Francesco Camporesi
Encyclopedia
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
, painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, engraver and educator who worked in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
in 1780s-1820s. Most of his architectural work perished in the Fire of 1812
Fire of Moscow (1812)
The 1812 Fire of Moscow broke out on September 14, 1812 in Moscow on the day when Russian troops and most residents abandoned the city and Napoleon's vanguard troops entered the city following the Battle of Borodino...
, was severely altered, demolished or otherwise lost.
Biography
Camporesi arrived in Russia in 1780s, probably as an assistant to Giacomo QuarenghiGiacomo Quarenghi
Giacomo Quarenghi was the foremost and most prolific practitioner of Palladian architecture in Imperial Russia, particularly in Saint Petersburg.- Career in Italy :...
. Extent of his architectural work in 18th century remains disputed, and he is better known as a fine vedutist
Veduta
A veduta is a highly detailed, usually large-scale painting of a cityscape or some other vista....
who documented Moscow prior to the devastating Fire of 1812
Fire of Moscow (1812)
The 1812 Fire of Moscow broke out on September 14, 1812 in Moscow on the day when Russian troops and most residents abandoned the city and Napoleon's vanguard troops entered the city following the Battle of Borodino...
.
For a decade (1784-1796) Camporesi worked under Quarenghi and Karl Blank
Karl Blank
Karl Blank was a Russian architect, notable as one of the last practitioners of Baroque architecture and the first Moscow architect to build early neoclassical buildings. His surviving, undisputed legacy consists of three baroque churches and Moscow Orphanage...
on the Catherine's Palace in Moscow, where he was employed both as an architect and a plasterer
Plasterer
A plasterer is a tradesman who works with plaster, such as forming a layer of plaster on an interior wall or plaster decorative moldings on ceilings or walls...
craftsman. Eventually, he developed into a generalist architect: capable of independently managing construction projects, Camporesi was regularly employed by private clients - for his design talents as well as business capabilities. His input to Nikolai Sheremetev
Nikolai Sheremetev
Nikolai Petrovich Sheremetev was a Russian count, the son of Petr Borisovich Sheremetev, notable grandee of the epoch of empresses Anna Ivanovna, Elizabeth Petrovna, and Catherine II. He was also the grandson of Boris Petrovich Sheremetev.His father P. B...
's Ostankino Palace
Ostankino Palace
Ostankino Palace is a former summer residence and private opera theater of Sheremetev family, originally situated several kilometres to the north from Moscow but now a part of the North-Eastern Administrative Okrug of Moscow...
, for example, included interior design, architectural drafts of palace expansion, and also budget schedules and hiring craftsmen.
Works by the architect are best preserved in the vicinity of Yakhroma
Yakhroma
Yakhroma is a town in Dmitrovsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Yakhroma River, north of Moscow. Population: Yakhroma was founded in 1841 as a settlement servicing a local cloth factory on the Yakroma River. In 1901, Yakhroma railway station was built near the settlement,...
, in former estates of Apraksin and Sheremetev
Sheremetev
The Sheremetev family was one of the wealthiest and most influential noble families of Russia.The family held many high commanding ranks in the Russian military, governorships and eventually the rank of Count of the Russian Empire...
families. Camporesi also left a significant legacy of unbuilt architectural drafts (preserved at the Moscow Museum of Architecture), including an unusual large octagonal structure codenamed Moscow House. Contemporary studies fail to explain the purpose of this elaborate project; probably, it's octagonal plan was a homage to Saint Michael's Castle
Saint Michael's Castle
St. Michael's Castle , also called the Mikhailovsky Castle or the Engineers Castle , is a former royal residence in the historic centre of Saint Petersburg, Russia. St. Michael's Castle was built as a residence for Emperor Paul I by architects Vincenzo Brenna and Vasili Bazhenov in 1797-1801...
, commissioned by one of emperor Paul
Paul I of Russia
Paul I was the Emperor of Russia between 1796 and 1801. He also was the 72nd Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta .-Childhood:...
's statesmen and discarded after Paul's death.
In 1810s-1820s Camporesi was employed by the Commission of Moscow Kremlin
Moscow Kremlin
The Moscow Kremlin , sometimes referred to as simply The Kremlin, is a historic fortified complex at the heart of Moscow, overlooking the Moskva River , Saint Basil's Cathedral and Red Square and the Alexander Garden...
; in addition to restoration of Kremlin buildings he coached students of the Kremlin school of architecture, most notably Domenico Giliardi
Domenico Giliardi
Domenico Gilardi , was a Swiss architect who worked primarily in Moscow, Russia in Neoclassicist style. He was one of key architects charged with rebuilding the city after the Fire of 1812...
and Afanasy Grigoriev
Afanasy Grigoriev
Afanasy Grigorievich Grigoriev was a Russian Neoclassical architect, who worked in Moscow and its suburbs. Grigoriev is remembered for his refined Empire style mansions, completion of Great Ascension Church and assistance to Domenico Giliardi in rebuilding Moscow after the Great Fire...
.
Extant architectural works
Undisputed works:- Main hall and master plan of count ApraksinStepan Stepanovich ApraksinStepan Stepanovich Apraksin was a Russian military commander and aristocrat, the only son of Stepan Fedorovich Apraksin, likewise a famed military commander and a high-ranking military commander in the Russian army....
Olgovo estate, near YakhromaYakhromaYakhroma is a town in Dmitrovsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Yakhroma River, north of Moscow. Population: Yakhroma was founded in 1841 as a settlement servicing a local cloth factory on the Yakroma River. In 1901, Yakhroma railway station was built near the settlement,...
, 1790-s
Attributed with more or less certainty:
- Theater hall of Ostankino PalaceOstankino PalaceOstankino Palace is a former summer residence and private opera theater of Sheremetev family, originally situated several kilometres to the north from Moscow but now a part of the North-Eastern Administrative Okrug of Moscow...
- Church of The Protection of the Mother of God in countess OrlovOrlovOrlov is the name of a Russian noble family which produced several distinguished statesmen, diplomatists and soldiers. The family first gained distinction in the person of four Orlov brothers, of whom the senior was Catherine the Great's paramour, and the two junior were notable military...
a Andreevskoe estate near Yakhroma, 1803-1821 - Church of Ascension of Jesus in count ApraksinStepan Stepanovich ApraksinStepan Stepanovich Apraksin was a Russian military commander and aristocrat, the only son of Stepan Fedorovich Apraksin, likewise a famed military commander and a high-ranking military commander in the Russian army....
Peremilovo estate, near Yakhroma, 1792-1801 - Lobanov-Rostovsky house at 43, Myasnitskaya Street, Moscow