It has been said that Quarenghi, due to his somewhat droll appearance, was the most frequently painted of architects.

Giacomo Quarenghi (20 September or 21, 1744 – 1 March 1817) was the foremost and most prolific practitioner of Palladian architecture in Imperial Russia, particularly in Saint Petersburg. September 20 is the 263rd day of the year (264th in leap years). ... // Events The third French and Indian War, known as King Georges War, breaks out at Port Royal, Nova Scotia The First Saudi State founded by Mohammed Ibn Saud Prague occupied by Prussian armies Ongoing events War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748) Births January 10 - Thomas Mifflin, fifth President... March 1 is the 60th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (61st in leap years). ... 1817 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... A villa with a superimposed portico, from Book IV of Palladios I Quattro Libri dellArchitettura, in a modestly priced English translation published in London, 1736. ... Imperial Russia is the term used to cover the period of history from the expansion of Russia under Peter the Great, through the expansion of the Russian Empire from the Baltic to the Pacific Ocean, to the deposal of Nicholas II of Russia, the last tsar, at the start of... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and Petrograd (Петрогра́д, 1914–1924), is a city located in Northwestern Russia on the delta of the river Neva at the east end of the Gulf of Finland...

Career in Italy

Born in Rota d'Imagna near Bergamo to an Italian noble family, Quarenghi was destined by his parents for a career in law or the church but initially was allowed to study painting in the Bergamo studio of G. Reggi, himself a student of Tiepolo. Young Quarenghi was well educated and widely read. Traveling through Italy he visited Vicenza, Verona, Mantua and Venice, the places where he made the longests stays. He made drawings of the Greek temples at Paestum (Loukomski 1928) and finally arrived in Rome in 1763, at a moment when Neoclassicism was being developed in advanced artistic circles, he studied painting with Anton Raphael Mengs, then with Stefano Pozzi, later moving to study architecture (1767–69) with a traditionalist Late Baroque architect, Paolo Posi. Bergamo: Citta Alta View of Bergamo Bergamo is a town in Lombardy, Italy, about 40km northeast of Milan. ... The Death of Hyacinth Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (March 5, 1696 - March 27, 1770) was a Venetian painter. ... Vicenza by night Vicenza (population 107,223) is the capital of the province of Vicenza in the Veneto region, northern Italy at the northern base of the Monti Berici, straddling the Bacchiglione. ... Map of Italy showing Verona in the north Verona (population est. ... Mantua Mantua (in Italian Mantova) is an important city in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province with the same name. ... Location within Italy Venice (Italian: Venezia, Venessia in the local dialect), the city of canals, is the capital of the region of Veneto and of the province of Venice, 45°26′N 12°19′E, population 271,663 (census estimate January 1, 2004). ... Paestum is the classical Roman name of a major Graeco-Roman city in the Campania region of Italy. ... Neoclassicism (sometimes rendered as Neo-Classicism or Neo-classicism) is the name given to quite distinct movements in the visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture. ... Anton Raphael Mengs (March 12, 1728 - June 29, 1779) was a German painter. ... For the Baroque style in a more general sense, see Baroque. ...

The Assignation Bank in St Petersburg is one of countless neo-Palladian structures designed by Quarenghi.

Then he came upon a copy of Andrea Palladio's Quattro Libri d'archittetura. "You could never believe," he wrote to his friend and long-term correspondent Marchesi, "the impression that this book made. Then it struck me that I had every reason to consider myself badly guided" before that point (Loukomsky 1928). He turned for new, Neoclassical instruction from Antoine Decrezet, a friend of Winckelmann, and the former's pupil Niccola Giansimoni, measuring and drawing the antiquities of Rome. Andrea Palladio Andrea Palladio (November 30, 1508 - August 19, 1580), or Andrea di Pietro della Gondola, was an architect born in Padua, Italy. ... Front page of a Ist Edition: I Quattro Libri dellArchitettura I Quattro Libri dellArchitettura (The four books of Architecture) was published in 1570, in four volumes written by the architect Andrea Palladio (1508-1580), whose name is identified with an architectural movement named after him, Palladianism. ... Lazienkowski Palace in Warsaw Neoclassical architecture as a movement began in the 18th century, as a reaction against both the surviving Baroque and Rococo styles, and as a desire to return to the perceived purity of the arts of Rome, the more vague perception (ideal) of Ancient Greek arts (where... Portrait by Raphael Mengs, after 1755 He was born in Pacifica, the son of a model. ...

