Gorky House Museum, Malaya Nikitskaya. Mansion C

Ryabushinsky's mansion on Malaya Nikitskaya Street is a classic example of an early modern mansion. In contrast to the “facade” architecture, the cubic volume triumphs here, emphasized by the horizontals of the cornice slabs that are strongly set forward and the whimsically asymmetrical protrusions of the walls, massive porches, balconies, each time individually unique and therefore asserting the equivalence of all facades.

The cladding with light glazed bricks and the wide mosaic frieze with images of irises, covering the top of the building, reveal the aesthetic expressiveness of the surface of the walls, cut through by squares of large windows.

The rationalism of the layout of the interior spaces, grouped around the main staircase, is combined with the irrationality of sophisticated and refined forms of decoration (the parapet of the main staircase, the relief decorating the fireplace, the metal lattice in the tympanum of the arch of the dining room doorway and its wooden frame, the iron frame of chandeliers, etc.) . Each room, thanks to the architect’s rejection of the enfilade principle of arrangement of rooms, acquires independence and isolation; At the same time, there is a clearly expressed desire for unification internal space, its free fluidity. All interior finishing details, right down to door handles, lighting fixtures, furniture, are carefully thought out and endowed with aesthetic value, the care for beauty and comfort is visible in everything.

Moscow and Moscow region. M., Art. 1979. P.500

After 1917, Ryabushinsky’s mansion became the property of the city and belonged alternately to the People’s Commissariat for foreign affairs, State publishing house, psychoanalytic institute, kindergarten.

Since 1931, M. Gorky lived in the mansion. Nowadays, the Ryabushinsky mansion is occupied by the Gorky Memorial House-Museum.

Stepan Pavlovich Ryabushinsky (1874-1942) was a representative of the famous dynasty of industrialists and bankers in pre-revolutionary Russia. The foundations for the future prosperity of the Ryabushinsky family were laid by his paternal grandfather, Mikhail Yakovlevich (1787-1858), who arrived in Moscow from the Kaluga province to trade fabrics in Gostiny Dvor. A devout Old Believer, a “thrifty man”, close to the working people, who survived the ruin and invasion of Napoleon, he was still able to save money through hard work and acquire several manufactories, where he himself often worked as a foreman. He left his heirs a capital of two million rubles - unheard of money at that time!

His eldest son Ivan, having married against the will of his parents, was excommunicated from home and from the family business. But the younger sons Pavel and Vasily turned out to be very enterprising, with them the family income grew and became stronger. In 1882, the Ryabushinskys received the right to depict the state emblem on their goods - a sign of high quality products. Pavel Mikhailovich took an active part in the life of his class: he was elected to the Moscow Duma, the commercial court, and was an elected member of the Moscow Exchange Society. The family also paid great attention to charitable activities: during the famine of 1891, the Ryabushinskys used their own money to build a shelter and a free public canteen, which could accommodate up to a thousand people a day

In the summer of 1900, construction began on a luxurious mansion on Malaya Nikitskaya for Stepan Pavlovich Ryabushinsky, one of the representatives of the third generation of the dynasty. Malaya Nikitskaya in those years looked very provincial: low wooden or stone houses, chickens walking along the cobblestone streets, the aroma of samovar smoke. To post here city ​​estate with an exquisite home, courtyard and services - laundry, janitor's room, storage room, garage and stables - it required an experienced architect who could think outside the box. The order for construction was received by Fyodor Osipovich Shekhtel (1859-1926), whose work Stepan Pavlovich especially liked.

An amazing dreamer and great experimenter, Shekhtel was the most brilliant and prolific master of the Art Nouveau style in Russia. Moscow celebrities gladly gave him orders, and the buildings he built largely determined the appearance of old Moscow. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the main customer of professional craftsmen was the Russian merchant class, which replaced the impoverished nobility. Industrialists and bankers sought to show themselves not only as masters of life, but also as highly educated people keeping up with the times. Modernity has come to the court.

By 1902, construction work was completed, and the luxurious mansion immediately became a tourist attraction. Three publishing companies - M. Kampel, P. von Girgenson and Sherar, Nabholz and Co. - published postcards depicting the Ryabushinsky estate in 1903-1905.

The main highlight of the house was the main staircase of the hall, made in the shape of a wave. A cascade of marble waves throwing a jellyfish chandelier high up, greenish walls imitating sea ​​element, subdued lighting, seahorse-shaped door handles create a picture underwater world. Shekhtel continued this game in the design of the remaining rooms - plant motifs, marine themes, fancy snails and butterflies disguised in interior details - this house is in full swing special life.

The mansion also has its own secrets - a secret Old Believer chapel located in the attic of the northwestern part of the house; You can't see it from the street. The walls and dome of the chapel are covered with a unique abstract temple painting - the small room is maximally stylized as an ancient church. To get into the secret room, you had to go up to the second floor, walk along a narrow gallery and up the back staircase. Outsiders had no idea that there was such a room in the house.

The Ryabushinskys were deeply religious people; faith in God and the desire for moral perfection were passed down in this family from generation to generation as the highest value. And even in Hard times, when, by decree of Nicholas I, who fought against the “schismatics,” Old Believers were not accepted into the merchant guild, and their children were threatened with 25 years of conscription, the Ryabushinskys were adamant, while many merchant families could not withstand the pressure and left the “schism.” Complete equation The Old Believers received rights with the official church only in 1905 after the manifesto of Nicholas II on religious tolerance. That’s why the prayer room in Stepan Pavlovich’s house was a secret.

Stepan Pavlovich Ryabushinsky went down in history not only as an entrepreneur and philanthropist, but also as a scientist and collector who collected icons. He was one of the first to begin restoring icons and proved their artistic and historical significance. Ryabushinsky even planned to open an icon museum in his mansion. Probably, the rooms on the second floor, the walls of which were covered with leather, were intended for this purpose.

The whirlwind of the October Revolution crippled the fates of more than one family. The Ryabushinskys, prosperous and successful, after 1917 became a symbol of the domestic bourgeoisie and synonymous with the anti-people essence of Russian entrepreneurship. Forced emigration became their only salvation from the attacks and accusations of the new regime.

Shekhtel’s fate was also tragic. Fyodor Osipovich remained in Russia and refused very tempting offers received from foreign customers. He sincerely tried to find his place in the new, alien country of socialism. Shekhtel's family was evicted from their mansion on Bolshaya Sadovaya, and the great architect, who stood at the origins of Russian Art Nouveau, building for the Morozovs, Ryabushinskys, Smirnovs, until the end of his days wandered around rented communal apartments and died sick and poor. Today, the history of architecture is studied based on his projects, and there is a small planet in the sky named after him...

Main facade. Drawing. History of urban art volume 2

D. Andreev. Perspective of the Ryabushinsky mansion. Ink, watercolor

D.B. Barkhin. Remake of Ryabushinsky's house. Side western façade.

1st floor plan. Shekhtel's drawing.

F. O. Shekhtel. Staircase in the Ryabushinsky mansion in Moscow. 1902 - 1906.

Sukharev N.I. Paper. Italian pencil.

Art Nouveau is, first of all, the beautiful mansions of Shekhtel in Moscow. The Ryabushinsky mansion is an architectural masterpiece in the Art Nouveau style. Built in 1900-1902 by architect F.O. Shekhtel, a recognized master of this style. The customer was the famous Moscow philanthropist Stepan Pavlovich Ryabushinsky.

A beautiful, two-story mansion, with a cubic volume and asymmetrical wall projections, is lined with light glazed brick. Each window is individual in shape, size and intricate weaving around the edges, which goes well with the pattern of the fence bars and balconies. The decoration of the mansion is a wide mosaic frieze with images of irises running along the perimeter of the upper part. Protruding arches and cornice slabs, balconies of different sizes and configurations, balance the asymmetry and create harmony. On the territory of the mansion, a building was built where there were a stable, a laundry, a janitor's room and the Ryabushinskys' servants lived.

If the mansion itself F.O. Shekhtel designed with a mathematical bias (asymmetry, cubic volume, etc.), then in interior design in marine theme, showed his talent as a theater artist. The main staircase in the hall leading to the second floor is designed in the form of a spiral. The marble parapet with different shades of green and gray and the staircase itself resemble the movement of sea waves. A lamp in the shape of a jellyfish is installed on the crest of the wave.

