Ivan Fomin
Encyclopedia
Ivan Aleksandrovich Fomin (3 February 1872, Oryol
– 12 June 1936, Moscow
) was a Russia
n architect
and educator. He began his career in 1899 in Moscow
, working in the Art Nouveau
style. After relocating to Saint Petersburg
in 1905, he became an established master of the Neoclassical Revival
movement. Following the Russian Revolution of 1917
Fomin developed a Soviet adaptation of Neoclassicism
and became one of the key contributors to an early phase of Stalinist architecture
known as postconstructivism
.
, Fomin received a classical education at a high school in Riga
, and studied mathematics at the Moscow University
. In 1894, he joined the Imperial Academy of Arts
in Saint Petersburg
but was expelled in 1896 for political activities. After a year of studies in France, Fomin settled in Moscow and passed the tests for a contractor’s license. He worked for Lev Kekushev
and Fyodor Schechtel
, two leading masters of Art Nouveau
. Schechtel assigned him to Moscow Art Theatre
project, which exposed Fomin to the public and eventually brought him his first own commissions.
Fomin's early style was related to Schekhtel's and Austrian Jugendstil. His first and most notable work was the Wilhelmina Reck mansion in Skatertny Lane. The building is loosely modeled after the Elvira Studio by August Endell
(1896, destroyed 1944); instead of Endell’s marine motifs, Fomin decorated his work with plaster flowers and majolica
inserts. The same floral motifs were used in the iron gates. The building still stands, albeit rebuilt beyond recognition.
Fomin continued working for the Reck family, who sponsored Art Nouveau. In 1902-1903, he organized the "Exhibition of Art and Architecture of New Style", showcasing his works in interior design. Fomin contracted top-level furniture makers, foundries and ceramic plants for his own designs, but also displayed works by guests like Charles Rennie Mackintosh
, Joseph Maria Olbrich
, Koloman Moser
and Russian artists. Fomin established himself as a promoter of Art Nouveau. However, his attempts to forge the new Architectural Society failed. In 1902, he set up the Construction College in Moscow, with a separate class for women.
' course at the Academy of Arts in 1909, winning a one-year study tour to Greece
, Egypt
and Italy
. At this time, Neoclassical Revival became the leading style in St. Petersburg, and the most technologically advanced. Banks and department stores, who favored the style, could afford a steel frame and concrete slab floors. A combination of money and technology allowed the mix of classical columns and arches with large glass surfaces.
Fomin's turn to Neoclassicism is traced to 1903, when he applied to the contest for Count Volkonsky
estate with a neoclassical draft. In 1904, Fomin published his Revival Manifesto in Mir Iskusstva
magazine, pledging to architectural legacy of Catherine
and Alexander I
. "These days, everyone wants to be individual, to invent his own, and in the end we cannot see nether a dominant style, nor a trace of those who can eventually create it". Fomin believed in a universal idea uniting everyone, and in an architectural style that could serve it. He promoted the Academy's exhibitions in "History of Russian Art" (1909) and "History of Architecture" (1911), as vigorously as he did his Art Nouveau shows. Fomin was an outspoken advocate for building preservation, leading a campaign against the conversion of historical mansions into rental apartment buildings.
Fomin completed numerous interior renovations, and two new buildings (Polovtsov mansion, and Abamelek-Lazarev mansion ). His greatest urban projects of this time, interrupted by the outbreak of World War I
, didn’t materialize in full.
Novy Peterburg (Goloday Island
development) was a huge Palladian fantasy. In 1911, a British investment company launched a development project on a 1 square kilometer lot in the western Goloday Island, awarding general planning to Fomin. Building design was split between Fomin and Feodor Lidwahl. Fomin wanted to recreate the monumental imperial classics in a middle class community. Only a fraction of his plan materialized before World War I
. One building, a school on Kakhovsky Street, stands today.
. Fomin stayed in St. Petersburg.
The Russian Civil War
stopped all new construction; the few architectural jobs concentrated in monumental propaganda and city planning. Fomin managed to secure the chair of Petrograd (St.Petersburg) Zoning
commission, and designed the Field of Mars
landscape (1920–1923).
Fomin trained a new generation of architects at VKhUTEMAS
/VKhuTEIN, at the same time developing his own concept of proletarian classicism. He asserted that a universal architecture must borrow essential principles from classicism, but the details of classicism are not important. As a result, the new architectural order can be simplified to a laconic set of basic elements, not bound by strict proportions. In practice, like all theories, it worked for good architects (like Fomin himself) but could not help mediocre imitators.
