12.03. 1738 – 13.08. 1799

“It is difficult to find a more perfect balance of all parts of a single structure than that achieved here,” Igor Grabar wrote about Pashkov’s house in Moscow. This palace is located opposite the Moscow Kremlin-now this is the old building of the library of the former Rumyantsev Museum. Uneven plot in many ways complicated the task of the architect, but Vasily Bazhenov was able to create an amazingly refined and harmonious building, which became the decoration of Moscow.

Vasily Bazhenov was born in the Kaluga province, but soon after the birth of his son, the family moved to the capital. The love of drawing, perseverance and diligence enabled the son of the church sexton to achieve incredible successes, to obtain a noble title, to leave a mark on the history of architecture.

Not even reaching the age of 18, Vasily Bazhenov earned the rank of second-class painter. The young man’s talent was noticed by the architect Ukhtomsky, who in 1751 enlisted Bazhenov as an auditor in his own architectural school. Already in 1757 Bazhenov entered the Academy of Arts, where his teacher becomes Chevakinsky. The venerable architect appreciated Bazhenov’s work and appointed him as his assistant during the construction of the St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral. In 1759, one of the first Vasily Bazhenov was sent by the Academy to France, where he continued studying architecture under the leadership of Devalia.

Despite the fact that Vasily Bazhenov had a brilliant education, had a talent, many of his projects were not implemented. For eight years, the architect was developing the concept of the Grand Kremlin Palace, however, the construction of the grandiose complex was never completed. Ten years he spent on the erection of the royal residence in Tsaritsyno, but the pseudo-gothic buildings seemed dark to Catherine II, and as a result all the central buildings were demolished and rebuilt by the architect Kazakov.

After the death of the empress, Paul I, who ascended the throne, returns the architect from disgrace: he not only appoints him to the post of vice-president of the Academy of Arts, but instructs Bazhenov to conduct a study of Russian architects’ projects and to supervise the most talented. These plans architect was not destined to come true – in August 1799, Vasily Bazhenov died.