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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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