Northern modern style in the architecture of St. Petersburg

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

The beginning of the 20th century in St. Petersburg was marked by the emergence of a new architectural style, one of the characteristic features of which was the use of images of birds, animals, ornaments and plants borrowed from northern folklore in the design of exteriors. They brought a significant revival to the massive and austere facade of St. Petersburg houses. The style of architecture, which continues the romantic traditions of Swedish and Finnish legends, was called "northern modern". Its appearance was facilitated by the significant strengthening of Russia's ties with Sweden and Finland. In the art of these countries, the main trend was romanticism, actively using plots from epics and fairy tales.

This article introduces us to the bright monuments of the Northern Art Nouveau in the architecture of St. Petersburg.

Style signs

Main externalSigns of northern modern architecture are combinations of natural and artificial finishing materials, selected with great skill. Here, each component benefits from being adjacent to the other.

Finnish granite is often used in plinth cladding. The northern modern style provides for its rough processing, the presence of smoothly hewn fragments and sculpture elements. The plane of the walls on the upper floors is covered with finishing bricks or a layer of textured plaster.

Among the elements of decoration of buildings, ornaments stand out, inspired by the images of northern folklore - its fauna and flora. Noteworthy is the frequent use of majolica and colored ceramic tiles.

The shape of buildings made in the northern modern style is quite massive, there are no small decorative elements in the architecture.

Contrasting combinations of textures and shapes, a variety of window openings, their combination with piers and the general tone of the facade of houses made in the northern modern style, in St. centuries and northern rocky landscapes.

Northern Art Nouveau in the architecture of St. Petersburg was not widespread, but still one of the brightest pages in the history of dacha construction in St. Petersburg at the beginning of the 20th century is associated with it. The main features of the direction, which were appreciated by the inhabitants of this region, were the use of natural materials - wood and stone, the stylization of folk motifsthe architecture of the north and the Middle Ages, the organic relationship of the exterior of buildings with the landscape environment.

Northern modern in St. Petersburg: history

The development of style in St. Petersburg took place under the significant influence of Finnish, Swedish and neo-romantic architecture.

The artist who paved the way from the Nordic countries to St. Petersburg was Sergei Diaghilev, who organized an exhibition of Scandinavian artists in 1897 at Baron Stieglitz's technical drawing school. Later, Scandinavian motifs were picked up by architects who began to build houses in St. Petersburg in a style never seen before.

It is known that Friedrich (Fyodor) Lidval, one of the representatives of the Swedish diaspora in the Northern capital, was the conductor of style ideas from the original source.

According to his projects in St. Petersburg in the period from 1901-1907. buildings were built that became an alternative to the spread of Austrian and German versions of Art Nouveau in the city.

Specialists note a significant influence on the formation of the creative style of the architect of such major figures in Swedish neo-romanticism as Boberg and Klasson.

An important contribution to the formation of the northern modern style at an early stage was made by the appearance of buildings designed by R. Meltzer on Kamenny Island. Later, the influence of Finnish motifs on the style of architecture became one of the main ones. Significant buildings of 1907, such as Putilova's house on Bolshoy Prospekt. Petrograd side (the work of architect I. Pretro), and the building of the insurance company "Russia" on the street. Bol. Maritime(the work of the architect G. Gimpel), present signs of direct citation of the works of their Finnish colleagues - L. Sonk and E. Saarinen. This, however, as experts assure, does not underestimate the individuality and high artistic quality of these works.

In the second half of the first decade of the 20th century, Northern Art Nouveau in St. Petersburg became the main architectural trend that attracted the interest of young architects. The main achievements of N. Vasiliev, a former adherent of romanticism, are associated with this time, in whose works an individual vision of style can be traced. The northern theme prevails over oriental motifs in the facade of the house of A. Bubyr (Stremyannaya street), and in the final project of the Cathedral Mosque, and in some other buildings.

In the future, northern modernism was subjected to sharp criticism, often of a chauvinistic nature. Neoclassicism, which was positioned as a truly national (imperial) style, acted as an alternative to the so-called Chukhon modernity. And yet there were more and more buildings in the northern modern style. The former decorativeness has given way to rationalism.

Small ornamental and sculptural decor, forming a romantic image, was replaced by a plastic combination of large volumes of the facade - balconies, bay windows, roof silhouettes. Particularly interesting, according to experts, tenement houses in the northern modern style, built in 1910-1915. (architect A. Bubyr).

