Illarion Aleksandrovich Ivanov-Schitz (russian: Илларио́н Алекса́ндрович Иванов-Шиц; 18651937) was a Russian

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, notable for developing a unique personal style, blending the

Vienna Secession The Vienna Secession (german: Wiener Secession; also known as ''the Union of Austrian Artists'', or ''Vereinigung Bildender Künstler Österreichs'') is an art movement, closely related to Art Nouveau, that was formed in 1897 by a group of Austri ...

school of

Otto Wagner Otto Koloman Wagner (; 13 July 1841 – 11 April 1918) was an Austrian architect, furniture designer and urban planner. He was a leading member of the Vienna Secession movement of architecture, founded in 1897, and the broader Art Nouveau move ...

with

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

features. His career peaked in 1902-1912 with several

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 ...

buildings including the Morozov Hospital, the Merchant Club (now the

Lenkom Theatre Lenkom Theatre, formerly known as Lenin’s Komsomol Moscow Theatre or Moscow Leninist Komsomol Theatre is the official name of what was once known as the Moscow State Theatre named after Komsomol, a Communist youth league set up by Vladimir Len ...

), Moscow Savings Bank, and the public buildings in Miusskaya Square. He was one of the few architects born in the 1860s who integrated into the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

establishment, earning the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...

for various resort projects and for redesigning the interiors of the

Grand Kremlin Palace The Grand Kremlin Palace (russian: Большой Кремлёвский дворец - ) was built from 1837 to 1849 in Moscow, Russia, on the site of the estate of the Grand Princes, which had been established in the 14th century on Borovitsk ...

in the 1930s.

Biography

Education

Ivanov-Schitz graduated from the

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Institute of Civil Engineers, which he attended from 1883–1888, with a gold medal. After a brief tour of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, he relocated to Moscow, joining the firm of Max Hoppener and later working for the City of Moscow. Another visit to Europe, in 1893, exposed him to Austrian architect

and his circle, who would form the

group in 1897.

Early career

His first realised design, co-signed by Vladimir Sherwood (Jr.), was an 1889 apartment building at 32

Tverskaya Street Tverskaya Street ( rus, Тверская улица, p=tvʲɪrˈskajə ˈulʲɪt͡sə), known between 1935 and 1990 as Gorky Street (russian: улица Горького), is the main radial street in Moscow. The street runs Northwest from th ...

, Moscow (destroyed). His early works, such as the orphanage in

Devichye Pole Devichye Pole (russian: links=no, Девичье поле, , Maidens' Field) is a historical medical campus, built between 1887 and 1897 in Khamovniki District of Moscow, Russia, to the master plan of Konstantin Bykovski. It is located between the ...

(1893), now housing Embassy of

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, belong to the tradition of 19th century

eclecticism Eclecticism is a conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm or set of assumptions, but instead draws upon multiple theories, styles, or ideas to gain complementary insights into a subject, or applies different theories in ...

, and do not stand out among hundreds of similar buildings. Over the first decade of his career, Ivanov-Schitz' style gradually moved towards

. Collaboration with

Lev Kekushev Lev Nikolayevich Kekushev (russian: Лев Николаевич Кекушев) was a Russian architect, notable for his Art Nouveau buildings in Moscow, built in the 1890s and early 1900s in the original, Franco-Belgian variety of this style. Ke ...

on his railroad projects and public buildings also exposed Ivanov-Schitz to practical applications of Kekushev's Belgian-inspired variety of

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

Mature works

In 1898-1900 he completed his first landmark building, an office block on the corner of

Kuznetsky Most Kuznetsky Most ( rus, Кузне́цкий Мост, p=kʊˈzʲnʲet͡skʲɪj ˈmost) is a street in central Moscow, that runs from Bolshaya Dmitrovka Street to Lubyanka Street. The name, literally ''Blacksmith's Bridge'', refers to the 18th- ...

and

Petrovka Street Petrovka Street is a street in Moscow, Russia, that runs north from Kuznetsky Most and Theatre Square (Moscow), Theatral Square up past Strastnoy Boulevard and Petrovsky Boulevard. The street takes its name from the Vysokopetrovsky Monastery, ...

. This building, dominated by vertical ribs, was a clear departure from eclecticism. Despite quotations from

Greek architecture Ancient Greek architecture came from the Greek-speaking people (''Hellenic'' people) whose culture flourished on the Greek mainland, the Peloponnese, the Aegean Islands, and in colonies in Anatolia and Italy for a period from about 900 BC unti ...

