A Note on Russian Church Architecture.
Builders and architects of medieval Russian churches looked towards Byzantium, though churches erected in Russia can be seen to betray a distinctive architectural flavour. For example, St Sophia of Kiev boasts no less than thirteen domes, which according to Auty and Obolensky is “a number unequalled in any other surviving building of the Byzantine world.”[1] Initially the pyramidal effect was more pronounced, but there have been additions which have detracted from the original intentions of the eleventh-century architects. This external effect achieved not only through the configuration and the “picturesque disposal” of the domes, but also through its polychrome masonry and its short naves are typical of the Russian style in architecture. And what is also distinct from Byzantine art is the cycle of mosaics with fresco paintings on the dome and main apse in Kiev St Sophia; such a scheme within one church is rare within the surviving monuments of Byzantium. This kind of architectural and painted scheme became prevalent in Russia. It can be seen in the Hagia Sophia at Novgorod, save that the proportions there are taller and narrower; overall there is no intention to overwhelm with ornament. Generally, Novgorod churches can be stylistically differentiated from Kiev churches by their “cragginess” and this would have been emphasised in their heyday by the stonework and pink, smoothed mortar. Today, Novgorod Cathedral (above) is stuccoed and whitewashed. One feature of Russian ecclesiastical architecture is the external “onion dome,” but its origins lie in obscurity. It is thought to have evolved in Novgorod in the pre-Tatar days; and one theory (unsubstantiated) is that the feature may owe something to the native wooden architecture of the Russian north. The symbolism of the onion dome has been much discussed. Interpretations range from the domes representing burning candles to abstract representation of the divine, though some scholars believe that the architectural feature cannot be explained rationally. We should also note the importance of colour symbolism of onion domes which will become more apparent when we examine structures such St Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow in the third week.
[1] Robert Auty, Dimitri Obolensky (eds), An Introduction to Russian Art and Architecture, (CUP, 1980), 11.
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