In 1929, Fomin relocated to Moscow. There, he completes the Dynamo building, an experiment halfway between modern art and his own neoclassicism. The building, using steel frame and concrete slab floors, looks like an industrial object, but the paired columns, Fomin's trademark, give away its classical origin. In 1933, when all Moscow architects were assigned to 20 Mossovet
workshops, Fomin is appointed to lead Design Workshop No.3. Here, he designed his three last projects (two will be completed after his death).
According to Selim Khan-Magomedov, Fomin was one of the two forerunners of so-called postconstructivism
, an early stage of Stalinist architecture
(the other was Ilya Golosov
). Postconstructivism is defined as classical shapes without classical details, an attempt to reinvent new styling to replace classical order
. Fomin eventually disposed with it in favor of true neoclassicism (as did all Stalinist architecture).
Fomin took part in all of the major architectural contests of his time:
He did win and completed one of the Metro jobs. Palace of Soviets was won by Boris Iofan
, construction began with enormous publicity but was terminated by German attack of 1941
. Other two contests didn't get beyond concept drafts.
Unlike Ivan Zholtovsky
, who abstained from the lowly work on subway stations, Fomin eagerly joined the contest for the Metro. He competed on the Krasniye Vorota
(Red Gates) against former constructivist
Ilya Golosov
, whose entry appeared to be a true Doric Greek classic. Unfortunately for Golosov, exremely hard geological conditions required heavy, wide support pylons. His otherwise fine draft was not feasible for 1935 technology, giving way to Fomin's simple red granite design - a tribute to the old Red Gates, demolished in 1932. This station opened to public in 1935, while Fomin was alive. He designed one more station, Teatralnaya
(then Ploschad Sverdlova), which was completed two years after his death.
His last project on the ground, Government of Ukraine
building in Kiev
, was approved for construction in 1934. This 10-story building, the earliest example of true Stalin's Empire Style, was hailed as the way to build and spawned numerous imitations. A peculiar feature is the quilt-like ornament on the columns. Fomin knew very well that a 25-meter bare column will look unnatural; the quilt warms up an otherwise dull shape. Column capitals
also differ from their Corynthian
prototypes: at this height, he reasoned, fine Greek details would be lost, so he simplified and enlarged leaves of his ornament.
in 1936 and was interred at Novodevichye Cemetery; Teatralnaya
and Government of Ukraine were completed by other architects. After World War II
, the Government of Ukraine building became a staple of Soviet textbooks on architecture, a model of Stalin's Empire.
Fomin's son, Igor Ivanovich Fomin (born 1904) also became an architect, working primarily in Saint Petersburg. A constructivist in his twenties, he later completed various Stalinist projects like Schemilovka residential district and Ploschad Vosstania metro station. Similarity of initials (I.I. Fomin vs. I.A. Fomin) frequently confuses journalists.
Fomin's Moscow studio and museum (at the back alley of Prospect Mira, 52, where he had lived in apartment 43) has been condemned for demolition by the City of Moscow in summer of 2006; preservationists are struggling to save the memorial building
Oryol
Oryol or Orel is a city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast, Russia, located on the Oka River, approximately south-southwest of Moscow...
– 12 June 1936, Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
) was a Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
and educator. He began his career in 1899 in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, working in the Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
style. After relocating to Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
in 1905, he became an established master of the Neoclassical Revival
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
movement. Following the Russian Revolution of 1917
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
Fomin developed a Soviet adaptation of Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
and became one of the key contributors to an early phase of Stalinist architecture
Stalinist architecture
Stalinist architecture , also referred to as Stalinist Gothic, or Socialist Classicism, is a term given to architecture of the Soviet Union between 1933, when Boris Iofan's draft for Palace of the Soviets was officially approved, and 1955, when Nikita Khrushchev condemned "excesses" of the past...
known as postconstructivism
Postconstructivism
Postconstructivism was a transitional architectural style that existed in the Soviet Union in the 1930s, typical of early Stalinist architecture before World War II. The term postconstructivism was coined by Selim Khan-Magomedov, a historian of architecture, to describe the product of avant-garde...
.
Early years
Born in OryolOryol
Oryol or Orel is a city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast, Russia, located on the Oka River, approximately south-southwest of Moscow...
