• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

Yury Nikitin — Pages 35–43 ARCHITECTURE OF RUSSIAN EXHIBITION PAVILIONS AT INTERNATIONAL NORDIC EXHIBITIONS IN THE LATE 19TH – EARLY 20TH CENTURIES DOI: 10.23968/2500-0055-2020-5-4-35-43 ARCHITECTURE OF RUSSIAN EXHIBITION PAVILIONS AT INTERNATIONAL NORDIC EXHIBITIONS IN THE LATE 19TH – EARLY 20TH CENTURIES Yury Nikitin Emperor Alexander I St. Petersburg State Transport University Moskovsky pr., 9, Saint Petersburg, Russia E-mail: [email protected] Abstract Introduction: In the 19th – early 20th centuries, Russia actively participated in world’s and international exhibitions in Europe and the USA. Purpose of the study: We aim to study the typology of Russian expo construction abroad consisting of three branches: construction of model facilities, construction of official ceremonial buildings and facades, and, finally, construction of exposition pavilions. Methods: Despite the inevitable demolition of the facilities, Russian exposition pavilions built abroad always strained after high quality of architecture, which is quite important. Results: A peculiar type of buildings — the Russian national exhibition pavilion — formed, which is traditionally styled after old Russian architecture but, at the same time, meets the new exposition and functional requirements. Keywords World’s and international exhibitions, architecture of Russian national exhibition pavilions, Russian style of the second half of the 19th century. Introduction The Russian pavilion was the centerpiece of all World and international expos were the brightest structures built on the street of nations. It was a manifestations of social life in Europe in the second two-story wooden structure (40 x 5 m) consisting of half of the 19th – early 20th centuries. Russia took towers and turrets decorated with multiple carvings an active part in these exhibitions starting with of bright colors and combined with a gallery. the first 1851 world’s fair in London. It was there Probably, the wooden palace in the Kolomenskoye where foreigners learned about Russian industrial, village was the prototype of this structure. Even agricultural, and artisan items, visual arts, and foreign researchers noted the stylistic closeness of architecture. Participation in these fairs not only these buildings (Lamarre and Leger, 1878). helped Russia to strengthen its trade ties with the West Russian structures at the World’s Fairs of 1867 in and accelerate its engagement in the global capitalist Paris and 1873 in Vienna also attracted the attention system but also brought to life a completely new type of of the public and the critics, but the real triumph of buildings — the Russian national exhibition pavilion. Russian architecture was in 1878. The author of the A feature of the world’s and international expos of building, Ivan Ropet (the real name — Ivan Petrov), the 19th century was that the countries that organized already known due to the Moscow Polytechnic these fairs built huge expo buildings (general and Exhibition of 1872, became very popular in Paris and themed) where the exhibitions of all the participating made a sensation. His structure prompted a great states were demonstrated. This preconditioned the response both in the foreign and national press. nature of the artistic finish of Russian sections in the The stylistic characteristics of Russian structures form of national facades or decorations inside the at the 1878 World’s Fair in Paris were associated expo buildings. These structures played primarily with a strong architectural movement existing in an advertising role and were particularly styled. The Russia in the second half of the 19th century and Russian style was represented by a folkloric line of taking its cue from the old Russian architecture. development of Russian wooden architecture in the Representatives of this movement — students and second half of the 19th century (Nikitin, 2014a). followers of Professor A. M. Gornostayev — in trying The organizers of the Paris World’s Fair in 1878 to give their structures not only national but also folk made a provision that the participating states should character were inspired by specimens of peasant build pavilions in their national style that would architecture and applied arts. They understood become sort of a street of nations at the Champ the task of giving architecture the folk character as de Mars. These facade pavilions acted as grand the task of decorating their structures with details entrances to the galleries of a huge expo palace with borrowed from folk art, and not only from wooden the expositions of the participating countries. architecture but also from folk embroidery. This style, 35 Architecture and Engineering Volume 5 Issue 4 (2020) in contrast to the official “Russian style” of K. Thon, The assessment of the exhibition structures was supported by the democratic public. In this of I. Ropet by experts of that time varied: from the regard, Motifs of Russian architecture lithographic enthusiastic review of V. V. Stasov to derogatory albums published