| |
Not all theories about Moscow of this time
were unrestrained fantasy. Liberated from Tatar vassalage and the menace from
the East, Russians felt free to turn their eyes towards the civilized West. It
was under Ivan III that Russia began considering herself a part of Europe, and
as such wanting to participate, though modestly and cautiously, in
inter-European cultural, economic and political relations, and profit from the
progress that Western Europe had already achieved in all these fields. We see
an increased movement of European ambassadors, educators, artists etc., to
visit Moscow, more often and Russian emissaries traveling through-out Europe.
It happened that most of the visiting intellectuals came from Italy, a choice
that was made not without the influence of Sophie Paleologue, who lived in
Italy before marrying Ivan III and becoming Grand Duchess of Moscow. From the
moment the political unification of the country was achieved, cultural
manifestations gradually lost their provincial character and became
all-Russian, with Moscow as their new center. The tremendously increased power
of Moscow's rulers made this possible. With the exception of some old boyar
families, who feared that the grand duke might reduce their traditional rights,
practically everybody, including the Church, was in favor of a strong central
government as the only force capable of defending the country from foreign
invaders and assuring a great future for the nation.
Literature, the arts and crafts flourished and grew, together with the rising
political importance of Moscow. Masters from all over Russia, together with
Italians, helped Moscow improve the style of its masonry constructions that
three centuries before had made their remarkable appearance in Vladimir. Daring
searches met with success, and after the liberation from Byzantine traditions
came a surge of sudden creative force among the people to express themselves
their own way and, if possible, to put an end to the already rampant practice
of "Russifying" imported styles and trends. Foreign knowledge and
experience would continue to flow to Moscow, though on a reduced scale and
merely in the form of technical assistance that would not much interfere with
the arising indigenous artistic forms. Here is an icon from the
Moscow school of the 16th century.
Novgorod, more than any other province would continue for a while to cultivate
a Muscovite taste for iconography, similarly to what Pskov builders did for the
architecture of the new Russian capital. The chronicles mention several names
of prominent painters who worked during the first half of the 16 The century.
Many of their icons were taken to Moscow after the cities lost their
independence, and the painters themselves found more interesting and better
working conditions when painting for the grand dukes. Their style, if not their
colors, clearly differ from Dionissi's. They gave the elongated figures more
natural proportions, they changed the backgrounds by showing on their icons the
facades of contemporary churches and , sometimes, they enlarged the subject
beyond purely religious themes. A tendency towards an independent approach to
art was visible, giving the impression that they were looking to reality for
inspiration. In most cases this was achieved at the expense of the previous
monumental forms and graceful lines so characteristic of Rublev's and
Dionisii's great religious scenes.
The 16th century began with an increased impulse for splendor and the desire of
the grand dukes to leave to posterity an image of their greatness. Along with
this came a determination that Russian artistic aspirations be nourished to a
larger extent by their own ingenuity and efforts. Russians approached this goal
more successfully in architecture than in any other art. Along with this came a
determination that Russian artistic aspirations be nourished to a larger extent
by their own ingenuity and efforts. They turned their backs on Byzantine forms,
which until then in various degrees and shapes had prevailed in Kiev, Novgorod,
Vladimir and even Moscow (the later primarily marked by Italian architects),
and returned for inspiration to their native source - the traditional wooden
church construction - daringly adapting many of its forms and elements to the
newly erected stone and brick churches. Stress as put on vertical lines of the
structure, usually by combining a square or cross-shaped base with pointed
arches and two or more tiers of recessive decorative semi-circular or
ogee-shaped kokoshniki with an octagonal superstructure, and all crowned with a
high tent-shaped roof ending in a small drum and cupola, or a small tower with
a cross on the top of it. This type of construction required no piers inside.
The entire central part of the church looked like an enormous pillar (or
tower), whence came its name "Stolpo-obraznii khram" - the
pillar-shaped church. Sometimes there were several smaller pillars joined
together around the central one. Added porches and external galleries around
the edifice further accentuated the height of the central structure, giving to
it an impressive pyramidal silhouette, meant to express a heavenward impulse.
Various decorative elements, borrowed from popular decorative art, add much to
the beauty of these rather small but fascinating Russian churches of the 16th
century.
The first known stone church of this type was the Church of the Ascension in
the village of Kolomenskoye, built
in 1532 by Vasilii III to commemorate the birth of his son Ivan, who would be
named the "Terrible." Again the builder choose a beautiful spot on a
high slope of the Moskva river which dominates the entire region for the
church. The village is now a suburb of Moscow located some ten miles south of
the Kremlin, considered at that time quite a distance. It served as a summer
residence for the grand dukes, and Vasilii III often used the wooden palace,
located close to the church, as his hunting lodge. Around them were several
fruit and berry gardens for the duke's household. Ivan IV liked the place too,
but mostly to satisfy his cruel sense of humor. He enjoyed attending
fist-fighting competitions there, the precursors of our boxing matches, which
were especially arranged for him and during the winter time he arranged
horrifying spectacles such as pouring water from the river over a live man at
sub-zero temperatures, until he froze into a solid ice monument.
It is hard to explain why, but the name of the builder of this unique church
has remained unknown. Soviet historians insist that he was a Russian and that
the church was built without foreign help, and indeed its style is both
original and Russian. The builder erected the church on a high cross-shaped
basement and mainly followed the features of wooden architecture, that is, the
so-called "Octagon on a square." The Chronicle mentions this detail
clearly when it says that the church was built "In accordance with wooden
forms." Three rows of "Kokoshniki" form the transition from the
square to the octagon, as well as a single row of smaller double kokoshniki
between the octagon and the tent-shaped roof, which ends in another small band
of kokoshniki and an octagonal drum covered with a tiny low cupola which
carries a large cross. Most of the outside decoration were inspired by the
Italians and apparently borrowed from the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael in
the Kremlin. There are also Gothic cornices added by the builder as part of the
upward drive, but there is no trace of traditional Byzantine forms. The church
has no pillars or apses; an iconostasis on the eastern side separates the altar
from the rest of the church. Large external galleries surround the church on
three sides. Offering a beautiful view of the Moskva river valley. In the
gallery there is a stone seat, allegedly built for Ivan IV, from where he
watched the spectacles. High above it, just beneath the cross, in old times
there was another seat for the watchman who kept an eye on movements of enemy
armies towards Moscow. Smoke of wet wood gave the alarm during the daytime, and
high flames at night. The church of the Ascension attracted the eyes of many
architects and served as model to many stone tent-shaped churches. When Berlioz
came to Moscow in the eighteen-forties to give a concert, he visited
Kolomenskoye too, and was much impressed by the church's architecture, calling
it (rather exaggeratedly) a "Marvel of marvels." The church was
renovated in 1880, and after the revolution of 1917 was pillaged and neglected.
Currently it is part of a state museum of Russian architecture sharing this
fate with some other buildings that were bought there from the northern Russia.
Thus the log cabin of Peter the Great can be seen there, as well as a gate
tower of a monastery and some other items.
Some researchers consider that foreigners participated in the construction of
the Ascension church, including Petrok Malyi, who was to gain later notoriety
for erecting the kitai gorod wall. In affirmation of this version is that in
restorations conducted in 1977, the dated 1533 was found on the capital of one
of the pilasters.
|
|
