Pashkov House
Encyclopedia
The Pashkov House is the famous Neoclassical
mansion that stands on a hill opposite the western wall of the Moscow Kremlin
, near the crossing of the Mokhovaya
and Vozdvizhenka streets. Its design has been attributed to Vasily Bazhenov. It used to be home to the Rumyantsev Museum
(Moscow's first public museum) in the 19th century. The palace's current owner is the Russian State Library
.
of the Guards Semenovsky Regiment
and the son of Peter the Great's batman. The building is believed to have been designed by Vasili Bazhenov
. Throughout the 20th century Bazhenov's authorship was disputed, since no written evidence has survived the ages, and the only thing that serves as a proof is oral tradition and similarities to Bazhenov's other buildings.
As soon as it was completed, the Pashkov House became a landmark of Moscow. For many years a splendid palace of white stone standing on the Vagankovsky Hill has amazed people and is considered to be one of the most beautiful buildings in the Russian capital. It is one of the key locations described by Mikhail Bulgakov
in his novel The Master and Margarita
:
Location of the building also has a symbolical importance: the Pashkov House towers a hill opposite the Borovitsky hill topped by the Kremlin
. It was the first secular building in Moscow, from the windows of which one could see the towers and building of the Kremlin not bottom upwards, and could observe Ivanovskaya Square
and Cathedral Square.
Lay-out of the garden in front of the building impresses by its splendor:
When the Mokhovaya Street
was expanded, the land plot adjacent to the house, shrunk to the slope only.
The only entrance to the Pashkov House accessible for coaches was from the Starovagankovsky Lane. It is on the same axis with the main cubage of the building, which is underlined by the whole system of development of the palace. A principle of contract is extensively applied: large and small are contrasted:
Such general layout involving contrasts is influenced by the preceding Baroque
period with its love of intricately interpreted volume. A three-dimensional system is formed, which is full of contrast effects and contributing to more dramatical perception of the architectural dominant of the whole complex, the main building.
Adjoining to the estate is Saint Nicholas Church, which used to be a family chapel.
s, one facing the carriageway and being palatial and solemn, the other facing the yard and looking cozier and more like a country estate.
The facade looking on to the Mokhovaya Street is characterized by linear expansion. The arrangement centrifugally unwraps around and above. Two one-storey tunnels run to the right and to the left of the central cube ending in two-storied Service wings. The main building has colonnaded portico
s on both sides. The building is topped with a cylindrical belvedere
. These devices are common for Palladianism.
ground floor, the porticoes use great order linking two floors. Thanks to a not-too-high but full-width base, such linking of the two floors by a colonnade increases immensity of the building.
Three portico
es of the facade are located head-on. The Pashkov House is a rare sample in the global architecture, where three porticoes are used for such facade arrangement, which are absolutely similar by their main dimensions and number of column
s. Only the order used is different.
The columns and pilaster
s of the central building use composite Corinthian order
(it is pictured in its details with more freedom and distinction as compared to usual canons). There are statue
s put on column bases, on each side of the four column portico.
The columns and pilasters of the service wings use intricate Ionic order
with the so called diagonal column caps emphasizing artistic independence and role of the service wings in the facade arrangement.
The balustrade enframing the roof of the central building has magnificent vases on the posts which smooth passage from frieze
and cornice to the belvedere
topping off the central cubage. The belvedere is not such static form as a pediment
, and emphasizes the ascent of the whole arrangement, augmenting the Pashkov House building.
was also located along the axis of the main building, where you can see the grand staircase. To the right of the vestibule, clear of the central axis, there was a grand staircase to the first floor leading to the ante-room and to the main hall. The service wings accommodated residential and service rooms.
started changing the Bazhenov's appearance of the building: upon his orders, the statue of Minerva
(or Mars
, symbolizing the victories of the reign of his mother
) crowning the dome, was removed from it.
the building suffered heavy damage:
the wooden belvedere
with the Corinthian order
roundabout colonnade crowing the building was destroyed, as well as a large statuary and coat of arms of the Pashkovs on the entablature
of the central portico.
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
mansion that stands on a hill opposite the western wall of the 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...
