Dmitry Shvidkovsky (russian: Дмитрий Олегович Швидковский, born 14 May 1959) is a Russian educator and historian of

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

during the

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...

. A 1982

alumnus Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...

and long-term professor of

Moscow Architectural Institute Moscow Architectural Institute (State Academy) - MArchI (russian: Московский Архитектурный Институт (Государственная Академия) - МАрхИ) is a famous architecture school located in Moscow, ...

, Shvidkovsky was appointed its

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

in 2007.

Biography

Dmitry Shvidkovsky was born in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. He is the son of historian Oleg Shvidkovsky, author of ''General History of Arts'' and ''Building in the U.S.S.R., 1917-1932''; his mother hails from the Mamontov dynasty. Shvidkovsky is the author of the definitive biography of Charles Cameron and a series of essays on contemporary British artists (

William Hastie William Hastie MA DD (7 July 1842 – 31 August 1903) was a Scottish clergyman and theologian. He produced the first English translation of the '' Universal Natural History and Theory of Heaven'', by Immanuel Kant. Hastie led the General Assemb ...

Adam Menelaws Adam Menelaws, also spelled Menelas (born between 1748 and 1756, presumably in Edinburgh – died 31 August 1831 in Saint Petersburg, russian: Адам Адамович Менелас) was an architect and landscape designer of Scottish origin, ...

) in Russia and their role in Russian art. In 1997 Shvidkovsky was awarded the medal of the

Russian Academy of Arts Russian Academy of Arts (RAKh / rus. РАХ, Росси́йская акаде́мия худо́жеств) is the State scientific Institution of Russian Federation, eligible heir to the USSR Academy of Arts. RAKh is the public cultural Insti ...

for his 1996 books ''St. Petersburg: Architecture of the Tsars'' and ''The empress & the architect: British architecture and gardens at the court of Catherine the Great'', both printed overseas. The topic of Western influence continued with the 2007 edition of ''Russian architecture and the West'', illustrated by Yekaterina Shorban (Shvidkovsky's wife). Adam Wilkinson of the ''

Architects Journal ''Architects' Journal'' is an architectural magazine published in London by Metropolis International. History The first edition was produced in 1895. Originally named ''The Builder's Journal and Architectural Record'', from 1906 to 1910 it was k ...

'' summarized: "his thesis sthat Russian architecture is the product of waves of European influence filtered through Russian conditions - a brave move, given Russia's proud architectural historical tradition... The result is a thrilling architectural grand tour, not dry scholarship". Shvidkovsky is a full member of the Russian Academy of Arts and its secretary for History of Arts since 1998, and vice-president since 2004. Shvidkovsky is also a full member of the Russian Academy of Architecture and Construction and a corresponding fellow of the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

. Asked in 2009 about the role of independent

preservation Preservation may refer to: Heritage and conservation * Preservation (library and archival science), activities aimed at prolonging the life of a record while making as few changes as possible * ''Preservation'' (magazine), published by the Nat ...

groups, Shvidkovsky said "I frequently admire what they do, but this is not enough. We must raise a new type of architects who would fight to preserve historic environment... his is whythis year we make

historic preservation Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK), is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...

courses mandatory for all architecture students, not only restorators." (russian: .. Я часто восхищаюсь тем, что они делают, но этого недостаточно. Важно еще и воспитать другой тип архитектора, который будет уже по своей моральной позиции борцом за сохранение исторической среды... в этом году мы вводим в образовательную программу курсы по охране наследия как обязательные для всех архитекторов, а не только реставраторов.).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shvidkovsky, Dmitry 1959 births Living people Russian art historians Russian educators Writers from Moscow Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy Academic staff of Moscow Architectural Institute