In Venice (1771–2), where he was studying the works of Palladio, Quarenghi came into contact with a British lord passing through there on the Grand Tour. It was through him that the architect secured a few minor English commissions, such as garden pavilions, chimneypieces (Loukomsky 1928), an altar for the private Roman Catholic chapel of Henry Arundell at Wardour Castle. Designs for a country house for Lord Whitworth were exhibited at Venice 1967. His first major commission (1771–7) was the internal reconstruction of the monastery of Santa Scholastica at Subiaco. For the Venetian cardinal Rezzonico, the nephew of Pope Clement XIII, he designed a decor for a Music Room in the Campidoglio, and designs for Clement's tomb (later executed by Antonio Canova). In the 18th century, the Grand Tour was a kind of education for wealthy British noblemen. ... An ancient Roman altar PROTESTANTISM RULES!!! An altar is any structure upon which sacrifices or other offerings are offered for religious purposes. ... Subiaco is a city in the Province of Rome, in Lazio, Italy, twenty-five miles from Tivoli alongside the river Aniene. ... Clement XIII, born Carlo della Torre Rezzonico (Venice, March 7, 1693 – Rome, February 2, 1769), was pope from 1758 to 1769. ... The Capitoline Hill (Capitolinus Mons), between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the famous seven hills of Rome, the site of a temple for the Capitoline Triad: the gods Jupiter, his wife Juno and their daughter Minerva. ... Antonio Canova (November 1, 1757 - October 13, 1822) was an Italian sculptor who became famous for his marble sculptures that delicately rendered nude flesh. ...

His work in Italy and for English clients formed enough of a reputation that in 1779 he was selected by the Prussian-born count Rieffenstein, who had been commissioned by Catherine II of Russia to send her two Italian architects to replace her French ones (Loukomsky 1928). Despite having just designed a manege in Monaco and a dining hall for the Archduchess of Modena, 35-year-old Quarenghi seems to have felt himself underemployed, given the number of architects then working in Italy and the dearth of commissions from the church and nobility. He accepted Rieffenstein's offer without hesitation and left with his pregnant wife for St Petersburg. H.I.M. Yekaterina II Alexeyevna the Great, Empress and Autocrat of all the Russias Catherine the Great (April 21, 1729—November 6, 1796 (O.S.)), born Sophie Augusta Fredericka of Anhalt-Zerbst, reigned as Empress of Russia from June 28, 1762 until her death. ... Before the French Revolution, the Salle du Manège (Hall of Manège) at Tuileries Palace in Paris was home to the royal equestrian academy. ... Modena (Mòdna in Modenese dialect) is a city and a province on the south side of the Po valley, in Emilia-Romagna, Italy. ...

