Charles Cameron (1745 – 19 March 1812) was a Scottish architect who made an illustrious career at the court of

Catherine II of Russia Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

. Cameron, a practitioner of early

neoclassical architecture Neoclassical architecture, sometimes referred to as Classical Revival architecture, is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy, France and Germany. It became one of t ...

, was the chief architect of

Tsarskoye Selo Tsarskoye Selo (, , ) was the town containing a former residence of the Russian House of Romanov, imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the center of Saint Petersburg. The residence now forms part of the Pushkin, Saint Peter ...

and Pavlovsk palaces and the adjacent

new town New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz * New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** New (Paul McCartney song), "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * New (EP), ''New'' (EP), ...

of Sophia from his arrival in Russia in 1779 to Catherine's death in 1796. Cameron concentrated exclusively on country palaces and

landscape garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (, , , , ), is a style of "Landscape architecture, landscape" garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, r ...

s. Twice dismissed by Paul of Russia during the Battle of the Palaces, Cameron enjoyed a brief revival of his career under

Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon from 495 to 454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Alexander I Theopator Euergetes, surnamed Balas, ruler of the Seleucid Empire 150-145 BC * Pope Alex ...

in 1803–1805. All his indisputable tangible works "can be encompassed in a day's tour". Cameron's British neoclassicism was an isolated episode in Russian architecture, then dominated by Italian artists (

Francesco Rastrelli Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli (; 1700 – 29 April 1771) was an Italian architect who worked mainly in Russia. He developed an easily recognizable style of Late Elizabethan baroque, Baroque, both sumptuous and majestic. His major works, includ ...

, Antonio Rinaldi,

Giacomo Quarenghi Giacomo Quarenghi (; , ; 20 or 21 September 1744) was an Italian architect who was the foremost and most prolific practitioner of neoclassical architecture in Imperial Russia, particularly in Saint Petersburg. He brought into vogue an original mo ...

, Vincenzo Brenna, Carlo Rossi, and many others).Lukomsky 1943, part 1 According to his first biographer Georgy Lukomsky, "Cameron remains one of the greatest exponents of British taste and British Art abroad, and if he has been so completely forgotten in his own country, it would seem only right to rectify this omission".

Howard Colvin Sir Howard Montagu Colvin (15 October 1919 – 27 December 2007) was a British architectural historian who produced two of the most outstanding works of scholarship in his field: ''A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600–18 ...

ranked Cameron "one of the major urban architects of the eighteenth century ... an accomplished designer and decorator in a neoclassical style that has affinities with that of

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (architect), William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and train ...

. His style is sufficiently individual to exonerate him from the imputation of being merely an imitator... Although still a

Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

, Cameron was a pioneer of

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

in Russia."Colvin 2008, p. 213 Apart from the well-researched Catherinian period (1779–1796), Cameron's life story remains poorly documented, not in the least due to Cameron's own efforts to shake off the bad reputation he had earned in the 1770s in London

Early life

Details of Cameron’s origins are uncertain. He was probably the son of Walter Cameron, a London carpenter.Cross 1997 p. 287 However, he claimed descent from the Camerons of Lochiel, a Scottish clan deeply involved in the

Jacobite rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745 was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took place during the War of the Austrian Succession, when the bulk of t ...

Walter Cameron was certainly friendly with Dr Archibald Cameron, the last Jacobite to be executed and a brother of the chief Donald Cameron of Lochiel. Walter visited Archibald shortly before his execution and may have assisted his wife and children, one of whom was named Charles. Talbot Rice claimed that Charles Cameron was in fact this son of Dr. Archibald. Cameron used the Lochiel coat of arms for his personal

bookplate An , also known as a bookplate (or book-plate, as it was commonly styled until the early 20th century), is a printed or decorative label pasted into a book, often on the front endpaper, to indicate ownership. Simple typographical bookplates are ...

, although modern researchers since David Talbot Rice question his claim of Lochiel lineage. David Talbot Rice in his 1943 ''Introduction'' described the appearance of a modified Lochiel emblem used by Cameron and noted that "No Charles Cameron who went to Russia is, however, known in the records of the family. On the other hand, a certain Dr. Archibald Cameron had a number of sons, three of whom do not figure in the history of the family at home, and it is possible that Charles was one of these."Cross 1997, p. 286Hayden 2005, p. 90 Researchers also disagree on the exact year of Cameron's birth, which may be either 1743, 1745 or 1746.

