To the page “Scientific works”
S. V. Zagraevsky
New researches of Vladimir-Suzdal museum’s
architectural monuments
Published in Russian: Çàãðàåâñêèé Ñ.Â. Íîâûå èññëåäîâàíèÿ ïàìÿòíèêîâ àðõèòåêòóðû Âëàäèìèðî-Ñóçäàëüñêîãî ìóçåÿ-çàïîâåäíèêà. M.: Àëåâ-Â, 2008. ISBN 5-94025-099-8
Chapter
1.Organization of production and processing of white stone in ancient Russia
Chapter 2. The
beginning of “Russian Romanesque”: Jury Dolgoruky or Andrey Bogolyubsky?
in Suzdal in 1148 and the original view of Suzdal temple of 1222–1225
Chapter 4. Questions
of date and status of Boris and Gleb Church in Kideksha
Chapter 5.
Questions of architectural history and reconstruction of Andrey Bogolyubsky’s
Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir
Chapter 6.
Redetermination of the reconstruction of Golden Gate in Vladimir
Chapter 7.
Architectural ensemble in Bogolyubovo: questions of history and reconstruction
Chapter 9.
Questions of the rebuilding of Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir by Vsevolod the
Big Nest
Chapter 10.
Questions of the original view and date of Dmitrievsky Cathedral in Vladimir
Chapter
9.
Questions
of the rebuilding of Assumption Cathedral
in
The
building up of Assumption Cathedral of 1158-1160, which had come to the state
of emergency after the fire in 1185, by high galleries, – was the first stone
construction of Vsevolod the Big Nest. In Chap. 5 we have shown that not only the building up by the galleries and the
construction of new apses took place, but also the relining of the vaults of
Bogolyubsky’s cathedral and the dismantling of four small heads. In this connection it is seen more correct to speak
not about the building up, but about the rebuilding of the Cathedral.
According to the chronicle data, this
rebuilding was completed in 11891. N.N. Voronin believed that
it started in 1185 – immediately after the great fire of
Galleries are built of white stone of average quality
(yellowish and porous). Their foundations are heterogeneous: their depth – from
4 to 8 rows of stone, there are both large and small blocks of varying degrees
of treatment, and limestone slabs, and boulders, and wooden logs (“lezhni”)3.
The plan of Assumption Cathedral in the rebuilding of
1186-1189 is shown at Fig. 35. This temple has 5 naves, 3 apses, 5 domes. Its
length (with the apses) is about
The division of the walls of Vsevolod’s galleries
repeated the division of the walls of the Cathedral of 1158-1160. The arched
gables of the galleries are only slightly lower than the arched gables of
Andrey's Cathedral, and that gave the rebuilt cathedral some “step-type”. New
apses were made to the east of the old ones. In Chap. 5 we have noted that in
the galleries of Vsevolod there were no corner compartments from the north-east
and south-east, and eastern small heads were shifted to the west and were much
less than western heads.
Additional arch apertures were made in the walls of
the cathedral of Andrey Bogolyubsky during the rebuilding to ensure the unity
of the internal space of the temple. However, the interior still proved to be
narrow and dark (but it could not be otherwise, while having left such a large
volume of old walls and having replaced the small heads of the Cathedral of
1158-1160 by the blind vaults).
The choir of
the Cathedral after the rebuilding merged with the choir of the Cathedral of
Andrey, having formed a large united area. It is likely that the arched bridges,
which connected the galleries of 1186-1189 with the walls of the Cathedral of
1158-1160 at the level of the choir (Fig. 80), played a dual role:
– they further strengthened the temple, playing the
role of arc-boutants between the galleries-buttresses and the walls of Andrew’s
cathedral;
– in ancient times they could carry a wooden deck that
extended choir to the entire area of the galleries. Such a hypothesis for the
western gallery was advanced by N.N.Voronin4, who noted that there
was no data for its confirmation. But in fact, this hypothesis still has a
confirmation – the top edges of the arch bridges are horizontal and have the
same height in all galleries. It is unlikely that this could take place
accidentally.