, Fomin received a classical education at a high school in Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
, and studied mathematics at the Moscow University
Moscow State University
Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...
. In 1894, he joined the Imperial Academy of Arts
Imperial Academy of Arts
The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, was founded in 1757 by Ivan Shuvalov under the name Academy of the Three Noblest Arts. Catherine the Great renamed it the Imperial Academy of Arts and commissioned a new building, completed 25 years later in 1789...
in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
but was expelled in 1896 for political activities. After a year of studies in France, Fomin settled in Moscow and passed the tests for a contractor’s license. He worked for Lev Kekushev
Lev Kekushev
Lev Nikolayevich Kekushev was a Russian architect, notable for his Art Nouveau buildings in Moscow, built in the 1890s and early 1900s in the original, Franco-Belgian variety of this style...
and Fyodor Schechtel
Fyodor Schechtel
Fyodor Osipovich Schechtel was a Russian architect, graphic artist and stage designer, the most influential and prolific master of Russian Art Nouveau and late Russian Revival....
, two leading masters of Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
. Schechtel assigned him to Moscow Art Theatre
Moscow Art Theatre
The Moscow Art Theatre is a theatre company in Moscow that the seminal Russian theatre practitioner Constantin Stanislavski, together with the playwright and director Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, founded in 1898. It was conceived as a venue for naturalistic theatre, in contrast to the melodramas...
project, which exposed Fomin to the public and eventually brought him his first own commissions.
Art Nouveau (1899-1903)
This section is based on "Architecture of Moscow Moderne" by M. V. NaschokinaFomin's early style was related to Schekhtel's and Austrian Jugendstil. His first and most notable work was the Wilhelmina Reck mansion in Skatertny Lane. The building is loosely modeled after the Elvira Studio by August Endell
August Endell
August Endell was a German Jugendstil architect.Endell is noted for many designs, including the Atelier Elvira in München by commission of his friend Hermann Obrist, built in 1897 and destroyed in 1944. It had an imaginative motif evocative of a breaking wave or a dragon that dominated the facade...
(1896, destroyed 1944); instead of Endell’s marine motifs, Fomin decorated his work with plaster flowers and majolica
Victorian majolica
Victorian Majolica is earthenware pottery made in 19th century Britain, Europe and the USA with molded surfaces and colorful clear lead glazes.-History:...
inserts. The same floral motifs were used in the iron gates. The building still stands, albeit rebuilt beyond recognition.
Fomin continued working for the Reck family, who sponsored Art Nouveau. In 1902-1903, he organized the "Exhibition of Art and Architecture of New Style", showcasing his works in interior design. Fomin contracted top-level furniture makers, foundries and ceramic plants for his own designs, but also displayed works by guests like Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Charles Rennie Mackintosh was a Scottish architect, designer, watercolourist and artist. He was a designer in the Arts and Crafts movement and also the main representative of Art Nouveau in the United Kingdom. He had a considerable influence on European design...
, Joseph Maria Olbrich
Joseph Maria Olbrich
Joseph Maria Olbrich was an Austrian architect and co-founder of the Vienna Secession.-Life:Olbrich was born in Opava, Austrian Silesia .He was the third child of Edmund and Aloisia Olbrich. He had two sisters who died before he was born, and two younger brothers John and Edmund...
, Koloman Moser
Koloman Moser
Koloman Moser was an Austrian artist who exerted considerable influence on twentieth-century graphic art and one of the foremost artists of the Vienna Secession movement and a co-founder of Wiener Werkstätte....
and Russian artists. Fomin established himself as a promoter of Art Nouveau. However, his attempts to forge the new Architectural Society failed. In 1902, he set up the Construction College in Moscow, with a separate class for women.
Neoclassicism (1903-1917)
Fomin acquired a solid reputation, but did not have an architect’s license yet. He returned to St.Petersburg in 1905 and completed Leon BenoisLeon Benois
Leon Benois was a Russian architect. He was the son of architect Nicholas Benois, the brother of artists Alexandre Benois and Albert Benois, and the grandfather of the actor Sir Peter Ustinov...
' course at the Academy of Arts in 1909, winning a one-year study tour to Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. At this time, Neoclassical Revival became the leading style in St. Petersburg, and the most technologically advanced. Banks and department stores, who favored the style, could afford a steel frame and concrete slab floors. A combination of money and technology allowed the mix of classical columns and arches with large glass surfaces.
