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RUSSIAN CHURCHES

 
 

The Assension church at Kadashakh

 
 

The burough across the Moscow River was highlighted by the one of Moscow's most startling churches. It was rebuilt in 1713 by the conserted efforts of the Moscow traders, Dobryninykh. The appelation trader was usually left for foreign merchants but also for natives who had international dealings. It is essentially a normal church of the times, however instead of the traditional kokoshniki, the architect used azure designs, and the cupolas are faceted like crystals.

The Church of the Ascension at the Kakashakh as built in 1657 and then re-built from 1687 to 1713, by the architect S. Turchaninov, the benefactors of which were the merchant family of Dobrynin and the local inhabitants of the Kadashev sloboda, whose main occupation was the milling of sheet linens and throws. The schematic adopted was typical for Moscow churches of that period. Its particularity was however that instead of the use of traditional pendentive bracketing capping the hall, there was used white stone azure garlands of flowers. Its stonework is not surpassed by another church in Moscow for its rich and ample decor. The edifice is topped by five cupolas on faceted drums. The bell tower built in 1695 is ornamental and imposing.
The traditional Moscow five-cupola design of a ship superstructure, was used with the five-cupola arrangement placed in the middle and between the sides of the basic cross-shaped church. There are however some nuances typical of the end of the 17th. century which are baroque in motive. Instead of the usual ogee-shaped decorative embrasures there are two rows of Cock-like mollusks, facias, set one after the other. The walls and windows received a new treatment. On three sides the upper church was surrounded by an open gallery, gul'bishche Later additions of the 18th. century are in a false-Gothic style which somewhat distracted from the church's appearance. The attractive bell-tower harmonically erected in the same style as the original church. It preserves the ancient tent-shaped bell-tower, being a set of diminishing eight sided drums set upon each other. Some architects see an influence of Ukranian baroque in this tier-level arrangement. This is demonstrated in the open air vistas under the bell's supports. The ensemble is an enchanting spectacle set on the former open spaces of the Beyond the river Moscow bank. The interior is disapointing as it was refurbished several times. Of note in the upper summer church is a golden iconostasis with an intricately gilded portal of superior craftsmanship. From the book by Oleg Volkov, Kazhdyi Kamen V Nei Zhivoi, page 79.

Buildings of the end of the 17th century are characterized by a more simplistic popular signature, with the widespread use of gul'bishcha (galleries, promontories and terraces so loved by the populace of the art of carpentry, ably adopted to brick structures. In the Resurrection church, the Folk style took on a demonstrative mark and expression. The innovative master first made use of the palatial storied composition in a row of similar buildings. The composition is held together by a bold, and somewhat pronounced contrast of the ideal smoothness of a red wall and the brightness of the decorative framework, in particular in the upper stories where the effect is most pronounced. In its luster, the demonstrated architectural technique and masterful presentation, the Kadashev church became an example, a mark for all subsequent architectural designs on up to the Petrine transformations. Buildings were designed on the basis of its advances in design-engineering, which came to be known as the Naryshkin or Moscow baroque. From the book by Ivan Belokon Pamiat I Krasota, pages 139-140. Several photos of this church are in our section on churches in Moscow.

 
     

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