Ryabushinsky's mansion on Malaya Nikitskaya. Interiors

The light passing through the stained glass lampshade and the bluish-blue stained glass window enhance the feeling fantasy world, created by Shekhtel. Each interior detail is unique: door handles; parquet laid under fish scales or with a wavy border; a column with lilies and salamanders in the capitals or a column whose base is entwined with balls of snakes; wallpaper with rock paintings - everything creates a feeling of unity with the natural world.

Shekhtel Fedor Osipovich

Fyodor Osipovich Shekhtel, the greatest Russian architect at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, holder of the Order of St. Anna and St. Stanislav, worked in different architectural styles and harmoniously combined them. He is considered the creator of Russian and Moscow Art Nouveau, all of which he embodied in his buildings. Many of the architectural monuments created by Shekhtel in Moscow were included in the Golden Fund domestic architecture and are under state protection. According to his projects, more than 50 buildings were created in the capital and many of them have survived to this day. Shekhtel Fedor Osipovich (Franz Albert) was born in St. Petersburg on July 26, 1859 in the family of the Russified German industrial engineer Osip Osipovich Shekhtel. From St. Petersburg, when Fedor was about six years old, the family moved to Saratov.

In 1873, Fedor was assigned to a four-year school at the Tiraspol Roman Catholic Gymnasium (which was located in Saratov at that time), and in 1875 he graduated. Daria Karlovna and her children moved to Moscow, where she became a housekeeper in the house of the noble merchant Pavel Tretyakov, who owned a unique collection of works of art. The Tretyakov House was the center of artistic life in the capital; it was in this house that Fyodor communicated with famous artists and architects. And not the least role in Shekhtel’s choice of profession was played by the prominent architect A.S. Kamensky, in whose workshop he worked even before college. .

In 1875, Fedor fulfilled his dream and entered the School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in the architectural department. But poverty did not allow me to devote all my time to study; I had to get by with odd jobs.

In 1878, he was forced to leave school due to poor attendance, without completing the third year. In the period 1880-1890, the career of Fyodor Osipovich Shekhtel was connected with the theater. The leading role in his work was played by theatrical -decorative arts. He was a talented artist, created costumes and scenery. He worked under the guidance of the artist K.F. Valts (Bolshoi Theatre), an unsurpassed master, famous for staging colorful shows. He also worked under the guidance of entrepreneur M.V. Lentovsky ( folk theater"Skomorokh"), who began his career in Saratov.

In 1894, in order to have the right to carry out construction work and the opportunity to work independently, Shekhtel, at the age of 35, passed the exams to become a construction technician and received a diploma. The peak of creativity of one of the most talented architects of the turn of the 18th-19th centuries F.O. Shekhtel fell on the pre-revolutionary period (1894-1907). His hard work knew no bounds. He designed and built: mansions, train stations, banks, theaters, hotels, printing houses, monuments, churches, chapels, and even baths, and created unique interiors. But he gained fame and popularity as the best architect in Moscow for the construction of mansions. Some of Shekhtel's best works in Moscow over these 14 years are considered to be the following mansions: Morozova on Spiridonovka, Ryabushinsky, Derozhinskaya, Perestroika of the Moscow Art Theater in Kamergersky Lane (1902) and Yaroslavsky Station.

In 1893, Shekhtel received his first large order from the philanthropist Savva Timofeevich Morozov for the construction of a mansion in the English Gothic style, for his beloved wife Zinaida Grigorievna Morozova, at Spiridonovka 17. Construction began in 1894 and lasted four years. The mansion with tower-shaped buildings, pointed arches of windows and doors, and battlements on the walls resembled a castle. For collaboration To complete the interior, Shekhtel brought in an artist, still unknown at that time, Mikhail Vrubel, who decorated the mansion with sculptures, panels and stained glass windows. Together they managed to create an architectural masterpiece. Moscow received one of the most beautiful buildings, and Shekhtel became a popular Moscow architect. It is believed that Morozov’s mansion is one of the prototypes of Bulgakov’s Margarita’s mansion; on the second floor of the mansion there is a large window from which Margarita may have “flew out.” In the same mansion, Morozov temporarily sheltered the revolutionary Bauman. Currently the building belongs to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

For participation in World's Fair, held on April 14, 1900 in Paris, Shekhtel was awarded a silver medal. At the International Exhibition in Glasgow in 1901, Shekhtel designed four pavilions for the Russian department, in the Art Nouveau style. The main pavilion was especially beautiful, decorated with exquisite wooden carvings and turrets. And above the entrance to the pavilion the coats of arms of Moscow, Arkhangelsk and Yaroslavl were installed. In 1901, Shekhtel was awarded the title of academician of the Imperial Academy of Arts of St. Petersburg.

Derozhinskaya's mansion. Kropotkinsky Lane 13

photo on Yandex All sizes

Photo on Yandex All sizes

photo on Yandex All sizes

A charming mansion for A.I. Derozhinskaya, the prima of a private opera, from a family of Old Believers, Shekhtel built in 1901-1902, in Kropotkinsky Lane. The composition of the building is based on the classic ratios of square and diagonal, inherent in ancient Russian architecture. Facing tiles, floral patterns, antique masks, women's heads and artistic metal give the mansion a special "Shekhtel" style.

In 1902 F.O. Shekhtel, postponing all orders, took on the reconstruction of the Art Theater on Kamergersky Lane (now the Moscow Art Theater) free of charge. Work to rebuild the theater was carried out from March to October. A complete redevelopment and artistic decoration of the premises was carried out. It was especially beautifully decorated auditorium, designed on the contrast of a dark bottom and a light top. Ornamental painting of the ceiling in silver and lilac tones. The walls of the hall were decorated with pale pink lanterns and the chandelier on the ceiling was assembled from the same lanterns, which gave the hall a romantic touch. Shekhtel did everything in the theater, from the design to the curtain with the famous white seagull - the symbol of the Moscow Art Theater, as a reminder of the production of the play by A.P. Chekhov. The beautifully decorated entrances were illuminated by lanterns with arc lamps. The Moscow Art Theater building acquired its current appearance, so familiar to Muscovites, thanks to Fyodor Osipovich Shekhtel.

In 1906-1907, according to Shekhtel’s design, a new building of the Yaroslavl station was built, in the neo-Russian style, three times larger than the previous one. (From 1902-1904, the building of the Yaroslavl station was also built according to Shekhtel’s design; the interior of the station was designed jointly with the artist K.A. Korovin).

The Art Nouveau style pavilions built in Glasgow are also reflected in the architectural design of the Yaroslavl Station building. The main role in the form of the building is given to the composition of asymmetrical tower volumes. Looking at the roof cut through by the arch of the main entrance with a keel-shaped canopy, semicircular pylons topped with fortress turrets, metal gratings, you see the features of a medieval castle. You will pay attention to the panel, to the pediment above the entrance to the vestibule, in the niche of which there are relief images of coats of arms. St. George the Victorious is the coat of arms of Moscow, St. Michael the Archangel is of Arkhangelsk, and a bear with an ax is of Yaroslavl, you will see the features of the Russian North. As a result of the unique architectural design of the talented architect F.O. Shekhtel, the Yaroslavl station became one of the most beautiful stations in Moscow, which is an adornment of the capital in our time.

Already in his fifties, in 1910 Shekhtel built his small two-story mansion in the neoclassical style on Bolshaya Sadovaya, 4. The harmony in the layout is reflected in the composition of the facade. The facade itself is decorated with a portico of four columns. In the courtyard there was a front garden and an outbuilding where the famous architect worked.

In 1914, Shekhtel converted to Christianity and was given the name Fedor at baptism.

Dzhandzhugazova E.A.

Fashionable architectural trends in the appearance of old Moscow

In the summer of 1900, in the center of Moscow on Malaya Nikitskaya Street, construction began on the city estate of Stepan Pavlovich Ryabushinsky, a famous entrepreneur, collector and philanthropist throughout Russia. The construction of the mansion was undertaken by Fyodor Osipovich Shekhtel.