Fomin's turn to Neoclassicism is traced to 1903, when he applied to the contest for Count Volkonsky
Volkonsky
Volkonsky is a famous Russian, from Rurikid princely house. It inherited some Rurikid land along the Volkona river sometime in the dark centuries of Mongol disturbances in Russia and it is not totally clear what was the route of the inheritance. according to Almagro, Rurikid princes disputed for...
estate with a neoclassical draft. In 1904, Fomin published his Revival Manifesto in Mir Iskusstva
Mir iskusstva
Mir iskusstva was a Russian magazine and the artistic movement it inspired and embodied, which was a major influence on the Russians who helped revolutionize European art during the first decade of the 20th century. From 1909, many of the miriskusniki also contributed to the Ballets Russes...
magazine, pledging to architectural legacy of Catherine
Catherine II of Russia
Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great , Empress of Russia, was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia on as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg...
and Alexander I
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....
. "These days, everyone wants to be individual, to invent his own, and in the end we cannot see nether a dominant style, nor a trace of those who can eventually create it". Fomin believed in a universal idea uniting everyone, and in an architectural style that could serve it. He promoted the Academy's exhibitions in "History of Russian Art" (1909) and "History of Architecture" (1911), as vigorously as he did his Art Nouveau shows. Fomin was an outspoken advocate for building preservation, leading a campaign against the conversion of historical mansions into rental apartment buildings.
Fomin completed numerous interior renovations, and two new buildings (Polovtsov mansion, and Abamelek-Lazarev mansion ). His greatest urban projects of this time, interrupted by the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, didn’t materialize in full.
Novy Peterburg (Goloday Island
Goloday Island
Dekabristov Island , known before 1926 as Goloday Island is an island in Vasileostrovsky District of Saint Petersburg, Russia, to the north of Vasilievsky Island, separated from it by Smolenka River ....
development) was a huge Palladian fantasy. In 1911, a British investment company launched a development project on a 1 square kilometer lot in the western Goloday Island, awarding general planning to Fomin. Building design was split between Fomin and Feodor Lidwahl. Fomin wanted to recreate the monumental imperial classics in a middle class community. Only a fraction of his plan materialized before World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. One building, a school on Kakhovsky Street, stands today.
Revolutionary years (1918-1926)
In 1918, Lidwahl left for SwedenSweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. Fomin stayed in St. Petersburg.
The Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
stopped all new construction; the few architectural jobs concentrated in monumental propaganda and city planning. Fomin managed to secure the chair of Petrograd (St.Petersburg) Zoning
Zoning
Zoning is a device of land use planning used by local governments in most developed countries. The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one set of land uses from another...
commission, and designed the Field of Mars
Field of Mars (Saint Petersburg)
The Field of Mars or Marsovo Polye is a large park named after the Mars - Roman god of war situated in the center of Saint-Petersburg, with an area of about 9 hectares. Bordering the Field of Mars to the north are the Marble Palace, Suvorova Square and Betskoi’s and Saltykov’s houses. To the west...
landscape (1920–1923).
Fomin trained a new generation of architects at VKhUTEMAS
VKhUTEMAS
Vkhutemas ) was the Russian state art and technical school founded in 1920 in Moscow, replacing the Moscow Svomas. The workshops were established by a decree from Vladimir Lenin with the intentions, in the words of the Soviet government, "to prepare master artists of the highest qualifications for...
/VKhuTEIN, at the same time developing his own concept of proletarian classicism. He asserted that a universal architecture must borrow essential principles from classicism, but the details of classicism are not important. As a result, the new architectural order can be simplified to a laconic set of basic elements, not bound by strict proportions. In practice, like all theories, it worked for good architects (like Fomin himself) but could not help mediocre imitators.
The last ten years (1926-1936)
Mossovet
Mossovet , an abbreviation of Moscow Soviet of People's Deputies, was the informal name of *parallel, shadow city administration of Moscow, Russia run by left-wing parties in 1917*city administration of Moscow in Soviet period...
workshops, Fomin is appointed to lead Design Workshop No.3. Here, he designed his three last projects (two will be completed after his death).
According to Selim Khan-Magomedov, Fomin was one of the two forerunners of so-called postconstructivism
Postconstructivism
Postconstructivism was a transitional architectural style that existed in the Soviet Union in the 1930s, typical of early Stalinist architecture before World War II. The term postconstructivism was coined by Selim Khan-Magomedov, a historian of architecture, to describe the product of avant-garde...