Fig.
80. Arched bridges between the walls of Andrey’s cathedral and Vsevolod’s
galleries.
Accordingly, the entrance to the choir of the cathedral
in the rebuilding of Vsevolod could be arranged in the form of a simple wooden
staircase inside the building (although it is likely that the entrance from the
north, from "Bishop’s passage" could occur – through a door, which
later was mortgaged and has not yet been discovered by archaeological
architectural studies).
The lisenes of the galleries of 1186-1189 are
decorated by semi-columns with leafy capitals. The diameter of semi-columns is
less than on the cathedral of Bogolyubsky (
The portals of Vsevolod’s galleries have carved
archivolts, “porebriks” and columns, were decorated with leafy capitals, and
were significantly elongated in width, being in harmony with the general
longitudinal orientation of the facades, but somewhat lowering the
"solemnity" of the decoration of the temple.
The profile of the socle of the galleries has the form
of a simple deflux, except for the socle of the apses (where the profile is
Attic). The galleries are decorated by the arcature-columnar zone with
“porebrik”. This zone on the southern wall of the galleries is very different
from other zones of the walls and apses: it is “deeped” into the wall, and the
columns are “standing” on the deflux (Fig. 81; on the other walls the columns
"hang" freely).
Fig.
81. Assumption Cathedral. Southern wall.
N.N. Voronin showed that Vsevolod’s galleries had
almost no "own" sculptural decoration: few zooantropomorphous reliefs
were brought from the walls of Andrey’s cathedral6 (Fig. 36).
"Own" sculptures of zooantropomorphous type are present in the
galleries in only a few consoles of the arcature-columnar zone. The spaces
between the columns of the galleries were painted, as well as in the Cathedral
of 1158-11607.
The windows of Vsevolod’s galleries diverse:
– in the first tier, the windows are severe and
deprived of profiling;
– in the second tier, they are richly profiled,
decorated with rosettes and "burdocks";
– in the apses and the side parts of the eastern wall
they have a profile, which corresponds to the profile of the windows of
Bogolyubsky’s cathedral.
Assumption cathedral after the rebuilding of 1186-1189
lost its "tower-type" and acquired the proportions, stretched
horizontally. Architectural forms of the rebuilt cathedral became extremely
"powerful". Apparently, in connection with this N.N. Voronin
believed that the temple, rebuilt by Vsevolod, became an independent
architectural work, and wrote that Assumption cathedral was "the greatest
achievement of
A.I. Komech not only agreed with
N.N. Voronin that the Cathedral in the rebuilding of 1186-1189 was an
independent architectural work9, but believed that in 1186-1189, as
in 1158-
Fig.
82. Cathedral in
In Chap. 2, we have shown that the closeness of
pre-Mongolian architecture of North-Eastern Russia to late Romanesque is not in
doubt. The similarity of some architectural details lets us suggest an overall
architectural influence of the Cathedral in
First, the perspective hollows of the walls of
Vsevolod’s galleries are a direct reminiscence of such hollows in the walls of
the cathedral of Andrey Bogolyubsky.
Secondly, the windows in
Fig.
83. Cathedral in
Third, except for window frames, similar to
Fourth, in
Fig. 84. Cathedral in
Fifth,
Sixth, it was hardly worth inviting Western architect
only to rebuild Vladimir Assumption cathedral, having left not only the walls
and pillars, but even the central head of the old temple.
Seventh, an invitation of Western architect was a very
long diplomatic procedure (we have seen that in Chapter 2). Vsevolod had very
short time for it in 1185 after the fire.