Representatives

Northern Art Nouveau in St. Petersburg is represented by the work of leadingarchitects:

• Vladimir Apyshkov;
• Aleksey Bubyr;
• Nikolay Vasiliev;
• Alexandra Zelenko;
• Fyodor Lidval;
• Georgy Makaev;
• Hippolita Pretro.

Northern Art Nouveau houses, St. Petersburg: TOP 5 most famous buildings

Worth a trip on this virtual route, laid out by lovers of stylish architecture. It leads to the most famous buildings built in St. Petersburg in the Northern Art Nouveau style and introduces them to their history. These buildings are a bright page in the catalog of the city's attractions.

Bubyr's house on the street. Stremyanoy, 11

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the St. Petersburg architect Alexei Bubyr was acquired on the street. Strepy area with buildings. Together with the architect N. Vasiliev, the master begins the construction of an apartment building, in which he plans to settle with his family, and rent out the rest of the apartments and rooms. The building quickly gained fame and became one of the new attractions. Passers-by were surprised and delighted by the outlandish drawings richly decorating its facade. What kind of creatures could not be seen on its walls: crows, fish, fantastic plants, strange creatures from fairy tales and legends. A special place in the decoration of the house was given to the image of the sun, as if designed to illuminate the main side of the house, facing north: warm sun rays do not fall here.

Construction continued for two years. In 1907, new residents began to settle here. At the very lastsixth floor, the architect himself settled with his family.

Style features in the building on Stremyannaya

This majestic building, towering over Stremyannaya Street, is a vivid example of Northern Art Nouveau: the architect Vasiliev, the main performer of decorative work on the main facade, combines many features written off from Russian sights and Mediterranean monuments.

The completion of the bay window shocks the viewer and evokes associations with the domes of Novgorod cathedrals, stone beams lined up on the sides of the passage and the entrance. The house is reminiscent of the drawbridges leading to medieval castles, and solar signs, simultaneously paying tribute to both European and Russian architecture, can be seen on iron fences and plaster.

Fate at home

Bubyr was the owner of the house until 1919, after the revolution he had to leave for Ukraine, where soon his life was tragically cut short.

The house remained standing in its place and, like many other architectural monuments, has seen a lot. The building survived in the heat of revolution, wars and perestroika. He had a chance to see legendary citizens among his residents: the former apartment of the architect was divided into communal housing, the famous Eduard Khil lived here. Later, the Elf cafe was opened in the house, in which representatives of the Leningrad underground, who gained immense popularity, liked to gather: Viktor Tsoi and Boris Grebenshchikov. It is known that the shooting of the film "Brother" was carried out in the courtyard of this house.

"Tolstovsky House" (profitable house of Count Tolstoy M. P.)st. Rubinstein, 15-17

This huge 6-storey building is called "a city within a city" for a reason. The features of its layout are the presence of three courtyards connected by passages, which form a real residential area and it seems that the inhabitants live in a space completely separate from the rest of the city: these courtyards have an amazing amount of space, and they also have their own special atmosphere.. The architect is Fyodor Lidval, the customer for the construction of the grandiose building is Major General Count M. Tolstoy, a participant in the Russian-Turkish war (1877-1878).

Lidval liked to use elements inspired by the Renaissance in his works. In the design of Tolstoy's house, you can find wide loggias on the upper floors, Renaissance archways. The decoration is deliberately restrained: only exquisite vases in the hands of cupids standing in niches adorn the porches.

The house was conceived as housing for representatives of all classes: both luxurious apartments, amazingly expensive, and modest budget options were provided here. The layout included elevators, laundry and plumbing.

This house can be considered the record holder for the number of celebrities living in it at different times, among which historians name the writer Alexander Kuprin, the artist Mikhail Shemyakin, the ballerina Irina Kolpakova, the writer and journalist Arkady Averchenko, the revolutionary poet Vasily Knyazev and many others. In some courtyards of Tolstoy's house at different timesevery day one could see A. Akhmatova, I. Brodsky, S. Dovlatov, A. Rosenbaum, V. Gergiev, A. Raikin, A. Freindlich, O. Basilashvili, M. Boyarsky and L. Luppian going to visit or returning home. The courtyards and exterior of the building itself often served as scenery for filming films: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, Winter Cherry, Born of the Revolution and Gangster Petersburg were filmed here.