Malaya Nikitskaya Street is an ancient street in Moscow, located in the western part of Zemlyanoy Town. It got its name from its “ older sister» Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street and it is no coincidence, since it seems to duplicate it on the segment from Nikitsky Gate to the Garden Ring. Malaya Nikitskaya was born in the 16th century, but it did not look quite usual for Moscow streets of that time, since it was very straight and quite short (800m). The quiet street has long been chosen by representatives of noble boyar and noble families. In the old days it was made of wood and often burned. In those ancient times, Malaya Nikitskaya ended with Vspolye and only at the beginning of the twentieth century it was built up right up to the Garden Ring.

At the beginning of the last century, when construction of the mansion began, Malaya Nikitskaya looked provincial and quite simple. Low stone and wooden houses with mezzanines, cobblestone streets overgrown with grass along which chickens walked freely. Behind the mansions there were small front gardens, and behind them towards Garnet Lane stretched a large wasteland, overgrown with nettles, weeds and dandelions, where the children of the yard usually played. Occasionally a carriage or a loaded dray would pass along the street, a thick smell of lilac came from the gardens in the spring, and a light vapor of samovar smoke wafted out in the summer, where the townspeople drank tea under the old linden trees. To the ringing of the bells of the Church of the Great Ascension, in which A.S. was once married. Pushkin with the beautiful Natalie, the quiet and sparsely populated street came to life, all the surrounding people: officials, merchants, nobles, everyone, young and old, were heading to the temple. This is how Muscovites lived slowly and simply, but this simple “Russian World” began to change rapidly in the early 1900s. The changes did not spare Malaya Nikitskaya either - an exquisite mansion in the Art Nouveau style appeared on it, built by one of the most fashionable Moscow architects.

The site on which the mansion was built was small; in addition, it was not corner as it is now, but was inscribed in a single line of the street. The future owner of the mansion, Stepan Ryabushinsky, wished that the mansion would not be closely adjacent to the street, and then Shekhtel moved the front porch to the red line, and moved the mansion itself deeper, surrounding it with a small garden. Thus, an air space arose between the street line and the house, which later became a kind of natural frame for the entire architectural ensemble.

For such work, considerable experience of the architect was needed in order to place an entire estate with a main house, a large courtyard and services in a limited area of ​​​​space. This difficult task was quite within the power of Fyodor Osipovich Shekhtel, a remarkable Russian architect, painter, graphic artist and set designer, one of the most prominent representatives Art Nouveau style in Russian and European architecture.
Fyodor Shekhtel built hundreds of buildings in different parts of Russia. He built temples, chapels, theaters, hotels, banks, train stations, mansions and even public baths, created unique interiors and theatrical decorations, he even illustrated books. Each new project of his revealed more and more new facets of his talent, which was so impeccably honed that it could not have occurred to anyone that Shekhtel was almost self-taught, with no special education!
Yes, Fyodor Shekhtel did not receive a systematic education, did not show any special abilities for science, and during his years of study he was not interested in anything other than drawing and drawing, but he mastered this skill from the old teacher Andrei Godin, who taught Vrubel himself. Subsequently, Shekhtel was lucky enough to study at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, but not for long; he was expelled from the third year for poor attendance. So the brilliant Shekhtel was left without a diploma and without the right to independent architectural and construction activities. Here it should be said that it was not laziness, but need that prevented me from studying to my full potential. “Not a bird of God - it needs to feed,” Shekhtel explained his position. He had to take care of his loved ones and support himself, in order to somehow make ends meet he did odd jobs - he illustrated books, magazines, theater posters, restaurant menus, having earned a reputation as a “pencil virtuoso”, he drew vignettes, including for books. His efficiency was amazing, he could do a lot, and perhaps because he did not receive a strict academic education, he boldly worked in different styles, easily moving from one to another, as was required by the fashion of that time. Quite naturally, Shekhtel worked to order, doing everything so impeccably elegant and beautiful that even the most eminent and capricious customers were satisfied with his work.

Shekhtel had wonderful taste and an innate artistic flair, which was highly valued by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, with whom he was associated long years friendship. Chekhov constantly patronized Shekhtel among writers, presenting him as an excellent vignette painter, calling Shekhtel “the most talented of all the architects in the world.”
Based on Fyodor Osipovich’s sketches, A.P. Chekhov’s collection “Motley Stories” was designed, the cover of which was especially liked by the writer. Fyodor Osipovich Shekhtel made a huge contribution to the design of the building of the Moscow Art Theater on Kamergersky Lane and even developed a sketch of the legendary seagull, which became its symbol.
There are buildings by Shekhtel in different cities of Russia, but the main city in Shekhtel’s work has always been Moscow, where he built more than 50 wonderful buildings, most of of which has been perfectly preserved and still adorns the capital. The reason for the extraordinary creative success of Fyodor Shekhtel is the amazing beauty of his creations, built in the very fashionable style of that time - “modern”.

A word about “Russian modern”

« Modern"(from the French modeme - modern, newest) is a style in European art of the late 19th - early 20th centuries. It arose under conditions of rapid development industrial society and the growth of national self-awareness of European peoples. “Modern” asserted the unity of all style-forming principles from the architecture of the home to the details of the costume. At the same time, the leading role in the development of modernity as a style was given to architecture - the quintessence of all arts. “Modern” architecture has become a new step in the artistic understanding of space environment, in contrast to eclecticism, which brings together forms related to different styles, Art Nouveau did not separate the constructive and decorative principles, making everything unusually beautiful, making one forget about the utilitarian purpose of the most ordinary objects, giving them attractive and sometimes festive forms.

The French art critic Charles Blanc spoke about “modern” architecture as follows: this is architecture in its highest sense - it is not a structure that is decorated, but a decoration that is built.

The artistic strength of Art Nouveau lay in the fact that it organically combined many styles, and did not borrow their individual details, through the ornamentation of curvilinear outlines of gratings and fences, movable weaving plant patterns scattered on the walls, ceiling and floor, the emotional and symbolic meaning of the new architectural style combining “function” and “form” in a new way.

Modernity was a complex philosophy that revealed the laws of existence. In the modern era, artistic symbols became an expression of philosophical meaning. His special technique was the synthesis of many arts, which symbolized the constant unity of the world and eternal harmony. But the main idea of ​​modernism was beauty! Beauty in all its manifestations, as image, meaning, language, purpose and tool, without beginning or end. It is this beauty that saves the world and will never disappear!

Shekhtel and “modern”

Fyodor Osipovich Shekhtel is rightly considered a classic of “Russian Art Nouveau”, honing his skills on a variety of buildings, he developed his own original approach, easily distinguishable among buildings erected in the “Art Nouveau” style by other architects. Design feature“Shekhtel Art Nouveau” is an organic combination of relief ornament and the form of an architectural structure, where decoration and form are absolutely inseparable from each other. Thus, in all of Shekhtel’s architectural masterpieces, the lattices and sashes of window frames, frame pillars, supports and other structures are interpreted in an ornamental manner, that is, they simultaneously carry both a functional and a decorative element. In the compositional system of modernity itself there is no principle of hierarchy at all, hence Shekhtel, the architect, has no division into the main and the secondary, into artistic and expressive accents and a neutral background. There is a complex and intense connection between all the elements of his compositions, both decorative and functional, be it relief, mosaic panels, window frames or ornaments. There are simply no elements that are indifferent to the neighboring details of the composition or artistically insignificant. Thanks to this, the space itself ceases to be empty; it seems to be penetrated by powerful pulsating forces created by the harmonious combination of design and decor. Everything is in organic unity, even the voids in the volumetric forms of stairs and gratings are perceived as antibodies or antiforms; they are also elastic and plastic, like real elements made in stone or metal. This is what is real artistic sense the author's version of the interpretation of modernity, which consists in the combination and interpenetration of real forms and voids, that is, the visible and tangible with the invisible, but easily imaginable.

All of Shekhtel’s buildings seem unusually solid and plastic, as if they were made from one piece of stone, like finely and magnificently crafted caskets carved from malachite or jasper. This feeling arises because all the elements: line, shape, plane and color scheme go through an independent path, both in decorative and utilitarian elements. An observer from the outside has the opportunity to feel “how it’s really done,” which is why the entire opening form of the architectural composition seems alive, smooth and flexible.