Eighth, the walls of Vsevolod’s galleries have different
thickness (from 1.7 to
Ninth, the arcature-columnar zone of the southern wall
is located below such zones of the other walls. N.N. Voronin believed that
the southern zone was made so to be better seen from below (from the other bank
of the Klyazma)14, but the logic in this case could only be opposite
– the lower parts of the cathedral were closed by the edge of the steep and by
the walls, and, consequently, the zone was to be raised above. In this regard,
we support the position of A.I. Nekrasov, who called this arrangement of
the zone of the southern wall "a major defect and architectural
absurdity"15.
Tenth, the form of the socle is different in the walls
and apses of the galleries.
Eleventh, the Chronicle absolutely unequivocally
asserts that Vsevolod "did not look for craftsmen from the Germans, but
used the craftsmen of the clergy of the Holy Virgin and of his people"16.
We can not
accept without reservations also the point of view of N.N. Voronin and
A.I. Komech that the Cathedral in the rebuilding of 1186-1189 was an independent
architectural work. This also has a number of reasons.
Firstly, there are virtually no "own"
sculptures in Vsevolod’s galleries, despite the fact that Andrey’s temples and
all subsequent Vsevolod’s temples were decorated very richly.
Secondly, due to the fact that Vsevolod’s craftsmen
combined the division of the galleries with division of Andrey's cathedral, not
only symmetry, but any logic disappeared in the division of the northern and
southern walls of the temple in the rebuilding of 1186-1189.
Thirdly, as we have seen in Chapter 5, the replacement
of old small heads and location of the new ones were dictated primarily by
constructive necessity.
Fourthly, the height of the galleries, which gave the
Cathedral a new look, was also caused by constructive necessity – the galleries
played the role of buttresses.
Fifthly, we have said above about the diverse nature
of architectural decisions of the walls, foundations, socles and
arcature-columnar zones of Vsevolod’s galleries.
Sixthly, the inner space of the rebuilt temple,
despite the erection of new light drums and punching the arch openings in the
old walls, became dark, narrow and labyrinth-like, and that contradicted to the
basic principles of arising Gothic style. The “tower form”, which approached
the temples of Yuri Dolgoruky, Andrey Bogolyubsky and subsequent Vsevolod’s
ones to architectural achievements of early Gothic and Romanesque17,
also disappeared from Assumption cathedral.
Thus, there are no "own" architectural
solutions in the galleries of Vsevolod, which could have given us the
possibility to assume the cathedral in the rebuilding of 1186-1189 as an
independent architectural work, and moreover as "the greatest achievement
of
We should formulate in a different way: the rebuilding
of 1186-1189 gave Assumption Cathedral of Andrew Bogolyubsky fundamentally new
look, no less unique than the appearance of the temple before the rebuilding.
It was in no case accidentally, there was an extremely successful decision of
Vsevolod’s "architectural pragmatism" often
manifested itself in the building up of the temples by "unaesthetic"
galleries (St. Demetrius and Nativity cathedrals), and in
"non-prestigious" plinthite construction (Assumption cathedral of
"Knyaginin" monastery, part of the walls of
Chapter 10. Questions
of the original view and date of Dmitrievsky Cathedral in Vladimir
© Sergey Zagraevsky
Chapter
1.Organization of production and processing of white stone in ancient Russia
Chapter 2. The
beginning of “Russian Romanesque”: Jury Dolgoruky or Andrey Bogolyubsky?
in Suzdal in 1148 and the original view of Suzdal temple of 1222–1225
Chapter 4.
Questions of date and status of Boris and Gleb Church in Kideksha
Chapter 5.
Questions of architectural history and reconstruction of Andrey Bogolyubsky’s
Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir
Chapter 6. Redetermination
of the reconstruction of Golden Gate in Vladimir
Chapter 7.
Architectural ensemble in Bogolyubovo: questions of history and reconstruction
Chapter 9.
Questions of the rebuilding of Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir by Vsevolod the
Big Nest
Chapter 10. Questions
of the original view and date of Dmitrievsky Cathedral in Vladimir
To the page “Scientific works”