Sugarloaf (E. G. Vollenweider's mansion) on Grand Alley, 13

Kamennoostrovsky Prospekt is famous for its we alth of architectural monuments in the Northern Art Nouveau style. This is especially evident in the exteriors of the mansion, owned by a Swiss citizen, tailor and supplier of the imperial court, E. Vollenweider. The house was built in 1905 according to the project of the architect Meltzer. The mansion is an example of the northern Art Nouveau, but differs from the rest in neo-Gothic elements. This is explained by the fact that the building was an experimental version, which marked the beginning of the direction of northern modernity that had just appeared in urban architecture.

House style

The stylistic decision of the building goes back to the traditions of Scandinavian and Finnish romanticism. It is distinguished by its monumentality and simplicity of volumes, the massiveness of the tower, decorated with a curved tent. The white stucco of the walls is striking, contrasting with the red roof tiles and the gray granite of the plinth. With its external appearance, the building resembles an old Scandinavian castle or a traditional Art Nouveau building, widelycommon in the 20th century.

Interestingly, as soon as the building was built, the people immediately dubbed it "Sugarloaf" - most likely because of the light color of the plaster and the elongated shape of the dome. It is known that after the revolution there was a sanatorium in the mansion. Today the mansion is occupied by the Danish Consulate.

About I. M. Lidval's profitable house at Kamennoostrovsky Prospekt, 1/3

It is known that in 1898 the site on Kamennoostrovsky Prospekt was acquired by the mother of the architect F. Lidval. The building is the architect's first independent work. A new technique of the author, previously unknown in St. Petersburg architecture, was the arrangement of a large front courtyard, wide open towards the street. This detail, atypical for St. Petersburg apartment buildings, ensured that a large amount of light entered the apartments.

Among the details characteristic of Art Nouveau, the author used a relief cartouche, with which he decorated the central portal, and stamped the date of completion of work on this part of the house - "1902". To the right of the date is a pine branch with cones, near which you can see a forest bird trying to peck at a hare sitting next to it. Behind the figure of a hare, his eared fellow is seen running out of the forest thicket. To the left of the date, you can admire the image of the head of a lynx with its mouth wide open, and an owl with spread wings perched on a branch nearby.

The exterior is striking with an abundance of images of lizards, bighead fish, wild berries,fly agaric, tulips, etc. The presence of diverse bay windows and balconies, window openings crowned with images of fauna and flora attracts the eye. These stylistic features have led to the fact that the house is mentioned in textbooks on the history of architecture. At the first competition for the "best facades" in St. Petersburg (1907), the architect's work was awarded.

Among the eminent residents of the house are the Lidval family, the artist K. Petrov-Vodkin, the actor Y. Yuryev.

"House with Owls" (T. N. Putilova's apartment building) on Bolshoy Prospekt P. S., 44

The building owes its unofficial name to the sculptures of owls that adorn its facade. The house was built between 1906 and 1907. Its author was the architect Ippolit Pretro, one of the representatives of the St. Petersburg northern modernist style. The building was built for the merchant Putilova, who at that time was the owner of one of the manufacturing stores on Vasilyevsky Island.

The house draws attention to itself with an artistic mess, windows of various shapes: wide, narrow, short, long. Further, the viewer notices the presence of a stepped bay window, an abundance of ornamentation, rich in images drawn from the northern flora, fauna and folklore. The Owl House is a famous landmark in the city. In the absence of decorative elements, the house could be considered an ordinary monolithic block, inside which there is a yard-well. But the presence of original architraves, balconies and images of marvelous creatures make the facade of the buildingtruly unforgettable. It is the "House with Owls" that is considered the hallmark of the Northern Art Nouveau style. In 1912, the work of the architect Pretro was awarded a silver medal at the competition for the best facades. At that time, this meant recognition of the high skill of the author.

On the revival of traditions

To the delight of all gourmets and fans of tasty and he althy food, not so long ago the restaurant "Northern Modern" was opened in the Petrogradsky district. The name of the institution recalls an era marked by the unprecedented growth of Russian national identity, as well as an unprecedented flowering of art, culture and new business strategies.

The name reflects the owners' understanding of the need to revive and strengthen national traditions. The building of the restaurant adjoins the building in which the "PetroCongress" is located. The exquisite exterior and interior of the institution are in harmony with the originality of its menu, which is dominated by dishes of pre-revolutionary cuisine.