Giacomo Quarenghi Architect, representative of classicism, worked in Russia since 1780 Date of Birth: 20.09.1744 Country: Italy

Biography of Giacomo Quarenghi

Giacomo Quarenghi, an architect and representative of neoclassicism, worked in Russia from 1780. He was born on September 20, 1744, to Giacomo Antonio Quarenghi and Maria Ursula Rota, who were representatives of two well-known Italian families. Quarenghi received his initial education at the prestigious college "Mercy" in Bergamo, where he showed a passion for the visual arts. His father, a painter, provided him with the opportunity to study drawing under the guidance of the best artists in Bergamo - Paolo Bonomini and Giovanni Raggi. However, Quarenghi was dissatisfied with their methods, considering them outdated.

Quarenghi's doubts about the teaching methods of his Roman teachers led him to come across the famous treatise "Four Books on Architecture" by architect Andrea Palladio. He found a method and approach to architecture that resonated with his worldview. In the late 1760s, Quarenghi received a commission from Irish sculptor Christopher Yoxall to design two mansions "for English gentlemen" and successfully completed the task. He then developed designs for fireplaces and utilitarian buildings such as warehouses, also for the English.

In 1770, Quarenghi received a commission from Benedictine monks to renovate their old church, Santa Scholastica, with the condition of not touching a single stone of the existing construction, even though nothing in the church corresponded to the other parts. Quarenghi, who was about twenty-nine years old at the time, had to solve one of the most challenging architectural tasks related to the reconstruction of a medieval building, and he accomplished it skillfully. The construction began on May 3, 1770, and was completed in the autumn of 1773. Quarenghi's extensive list of architectural works speaks to his recognition as an architect by his compatriots and foreigners. He worked for Rome and Bergamo, and his projects were sent to England and Sweden. By the late 1770s, he was well-connected in Roman society. His ability to travel was facilitated by his substantial wealth, which was further strengthened after his marriage.

When he was offered a position in Russia, Quarenghi agreed almost immediately. He arrived in Moscow in January 1780. As the "architect of Her Majesty's court," Quarenghi was obliged to fulfill orders from Catherine II. His first task in Moscow was the reconstruction of the Imperial, also known as the Catherine Palace, in Yauza. By this time, Catherine II had already recognized Quarenghi's abilities, and in February 1782, she entrusted him with the development of the entire interior of the Moscow Palace. In the 1780s, Quarenghi worked tirelessly. He reported to the Marquise that by 1785, he had already built five churches - "one in Slavyanka, one in Pulkovo, one in Fedorovskoye Sloboda, one in the Sofia cemetery for burials...". Quarenghi considered Lanskoy Mausoleum his fifth church.

One of Quarenghi's most significant structures is the simple yet grand building of the Academy of Sciences on the Neva embankment. Its construction was prompted by the lack of a residence befitting the institution's prestige, representing Russian science and culture. Construction began in 1783. Due to the redesign of the Winter Palace, the theater with tiers of boxes, which was surrounded by palace rooms, became inconvenient. On September 3, 1783, a decree was issued for the construction of a "stone theater near the Hermitage... according to the plans and under the supervision of the architect Quarenghi."

In 1787, a luxurious edition with engraved drawings of the newly built Hermitage Theater and a description in French, written by Quarenghi himself, was published in St. Petersburg. The process of designing the famous Alexander Palace and searching for its final solution took Quarenghi only one year, as bidding for its construction began on August 5, 1792. The Alexander Palace, a freestanding open structure in the park, compositionally unified with the regular part of the New Garden, stood as an antithesis to the enclosed ensemble of Rastrelli's Catherine Palace. As Quarenghi himself wrote, Catherine II often interfered in his work. Although this sometimes put the architect in a difficult position, his unquestionable authority allowed him to navigate the challenges and bring all the given designs into proper architectural frameworks. Quarenghi maintained his high reputation among the successor of Empress Catherine, Paul I, and later Emperor Alexander I, with the successful completion of the new palace in Tsarskoye Selo.

In 1793, tragedy struck Quarenghi's family when his wife died during childbirth, leaving him with a helpless newborn daughter and four other young children. He decided to take his children to Bergamo to be closer to their relatives and the Mazzoleni family. In the winter of 1793-1794, the architect left St. Petersburg. In the autumn of 1796, Quarenghi returned and entered into a second marriage with Anna Caterina Conradi. By then, Quarenghi's fame as an outstanding architect of Catherine II's court had extended beyond Russia. On January 26, 1796, he was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts. Official recognition by the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, surprisingly, came much later. Only on September 1, 1805, at an extraordinary assembly of the academy, was Quarenghi elected an honorary free member.

Quarenghi developed the project for the Smolny Institute at the end of 1805 and the beginning of 1806, with the ceremonial laying of the foundation taking place in May of that year. During the same period, he created the magnificent monumental building of the Konnogvardeisky Manege in a prime location in the center of St. Petersburg.

When preparations were being made for Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812, the Italian king ordered all Italians to return to Italy. Quarenghi firmly refused. As a result, he was sentenced to death by the king and had all his property confiscated. He lost Italy as his homeland. His new homeland, Russia, welcomed him as one of its illustrious sons. With what youthful enthusiasm and talent, the elderly Quarenghi erected the Triumphal Narva Gate for the victorious Russian army returning from France in 1814! With what enthusiasm and skill, he designed the project for the "Cathedral in Memory of 1812" to be built in Moscow! However, his death prevented him from seeing it through. He passed away in 1817.