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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 today, which has not
been reopened, are in our section on Russian churches in Moscow.
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