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The dull period at the turn of the 16th
century, filled with domestic troubles, foreign invasions, famine and
destruction, and the changing of dynasties, was followed by a period of revival
in cultural life, with architecture playing the major and the most radical
role. More than any other medium, it was in architecture that Russians
expressed themselves the best. Their source of inspiration was the national
heritage of the simple Russian peasant, who had a natural predilection for
decoration, vivid colors, ornamentation and the picturesque. The churches built
at that time remain major architectural objects, and they show that several
details were borrowed from traditional and wooden architecture, the popular
forms of ordinary dwellings and from the baroque style of the West. Generally
speaking, the architecture of the 17th century could be characterized as
belonging to many styles old and new, and displaying individual vagaries,
sometimes resulting in original shapes, but always being very decorative either
by display of numerous masonry motifs and reliefs or by polychrome effects, or
often by both. It was as if the builders wanted to decorate the house of God
the same way hey did their izbas, and as if this was the major consideration of
their architecture. Many of the new churches looked more delicate and slender,
leaving the impression of lightness and airiness. They foretold the changes in
non-religious architecture that were to take place during the following
century. However, not all builders followed the new trend; many of them looked
for and found inspiration in traditional church architecture, some times
developing features that had been characteristic of the 16th and even the 15th
centuries. Working with the architectural traditions of Novgorod, Pskov,
Suzdal, wooden architecture etc., Moscow builders put together anew style that
spread throughout the country. It replaced the so-called tent-shaped churches
that had been condemned by Patriarch Nikon, who wanted to reinstate the
traditional style with five cupolas. With liberal trends gaining momentum, not
many readily followed the directives of the Patriarch, who himself did not
always practice what he preached. The people, particularly in the north, were
fond of tall, ten-shaped churches, and considered them very impressive and
beautiful, and wanted to preserve most of their features. A sort of compromise
prevailed: The church, of the type known as Moscow style of the mid-seventeenth
century, consisted of the main church, usually square in shape and built on a
high basement, with a four-sloped roof and five cupolas; the
"Trapeznaya" - refectory, -which became the nave of the entire
complex, and the tent-shaped bell-tower at the western side. During the reign
of the second Romanov, Tsar Aleksei, a period of intensive church construction
swept through the country. Not only the Tsar and his luxury-minded Patriarch
Nikon, but also many prelates, boyars, landlords and merchants were eager to
commemorate themselves by building churches. There was a sort of silent
competition as to whose church would be more beautiful and more rich-looking.
The eagerness to be different and to embellish one's own church resulted in a
great variety of forms and in combinations of Nikon's and Moscow's styles,
leading to all sorts of architectural appendices and a great diversity of
shapes, decorations and colors. This led in the second half of the 17th century
to a new style, known in Russia as the Moscow or Narishkin Baroque, in which
carved lime stone ornaments combined with brick patterns or stucco as the most
characteristic decorative device. In the 17th century, interesting churches
were built and new styles were heralded in Yaroslavl and Rostov as well as
Moscow.
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