sentenced in absentia by the Italian king to death. The last significant project of the great architect is the majestic Triumphal Gates (1814) erected in St. Petersburg on the occasion of the victorious return of Russian troops after the victory over Napoleon.

Giacomo Quarenghi. short biography

• September 20, 1744 - in the north of Italy, in the vicinity of Bergamo, in the family of the judge was born the future great architect and graphic artist.
• Since 1762 - teaching painting in Rome from R. Mengs, architecture from S. Pozzi, A. Derise, N. Gansomini.
• 1769 - the beginning of architectural activities, projects of religious buildings in the vicinity of Rome and in Lombardy.
• September 1, 1779 - Quarenghi signs a contract with the adviser of the Russian Empress I. Ya. Reifenstein and comes to work in Russia.
• 1780-1817 - design and management of the construction of public and residential buildings in St. Petersburg, Moscow, the province, in Europe.
• 1811 - refused to leave the Russian service on the orders of the Bonapartist authorities, for which he was sentenced to death with confiscation of property.
• March 2, 1817 - Giacomo Quarenghi died in St. Petersburg. Later he was reburied in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.