, near the crossing of the Mokhovaya
Mokhovaya Street
Mokhovaya Street, is a one-way street in central Moscow, Russia, a part of Moscow's innermost ring road - Central Squares of Moscow. In 1961-1990 it formed part of Karl Marx Avenue...
and Vozdvizhenka streets. Its design has been attributed to Vasily Bazhenov. It used to be home to the Rumyantsev Museum
Rumyantsev Museum
The Rumyantsev Museum was Moscow's first public museum. It evolved from the personal art collection and library of Count Nikolay Rumyantsev , the last of his family.- History :...
(Moscow's first public museum) in the 19th century. The palace's current owner is the Russian State Library
Russian State Library
The Russian State Library is the national library of Russia, located in Moscow. It is the largest in the country and the third largest in the world for its collection of books . It was named the V. I...
.
Construction
The Pashkov House was erected in 1784—1786 by a Muscovite nobleman, Pyotr Pashkov. He was a retired Captain LieutenantCaptain Lieutenant
Captain lieutenant or captain-lieutenant is a military rank, used in a number of different navies worldwide.It is generally equivalent to the Commonwealth or US rank of lieutenant, and has the NATO rank code of OF-2, though this can vary....
of the Guards Semenovsky Regiment
Semenovsky Regiment
Semenovsky Life-Guards Regiment was one of the two oldest guards regiments of the Imperial Russian Army.- History :...
and the son of Peter the Great's batman. The building is believed to have been designed by Vasili Bazhenov
Vasili Bazhenov
Vasily Ivanovich Bazhenov was a Russian neoclassical architect, graphic artist, architectural theorist and educator...
. Throughout the 20th century Bazhenov's authorship was disputed, since no written evidence has survived the ages, and the only thing that serves as a proof is oral tradition and similarities to Bazhenov's other buildings.
Renown
Mikhail Bulgakov
Mikhaíl Afanásyevich Bulgákov was a Soviet Russian writer and playwright active in the first half of the 20th century. He is best known for his novel The Master and Margarita, which The Times of London has called one of the masterpieces of the 20th century.-Biography:Mikhail Bulgakov was born on...
in his novel The Master and Margarita
The Master and Margarita
The Master and Margarita is a novel by Mikhail Bulgakov, woven around the premise of a visit by the Devil to the fervently atheistic Soviet Union. Many critics consider the book to be one of the greatest novels of the 20th century, and one of the foremost Soviet satires, directed against a...
:
"At sunset, high over the city, on the stone terrace of one of the most beautiful houses in Moscow, a house built about a hundred and fifty years ago, there were two: Woland and Azazello. They could not be seen from the street below, because they were hidden from unwanted eyes by a balustrade with plaster vases and plaster flowers. But they could see the city almost to its very edges."
Owners
- The initial owner of the Pashkov house was Pyotr Pashkov, after whom it was named by the Muscovites.
- Upon the death of Pyotr Pashkov and his spouse, the estate passed on to his cousin Aleksandr Pashkov.
- The Pashkov house was purchased by the government for Moscow University in 1839. An Institute for the Nobility (a male boarding school for children of the nobility) was located here in 1843; and later the 4th city grammar school (after 1852).
- The building was transferred to the Rumyantsev MuseumRumyantsev MuseumThe Rumyantsev Museum was Moscow's first public museum. It evolved from the personal art collection and library of Count Nikolay Rumyantsev , the last of his family.- History :...
to house its collections and library, in 1861. - In 1921, since more than 400 private libraries were confiscated by the Soviets and added to the Museum, all departments were moved out of the Pashkov House. Only the Museum's library remained there, which was renamed and reorganized into the Lenin LibraryRussian State LibraryThe Russian State Library is the national library of Russia, located in Moscow. It is the largest in the country and the third largest in the world for its collection of books . It was named the V. I...
. At present (2010), the Pashkov House is still among the Library's buildings, but for several decades it was out of use, being under permanent repair, which started in 1988 and ended in 2007. Nowadays, the right wing of the Pashkov House houses the Manuscripts Department, while its left wing houses the Music Department and the Maps Department, of the Russian State LibraryRussian State LibraryThe Russian State Library is the national library of Russia, located in Moscow. It is the largest in the country and the third largest in the world for its collection of books . It was named the V. I...
.