Career under Catherine II

Quarenghi's Hermitage Theatre in St Petersburg

Quarenghi's first important commission in Russia was the English Palace in Peterhof, a magnificent rectangular edifice with a Corinthian portico. The structure, which pleased the Empress immensely, was blown up by the Germans during World War II and was later demolished by the Soviet government. In 1783 Quarenghi settled with his family in Tsarskoe Selo, where he would supervise the construction of the Alexander Palace, the most ambitious of his undertakings to date. Image File history File links Beggrov2. ... Image File history File links Beggrov2. ... Peterhof: the Samson Fountain and Sea Channel Peterhof, (Russian: Петергоф, Petergof, originally Piterhof, Dutch: Peters Court) is a series of palaces and gardens, laid out on the orders of Tsar Peter the Great, and sometimes called the Russian Versailles. It is located about 20 km west and 6 km south... The Corinthian order as used for the portico of the Pantheon, Rome provided a prominent model for Renaissance and later architects, through the medium of engravings. ... Categories: Architectural elements | Stub ... Combatants Allied Powers Axis Powers Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties 17 million military deaths 7 million military deaths World War II, also known as the Second World War (sometimes WW2 or WWII), was a mid-20th century conflict that engulfed much of the globe and is accepted as... State motto (Russian): Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! (Transliterated: Proletarii vsekh stran, soedinyaytes!) (Translated: Workers of the world, unite!) Capital Moscow Official language None; Russian (de facto) Government Federation of Socialist republics/ Communist state Area  - Total  - % water Largest on the planet 22,402,200 km² Approx. ... 1783 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Tsarskoye Selo (Царское Село in Russian, may be translated as “Tsar’s Village”), a former residence of the royal families and visiting nobility 24 km south of St. ... The Alexander Palace is a former imperial palace in Russia. ...

Appointed to the post of Catherine's court architect, Quarenghi went on to produce a prodigious number of designs for the Empress, her successors and members of her court: houses, summerhouses, bridges, theatres, hospices, a market, a bank building, interior decorations and garden designs. His projects were put into execution as far away from the capital as Novhorod-Siverskyi, Ukraine where a cathedral was constructed to his designs. Novhorod-Siverskyj (Ukrainian: ) or Novgorod-Sjeverskij (Russian: ) is a historic town in the Chernihiv Oblast (province) of Ukraine, on the bank of the Desna River, 200 km from the capital Kiev and 45 km south from the Russian border. ...

In Moscow, he was responsible for the reconstruction of medieval Red Square in a fashionable neo-Palladian mode. Count Nicholas Sheremetev engaged him to devise a theatre hall in the Ostankino Palace and a semicircular collonnade for the Sheremetev Hospital. Most of Quarenghi's designs intended for Moscow were subsequently realized with significant modifications by other architects, as was the case with Gostiny Dvor (1789-1805), Annenhof Palace (1782-87), and Sloboda Palace (1790-94). Moscow (Russian: Москва́, Moskva, IPA: â–¶ (help· info)) is the capital of Russia, located on the river Moskva. ... Saint Basils Cathedral and Spasskaya Tower of Moscow Kremlin at Red Square in Moscow. ... Nikolai Petrovich Sheremetev (Николай Петрович Шереметев) (June 28, 1751 (NS: July 9) – January 2, 1809 (NS: January 14)) was a Russian count, the son of Petr Borisovich Sheremetev, notable grandee of the epoch of empresses Anna Ivanovna, Elizabeth Petrovna, and Catherine II. He was also the grandson of Boris Petrovich... Ostankino estate in 1858 Ostankino is a former summer residence of the Counts Sheremetev, originally situated several miles to the north from Moscow but now a part of the Moscow North-East District. ... Great Gostiny Dvor in St Petersburg, 1802. ...

Career under Paul and Alexander I

Quarenghi's best known vedutas meticulously represent mediaeval monuments of Moscow and the neighbourhood.

Emperor Paul disliked everything that was dear to his mother and Quarenghi's architecture obviously fell into this category. After the emperor took the Maltese knights under his protection, Quarenghi also joined the Order and served as its official architect until 1800. His commissions became less frequent, as the monotonous rhythm of solemn collonnades and the laconic clarity of symmetrical compositions appeared boring to those courtiers who had found Quarenghi's designs so delightful a decade earlier. Moscow (Russian: Москва́, Moskva, IPA: â–¶ (help· info)) is the capital of Russia, located on the river Moskva. ... Paul I of Russia Paul I of Russia (Russian: Pavel Petrovich, Павел I Петрович) (October 1, 1754 - March 23, 1801) was an Emperor (Tsar) of Russia (1796 - 1801). ... The Knights Hospitaller (the or Knights of Malta or Knights of Rhodes) is a tradition which began as a Benedictine nursing Order founded in the 11th century based in the Holy Land, but soon became a militant Christian Chivalric Order under its own charter, and was charged with the care...