Ryabushinsky's mansion

Ryabushinsky's mansion on Malaya Nikitskaya is already the work of a mature master; it can be considered a philosophically meaningful declaration of modernity, which reveals to us the “new” Shekhtel, who presented an architectural composition created on the basis of the natural world. Natural motifs as symbols of life and eternal movement in the decoration of the house are everywhere - in the parquet design of the dining room and hall, in the molded wave-like ornament, in multi-color glass stained glass windows and bronze door handles covered with a noble patina. The entire structure of the house is subordinated to the symbols of the world order and symbolizes the hierarchy of values ​​throughout life path man, from birth to death, after which eternity opens.

The ideological and compositional center of the mansion is the front staircase “Wave” - a symbol of the constant movement of man, it reminds that life came out of the water onto the earth, in order to then raise man to heaven to God. The majestic staircase made of greenish-gray marble unfolds in the form of a spiral with foam lace - a symbol of infinity of development. Its carved parapet conveys the elastic energy of sea waves gradually sinking into the blue-blue abyss of the staircase stained glass window, symbolizing the beginning of the air element.

The staircase, as a symbol of ascent, leads to the second floor to the house church - the Old Believer chapel. It can be accessed from the second floor via another hidden small staircase, symbolizing the secret path to the truth. On this path, a large marble column with lily flowers and salamander figures on the capitals opens up to the eye. This combination symbolizes eternal struggle good and evil. The lily is a symbol of purity, and lizards are a prototype of the biblical serpent. The Old Believer chapel located at the top is the main goal of the ascent - it is a symbol of eternity and the meaning of human life.

In this house, everything is organic and interconnected; it is impossible to separate the structure from the decor, everything is a single whole. This is the railing of the main staircase, reminiscent of a frozen wave or the body of a giant sea animal, and the stucco ceiling in the living room of the mansion, striking in its organic nature; it even seems that large inflorescences of white lilac in a free semicircle, lying on the surface of the ceiling, beckon with their delicate aroma of butterflies and snails. In the interiors of the mansion, the interconnection of individual rooms is vividly felt. They are all different in some way, but
somewhat identical, like different strokes made with the same brush.

Ryabushinsky’s mansion is full of contrasting solutions and an abundance of opposites expressed by huge windows repeating the outline of outlandish flowers and trees, porch arches similar to snail horns, graceful floral motifs and waves in the parquet patterns of the hall and dining room - all this is the signature style of Shekhtel himself. The main features of this style, which became a symbol of Moscow Art Nouveau, were finally formed during the work on the Ryabushinsky mansion, which became a kind of calling card of the architect Fyodor Shekhtel.

By creating a magnificent example of Moscow Art Nouveau, Shekhtel not only solved a creative problem, but also pleased the customer. The future owner of the mansion, Stepan Ryabushinsky, seeing it, looked at every detail for a long time, and then said enthusiastically and somewhat perplexedly: But it turned out curious... I believe that nothing like this has ever been seen in Europe...

Fyodor Shekhtel: vicissitudes of fate
The creative and human destiny of Fyodor Shekhtel was complex, he worked hard and created an amazing architectural collection of uniquely beautiful structures for various purposes; his best works are buildings built at the beginning of the twentieth century:
Ryabushinsky's mansion on Malaya Nikitskaya
Derozhinskaya's mansion in Shtatny Lane
Moscow Art Theater
Levenson's printing house in Trekhprudny Lane
A complex of pavilions of the Russian department at the International Exhibition in Glasgow (1901), for which Shekhtel was awarded the title of academician
Yaroslavsky railway station
Own dacha in Kuntsevo
Levenson's dacha
Project of the People's House, etc.

Shekhtel built luxurious houses all his life, but by an evil irony of fate, at the end of his life he found himself virtually homeless. His magnificent creativity had no place in the harsh revolutionary era, which required new architecture red constructivism. Shekhtel with its graceful buildings and carefully thought out interiors of this new reality didn't match. He was evicted from his own home and he, an Honorary Member of the Society of British Architects, architectural societies of Rome, Vienna, Glasgow, Paris, lived out his life in poverty. In one of his letters, he writes with bitterness that he built for all the Morozovs, Ryabushinskys, von Derviz, and he himself remained poor...

Shekhtel died in Moscow on July 7, 1926 and, despite his wide popularity architectural heritage in Moscow, where he built so much, there is no memorial museum of his, as well as a museum dedicated to Moscow Art Nouveau. This idea was nurtured for a very long time, but to no avail, by the architect’s grandson, pop artist Vadim Tonkov, who created the comedic image of the old lady Veronika Mavrikievna.

However, unlike their creator, many of the buildings built by Shekhtel were lucky; they were preserved in excellent condition, as they were transferred to diplomatic departments and embassies. And Shekhtel’s masterpiece, Ryabushinsky’s mansion, has become the museum of Alexei Maksimovich Gorky and you can enter it completely freely.
The beauty of Shekhtel’s creations is their “safe-conduct”.

"Hidden Treasure"

Today, the Ryabushinsky mansion has become one of the most interesting and attractive display objects in the center of Moscow. And, it seems, the strength of the impression made was always surprisingly high.

...At one time they even said that one merchant killed his wife, being very jealous of her for Ryabushinsky! At the trial, Stepan Pavlovich Ryabushinsky explained that the lady came to his house solely to satisfy an informational interest: to see the house itself, the paintings, stained glass windows and the porcelain collection. The judge was not satisfied with this explanation, and he personally checked whether the young lady could have come to visit the young man solely to inspect the house?!
The conclusion was clear: she could!

Thanks to its unusualness, the house has truly become an adornment on many excursion routes, and its amazing forms and originality of the interior decoration fully justify their most exquisite names: “Waltzes with the City by the architect Fyodor Shekhtel”; “Hidden treasure: Ryabushinsky’s mansion - the stone story of Fyodor Shekhtel”; “Ryabushinsky’s mansion is a pearl of Moscow Art Nouveau”, etc.
It seems that it has some kind of almost mystical power - a huge jellyfish lamp, mosaic flower bouquets, intricately shaped stucco on the ceilings, handles in the shape of exotic sea ​​creatures. Anyone entering the mansion wants to know: What did the architect want to say with all this? What was his plan?

During the excursion it is revealed deep meaning the architect’s concept, the decor of the building’s interiors quite clearly shows the idea of ​​the evolution of humanity: on the first floor there are the depths of the ocean, and on the second floor there are plants, birds and animals. The whole building seems to be imbued with novelty and almost completely breaks the connection with the traditional architecture of the street on which it stands. Everything about it surprises: the unusual volumes of the facade, the interesting outline of the arches. Picturesque majolica frieze interrupted by windows different forms and sizes. Everything is new, unusual and even mysterious. The house fascinates and beckons gem, from which you can’t take your eyes off. It is self-sufficient and valuable, and clear proof of this is the fact that although it officially houses the A.M. Gorky, the overwhelming majority of people come not to get acquainted with the work of the proletarian writer, but to admire Shekhtel’s exquisite creation.

By the way, Maxim Gorky did not like the mansion. Stalin himself chose this house for Gorky, and despite the fact that it had everything necessary for the writer’s life: comfort, silence, a center, a garden for walks, nothing reflected the tastes of its new owner, who put it this way: “The house is ridiculous, but work Can". And the housekeeper, they say, immediately refused the place, being frightened by the “monsters” - salamanders depicted in the capital on the column.

At the same time, we love the mansion and all the guides who come with groups to the museum or just walk along Malaya Nikitskaya with great pleasure talk about unusual house- a real treasure, hidden as if in a secret pocket in the quiet center of the capital. The cast-iron curls of the fence, bordered by a pink border, reveal to us a very stylish façade of the building, half-opened by tall and spreading trees. The house is always very hospitable and open, it is interesting and good, you even want to take something with you as a souvenir.

On my last visit, as usual, I bought a small booklet dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Ryabushinsky mansion and once again looked around its facade to take with me a light and warm impression of the refined, but not arrogant luxury of the amazing architecture of Moscow Art Nouveau...

And almost at the exit from the yard, the caretaker caught up with me and handed me several round chestnut fruits that had slightly lost their shape, from which thin sprouts were emerging. Take this as a souvenir,” she said, “this is from our garden, we’ll give it to “ good hands»!