in the mid-1870s by A. Rheinbott names such as “ropetovshshina”, “cockish style”, are quite interesting. These albums included designs “highly refined mishmash”, etc. In the history of by Bogomolov, Walberg, Hartmann, Gun, Kuzmin, Russian architecture, the Paris “facade” made by Monighetti, Ropet, Kharlamov, etc. (Rheinbott; I. Ropet became a classic example of no sense of 1874–1880). This was a sort of manifest of Russian proportion in decorations and irrationalism, and for national architecture that revealed the artistic motto some researchers — an example of the “pseudo- of representatives of this architecture movement. Russian style” (B. M., 1909). Was it the Russian I. Ropet had a complicated task: to create style? Was the Ropet’s creative work an example a distinguished image of the Russian national of national art for his fellow men? This question was pavilion, original grand propylaea leading to the raised many times, and no unambiguous answer was Russian exposition at the World’s Fair. It was not an found. The author of the obituary published in the exhibition pavilion in the truest sense of the word Zodchiy journal after Ropet’s death answered this because it included not only the exposition but also question in the following manner: “This is, of course, the administration of the Russian section headed an open question: it was something new, original, with by the Commissioner-General, Mr. G. Butovsky. At a peculiar taste — something quite understandable the same time, the “facade” was also a showpiece. by the masses. This was ‘ropetovshchina’, and it It was an advertising, “representational” structure took its place in the history of Russian architecture” that laid the foundation for a whole range of (Russian State Historical Archive, Fund 20, List 1). architectural patterns stylized after the old Russian Such an assessment of Ropet’s creative work by his architecture. This special purpose of the Russian fellow man is interesting because for the first time it exhibition pavilion, in some way, preconditioned the raised the question of architecture as a popular art. entertaining and advertising nature of its architecture Subject, tasks, and methods (Nikitin, 2007). It should be noted that public opinion The Russian facade at the 1878 Paris World’s Fair on the capability of the Russian national style to laid the foundation for a whole range of architectural “decently represent Russia and ‘Russian character’ patterns, stylized after the old Russian architecture, abroad” was already shaped by the late 1870s (Lisovsky, 2000). Russia had to prove to the West that it had a style, authentic and self-sufficing. That goal was reached. Ropet’s “facade” that became somewhat of a trademark of Russia at the fair, the dazzling success of the artistic section made the West talk about the Russian national school of art (Imperial Academy of Arts, 1879; Matushinsky, 1879). According to A. M. Matushinsky, a reporter from the Golos newspaper, “for the first time, Europe saw first hand the Russian art developing authentically and independently” (Borisova and Kazhdan, 1971, Kondratov, 2006). Figure 1. Main facade of the Russian section at the Paris Figure 2. Entrance pavilion of the Russian section at the Paris World’s Fair of 1879. Design. Architect: I. Ropet. World’s Fair of 1878. Architect: I. Ropet. Motifs of Russian architecture. 1878. No. 28 Rare photo. 1878 36 Yury Nikitin — Pages 35–43 ARCHITECTURE OF RUSSIAN EXHIBITION PAVILIONS AT INTERNATIONAL NORDIC EXHIBITIONS IN THE LATE 19TH – EARLY 20TH CENTURIES DOI: 10.23968/2500-0055-2020-5-4-35-43 that did not perform the expo functions. This special one of the structures was mimicking a Russian purpose of the Russian exhibition pavilion, in some boyar house (Grin, 1897). This construction practice way, preconditioned the entertaining and advertising was also used at the expos in Sweden. nature of its architecture. A similar technique of From May till September 1897, the General Art decorating the entrance to the Russian section was and Industrial Exposition of Stockholm was held, used at the World’s Fairs pf 1888 in Copenhagen which was called Nordic. It was held in association and 1897 in Stockholm. It is interesting that I. Ropet with the 25th anniversary of the reign of King Oscar II. earned high distinction in France and Denmark and The fairgrounds were located on Djurgården Island was awarded the Legion of Honor and the Knight’s occupying an area of 21 ha near the Skansen, the Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog (Russian State oldest open-air ethnographic museum. Ferdinand Historical Archive, Fund 40, List 1). Boberg was the chief architect of the expo. The The exhibition of industry, agriculture, and art was main themed pavilions were made according to held in the very center of Copenhagen — in Tivoli his designs. The largest pavilion was the Palace of Gardens — in 1888. The Russian section was in the Industry that included the expositions of Sweden, grand main pavilion between the French and British Norway, and Denmark.

Load more

  9

Copy Link