Early career

Cameron trained in London with his father and with the architect Isaac Ware. After Ware's death in 1766 Cameron settled on continuing his late master's work on a new edition of Lord Burlington's ''Fabbriche Antiche'', a project that required personal studies and surveys of ancient

Roman architecture Ancient Roman architecture adopted the external language of classical ancient Greek architecture for the purposes of the ancient Romans, but was different from Greek buildings, becoming a new architectural style. The two styles are often con ...

.Colvin 2008, p. 211 He spent 1767 in London, preparing prints of works by

Andrea Palladio Andrea Palladio ( , ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be on ...

, and arrived in Rome in 1768. There, he surveyed the

Baths of Titus The Baths of Titus or ''Thermae Titi'' were public baths Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gend ...

and

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...

Domus Aurea The Domus Aurea (Latin, "Golden House") was a vast landscaped complex built by the Roman Empire, Emperor Nero largely on the Oppian Hill in the heart of ancient Rome after the Great Fire of Rome, great fire in 64 AD had destroyed a large part ...

, digging into subterranean remains that were rediscovered only in the 20th century. According to Dmitry Shvidkovsky, Cameron met in Rome with another Charles Cameron, a Jacobite and a true member of the Lochiel clan, (likely Dr Archibald's son) and "borrowed" the life story of the latter to embellish his own. Cameron returned from Italy around 1769 and published the results of his studies in 1772 (reissues 1774, 1775) under the title ''The Baths of the Romans explained and illustrated...'' with proper scientific commentaries in English and French. Cameron's life between 1769 and his departure to Russia in 1779 remains barely known. Archives attest to his involvement in only one construction contract in London, for an

Adam style The Adam style (also called Adamesque or the Style of the Brothers Adam) is an 18th-century neoclassical style of interior design and architecture, as practised by Scottish architect William Adam and his sons, of whom Robert (1728–1792) and ...

building in Hanover Square (1770–1775). Walter Cameron, the main contractor, was ruined by

litigation A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. ...

with the property owner and had to sell his son's art collection to raise funds. Charles sued his father, who was jailed in

Fleet Prison Fleet Prison was a notorious London prison by the side of the River Fleet. The prison was built in 1197, was rebuilt several times, and was in use until 1844. It was demolished in 1846. History The prison was built in 1197 off what is now ...

for debt.Colvin 2008, p. 212 In 1791, when Cameron applied for a membership in the Architect's Club of London, he was barred admission due to this and other episodes that had stained his reputation in England.

Arrival in Russia

Cameron Design for Green Dining Room in Catherine Palace 1780s

Empress

Catherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

's tastes in architecture evolved from

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

and

Gothic Revival architecture Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

in the first decade of her reign to emerging

Neoclassicism Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative arts, decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiq ...

in the 1780s. She leaned to French variety of neoclassicism ( Clerisseau, Ledoux) mixed with ancient Roman motifs. Catherine, perhaps the first of European monarchs, realized that the emerging style had the potential to become a definitive form of imperial art. She spared no expense in hiring foreign architects and craftsmen trained in the neoclassical manner. She instructed Baron

Melchior Grimm Friedrich Melchior, Baron von Grimm (26 September 172319 December 1807) was a German-born French-language journalist, art critic, diplomat and contributor to the ''Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers''. ...

, her European agent in matters of art and antiques, to hire ''Italian'' architects because "the Frenchmen we have here know too much and build dreadful houses – because they know too much."Shvidkovsky 2007, p. 257 These Italians,

and the relatively unknown , arrived in Russia after Cameron. Cameron arrived in Russia in 1779, also invited by Catherine's agents. Exact details of Cameron's hire remain vague, but on 23 August 1779 an enthusiastic Catherine wrote to Grimm that "At present I am very taken with Mr. Cameron, a Scot by nationality and a Jacobite, great draughtsman, well versed in antique monuments and well known for his book on the ''Baths of Rome''. At the moment we are making a garden with him on a terrace..."English translation as in Shvidkovsky 2007, p. 258; see also English rendition in Lukomsky 1943, part I. Cross 1997 p. 286 and p. Colvin, p. 212, provide the same fragment of the original letter in French. Catherine also wrote that Cameron was raised at the Roman court of

James Francis Edward Stuart James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 16881 January 1766), nicknamed the Old Pretender by Whigs (British political party), Whigs or the King over the Water by Jacobitism, Jacobites, was the House of Stuart claimant to the thrones of Ki ...