Having thanked them, I thought that I would be happy to plant them at the dacha so that I could always remember this amazing house. I also thought that how good it would be if all our cultural and historical values ​​finally fell into “good hands”, and the Ryabushinsky mansion became a museum of “Russian Art Nouveau” and at the same time memorial museum Fyodor Osipovich Shekhtel. This is exactly the wish I made when I planted chestnuts with weak and thin sprouts in the spring soil that had just begun to warm up.
Who knows, maybe this dream will come true someday...

Literature
1. Kirichenko E.I. Russian architecture of the 1830s-1910s. Moscow “Art”, 1978. P.399.
2. Lebedeva E. Transforming the world with beauty. 150th anniversary of the birth of the architect Fyodor Osipovich Shekhtel. http://www.pravoslavie.ru/jurnal/31977.htm.
3. Penezhko N.L., Demkina S.M. Malaya Nikitskaya, 6. To the 100th anniversary of the mansion of S.P. Ryabushinsky. Institute of World Literature named after. A.M.Gorky RAS, 2003.

And here is the promised story. It’s just scary how much text I ended up with. Don’t blame me, I can’t do this without getting to the bottom of things and delving into interesting details. The excitement of a researcher, what can you do? At least look at the photos, it’s really worth going there.

Hidden treasure: Ryabushinsky's mansion - a stone story by Fyodor Shekhtel.

It was wonderful. It was wonderful because this was our first walk around Moscow together with my husband after the birth of our son. We left Igor with his godmother for a few hours and went to the center. It doesn't get any more central: Malaya Nikitskaya, 6/2. On one side is the noisy Nikitsky Boulevard, on the other - the old curving Spiridonovka, opposite - the domes of the Church of the Great Ascension - witnessmarriage of Alexander Pushkin with the beautiful Goncharova.

The museum-apartment of A.M. is located at this address. Gorky. But here’s a paradox: most visitors come here not to look at the personal belongings of the proletarian writer, but to see the interiors invented and implemented by the famous Moscow architect Fyodor Osipovich Shekhtel. And most people know this house not as Alexei Maksimovich’s apartment, but as Ryabushinsky’s mansion.

As sometimes happens, the real treasure is hidden in plain sight. I think many who live or work in the center have more than once passed by this house with a smoothly curved cast-iron fence. It instantly attracts the eye with an unusual mosaic frieze with intertwining stems of flowers.

Mosaic ornament: soft lilac orchids and irises on a blue background

But does everyone know that you can freely go inside and inspect the house absolutely free of charge (only photography is paid: 100 rubles in the museum apartment and 30 rubles separately for photography in the prayer room on the third floor)?

Rushing past, an ordinary passer-by will fleetingly admire the mosaic, glance at the tightly closed front door facing Malaya Nikitskaya, and then run on. Only by pausing at the inhospitably locked door and peering through the bars of the fence, you can see a small piece of paper stuck on the door with an arrow pointing somewhere to the side, “Entrance to the Museum.” The entrance to the museum is from Spiridonovka Street, from the former back staircase of the mansion. Why is it always like this with us? Although, on the other hand, the real treasure does not lie entirely on the surface, you need to look for it, and the greater the joy from its discovery.

So let’s discover one of the recognized masterpieces of Moscow Art Nouveau.

Crossroads of destinies

First, I’ll write a little about the people, because this house would not be what it is without the people who shared its fate. It so happened that in this house the fates of three bright, charismatic, each in their own talented and extraordinary personalities crossed: Stepan Pavlovich Ryabushinsky, Fyodor Osipovich Shekhtel and Alexei Maksimovich Gorky.

Stepan Pavlovich Ryabushinsky

Stepan Pavlovich (1874-1842) is one of a large family of Russian merchants and then entrepreneurs Ryabushinsky, an entire dynasty that left a noticeable mark in industry, science, and culture of Russia.

The generation to which Stepan Ryabushinsky, the owner of the house on Malaya Nikitskaya, belonged, consisted of eight sons and four daughters, most of whom had outstanding abilities and became famous in various activities. The five brothers were mainly involved in trading, industrial and banking affairs of their family's huge company, as well as charitable activities. Two brothers went into science, one became an artist and writer, publisher of the once sensational magazine “Golden Fleece”. Many family members were collectors, collecting paintings by Russians and foreign artists, icons, art objects.

Stepan Pavlovich was completely immersed in the affairs of the company, headed the trading part of the cotton production, and subsequently became the initiator and creator of Russia's first automobile plant in Moscow. Just imagine what an innovation it was at that time, and what remarkable breadth of views, courage and flair you had to have to start and raise such an adventure to a worthy level.

It was he who ordered the then young Shekhtel to build a mansion for his family. They just started talking a lot about the architect after he built a mansion for Zinaida Grigorievna and Savva Timofeevich Morozov on Spiridonovka in 1893 (This house can still be seen now at number 17. No sign, a high solid fence, a checkpoint with a barrier. There is now a hall there receptions of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. One can only guess about the interiors, they say it’s something magnificent).

Stepan Pavlovich's family was Old Believers. Apparently, this partly explains one of the main interests of his life: he collected, researched, put in order ancient Russian icons and organized their exhibitions. He has published articles on this topic in specialized journals. He was an archaeologist by training and a real expert in pre-Nikon icon painting, which existed before the split between the Orthodox and Old Believer churches. He was the first to begin the scientific clearing and restoration of ancient icons. His restoration workshop was also located in a mansion on Malaya Nikitskaya. Only from Tretyakov Gallery catalogs, where after revolutionpart of his collection was transferred, there are 57 iconsXIII— XVII centuries V.

He chaired the Ostozhensk Old Believer community and headed the commission for the protection of antiquities of the churches of the Rogozhskoe cemetery. The most valuable icons of his collection were kept in the churches of the Rogozhsky cemetery. It’s interesting how when writing historical posts you come across the intertwining of places and destinies..html, but I only learned about Ryabushinsky’s participation now, while collecting material for this story.

After the revolution of 1917 he emigrated to Milan.

Fyodor Osipovich Shekhtel (1859-1926)

“... when art is accessible and understandable to the entire population. Only then will it be able to manifest its powerful power: it will raise the taste for the elegant, ennoble the soul, awaken and develop higher needs of the spirit and raise life to a higher level of development.” From the collected works of F.O. Shekhtel

Fyodor Shekhtel was originally named Franz Albert, as he was born in St. Petersburg into a family that went back to immigrants from Bavaria and moved to Russia under Catherine II. However, most of his life is connected with Moscow, where he arrived at the age of 16.

How to be able to write about such a block briefly, unboringly, but at the same time give it its due To the Big Man and Talent.

Shekhtel is a man of diverse abilities and talents, multifaceted interests, broad outlook, and incredible performance. He was friends with many prominent people of his era: Chekhov, Levitan, Tsvetaev.

He started out as book chart, was an excellent draftsman, collaborated with various magazines, and out of close friendship, designed collections of stories by A.P. Chekhov. For some time he was a stage designer, creating sets and costumes for theatrical performances, sketches, programs, and posters.

Over time, around the end of the 1890s, he devoted himself entirely to architecture. According to his designs, about 50 buildings were erected in and near Moscow alone, many of which have survived. The most famous, besides the mansions in the center, are the Yaroslavsky Station, founded together with Chekhov, the Art Theater in Kamergersky Lane. Shekhtel designed the entire theater building, both inside and outside, down to the smallest detail - chairs, doors, dressing rooms, entrances, lanterns. He designed a stage with a very complex mechanism, thought through the lighting of the stage and hall, the color of the walls, carpets that absorb sound, and, of course, the curtain. So Chekhov’s seagull, a symbol of the theater, can rightfully be called Shekhtel’s.

For many years he taught at the Moscow Stroganov School. For the design of the pavilions of the Russian Department at the International Exhibition of 1901, the Imperial Academy of Arts awarded Shekhtel the title of Academician of Architecture. Shekhtel himself took his academic status seriously and signed his works “academician Shekhtel.”

And how many estates and dachas, apartment buildings, public and business buildings, and churches were designed by Shekhtel! And not only in Moscow. During his life, Shekhtel created a total of 19 country estates, 23 mansions, 14 public buildings and monuments, 5 apartment buildings, 9 business buildings, about 20 temples and tombstones. In addition, there are many unfulfilled projects. For example,Shekhtel was carried away by the plans of I.V. Tsvetaev on the creation of the Museum of Fine Arts and became the author of the unrealized project of the main staircase and the Hall of Fame. He generously donated money to the museum, was a consultant in architectural matters and an active like-minded person of Tsvetaev.