, an early stage of Stalinist architecture
Stalinist architecture
Stalinist architecture , also referred to as Stalinist Gothic, or Socialist Classicism, is a term given to architecture of the Soviet Union between 1933, when Boris Iofan's draft for Palace of the Soviets was officially approved, and 1955, when Nikita Khrushchev condemned "excesses" of the past...
(the other was Ilya Golosov
Ilya Golosov
Ilya Alexandrovich Golosov was a Russian Soviet architect. A leader of Constructivism in 1925-1931, Ilya Golosov later developed his own style of early stalinist architecture known as postconstructivism...
). Postconstructivism is defined as classical shapes without classical details, an attempt to reinvent new styling to replace classical order
Classical order
A classical order is one of the ancient styles of classical architecture, each distinguished by its proportions and characteristic profiles and details, and most readily recognizable by the type of column employed. Three ancient orders of architecture—the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian—originated in...
. Fomin eventually disposed with it in favor of true neoclassicism (as did all Stalinist architecture).
Fomin took part in all of the major architectural contests of his time:
- 1932-34 Kursky Rail TerminalKursky Rail TerminalKursky Rail Terminal is one of the nine rail terminals in Moscow. It was built in 1896.There are currently plans in the pipeline to completely rebuild or refurbish the Kursky Rail Terminal.-Long distance from Moscow:-Long distance via Moscow:...
- 1932-33 Palace of SovietsPalace of SovietsThe Palace of the Soviets was a project to construct an administrative center and a congress hall in Moscow, Russia, near the Kremlin, on the site of the demolished Cathedral of Christ the Saviour...
- 1934 NarkomtiazhpromNarkomtiazhpromThe Narkomtiazhprom was a 1934 architectural contest for the People's Commissariat of Construction of Heavy Industry, to be constructed in Red Square, Moscow...
- 1934 Moscow MetroMoscow MetroThe Moscow Metro is a rapid transit system serving Moscow and the neighbouring town of Krasnogorsk. Opened in 1935 with one line and 13 stations, it was the first underground railway system in the Soviet Union. As of 2011, the Moscow Metro has 182 stations and its route length is . The system is...
first stage.
He did win and completed one of the Metro jobs. Palace of Soviets was won by Boris Iofan
Boris Iofan
Boris Mihailovich Iofan was a Russian Soviet architect, known for his Stalinist architecture buildings like 1931 House on Embankment and the 1931-1933 winning draft of the Palace of Soviets.- Background :...
, construction began with enormous publicity but was terminated by German attack of 1941
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
. Other two contests didn't get beyond concept drafts.
Unlike Ivan Zholtovsky
Ivan Vladislavovich Zholtovsky
Ivan Vladislavovich Zholtovsky was a Russian-Soviet architect and educator. He worked primarily in Moscow since 1898 till his death. An accomplished master of Renaissance Revival before the Russian Revolution of 1917, later he became a key figure of Stalinist architecture.-Early years:Ivan...
, who abstained from the lowly work on subway stations, Fomin eagerly joined the contest for the Metro. He competed on the Krasniye Vorota
Krasniye Vorota
Krasnye Vorota is a Moscow Metro station in the Krasnoselsky District, Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow. It is on the Sokolnicheskaya Line, between Chistye Prudy and Komsomolskaya stations.- History :...
(Red Gates) against former constructivist
Constructivist architecture
Constructivist architecture was a form of modern architecture that flourished in the Soviet Union in the 1920s and early 1930s. It combined advanced technology and engineering with an avowedly Communist social purpose. Although it was divided into several competing factions, the movement produced...
Ilya Golosov
Ilya Golosov
Ilya Alexandrovich Golosov was a Russian Soviet architect. A leader of Constructivism in 1925-1931, Ilya Golosov later developed his own style of early stalinist architecture known as postconstructivism...
, whose entry appeared to be a true Doric Greek classic. Unfortunately for Golosov, exremely hard geological conditions required heavy, wide support pylons. His otherwise fine draft was not feasible for 1935 technology, giving way to Fomin's simple red granite design - a tribute to the old Red Gates, demolished in 1932. This station opened to public in 1935, while Fomin was alive. He designed one more station, Teatralnaya
Teatralnaya
Teatralnaya is an underground metro station on the Zamoskvoretskaya Line of the Moscow Metro, named for the nearby Teatralnaya Square, the location of numerous theaters, including the famed Bolshoi Theatre. The station is unique in that it does not have its own entrance halls...