("James III and VIII") and that he was a nephew of Jean Cameron of Glendessary. Cameron settled first in Chernyshev House in Saint Petersburg but soon moved to his own house in

; it was later taken from him by emperor Paul. Cameron, a Londoner, had no practical experience in

landscaping Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including the following: # Living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly called gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal ...

prior to 1779.Hayden 2005, p. 117 Peter Hayden suggested that Cameron learned the trade from his father-in-law, John Busch (

anglicised Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

Bush),Hayden 2005, p. 117. Hayden spells the surname ''Busch''; Cross and Shvidkovsky spell it ''Bush''. who worked in

since 1771.Hayden 2005, p. 84

Tsarskoye Selo

Cameron's career in Russia started with expansion of the Chinese Village in

park, borrowing design ideas from William Chambers. The theatre of Chinese Village had already been in place, designed by Antonio Rinaldi and Ivan Neelov;Hayden 2005, p. 89 Cameron's undisputed additions are the living quarters of the Village and the Chinese Bridges over the canal. During Paul's reign Cameron's buildings were stripped of exterior finishes and later rebuilt by

Vasily Stasov Duke Vasily Petrovich Stasov (Russian: Васи́лий Петро́вич Ста́сов; 4 August 1769 – 5 September 1848) was a famous Russian architect, born into a wealthy noble family: his father, Pyotr Fyodorovich Stasov, came from ...

in 1817.Hayden 2005, p. 89 In 1780–1784 he redecorated the formerly

halls of the main

Catherine Palace The Catherine Palace (, ) is a Rococo palace in Tsarskoye Selo ( Pushkin), located south of St. Petersburg, Russia. It was the summer residence of the Russian tsars. The palace is part of the World Heritage Site Saint Petersburg and Re ...

built by

Bartolomeo Rastrelli Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli (; 1700 – 29 April 1771) was an Italian architect who worked mainly in Russia. He developed an easily recognizable style of Late Baroque, both sumptuous and majestic. His major works, including the Winter Palace ...

in the 1750s; what started as a modest remodelling soon resulted in the most lavish interiors of the whole palace, reminiscent of

Palladio Andrea Palladio ( , ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be one ...

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...

and Clerisseau yet blending into Cameron's unmistakingly own style. As early as 22 June 1771 Catherine praised the architect: "There are not yet but two rooms to do and there one rushes, because just here one sees nothing to equal it. I confess that I myself will not tire during nine weeks of watching this."Lukomsky 1943, part 2 Catherine had another specific task for Cameron: she envisaged a new, relatively modest Neoclassical building in

near the older

. Clerisseau, Catherine's first choice, produced drafts for a gigantic and expensive Roman structure based on the

Baths of Diocletian The Baths of Diocletian (Latin: ''Thermae Diocletiani'', Italian: ''Terme di Diocleziano'') were public baths in ancient Rome. Named after emperor Diocletian and built from AD 298 to 306, they were the largest of the imperial baths. The project w ...

, that were rejected out of handCross 1997, p. 288 but later influenced Quarenghi and Cameron. In 1782 Cameron started his first standalone building, the Cold Baths, a two-story bathhouse in mixed Italian-Greek classicism with luxurious interiors (notably the Agate Pavilion). In 1784–1787 it was expanded with a two-story gallery (''Cameron's Gallery''), mixing natural stone Roman ground floor with a lightweight, snow-white upper floor gallery marked with unusually wide spacing between columns. The gallery, adorned with statues of foreign poets and philosophers, became Catherine's favourite

promenade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortification, fortress or city walls ...

for years. It was flanked with a

formal garden A formal garden is a garden with a clear structure, geometric shapes and in most cases a symmetrical layout. Its origin goes back to the gardens which are located in the desert areas of Western Asia and are protected by walls. The style of a form ...

on one side and an English landscape park on the other.Hayden 2005, p. 90 In the beginning of the ''Gallery'' project Cameron himself acted as Catherine's recruiter, hiring fellow Scotsmen to work in Tsarskoye Selo. 73 craftsmen, including William Heste and Adam Menelaws, agreed to move to Russia (many took their families with them), causing a futile protest of the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

.Kuznetsov 1998, p. 213 The number was too high for Cameron, and the Scots eventually dispersed to other projects; Menelaws became assistant to

Nikolay Lvov Nikolay Aleksandrovich Lvov (; May 4, 1753 – December 21, 1803) was a Russian Empire, Russian artist of the Age of Enlightenment. Lvov, an amateur of noble lineage, was a polymathBohlman, p. 45. who contributed to geology, history, graphic arts ...

