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RUSSIAN ART AND ARCHITECTURE
THROUGH THE CENTURIES

 
 

Arkhangelskoye

 
 

Two most impressive mansions in the Moscow area are one in Arkhangelskoye, built by Prince Golitsin, and another in Ostankino, built by Count Sheremetiev. Both date from the end of the 18th century and both have been well preserved. These two very rich and powerful families wanted to match the luxury of the privileged few around the imperial family.
The land around Moscow has many very beautiful spots. Already during the time of Ivan the Terrible, boyars and dvoriane had acquired large estates there, distributed by the tsar. These lands were known as "Pomestie," considered by some historians to be the determining factor in the establishment of serfdom. Boris Godunov owned Bolshie Viazemi (see church Zhivonachal'noy troitsy), Prince Mstislavskii - Kuntsevo and Fili, Prince Cherkaskii - Ostankino, boyar Sheremetev - Kuskovo, etc.
The village of Arkhangelskoye belonged at the end of the 16th century to A. I. Upolotskii received its new name after its beautiful little church, dedicated to the Archangel Michael, built in the middle of the 17th century. Ownership of the village located about twenty miles west of Moscow, changed hands often. In the beginning of the 18th century it was purchased by Prince D. M. Golitsin. As head of the Supreme Privy Council, the Prince wanted to limit the powers of the Empress Anna Ivanovna. He failed and was later incarcerated in the Schlisselburg fortress which his brother had captured from the Swedish army in 1702. He died there in 1737. The estate in Arkhangelskoe remained neglected until 1780 when his grandson, Prince N. A. Golitsin, commissioned the Parisian architect de Guerne (?) To draw up plans. De Geurne designed the mansion without overseeing the location, and his plans served as the basis for its construction. Little is known about de Guerne, but judging by the mansion he obviously embraced classical forms and relied greatly on Paladian standards. The two story structure has a high colonnaded belvedere on top, and a square entrance hall, connected to the luxurious oval salon, decorated with sixteen Corinthian columns. At its south side, three doors lead t the vast and beautiful garden stretching all the way down to the Moskva river. Particular attention was paid to the cour d'honneur consisting of two outbuildings, joined by an impressive arched entrance, and connected to the mansion with double rows of giant orders considered to be among the first built in Russia. In the garden French taste dominates, with many sculptures, pergolas, fountains, many avenues and walks between trimmed trees. There is also a pavilion which houses a bronze statue of the Empress shown as Freneida, goddess of justice,, with an inscription in Latin which reads: "To Divine Catherine." The pavilion was built in 1819 by the new owner of the mansion, Prince Yusupov, a great admirer of the empress. In front of the statue there used to be a bronze tripod in which sweet-scented herbs burned continuously. Prince Nikolay Borisovich Yusupov, the well-known patron and connoisseur of art and literature, who personally knew Voltaire, Rousseau and many prominent men of Western Europe, purchased the mansion in 1810. He wanted it primarily for his summer residence and to house his rich art collection and library. Western educated, the Prince brought to Arkhangelskoe the style of life that he had experienced in France. He did much for the propagation of arts and letters and at one time was director of the Hermitage. He had his won architects, painters, sculptors, several workshops, and his own porcelain factory, established in 1818. The objects produced in the factory were never sold, but only given as presents. The porcelain objects were of the best quality and high artistic value; sometimes plain white objects were ordered from other factories and then painted in Arkhangelskoye. His art collection included canvasses by Valesques, Raphael, David, etc. Princes and celebrities were often entertained at Arkhangelskoye, and it was visited by the Empress Maria Feodorovna and Emperor Nicholas I. Pushkin was also there a few times. In his "Ode To The Noble," (K Velmozhe), dedicated to the Prince, Pushkin expressed his admiration for the delightful place he visited. At the end of the 19 Th century, to commemorate the centennial of the poet's birth, a marble bust of Pushkin was put in the garden. However, nobody knows who the sculptor was. Herzen was there too, calling Arkhangelskoye a "Beautiful flower," where one enjoys the beauty of nature and forgets about its function.
The Prince was also a well-known theater lover, and at one time Director of all Imperial Theaters in Saint Petersburg. He had his theater in Moscow and built another in Arkhangelskoye in 1817-1818, which could seat 400. Most of the artists, ballerinas, musicians and singers were specially chosen and trained serfs. Occasionally foreign artists, choreographers, stage directors etc., were also invited. The performances offered there for free were among the best in the country.
Yusupov's son did not care much for Arkhangelskoye and was there only occasionally, but at the end of the century his descendants revived old traditions and the mansion was again one of the centers of Moscow artistic and literary life. The revolution put an end to this: the owners were expropriated and chased out, and for a while the entire estate was neglected. Then Lenin came to Moscow and the mansion was hurriedly cleaned to receive its new proprietor. He did not move in though because there was no phone connection to Moscow, and to establish one would have taken too much time.
A year before the revolution, Yusupov, commissioned the Moscow architect R. I. Klein to build him a burial chapel not far from the existing Church of the Archangel Michael. Klein chose the classical style, and built the chapel in the form of a pantheon, to which he added semi-circular double rows of colonnades. Similar colonnades decorate the rich interior, surrounded by a large dome. When I visited the chapel in the early sixties, it had been turned into a laundry and storage house for the sanatorium that the Soviets built in 1937 at the far south end of the estate. Presently the chapel serves to display Yusupov's collection of porcelain and faience, both domestic and imported. As for the mansion, it was restored, redecorated, and made to appear much as it did during the first Yusupov ownership, and was turned into a very interesting museum.

 
 

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