The genius of Russian Art Nouveau, who was unlucky to live in an era of change

MOSCOW. The publishing house "Kuchkovo Field" published a book about the famous architect Fedor Shekhtel.

History, architecture, psychology, philosophy, regional studies, political science, memoirs, beautifully illustrated art albums, encyclopedias. This is the range of topics of priority for the Kuchkovo Field Publishing House. Books from "KP" - exclusive content through the use of rare documents and high quality printing.

One of the novelties of the publishing house is a fundamental study by Lyudmila Saygina - “Architect Fedor Shekhtel. Pavilions, banks, houses, temples of the eclectic and modern era. ” An employee of the Shchusev Museum, the head of the scientific storage sector of architectural and graphic funds, has devoted decades to the study of the history of Russian architecture.

Lyudmila Vladimirovna - author of monographs on the legacy of great architects: Fedor Shekhtel and his student Ivan Kuznetsov, creator of the Assumption Cathedral of the Joseph-Volokolamsk Monastery and Medvednikovskaya Gymnasium. Album “Savva Morozov. Fedor Shekhtel. The history of the masterpiece ”is dedicated to a neo-Gothic mansion with a veranda and a winter garden in the center of the capital, on Spiridonovka, 17. It was built by order of Savva Morozov for his wife Zinaida. After the tragic death of a famous philanthropist, he was sold to the widowed family of businessman and collector Mikhail Ryabushinsky. The walls of the mansion were decorated with stained-glass windows, paintings by masters of French, Chinese and Japanese painting, paintings by Vrubel and Repin, Serov and Vasnetsov. Now his visit is possible only a few days a year. All the more valuable is the work of Saigina, supplemented by magnificent illustrations, author’s sketches, archival photographs.

The protagonist of Saygina’s research is a brilliant self-taught, architect-innovator, author of famous structures in the style of Russian Art Nouveau, stage designer, painter Fedor Osipovich Shekhtel. A rich imagination and love of art helped him create a fairy tale, materializing thereby the main creative credo. The masterpieces of the architect include the aforementioned estate on Spiridonovka, Ryabushinsky’s mansion with a grand staircase-wave, octopus lamps, a jellyfish chandelier, Art Nouveau-style window grills, stucco ceilings, amazing stained glass windows.

Among the best creations of the master are the building of the Yaroslavl station in the new Russian style, the Chekhov Moscow Art Theater project, the Khudozhestvenny movie theater, the Chekhov library and museum in Taganrog, the merchant Lokalov in the village of Velikoye, the Byzantine-style Spasskaya church in Ivanovo-Voznesensk, the wooden church of Nikolai Miracle worker. Of the more than two hundred structures designed by the architect, approximately 90 have been preserved.

The last period of Shekhtel’s life fell on the era of change. The revolution was for him a time of the collapse of hopes and plans. A country striding towards a brighter future did not need brilliant creators, romantics, and visionaries. Fedor Osipovich, deprived of the opportunity to work normally, could hardly make ends meet, found himself in extremely constrained housing conditions. He was forced to sell the property, agree to any offers that do not correspond to his level. Deprivation and loss undermined Schechtel’s health. At 66, he died of cancer. The book of Lyudmila Saygina allows you to trace all the stages of the architect’s work, to get comprehensive information about his masterpieces and unrealized projects.

Elena Tanakova © Gallerix.ru