Location
Impressive view of the building is partly due to the site where it was built. The Pashkov House stands on a high Vagankovo hill, as though continuing the line of its ascent, on an open corner of two descending streets. The front facade faces the sunny side. The mansion was erected a bit skewed and not along the straight line of the street relative to the street and to the entrance from the Starovagankovsky Lane. Because of this, the Pashkov House is better perceived from sideways, farther angle viewpoints.Location of the building also has a symbolical importance: the Pashkov House towers a hill opposite the Borovitsky hill topped by the 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...
. It was the first secular building in Moscow, from the windows of which one could see the towers and building of the Kremlin not bottom upwards, and could observe Ivanovskaya Square
Ivanovskaya Square
Ivanovskaya Square is the largest Kremlin square. Its name comes from the Ivan the Great Bell Tower.In the 16th and 17th centuries, many government bodies were situated in the Ivanovskaya Square. It was the site of the Prikazy, the equivalent of today's Ministries. Yamskoi Prikaz, one of the...
and Cathedral Square.
Estate lay-out
The building has a varied and interesting silhouette, being formed by three compact cubages: main building and two flanking service wings. The mansion, being at the same time an town manor, has a flat-topped lay-out with a court of honor opened towards the entrance. The solution is unorthodox, since the entrance is from the side street and not from the main facade, and the traditional lay-out is inverted. the high hill serves as a base of the building. There was a garden in front of the mansion before 1930s.Lay-out of the garden in front of the building impresses by its splendor:
When the Mokhovaya Street
Mokhovaya Street
Mokhovaya Street, is a one-way street in central Moscow, Russia, a part of Moscow's innermost ring road - Central Squares of Moscow. In 1961-1990 it formed part of Karl Marx Avenue...
was expanded, the land plot adjacent to the house, shrunk to the slope only.
The only entrance to the Pashkov House accessible for coaches was from the Starovagankovsky Lane. It is on the same axis with the main cubage of the building, which is underlined by the whole system of development of the palace. A principle of contract is extensively applied: large and small are contrasted:
- the central cubage of the building vs. service premises and fences;
- the expanded court of honor preceding the main entrance vs. narrow trapezoidal funnel connecting the entrance and the court of honor;
- the funnel mouth corresponds to the projection on the facade of the main building; and
- rectilinear contours of the court and of the funnel are connected by curvilinear walls.
Such general layout involving contrasts is influenced by the preceding Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
period with its love of intricately interpreted volume. A three-dimensional system is formed, which is full of contrast effects and contributing to more dramatical perception of the architectural dominant of the whole complex, the main building.
Adjoining to the estate is Saint Nicholas Church, which used to be a family chapel.
Neoclassical facades
The Pashkov House has two main facadeFacade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
s, one facing the carriageway and being palatial and solemn, the other facing the yard and looking cozier and more like a country estate.
The facade looking on to the Mokhovaya Street is characterized by linear expansion. The arrangement centrifugally unwraps around and above. Two one-storey tunnels run to the right and to the left of the central cube ending in two-storied Service wings. The main building has colonnaded portico
Portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
s on both sides. The building is topped with a cylindrical belvedere
Belvedere (structure)
Belvedere is an architectural term adopted from Italian , which refers to any architectural structure sited to take advantage of such a view. A belvedere may be built in the upper part of a building so as to command a fine view...
. These devices are common for Palladianism.
Order system
In contrast to rusticatedRustication (architecture)
thumb|upright|Two different styles of rustication in the [[Palazzo Medici-Riccardi]] in [[Florence]].In classical architecture rustication is an architectural feature that contrasts in texture with the smoothly finished, squared block masonry surfaces called ashlar...
ground floor, the porticoes use great order linking two floors. Thanks to a not-too-high but full-width base, such linking of the two floors by a colonnade increases immensity of the building.
Three portico
Portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
es of the facade are located head-on. The Pashkov House is a rare sample in the global architecture, where three porticoes are used for such facade arrangement, which are absolutely similar by their main dimensions and number of column
Column
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a vertical structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. For the purpose of wind or earthquake engineering, columns may be designed to resist lateral forces...
s. Only the order used is different.
The columns and pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s of the central building use composite Corinthian order
Corinthian order
The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
(it is pictured in its details with more freedom and distinction as compared to usual canons). There are statue
Statue
A statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, an idea or an event, normally full-length, as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size, or larger...
s put on column bases, on each side of the four column portico.