(then Ploschad Sverdlova), which was completed two years after his death.
His last project on the ground, Government of Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
building in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, was approved for construction in 1934. This 10-story building, the earliest example of true Stalin's Empire Style, was hailed as the way to build and spawned numerous imitations. A peculiar feature is the quilt-like ornament on the columns. Fomin knew very well that a 25-meter bare column will look unnatural; the quilt warms up an otherwise dull shape. Column capitals
Capital (architecture)
In architecture the capital forms the topmost member of a column . It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface...
also differ from their Corynthian
Indo-Corinthian capital
Indo-Corinthian capitals are capitals crowning columns or pilasters, which can be found in the northwestern Indian subcontinent, and usually combine Hellenistic and Indian elements...
prototypes: at this height, he reasoned, fine Greek details would be lost, so he simplified and enlarged leaves of his ornament.
Legacy
Fomin died of a sudden strokein 1936 and was interred at Novodevichye Cemetery; Teatralnaya
Teatralnaya
Teatralnaya is an underground metro station on the Zamoskvoretskaya Line of the Moscow Metro, named for the nearby Teatralnaya Square, the location of numerous theaters, including the famed Bolshoi Theatre. The station is unique in that it does not have its own entrance halls...
and Government of Ukraine were completed by other architects. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Government of Ukraine building became a staple of Soviet textbooks on architecture, a model of Stalin's Empire.
Fomin's son, Igor Ivanovich Fomin (born 1904) also became an architect, working primarily in Saint Petersburg. A constructivist in his twenties, he later completed various Stalinist projects like Schemilovka residential district and Ploschad Vosstania metro station. Similarity of initials (I.I. Fomin vs. I.A. Fomin) frequently confuses journalists.
Fomin's Moscow studio and museum (at the back alley of Prospect Mira, 52, where he had lived in apartment 43) has been condemned for demolition by the City of Moscow in summer of 2006; preservationists are struggling to save the memorial building
Buildings
- 1900 Wilhelmina Reck Mansion (Moscow, Skatertny Lane, 25)
- 1900-1902 Moscow Art Theater (Apprentice under Schekhtel)
- 1909-1911 Shakhovskaya Mansion, interiors (Saint Petersburg, Fontanka embankment, 27)
- 1910 Gagarin familyGagarin familythumb|right|250px|The Gagarin Coat of ArmsGagarin is a Rurikid princely family descending from sovereign rulers of Starodub-on-the-Klyazma.-Origins:...
Kholomki estate, Pskov OblastPskov OblastPskov Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Pskov Oblast borders the countries of Estonia and Latvia, as well as Belarus. It is the westernmost federal subject of contiguous Russia . Its major cities are the administrative center Pskov and Velikiye Luki . Area: 55,300 km²... - 1911-1913 Polovtzov Mansion (Saint Petersburg, Srednei Nevki Embankment, 6)
- 1911-1914 Novy Peterburg (Golodai Island development), concept, planning, lead architect
- 1912 Novy Peterburg apartment building (Kakhovsky Lane, 10)
- 1912-1914 Novy Peterburg apartment building (Kakhovsky Lane, 2, completed 1927)
- 1912 Leonid Matsievich tomb (Saint Petersburg, Alexander Nevsky LavraAlexander Nevsky LavraSaint Alexander Nevsky Lavra or Saint Alexander Nevsky Monastery was founded by Peter I of Russia in 1710 at the eastern end of the Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg supposing that that was the site of the Neva Battle in 1240 when Alexander Nevsky, a prince, defeated the Swedes; however, the battle...
) - 1912 Ratkov-Rozhnov building, interiors (Saint Petersburg, Dvortzovaya Embankment, 8)
- 1912-1913 Ratkov-Rozhnov mansion, interiors (Saint Petersburg, Moika Embankment, 86)
- 1912-1913 Golubev mansion, interiors (Saint Petersburg, Bolshoy Prospect, 10)
- 1913 Neidgardt mansion, interiors (Saint Petersburg, Zacharievskaya, 31)
- 1913-1914 Vorontsov-Dashkov mansion, interiors (Saint Petersburg, Mokhovaya 10)
- 1913-1914 Abamelek-Lazarev mansion (Saint Petersburg, Moika Embankment, 23)
- 1914 Portal, "Cafe de Paris", (Saint Petersburg, Bolshaya Morskaya 16)
- 1913 Obelisks and lanterns, Lomonosov BridgeLomonosov BridgeLomonosov Bridge across the Fontanka River is the best preserved of towered movable bridges that used to be typical for Saint Petersburg in the 18th century....