In the conditions of the subsequent wars and revolutions, he continued to work, trying to find a place for himself in the new time and new order. He creates projects that are in tune with the spirit of the 20s with their industrial construction: Dneproges, the Optical Plant in Bolshevo, the city of power engineers "Electropol", many hydraulic structures, bridges.

None of these powerful projects were implemented; Shekhtel's architectural vision turned out to be unnecessary and even annoying in the new conditions. He was reproached for excessive romanticism, and philosophical understanding of the purpose of architecture turned out to be a completely alien idea in the new state.

Shekhtel deeply felt his uselessness and worked on “ideological” projects, hoping to once again become useful to his contemporaries. For example, he created a project for the Lenin Mausoleum “with a crypt, an audience and a podium,” which remained only on paper.

His last years were truly tragic. He was evicted from his own house on Bolshaya Sadovaya, wandered around communal apartments, went hungry, sold his library and collections in order to feed himself. Summing up his life, he admitted with bitter irony that, having built for all the Morozovs and Ryabushinskys and von Derviz, he remained poor.

A. M. Gorky (Peshkov)

After the revolution, Ryabushinsky's mansion was nationalized. Many different institutions were located within its walls: the department of visas and passports, the State Publishing House of the RSFSR, and even the Psychoanalytic Institute of Professor I.D. Ermakova with an orphanage-laboratory.

In the end, A.M., who returned from abroad, became the owner of the house. Gorky, who received the house as a kind of gift from I.V. Stalin. On the memorial plaque on the facade of the mansion you can read: “A.M. Gorky lived here in 1931-1936.”

Of course, the nationalization and forced immigration of the original owners of the mansion is sad, nevertheless, it happened. And we can only rejoice in the fact that it was the years that Gorky lived here that later turned into a memorial museum and served as a safe conduct for the mansion, which escaped destruction and became accessible to everyone.

What's inside: a wave staircase, a necklace of rooms and a secret prayer room

So, go inside the house through the door on the back side of the mansion, go up the narrow steep back staircase, pass the deaf old man-watchman, put on ugly oversized museum slippers on your feet (if you have medical shoe covers at home, it’s better to take them with you, you can too) and you immediately find yourself at the foot of the “calling card” of the house - the wave-shaped marble main staircase.

It soars in a smooth semicircle to the second floor, proudly carrying fantastic railings reminiscent of winged curls. sea ​​wave. The wave begins with a powerful marble splash, on top of which a jellyfish chandelier is thrown. Unusual shape glass bulbs hang down, reminiscent of the tentacles of this sea creature.

From below you can admire stained glass window over a small platform in the middle of the stairs.

For some reason, climbing the main staircase to the second floor is not allowed, but if the caretakers are in a good mood and your polite requests, a miracle can happen: they will unhook the rope and allow you to climb to the middle of the sacred staircase. Well, you have to be content with little.

Among the smooth lines of the eye, heavy stepped cabinets climb up to the second floor along the wall opposite the railing. It is difficult to imagine that this is how Shekhtel intended it. And rightly so, not them. This is Gorky's library.

Having gathered our strength and finally managed to turn away from the beautiful staircase, we begin a circular journey through the suite of rooms on the first floor. Through a magnificent doorway we find ourselves in the first room of the circular enfilade-necklace - the dining room or living room.

It must be said that the doors in this house attract most of the attention and seem to direct the visitor from room to room. Some attract the eye with the dominant dimensions of the opening, some with the unusual decorative design of the platbands or the door panels themselves.

Here is a photo of the door leading from the dining room to the library,

The same door, but in the other direction in the direction of travel, looks like this

Movement from room to room is not difficult, the space is not enclosed. The movement stops only on the third floor, in the prayer room, but more on that later.

So, living-dining room.

Numerous meetings of Gorky with guests took place here: writers, playwrights, and creative people. Meetings of the Writers' Union were held here more than once, one of the main initiators of which was Gorky himself. In this room, discussions were held about the then literary method called socialist realism. Almost all famous writers of the 1930s. We visited Gorky here - this house served as a writer's club for them.

A permanent place at Gorky's table is marked with a tea set.

Library

From the dining room through another unusual doorway (see photo above) we find ourselves in the library.

Gorky always had an extensive library. This one, located in the Ryabushinsky mansion, is already the sixth in a row. He donated previous ones to public city libraries, for example, in Nizhny Novgorod, or simply to private individuals. You can have different attitudes towards a writer’s work; it can even be annoying, especially in our time. However, one thing cannot be taken away from him: his colossal educational activities.

The library room is unique with its ceiling, decorated with a panel on which chrysanthemums are blooming, and stucco flowers and leaves. This design turns the room into a real gazebo

Here's a closer photo of the panel

And stucco

Here is a photo from the library to the street, I really like it

The books did not fit in the library and dining room cabinets and gradually crept into the hall, where cabinets were built for them along the stairs (remember?).

Cabinet

In this room was Alexei Maksimovich’s office, where he worked every day according to a strict schedule, from 9 am to 2 pm, holidays and weekends almost did not exist. During these years, Gorky's creative activity was enormous. Self-discipline and organization led to high efficiency, and successful work gave rise to inspiration, as the writer himself admitted. He was probably not joking, since the result of his work is 35 volumes of works of fiction alone, not counting articles and letters.

In this room, Gorky's presence is felt most of all. A large work desk was made to his order: without drawers, higher than usual, so that it would be more convenient to work at it due to lung disease. The order in the workplace remained unchanged: inkwell, large sheets paper with wide margins, lots of colored pencils, a wooden pen, notepads and pieces of paper for notes.

This is also a photo from the table, it seems to me that this says something about the personality of the person who wrote here

In the cabinets above the fireplace and near it there is a Gorky collection of works by oriental bone carvers of the 18th-20th centuries: a carved box, vases made of lacquer, bamboo, porcelain, figurines, balls.

This collection is considered one of the best; a similar collection of the Oriental Museum in Moscow is inferior to Gorky’s. Alexey Maksimovich showed it with love and knowledge of the secrets of craftsmanship. Throughout his life, the writer collected various objects of art, many of which he donated to museums and just people. According to him, he would like the energy contained in them to give rise to a new wave of creativity.

Next to the cabinets there is Chinese furniture - a carved table for a lute, two stools, a carved chair at the table. This is a joint gift from the family and writer A.N. Tolstoy, who found them from antique dealers.

Bedroom

There are only the essentials here: a bed, a bedside table, a wardrobe, a chest of drawers. Corner bookshelf hung at Gorky's request, books were placed on it for nightly reading. The last selection included “Russian folk tales” collected by A. Afanasyev, “Vanity Fair” by Thackeray, works by R. Rolland, books by K.S. Stanislavsky and V.G. Korolenko, poems by N. Yazykov, “Songs” by Beranger. Sometimes Gorky jokingly called himself a “professional reader.”

In the Japanese cabinet part oriental collection: dragon, vases and miniature sculptures.

And here is the lid of the chest of drawers with a colorful gargoyle.

This is the view from the bedroom window now. The window frames of the house become picture frames that frame what you see in the window. I think that's how it was intended

And here is the front entrance with a tightly locked door overlooking Malaya Nikitskaya

To the right of the door is a glass cabinet with the writer’s personal belongings

The second floor was closed at the time of our visit to the museum for technical reasons. We were told that there were living rooms and children's rooms there, and now there is an exhibition dedicated to the work of Gorky there.

On the third floor you are greeted by a photo exhibition dedicated to the Ryabushinsky dynasty, and a small exhibition of young artists painting Russian estates. But, of course, the main treasure of the third floor is the prayer room of the Ryabushinsky family.

Prayer room - hidden space

The prayer room was built by Shekhtel for the Ryabushinsky family secretly in 1904. A little later, the persecution of the Old Believers weakened, but at that time it was possible to act only covertly. Therefore, the staircase to the prayer room is located in a tower specially attached to the house. It ends the unimpeded circular movement around the house: you have arrived where you need to go - to the end of everything or, conversely, to the beginning. Having entered through the door, symbolically leading from the lower world, a person finds himself in front of a single door - the Royal Doors.