.Cross, 1997 p. 298Hayden 2005, p.98

Sophia

Sophia, a model town, was built near Tsarskoye Selo to Cameron's plan. It was designed to be viewed from the walkways of Cameron's Gallery and represent

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, the coveted target of Catherine's

Greek project The Greek Plan or Greek Project (), an early proposed solution to the Eastern question, was advanced by the Russian empress Catherine the Great in the early 1780s. It envisaged the partition of the Ottoman Empire between the Russian Empire, Rus ...

; the name of the town and its cathedral clearly alluded to

Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia (; ; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (; ), is a mosque and former Church (building), church serving as a major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The last of three church buildings to be successively ...

. Catherine decreed that the streets of Sofia must blend with the roads of Tsarskoye Selo park. Cameron arranged the streets to make an impression that they all radiate from the Gallery.Hayden 2005, p. 92 The streets were brightly lit at night when Catherine was present at Tsarskoye. More historical

allegories As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory throughou ...

were scattered in the park: the lake with Rinaldi's

rostral column A rostral column is a type of victory column originating in ancient Greece and Rome, where they were erected to commemorate a naval military victory. Its defining characteristic is the integrated prows or Naval ram, rams of ships, representing ...

represented the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

; Doric ruins symbolized the former might of

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...

.Hayden 2005, p. 93 These follies, scattered along the road to Catherine Palace, doubled as the setting for triumphant procession for visiting dignitaries. Peter Hayden drew parallels between Cameron's landscaping in Sophia with that of

Stowe House Stowe House is a grade I listed building, listed country house in Stowe, Buckinghamshire, Stowe, Buckinghamshire, England. It is the home of the Private schools in the United Kingdom, private Stowe School and is owned by the Stowe House Preserv ...

park, notably the similarity between Cameron's Temple of Memory and the Temple of Concord and Victory built at Stowe by an unknown architect in the 1740s.Hayden 2005, p. 94 Another direct quote from Stowe is the Pyramid Tomb over the grave of Catherine's three

Italian greyhound The Italian Greyhound or Italian Sighthound () is an Italian dog breed, breed of small sighthound. It was bred to hunt European hare, hare and European rabbit, rabbit, but is kept mostly as a companion dog. History Small dogs of sighthound t ...

s; it survived to date but the Temple of Memory was razed by Paul of Russia in 1797.

Pavlovsk

Pavlovsk, the largest landscape park in 18th century Russia (1,500 acres),Hayden 2005, p. 110 is attributed to a succession of architects, starting with Cameron and ending with Carlo Rossi. Cameron built the original palace core that survives to date, the Temple of Friendship, Private Gardens, Aviary, Apollo Colonnade and the Lime Avenue and planned the original landscape, but true authorship of Pavlovsk as a whole should be credited to empress Maria Feodorovna. The Temple of Friendship was the first building in Pavlovsk, followed by the main palace. Cameron's Pavlovsk was far from Paul's vision of what an imperial residence should be: it lacked moats, forts and all other military paraphernalia so dear to Paul; "Cameron created a markedly private world for the Grand Duke. The palace could have belonged to anyone... not to the tsar of Russia in waiting."Shvidkovsky 2007, p. 281 Conflicts between Cameron and Paul and Maria date back to the couple's Grand Tour of Europe (1781–1782). Maria complained about Cameron's delays since 1782.Hayden 2005, p. 117 Constrained financially, Paul and Maria closely watched Cameron's progress and regularly curbed his far-reaching, expensive plans. Cameron also displayed signs of aversion to their management since 1782, but court intermediaries downplayed the conflict for a while. By 1785 it became public: Cameron quarreled with Paul over costs of Pavlovsk and Paul himself detested Cameron as Catherine's agent.Shvidkovsky 2007, p. 282 Between 1786 and 1789 Cameron's duties in Pavlovsk passed to an Italian, Vincenzo Brenna, hired by Paul in 1782. Dismissed by Paul, Cameron continued working on Catherine's own projects until her death in 1796.

Retirement

Upon ascension to power in 1796, Paul fired Cameron from all his contracts and deprived him of his house in Tsarskoye. Cameron experienced financial difficulties and had to sell his collection of books to Pavel Argunov. His activities during Paul's reign are largely unknown. Georgy Lukomsky wrote than in 1799 Cameron redesigned the

Baturyn Baturyn (, ) is a historic city in Chernihiv Oblast (province) of northern Ukraine. It is located in Nizhyn Raion (district) on the banks of the Seym River. It hosts the administration of Baturyn urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. P ...