(Saint Petersburg) - 1920-1923 Field of MarsField of Mars (Saint Petersburg)The Field of Mars or Marsovo Polye is a large park named after the Mars - Roman god of war situated in the center of Saint-Petersburg, with an area of about 9 hectares. Bordering the Field of Mars to the north are the Marble Palace, Suvorova Square and Betskoi’s and Saltykov’s houses. To the west...
garden landscaping, Saint Petersburg - 1927 Udarnik Sanatorium (ZheleznovodskZheleznovodskZheleznovodsk is a town in Stavropol Krai, Russia. Population: The name of the town literally means iron-water-place, as the mineral waters springing from the earth in Zheleznovodsk were believed to have high content of iron. Zheleznovodsk, along with Pyatigorsk, Yessentuki, Kislovodsk, and...
) - 1929 Chemical Institute (IvanovoIvanovoIvanovo is a city and the administrative center of Ivanovo Oblast, Russia. Population: Ivanovo has traditionally been called the textile capital of Russia. Since most textile workers are women, it has also been known as the "City of Brides"...
, concept, realized by A.I.Pavin 1930-1937, photograph) - 1928-1930 Dynamo Building (Moscow, Lubyanka Street)
- 1929-1930 MossovetMossovetMossovet , an abbreviation of Moscow Soviet of People's Deputies, was the informal name of *parallel, shadow city administration of Moscow, Russia run by left-wing parties in 1917*city administration of Moscow in Soviet period...
Building (Moscow) - 1930 Own studio building (Moscow, Prospect Mira, 52)
- 1930 Commissariat of Railways (Дом МПС, Дом-Паровоз - The Tank Engine Building) (Moscow)
- 1933-1936 Clinic for the Comissarian of Railways (Moscow, Basmannaya, ru_sovarch blog)
- 1935 Krasniye VorotaKrasniye VorotaKrasnye Vorota is a Moscow Metro station in the Krasnoselsky District, Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow. It is on the Sokolnicheskaya Line, between Chistye Prudy and Komsomolskaya stations.- History :...
station, Moscow MetroMoscow MetroThe Moscow Metro is a rapid transit system serving Moscow and the neighbouring town of Krasnogorsk. Opened in 1935 with one line and 13 stations, it was the first underground railway system in the Soviet Union. As of 2011, the Moscow Metro has 182 stations and its route length is . The system is... - 1934-1936 GovernmentBudynok UryaduBudynok Uryadu , literally the Government Building, is located in center of Kiev at Hrushevsky Street in the vicinity of Verkhovna Rada building. It serves as the administrative building for the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine...
of UkraineUkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
building (KievKievKiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, completed 1938 by P.V. Abrosimov)) - 1936 TeatralnayaTeatralnayaTeatralnaya is an underground metro station on the Zamoskvoretskaya Line of the Moscow Metro, named for the nearby Teatralnaya Square, the location of numerous theaters, including the famed Bolshoi Theatre. The station is unique in that it does not have its own entrance halls...
station, Moscow MetroMoscow MetroThe Moscow Metro is a rapid transit system serving Moscow and the neighbouring town of Krasnogorsk. Opened in 1935 with one line and 13 stations, it was the first underground railway system in the Soviet Union. As of 2011, the Moscow Metro has 182 stations and its route length is . The system is...
(completed 1938)
See also
- Architecture in the Age of Stalin: Culture Two, by Vladimir Paperny (Author), John Hill (Translator), Roann Barris (Translator), 2002, ISBN 978-0-521-45119-2
- William Craft Brumfield. The Origins of Modernism in Russian Architecture (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991) ISBN 0-520-06929-3
- Works on Russian Neoclassicism (1900–1914) by William Craft BrumfieldWilliam Craft BrumfieldWilliam Craft Brumfield is a contemporary American historian of Russian architecture, a preservationist and an architectural photographer. Brumfield is currently Professor of Slavic studies at Tulane University....
, i.e. "Commerce in Russian Urban Culture 1861-1914", ed. William C. Brumfield, The Woodrow Wilson Center Press, ISBN 978-0-8018-6750-7, and others. - Russian: Anna Starostina, "Pre-revolutionary interiors by Ivan Fomin", online at www.archi.ru