Under such circumstances, he visited Italy in 1801 and was given a triumphant welcome. He turned his attention to watercolours, enlivening architectural views with genre scenes from everyday city life. He also published several albums of neo-Palladian designs (1787, 1791, 1810) and provided elaborate designs for decorative vases, capitals for columns and metalwork executed for imperial residences, particularly the Winter Palace. The Union Jack, flag of the newly formed United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. ... Watercolor is a painting technique making use of water-soluble pigments that are either transparent or opaque and are formulated with gum to bond the pigment to the paper. ... Chinese vase A vase with a sunflower pattern The vase is an open container, often used to hold cut flowers. ... Metalworking is the craft and practice of working with metals to create parts or structures. ... Located between the bank of the Neva River and the Palace Square, the Winter Palace in St. ...

With the enthronement of Alexander I of Russia, Quarenghi was again at the height of his individuality and fashion. In 1805 the architect became a corresponding member of the Imperial Academy of Arts. His design for the Anichkov Palace Collonnade, however, incurred severe criticism from the academic establishment for the perceived erratic use of classical orders. Quarenghi defended himself in a letter to Canova proclaiming that "good sense and judgment shouldn't be enslaved by commonly accepted rules and models". Aleksander Pavlovich Romanov or Tsar Alexander I (The Blessed), (Russian: Александр I Павлович) (December 23, 1777–December 1, 1825), was Emperor of Russia from March 23, 1801–December 1, 1825 and King of Poland from 1815–1825. ... The edifice for the academy was built in 1764-89 to a design by Jean-Baptiste Vallin de la Mothe and Alexander F. Kokorinov. ... A refined canonic version of the Orders engraved for the Encyclopédie, vol. ... Canova may refer to: Antonio Canova Canova, South Dakota This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Giacomo Quarenghi was granted Russian nobility and the Order of St. Vladimir of the First Degree in 1814. After 1808 he lived largely in retirement as a celebrity. Of his thirteen children by two wives, many chose to remain in Russia, while others returned to Italy. He died at age 72 in Saint Petersburg. Categories of Russian nobility and royalty Kniaz (as ancient ruler) Velikiy Kniaz Boyar Tsar (Emperor), Tsarina (Empress, Empress consort) Tsar family Tsarevich, Tsarevna Velikiy Kniaz (Grand Duke) (as title), Velikaya Knyaginya (Grand Duchess), Velikaya Knyazhna (Grand Duchess) Dvoryanstvo Titled Dvoryanstvo Earl Baron Kniaz (as title) Related article Table of Ranks... The Order of Saint Vladimir was an Imperial Russian Order established in 1782 in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Kniaz (Prince) and the Baptizer of the Kievan Rus. ... 1814 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

When the 150th anniversary of his death was being marked in 1967, the remains of Quarenghi were moved from the Volkov Cemetery to the Necropolis at the Alexander Nevsky Monastery, and a bust of the architect was erected between the Assignation Bank and Bank Bridge in Saint Petersburg. 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... View of the monastery in the early 19th century Alexander Nevsky Monastery was founded by Peter the Great in 1710 at the southern end of the Nevsky Prospect in St Petersburg to house the relics of Alexander Nevsky, patron saint of the newly-founded Russian capital. ... Gilded wings of griffon statues. ...

Works in St Petersburg

Quarenghi regarded the Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens as the most accomplished project of his declining years.