Palace of count

Kirill Razumovsky Count Kirill Grigoryevich Razumovsky or Razumovski (also known as ''Cyril Razumovski''; ; ; Oleksander Ohloblyn. Rozumovsky, Kyrylo'. Encyclopedia of Ukraine – ) was a Russian statesman of Ukrainian Cossack origin who served as the last ...

; according to contemporary researchers, Baturyn was a collaborative effort led by

and Cameron's involvement cannot be reliably measured. Lukomsky also wrote that in 1800–1801 Cameron temporarily left Russia for England; according to Colvin, this opinion is unsubstantiated: in 1800–1801 Cameron worked in Pavlovsk, then owned by Maria Fyodorovna, where he built the Ionic Pavilion of Three Graces. Alexander, who succeeded Paul in March 1801, appointed Cameron the chief architect of the Russian Admiralty During this brief (1802–1805) employment Cameron designed the Naval Hospital in Oranienbaum and two unrealized drafts for the Naval Cathedral in Kronstadt. He also worked in Pavlovsk, restoring the palace after a fire. In 1805 Cameron finally retired; his tenure at the Admiralty passed to Andreyan Zakharov. Lukomsky noted that Cameron, who once executed Catherine's soaring dreams, was hardly interested in building barracks and repairing gateways.

Private life

Cameron's personality remains a "shadowy figure":Cross, p. 296 being "proud, aloof and difficult", he had a talent for alienating people. He did not participate in the social life of the English diaspora in Saint Petersburg; he had few Russian friends, did not speak Russian and was disliked for his attitude of "English superiority". In 1784 Cameron married Catherine Busch, daughter of the imperial gardener John Busch.Cross 1997, p. 296. Hayden 2005, pp. 84-92, spells the same name as ''John Busch''. They had a daughter, Mary, however, her birth has not been evidenced by church records. Mary Cameron, engaged to James Grange, left Russia in 1798. Grange returned to Russia in 1803, and, according to Anthony Cross, could have helped Cameron's career revival in 1803–1805.Cross 1997, p. 297 By 1839 the Granges had seven surviving children. During retirement Cameron and his wife lived in Paul's favourite palace,

Saint Michael's Castle Saint Michael's Castle (, ''Mikhailovsky zamok''), also called the Mikhailovsky Castle or the Engineers' Castle (, ''Inzhenerny zamok''), is a former royal residence in the historic centre of Saint Petersburg, Russia. Saint Michael's Castle wa ...

. The redundant and still incomplete castle was converted to living quarters and housed up to 900 residents, including the Camerons and future

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

Diebitsh.Lanceray 2006, p. 146 Cameron died in 1812, before

Napoleon's invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign (), the Second Polish War, and in Russia as the Patriotic War of 1812 (), was initiated by Napoleon with the aim of compelling the Russian Empire to comply with the continent ...

; his widow secured a pension from the Russian Government, sold Cameron's library and either returned to England or died in Saint Petersburg.

References and notes

Sources

Biographies of Cameron

The first comprehensive English biography of Cameron was written by Georgy Lukomsky, veteran of Russian neoclassical revival school, and published in 1943 in England with introduction by David Talbot Rice. Nikolay Lanceray had compiled substantial material on Cameron earlier, in the 1920s. It was lost after his arrest, apart from the fragments used in his book on Vincenzo Brenna, first printed in 2006. In the last quarter of the 20th century Anthony Glenn Cross researched Cameron's life as part of the British diaspora in Saint Petersburg and tracked his family connections; John Martin Robinson contributed studies of Cameron's early career in England. A definitive modern biography of Cameron, ''The empress and the architect'', was published by Dmitry Shvidkovsky in English in 1996 (most recent Russian edition: 2008). Cameron's concise biography in the fourth edition of

's ''Biographical Dictionary of British Architects'' cites all the English sources listed above. * * * Also includes: ** ** * *

Biographies of contemporary artists

* * Also includes: ** Vityazeva, V. A., Modzalevskaya, M. A. (2006, in Russian) Istorik russkoy arhitektury Nikolay Lanceray (Историк русской культуры Николай Лансере)

Books on Russian architecture

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, Charles 1740s births 1812 deaths British neoclassical architects 18th-century architects from the Russian Empire 18th-century Scottish architects 18th-century Scottish male artists British expatriates in the Russian Empire Clan Cameron