The low altar barrier has not survived, but one can easily imagine where it was: in front of three high windows with typical temple slopes directing the gaze to the sky. From the site of the former altar, rays laid out on the parquet also diverge to the sides. It is known that the main icon-protector of the house on Malaya Nikitskaya was the image of the Mother of God “The Burning Bush” from the Pskov letter of the late 15th century - quite rare even among collectors.

If on the traditional icon “The Burning Bush” the Mother of God is depicted with one ladder leading upward, then Stepan Ryabushinsky kept a more ancient image, in which the Mother of God holds not one, but two ladders. The first, leading upward, speaks of the Mother of God as a helper who gives believers access to the heavenly heights, and the second staircase, lowered down, symbolizes the Queen of Heaven as the protector of sinners, helping everyone who sincerely turns to her. There is a version that investing precisely this secret meaning, Shekhtel introduces two staircases into the house design - the front and the back, which both lead to the prayer room. Here it is - a symbol of different roads to enlightenment and the Kingdom of Heaven

The prayer room occupies a small room, but it seems quite spacious thanks to its excellent proportions and the upward looking dome. Quite poorly lit: skylight at the top of the dome

and the three already mentioned narrow lancet windows in the wall behind the former altar. And they are located above human height, so the light does not flood the room, but diffusely penetrates it from above.

Photo In this room sits a sad caretaker, accepting money for photography and selling literature relevant to the place. She selects someone worthy of her trust from a series of visitors and begins to complain about her fate as a caretaker. He says that he has been sitting there for ten years and is going blind from the light of energy-saving lamps. I advised her to bring a brighter lamp from home, but from the way she looked at me incomprehensibly, I realized that she did not need a solution, but sympathy, so then she only sighed empathetically. So, for some it’s a masterpiece of architecture, and for others it’s a personal calvary.

However, the poorly lit prayer room has its own secret. Thanks to the peculiarities of wall painting, in the evening it turns into an open space with starry sky: the dark spirals of ivy stems on the walls merge at dusk into a common background, and the white dots on the leaves begin to glow like stars. Of course, I didn’t see the prayer room late in the evening, but I’m ready to believe that there is a feeling of space, an endless universe.

I was so absorbed in contemplating the appearance of the prayer room that I did not immediately realize that its artistic design did not contain the usual images of the Savior and the Mother of God. There are many things that are vitally told here, but only through eternal ancient symbols.

On the towels decorating the three-part window in the altar, the ancient symbol of Jesus Christ is indicated - a fish with an equal-pointed cross above it and the inscription in Greek “Ichthus” (fish). This encrypts the ancient formula of the symbol of faith: the five letters of the word “Ichthus” are the first letters of the five words Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior (Jesous Christos, Theou Uios, Soter).

At the base of the dome, an abbreviated inscription in ancient Greek is repeated four times: “true Christian women will receive holiness for their suffering on the day of the Last Judgment.” The triangles scattered on the inner surface of the dome are reminiscent of the Trinity, just like the three-part window itself.

At one time the prayer room was lit with candles. Everything that is now painted in yellow, was gilded. The wall paintings were restored in 1977-89, but in the altar several fragments of original painting from the early 20th century were preserved: symbols of Christ and towels. The medallions on the sails with images of the symbols of the evangelists are also considered authentic.

Sketches for them are preserved in Shekhtel’s archive. They were rolled, cut along the contour of the design with a knife and sprayed onto the sails. Thus, they were not touched by the hand of a modern artist. In the photo you can also see the same leaves with white dots, which in the evening create the impression of privacy with the starry sky.

Mysteries of the house: secret meanings and allegories

How subjective it is, in my opinion, to look for subtexts and secret meanings in works of art. Is this really necessary to understand the author? Maybe it’s better to just enjoy the perception of beauty without reflecting or breaking it down into its component elements? However, how would critics and historians live then? J

Sometimes you are amazed when reading, say, the interpretation of a painting or sculpture. Do you really think that the artist sat just like that and thought about how many symbols and allegories to encrypt in his work? The exception, of course, is medieval painting, written in a language of symbols at that time understandable to every enlightened person. But why is the new story worse? Maybe the creator put it into his work secret meaning. Or maybe he simply obeyed inspiration and created without thinking about future interpretations?

However, I cannot ignore the so-called mysteries of Fyodor Shekhtel. Mostly because when you delve into various guesses and versions, you get a feeling of some mystery, almost mysticism, which gives the whole house a slightly magical flair. So what did he want to say with his vision of the mansion’s interiors?

In one article I found the opinion that “an unprepared viewer often finds in a mansion only an obvious, literal image of the natural elements, flora and fauna.” This supposedly hides Shekhtel’s special approach to his works, dividing the viewer according to the degree of preparedness. Sounds a little arrogant, in my opinion. It is unlikely that Shekhtel intentionally introduced the idea of ​​such intellectual discrimination into his works, although he really makes you think and look for an explanation for the mysteries of the house.

Any museum curator will tell you that the lamp on the main staircase is a symbolic image of a jellyfish, but if you go up the stairs a little, you can see the lampshade covering the top of the lamp, which looks like a tortoise shell.

It would seem that these are natural motifs, the use of images of the animal world. However, the inexhaustible imagination of art interpreters offers the following interpretation: the jellyfish at the beginning of the stairs, with its characteristic plasticity, is comparable to the image of a person who is confused by vanity and haste on the path to God. The transformation of the image into a turtle refers us to associations with calm, balance, and wisdom, the symbol of which is this animal. Thus, the staircase itself appears before us as a symbol of spiritual formation, the path to perfection and to God.

There is an opinion that the framework of purely “natural” motives for Shekhtel is too narrow and primitive. Remember the photo of the wave splashing at the base of the stairs? So, with a serious approach and a strong desire, you can see in it the image of a woman leading a person ascending the stairs, the medallions on the railings of which are made in the form of the Sanskrit “yin and yang” - light and darkness. This can be interpreted as an image of the Mother of God herself.

Or here is a column on the second floor, which you can see by politely asking the caretakers. I already wrote that I have no idea why the entrance along the main staircase to the second floor is blocked by a traditional museum rope, and only upon great request can you be allowed to climb to the middle of this very staircase and, craning your neck, look at the column with a sculptural top.

The capital of the column is an interweaving of monstrous lizards or salamanders with beautiful lilies. They say that this technique carries a deep philosophical meaning, clearly depicting the organic connection of everything that exists. Scary lizards are the personification of evil, lilies are a symbol of good - everything is intertwined in the “here” world.

I only told you about part of the house’s mystery symbols, I hope this is enough to get interested and want to make your own impression.

It’s time to end here, so as not to continue endlessly, because the meaning of the symbols of modernity is inexhaustible.

Finally, a photo of the house from Spiridonovka

Update: my husband read the post and explained to me, who was inattentive, why visitors in the museum are not allowed up the main staircase to the second floor: there is a crack. That is why we were asked to climb along the very edge of the staircase. I managed to ignore this moment of the museum employee’s explanation.

The museum-apartment of A. M. Gorky is located in the former Ryabushinsky mansion, built for the family of a young Russian entrepreneur by the famous Moscow architect F. Shekhtel. The luxurious house on Malaya Nikitskaya, in which the writer lived in the last years of his life, is a true masterpiece of architecture of the early twentieth century. It is made in the style of Russian Art Nouveau, unusual for Moscow of those years, and its history is connected with three outstanding people who lived at the same time, but had too much different destinies. And only one of them is mentioned on the memorial plaque installed on the facade.

The mansion is one of the few similar objects open to the public located in the center of the capital. Some buildings house government agencies and embassies, where ordinary citizens are not allowed to enter. Its interior decoration has been preserved almost in its original form, conceived and implemented by F. Shekhtel.

Ryabushinsky's mansion

An unusual house with multi-level and multi-format windows, a mosaic frieze with floral motifs and glazed brick trim is considered an adornment not only of Malaya Nikitskaya Street, but of the entire capital. The splendor of the interior decoration is hidden from the eyes of passers-by, but you can see it with your own eyes by visiting the museum-apartment of A. M. Gorky.