, it was regarded as unusually modern for its period; professionals called it "A Greek sort of

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

" (Nachokina, p. 223). From 1902 to 1903, Ivanov-Schitz formulated his own style, a modest blend of Secession and Greek revival. Unlike the extravagant Belgian Art Nouveau practiced by Kekushev, Ivanov's art appealed equally to financial institutions and charities; in fact, most of his works were undertaken for these two groups of clients: * 1900-1905 Morozov Hospital * 1902-1903 Moscow Savings Bank * 1903-1906 Abrikosov's Nursery in Miusskaya Square * 1903-1906 Vvedensky People's House (destroyed, present-day Zhuravlev Square) After the

revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

of 1905, his buildings become more rationalist, yet they clearly belong to the same style: * 1907-1908 Merchant Club (present-day Lenkom Theatre) * 1910-1912 Shanyavsky University in Miusskaya Square * 1910-1914 Courses for the Women in Devichye Pole

Soviet period

Between 1908 and 1928, Ivanov-Schitz was officially employed as the architect of

Botkin Hospital Botkin (russian: Боткин) or Botkina (feminine; Боткина) is a common Russian or Scottish surname which may refer to: *Benjamin A. Botkin (1901–1975), American folklorist and scholar *Cordelia Botkin (1854–1910), American murderer *Eu ...

in Moscow. He continued active construction work, engaged in various consultancies for the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

s, and blended well into the new establishment. In 1922-1925, when most architects were unemployed, he had real construction jobs, expanding apartment buildings in

Tverskoy Boulevard Tverskoy Boulevard (russian: Тверской бульвар) is one of the main thoroughfares in central Moscow. It is a part of the Boulevard Ring and begins at the end of the Nikitsky Boulevard, at the crossing with Bolshaya Nikitskaya Stre ...

and the Eye Hospital on the

Garden Ring The Garden Ring, also known as the "B" Ring (russian: Садо́вое кольцо́, кольцо́ "Б"; transliteration: ''Sadovoye Koltso''), is a circular ring road Avenue (landscape), avenue around central Moscow, its course correspondin ...

. In the 1930s, Ivanov-Schitz was a lead architect for the Medical-Sanitary Board (Лечсанупр), a state institution that catered for the

Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty, Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of th ...

elite. He completed various high-profile resorts in

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...

and

Barvikha Barvikha (russian: Барви́ха) is a village in Odintsovsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia. It is the site of the Barvikha Sanatorium, the health resort of the President of Russia. During the Soviet era, Barvikha was known as the site of ...

and was allowed to rebuild the halls of the

so it could seat the assemblies of the

Supreme Soviet The Supreme Soviet (russian: Верховный Совет, Verkhovny Sovet, Supreme Council) was the common name for the legislative bodies (parliaments) of the Soviet socialist republics (SSR) in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) ...

. In the 1990s, his alterations were torn down and the Palace was rebuilt to the original plans of

Konstantin Thon Konstantin Andreyevich Thon, also spelled Ton (russian: Константи́н Андре́евич Тон; October 26, 1794 – January 25, 1881) was an official architect of Imperial Russia during the reign of Nicholas I. His major works includ ...

(1794–1881). Illarion Ivanov-Schitz, received the

. In 1937 he died and was buried with honours at

Novodevichy Cemetery Novodevichy Cemetery ( rus, Новоде́вичье кла́дбище, Novodevichye kladbishche) is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist ...

in Moscow.

Gallery

Moscow, Rakhmanovsky 2.jpg, Moscow Savings Bank, Rakhmanovsky Lane, Moscow. Moscow Lenkom Theater asv2019-09.jpg, Lenkom Theater, Moscow, Malaya Dmitrovka Street. Built in 1907-1908 as the Merchants' Club. Moscow, Kuznetsky Most 6.jpg, 6, Kuznetky Most Street, Moscow. The A. C. Khomyakov building, originally used by Muir and Mirillies department store. Two top floors were added later. Municipal Album 1.002.jpg, Shanyavsky University in Miusskaya Square, Moscow, 1910s. Moscow, Miusskaya Square, Abrikosov Nursery, 1900s.jpg, Abrikosov Hospital in Miusskaya Square, Moscow, 1900-1905. Moscow, Morozov Hospital, I.A.Ivanov-Schitz, 1900-1905.jpg, Morozov Hospital in Moscow, 1900-1905.

References

William Craft Brumfield __NOTOC__ William Craft Brumfield (born June 28, 1944) is a contemporary American historian of Russian architecture, a preservationist and an architectural photographer. Brumfield is currently Professor of Slavic studies at Tulane University. ...

, ''The Origins of Modernism in Russian Architecture'', University of California Press, 1991 * William Craft Brumfield, ''Commerce in Russian Urban Culture 1861-1914'', The Woodrow Wilson Center Press, * Maria Naschokina, ''Arkhitektory moskovskogo moderna: tvorcheskie portrety'', Moskva: Izd-vo "Zhiraf", 2005, pp. 222–231 (Russian language)

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ivanov-Schitz, Illarion 1865 births 1937 deaths Art Nouveau architects Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery Russian architects Soviet architects Saint-Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering alumni