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Giacomo Quarenghi (Italian pronunciation:[ˈdʒaːkomokwaˈreŋɡi,-ˈrɛŋɡi];Russian:Джа́комо Кваре́нги,romanized: Dzhkomo Kvarengi,IPA:[ˈdʐakəməkvɐˈrʲenɡʲɪ]; 20 or 21 September 1744 – 2 March [O.S. 18 February] 1817) was an Italian architect who was the foremost and most prolific practitioner ofneoclassical architecture inImperial Russia, particularly inSaint Petersburg. He brought into vogue an original monumental style, ofPalladian inspiration, which was a reference for many architects who worked in Russia as well as theGrand Duchy of Finland.
He has been described as "the last of the great architects of Italy".[1]
Born inRota d'Imagna nearBergamo to anItalian noble family, Quarenghi was destined by his parents for a career in law or the church but initially was allowed to study painting in the Bergamo studio of G. Reggi, himself a student ofTiepolo. Young Quarenghi was well-educated and widely read. Travelling through Italy he visitedVicenza,Verona,Mantua andVenice, the places where he made the longest stays. He made drawings of the Greek temples atPaestum (Loukomski 1928) and finally arrived in Rome in 1763, at a moment whenNeoclassicism was being developed in advanced artistic circles. He studied painting withAnton Raphael Mengs, then withStefano Pozzi, later moving to study architecture (1767–69) with a traditionalistLate Baroque architectPaolo Posi.
Then he came upon a copy ofAndrea Palladio'sQuattro Libri d'archittetura. "You could never believe," he wrote to his friend and long-term correspondent Marchesi, "the impression that this book made. Then it struck me that I had every reason to consider myself badly guided" before that point (Loukomsky 1928). He turned for new,Neoclassical instruction to Antoine Decrezet, a friend ofWinckelmann, and the former's pupil Niccola Giansimoni, measuring and drawing the antiquities of Rome.
In Venice (1771–1772), where he was studying the works of Palladio, Quarenghi came into contact with a British lord passing through there on theGrand Tour. It was through him that the architect secured a few minor English commissions, such as garden pavilions, chimney pieces (Loukomsky 1928), and analtar for the private Roman Catholic chapel of Henry Arundell atNew Wardour Castle.[2] Designs for a country house for Lord Whitworth were exhibited at Venice in 1967. His first major commission (1771–7) was the internal reconstruction of the monastery of Santa Scholastica atSubiaco. For the Venetian cardinal Rezzonico, the nephew ofPope Clement XIII, he designed a decor for a Music Room in theCampidoglio, and designs for Clement's tomb (later executed byAntonio Canova).
His work in Italy and for English clients formed enough of a reputation that in 1779 he was selected by the Prussian-born count Rieffenstein, who had been commissioned byCatherine II of Russia to send her two Italian architects to replace her French ones (Loukomsky 1928). Despite having just designed amanege inMonaco and a dining hall for the Archduchess ofModena, 35-year-old Quarenghi seems to have felt himself underemployed, given the number of architects then working in Italy and the dearth of commissions from the church and nobility. He accepted Rieffenstein's offer without hesitation and left with his pregnant wife for St Petersburg.
Quarenghi's first important commission in Russia was theEnglish Palace inPeterhof, a magnificent rectangular edifice with aCorinthianportico. The structure, which pleased the Empress immensely, was blown up by the Germans duringWorld War II and was later demolished by theSoviet government. In 1783 Quarenghi settled with his family inTsarskoe Selo, where he would supervise the construction of theAlexander Palace, the most ambitious of his undertakings to date.
Appointed to the post ofCatherine II's court architect, Quarenghi went on to produce a prodigious number of designs for the Empress, her successors and members of her court: houses, summerhouses, bridges, theatres, hospices, a market, a bank building, interior decorations and garden designs. His projects were put into execution as far away from the capital asNovhorod-Siverskyi,Ukraine where a cathedral was constructed to his designs.
InMoscow, he was responsible for the reconstruction of medievalRed Square in a fashionable neo-Palladian mode. CountNicholas Sheremetev engaged him to devise a theatre hall in theOstankino Palace and a semicircular colonnade for the Sheremetev Hospital. Most of Quarenghi's designs intended for Moscow were subsequently realized with significant modifications by other architects, as was the case withGostiny Dvor (1789–1805),Catherine Palace (1782–87), and Sloboda Palace (1790–94).
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Emperor Paul disliked everything that was dear to his mother and Quarenghi's architecture obviously fell into this category. After the emperor took theMaltese knights under his protection, Quarenghi also joined the Order and served as its official architect until 1800. His commissions became less frequent, as the monotonous rhythm of solemn colonnades and the laconic clarity of symmetrical compositions appeared boring to those courtiers who had found Quarenghi's designs so delightful a decade earlier.
Under such circumstances, he visited Italy in 1801 and was given a triumphant welcome. He turned his attention towatercolours, enlivening conventional architectural vistas with genre scenes from everyday city life. He also published several albums of neo-Palladian designs (1787, 1791, 1810) and provided elaborate designs for decorativevases, capitals for columns andmetalwork executed for imperial residences, particularly theWinter Palace.
With the enthronement ofAlexander I of Russia, Quarenghi was again at the height of his individuality and fashion. In 1805 the architect became a corresponding member of theImperial Academy of Arts. His design for theAnichkov Palace Colonnade, however, incurred severe criticism from the academic establishment for the perceived erratic use ofclassical orders. Quarenghi defended himself in a letter toCanova proclaiming that "good sense and judgment shouldn't be enslaved by commonly accepted rules and models".
Giacomo Quarenghi was grantedRussian nobility and theOrder of St. Vladimir of the First Degree in 1814. After 1808 he lived largely in retirement as a celebrity. Of his thirteen children by two wives, a few chose to remain in Russia, while others returned to Italy. He died at age 72 in Saint Petersburg.
When the 150th anniversary of his death was being marked in 1967, the remains of Quarenghi were moved from the Volkov Cemetery to theLazarevskoe Cemetery at theAlexander Nevsky Monastery, and a bust of the architect was erected between theAssignation Bank andBank Bridge in Saint Petersburg.