The mansion was designed by F. Shekhtel under the influence of European Art Nouveau combined with fashion trends of Art Nouveau - a style characterized by the preferential use of natural smooth curves in the architectural appearance and interiors, rather than straight lines and clear angles. Features this direction This also applies to the use of new, non-standard technologies. Despite the borrowing of stylistic solutions, F. Shekhtel managed to harmoniously fill them with his own decorative elements and details.

The mansion bears the name of the customer and the first owner of the house - Stepan Ryabushinsky. He was a famous entrepreneur and collector, but most importantly, he belonged to the wealthy Ryabushinsky dynasty and became its worthy follower. Stepan Pavlovich had one of the best collections of icons in Russia and organized grand exhibitions of icon painting, including for the 300th anniversary of the House of Romanov. Thanks to his participation, scientific research was carried out, which made it possible to discover and restore real iconographic masterpieces.

After the October Revolution, Ryabushinsky was forced to leave the country. His collection of icons was confiscated. Some of them were sold, the rest were donated to museums. Fortunately, most of the collection has been preserved and is located in the Tretyakov Gallery. Today there is talk about organizing a permanent exhibition of icons collected by Stepan Pavlovich in one of the Ryabushinsky houses.

IN Soviet time the mansion changed several owners from among government agencies. During this time, unique pieces of furniture, lamps and the original fireplace portal, made of marble specially brought from Carrara, disappeared. In addition, the house's unique ventilation system was damaged. The salvation from the final ruin of the mansion was the settlement of the family of a proletarian writer in it in 1931.

Architecture of Shekhtel's house

The Ryabushinsky mansion was built under the direction of the architect from 1900 to 1902-03. The main facade with the front porch faces Malaya Nikitskaya Street. IN this moment You can enter the building from Spiridonovka through the “black” door, which was originally intended for servants.

Shekhtel was responsible for creating designs for more than 210 buildings in the capital and Moscow region, built at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Among them are the Yaroslavsky railway station, Morozova’s mansion on Spiridonovka, and the Khudozhestvenny cinema on Arbat. Most of the 86 surviving objects are today under state protection. The architect himself lived out his life in his daughter’s apartment, which was turned into a communal apartment after the revolution.

Shekhtel's house on Malaya Nikitskaya became a real masterpiece of the master. Due to the spectacular stepped arrangement of window openings, the building looks multi-story. Streamlined forms of arched vaults, window grilles in the form of curly branches and spiral curls of balcony railings give the exterior additional lightness. A low fence opens up a view of the facade, decorated with a wide mosaic frieze. The plant motifs depicted on it hide mysteries and symbols.

The central terrace, hanging over the main entrance, rests on massive columns united by figured lintels. Two of them come close to the “red” line. On the side facades there are balconies with decorative railings. On the territory of the estate there is an outbuilding with a stable attached to it. The rooms were intended for servants. One of the premises was rented by A. Tolstoy during the Second World War. Today it houses the writer's museum-apartment.

The front part of Shekhtel's house may go unnoticed by passers-by, especially in the summer, when the mansion is hidden behind the treetops. All the most interesting and amazing things are revealed to visitors to the Gorky House Museum.

Interior features

Shekhtel successfully complemented the architectural innovation with the technical equipment of the mansion. The ventilation system allowed air to circulate throughout the entire space of the house. From the kitchen to the dining room, dishes were delivered via elevator.

The first thing that catches the eye of everyone who enters is the famous Shekhtel staircase with its gracefully curved railings. According to the author's idea, it symbolizes the endless movement of waves. At its base stands an original jellyfish lamp, miraculously preserved during the years of “modernization” of the mansion by representatives of government agencies.

Colored stained glass windows sunlight give an amazing play of colors on walls and matte ceilings. Detailed decorative elements successfully complement the interior. Here, even the door handles are shaped like seahorses, and the capitals of the columns are decorated with salamanders surrounded by lilies.

There is a secret room on the third floor, not even mentioned in the insurance inventories. It was decorated in the early Christian style and was intended for prayers. The secrecy was associated with the ban on the presence of religious buildings in private homes. But the Ryabushinskys belonged to the Old Believers, and they needed a chapel.

It is quite difficult to imagine the interiors of the mansion from descriptions and photographs, so it would be better to visit it.

History of the Gorky Apartment Museum

The Ryabushinsky mansion was given to the Gorky family in 1931. He was categorically against moving into “palace rooms,” rightly believing that this would negatively affect the opinions of proletarians forced to live in barracks and communal apartments. Nevertheless, Gorky, who returned from abroad, was brought straight from the station to Malaya Nikitskaya to an already renovated and furnished house.

According to contemporaries, the Ryabushinsky mansion did not suit the writer either in spirit or in status. Here he felt uncomfortable, called the rest room “the ballerina’s bedroom” and never used the Shekhtel staircase, since it was difficult for him to climb to the second floor. Over time, Alexey Maksimovich became accustomed to the furnishings and features of the house, especially since several of his requirements were met. In particular:

• the workroom was decorated in accordance with the furnishings of his previous offices;
• the living room was converted into a library, filling the walls with multi-tiered cabinets;
• the bedroom was placed in one of the offices;
• the half-naked figures that decorated the interior were removed.

Under Gorky, the house on Malaya Nikitskaya turned into the cultural center of literary Moscow, where it was always crowded and noisy. The life of a writer has become busy and a little tiring. Social activities and permanent creative meetings, including the famous night meetings with Stalin and members of the Politburo, at which the fate of writers and their works had to be decided, distracted from the main activity. But despite the fact that there was too little time left to write his own works, Gorky continued to work on novels and plays.

In 1934, Alexei Maksimovich had to endure the tragic events associated with the death of his son, who lived on the second floor of the Ryabushinsky mansion with his family. In recent years, his daughter-in-law and granddaughters remained with the writer. After Gorky’s death (1936), Nadezhda Peshkova, or Timosha, as her family called her, with the direct participation of the official widow of the writer Ekaterina Pavlovna Peshkova, tried to preserve the legacy of her father-in-law, his things and the environment in which he lived and worked in the period 1931-36 gg.

Nadezhda Alekseevna (daughter-in-law) remained in the mansion until 1965, the year of the opening of the Gorky Memorial Museum-Apartment on Malaya Nikitskaya. It is thanks to her efforts and enthusiasm that contemporaries have the opportunity to plunge into the atmosphere that surrounded the writer in the last years of his difficult life.

Exhibitions

In the 5 rooms of the mansion, located on the ground floor, the furnishings of 1936 have been completely preserved. These are the writer’s office and his bedroom, the library and secretarial room, as well as the dining room. Here you can find furniture from those years, personal belongings and Gorky’s book collection, arranged in the same order as in his time. On the second floor there is an exhibition telling about the life of Alexei Maksimovich after his return to his homeland from Italy. Part of the premises is given over to the storage of the museum fund. In the equipped basement there is an exhibition giving an idea of ​​Ryabushinsky and Shekhtel.

Operating mode

You can visit the Gorky Museum and get acquainted with the interiors of the mansion every day from 11:00 to 17:30, except Monday, Tuesday and days on which official public holidays fall. The last Thursday of every month the institution holds a sanitary day.

Ticket prices in 2019

The cost of entry to the Gorky Apartment Museum is:

• for adults - 300 rubles;
• for children from 7 to 15 years old and pensioners - 100 rubles;
• for students and pupils - 150 rubles;
• for non-residents of the Russian Federation - 400 rubles.

For a group excursion (up to 20 people) you will have to pay 3,000 rubles. For foreigners, such a service will cost 4000-5000 rubles. Groups of up to 10 people are served individually. The price of the tour for residents of the Russian Federation is 1500 rubles, for non-residents of the Russian Federation - 2000 rubles.

How to get to the museum-apartment of A. M. Gorky

The nearest metro stations are located 1-1.5 km from the mansion:

• “Barrikadnaya” and “Pushkinskaya” - line 7;
• "Tverskaya" - line 2;
• "Arbatskaya" - lines 3 and 4.

You can get to the museum by buses No. 15, 39, A, 243, m6. Stop "Nikitsky Gate".

Mobile taxi services in Moscow - Uber, Gett, Maxim, Yandex. Taxi

Ryabushinsky Mansion: video