• 1782-83 - the Collegium of Foreign Affairs on the English Embankment;
• 1782-87 - St. Mary's Hospital in Pavlovsk;
• 1783-84 - the Bezborodko Country House in Polyustrovo;
• 1783-87 - the Hermitage Theatre, the only surviving 18th-century theatre in St Petersburg. The designs of Quarenghi's theater were engraved and published in 1787, giving him a European reputation;
• 1783-89 - the Academy of Sciences on the University Embankment;
• 1783-89 - the Assignation Bank on Sadovaya Street (illustrated, to the left);
• 1784-87 - the Silver Rows on Nevsky Prospekt;
• 1787-92 - the Raphael Loggia in the Winter Palace;
• 1789-96 - the Main Apothecary on Millionaya Street;
• 1784-86 - the Saltykov house on the Field of Mars;
• 1788-90 - the Vietinghoff house on Admiralty Prospect;
• 1790 - the Yusupov house on Sadovaya Street;
• 1792-96 - the Alexander Palace, designed for St Petersburg but simplified when it was erected in the Alexander Park of Tsarskoye Selo; pavilions in the landscape part of the Catherine Park, including the Concert Hall pavilion (1782 - 1786/88), the Kitchen Ruins (1780s), the Hall on the Island (1794);
• 1797-1800 Maltese Chapel at the Vorontsov Palace;
• 1803-05 - St. Mary's Hospital for the Poor on Liteiny Prospect;
• 1804-07 - the Catherine Institute on the Fontanka Embankment (affiliated with the Russian National Library);
  

  

  Palace Embankment near Hermitage Theatre, 1820s, by Karl Beggrov
• 1803-09 - the Imperial Cabinet of the Anichkov Palace on Nevsky Prospect;
• 1806-08 - the Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens (illustrated, to the right);
• 1804-07 - the Cavalry Manege, or Riding Academy on St Isaac's Square (1804-07);
• 1814 - Narva Triumphal Gate, later replaced by a permanent structure to a design by Vasily Stasov;
• 1814-16 - the Anglican Church on the English Embankment.

The Smolny Institute is the Neoclassical edifice in St Petersburg, which has played an important part in the Russian history. ... Pavlovsk (Russian: Павловск) is a town situated in the Leningrad oblast, Russia, 30 km from St. ... Russian Academy of Sciences: main building Russian Academy of Sciences (Росси́йская Акаде́мия Нау́к) is the national academy of Russia. ... Nevsky Prospect, or the Neva Avenue (Russian: Íåâñêèé ïðîñïåêò), is the main thoroughfare in the city of St Petersburg. ... Located between the bank of the Neva River and the Palace Square, the Winter Palace in St. ... Rumyantsev Obelisk used to grace the Field of Mars until 1818, when it was moved to its present location on Vasilievsky Island. ... The Alexander Palace is a former imperial palace in Russia. ... Catherine Palace and Park Tsarskoye Selo (Russian: ; may be translated as Tsar’s Village) is a former Russian residence of the royal family and visiting nobility 24 km south of St. ... Vorontsov, also Woronzow, is a celebrated Russian family, which attained the dignity of Counts of the Holy Roman Empire in 1744 and Serene Princes of the Russian Empire in 1852. ... Fontanka near the Anichkov Bridge Fontanka (in Russian, Фонтанка) is the left branch of the river Neva, which flows through the whole of St. ... Visit of Alexander I to the library in 1812. ... The Smolny Institute is the Neoclassical edifice in St Petersburg, which has played an important part in the Russian history. ... Narva Triumphal Arch, in St Petersburg, commemorates the Russian victory over Napoleon (from a postcard). ... Stasov is a quintessential family of Russian intelligentsia. ...

External links

• G. Loukomsky, 1928. "Giacomo Quarenghi"
• Quarenghi on www.alexanderpalace.org
• Quarenghi on the Anichkov Palace website
• Guide to Quarenghi on-line

Image File history File links Icon for Wikipedia links to Italian language pages. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...

Further reading

• Taleporovsky V.N. Кваренги. Leningrad-Moscow, 1954.
• Grimm G.G. Кваренги. Leningrad, 1962.
• Disegni di Giacomo Quarenghi. (Exhibition catalogue), Venice, 1967 (Contents)
• Pilyavsky V.I. Джакомо Кваренги: Архитектор. Художник. Leningrad, 1981.
• Giacomo Quarenghi: architetto a Pietroburgo: Lettere e altri scritti. Venice, 1988.
• Fabbriche e disegni di Giacomo Quarenghi. Bergamo, 1994 (reprint of 1821 edition).
• Giacomo Quarenghi: Architetture e vedute. Milano, 1994.