The columns and pilasters of the service wings use intricate Ionic order
Ionic order
The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...
with the so called diagonal column caps emphasizing artistic independence and role of the service wings in the facade arrangement.
The balustrade enframing the roof of the central building has magnificent vases on the posts which smooth passage from frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
and cornice to the belvedere
Belvedere (structure)
Belvedere is an architectural term adopted from Italian , which refers to any architectural structure sited to take advantage of such a view. A belvedere may be built in the upper part of a building so as to command a fine view...
topping off the central cubage. The belvedere is not such static form as a pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
, and emphasizes the ascent of the whole arrangement, augmenting the Pashkov House building.
Inner layout
Main and most grand premises of the palace were in its central building, entrance to which was along the axis of the building, from the side of the соurt of honor. Main vestibuleVestibule (architecture)
A vestibule is a lobby, entrance hall, or passage between the entrance and the interior of a building.The same term can apply to structures in modern or ancient roman architecture. In modern architecture vestibule typically refers to a small room or hall between an entrance and the interior of...
was also located along the axis of the main building, where you can see the grand staircase. To the right of the vestibule, clear of the central axis, there was a grand staircase to the first floor leading to the ante-room and to the main hall. The service wings accommodated residential and service rooms.
Building conversions
According to some sources, original color of the walls was orange. Paul IPaul 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:...
started changing the Bazhenov's appearance of the building: upon his orders, the statue of Minerva
Minerva
Minerva was the Roman goddess whom Romans from the 2nd century BC onwards equated with the Greek goddess Athena. She was the virgin goddess of poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, weaving, crafts, magic...
(or Mars
Mars (mythology)
Mars was the Roman god of war and also an agricultural guardian, a combination characteristic of early Rome. He was second in importance only to Jupiter, and he was the most prominent of the military gods worshipped by the Roman legions...
, symbolizing the victories of the reign of his mother
Catherine II of Russia
Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great , Empress of Russia, was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia on as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg...
) crowning the dome, was removed from it.
Imperial period
During the Napoleon's invasionFrench invasion of Russia
The French invasion of Russia of 1812 was a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. It reduced the French and allied invasion forces to a tiny fraction of their initial strength and triggered a major shift in European politics as it dramatically weakened French hegemony in Europe...
the building suffered heavy damage:
the wooden belvedere
Belvedere (structure)
Belvedere is an architectural term adopted from Italian , which refers to any architectural structure sited to take advantage of such a view. A belvedere may be built in the upper part of a building so as to command a fine view...
with the Corinthian order
Corinthian order
The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
roundabout colonnade crowing the building was destroyed, as well as a large statuary and coat of arms of the Pashkovs on the entablature
Entablature
An entablature refers to the superstructure of moldings and bands which lie horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and are commonly divided into the architrave , the frieze ,...
of the central portico.
Interesting facts
- The depths of the Vagankovsky hill under the Pashkov House are deemed to be one of several possible locations of the legendary library of Ivan the Terrible.
- The Pashkov House is described in Bulgakov's novel The Master and MargaritaThe Master and MargaritaThe Master and Margarita is a novel by Mikhail Bulgakov, woven around the premise of a visit by the Devil to the fervently atheistic Soviet Union. Many critics consider the book to be one of the greatest novels of the 20th century, and one of the foremost Soviet satires, directed against a...
as the meeting place of Woland, Azazello and Levi Matvei.
Other Pashkov houses
- "Pashkov Dom" (Pashkov House) is the name of the publishing house of the Russian National Library.
- "Pashkov House' is the name of a novel by Nikolai Shmelyov (Николай Шмелёв).
- Pashkov House (Second Pashkov House, Lecture Building , Pharmacy House ) — these are the names under which the building of the Journalism Department of the Moscow University is mentioned in old documents. The building is also located on the Mokhovaya Street, 9. The reason was because the estate was also owned by a Pashkov, Alexander Illich Pashkov, a relative of Pyotr Pashkov. Another house owned by the Pashkovs was at Chistoprudny Boulevard, 12 .
- Pashkov's villa in Saint PetersburgSaint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, at 39 Liteyny ProspektLiteyny ProspektLiteyny Avenue is a wide avenue in the Central District of Saint Petersburg, Russia. The avenue runs from Liteyny Bridge to Nevsky Avenue....
(architect Harald von Bosse), praised by Nikolay Nekrasov in one of his poems.