St. Vladimir's Cathedral
St. Vladimir Cathedral Patriarchal Cathedral
Ukraine, Kyiv
In 1852, Metropolitan Filaret expressed the idea of building a cathedral in Kyiv dedicated to the 900th anniversary of the Baptism of Russia. This idea was very much liked by Emperor Nicholas I, who approved the project. All over the country began collecting donations for the construction of the temple, and by September 1859, about 100 thousand rubles had been collected. The Kiev-Pechersk Lavra donated 1 million bricks produced at its own brick factory for the construction. The original design of the cathedral belonged to the St. Petersburg architect I. V. Shtrom and the Kiev diocesan architect P. I. Sparro. Later, this project was thoroughly revised by the architect A. V. Beretti.
Vladimir Cathedral was dedicated to the Baptist of Russia - the Holy Prince Vladimir. The external and internal appearance of the temple was conceived by architects in the old Byzantine style, which was used to build ancient Russian churches during the time of St. Vladimir and Yaroslav the Wise. Vladimirsky Cathedral was founded in 1862, but its construction, complicated by technical difficulties, dragged on for almost thirty years - from 1862 to 1896. The solemn consecration of the cathedral took place on August 20, 1896 in the presence of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.
The cathedral is a six-pillar temple, traditional for Russian architecture, with three apses, crowned with seven domes. The building is 55 meters long, 30 meters wide and 49 meters high, including the cross. The facade of the building is decorated with mosaics by the artist A. N. Frolov. On the massive bronze doors of the main portal, you can see cast bronze reliefs with images of Princess Olga and Prince Vladimir the Holy.
St. Volodymyr's Cathedral in Kyiv is a brilliant example of the synthesis of art and architecture. The glory of a monument of outstanding cultural significance, the Vladimir Cathedral received mainly due to its unique paintings. The cathedral was painted by a group of outstanding artists: V. M. Vasnetsov, M. A. Vrubel, M. V. Nesterov, P. A. Svedomsky and V. A. Kotarbinsky under the general supervision of Professor A. V. Prakhov. Prakhov is also the author of projects for a number of interior details, in particular, bronze entrance doors. Masters from Venice also took part in decorating the interior of the cathedral with mosaics. The general theme of the painting of the cathedral is "The work of our salvation." This is told both by large-scale compositions on evangelical themes and by the symbolically outlined history of the Russian church: it is symbolized by thirty figures of Russian saints: martyrs, saints, princes, holy women - the whole history of Russian Orthodoxy, all impulses of the spirit, seeking feat and truth...
The main role in the creation of the temple painting belongs to V. M. Vasnetsov. He performed 15 compositions and 30 individual figures. Vasnetsov painted the main nave of the cathedral, in which, in addition to gospel stories, large-scale historical compositions take up a large place: "The Baptism of Prince Vladimir" and "The Baptism of Kiev", as well as portraits of canonized Russian princes: Alexander Nevsky, Andrey Bogolyubsky, Princess Olga. Vasnetsov's brush belongs to the central composition in the altar of the temple - the Mother of God with the Child. For those who enter the cathedral for the first time, the image of the Mother of God becomes the strongest impression. In the shimmering golden half-light, on light clouds, coldly and gently lit by the dawn, the Mother of God easily and unhurriedly goes towards the audience: the Queen of Heaven carries her Son to the sinful world ... The traditional image of the Mother of God received an unusually original and peculiar interpretation under the brush of Vasnetsov. This image was called "Vasnetsovskaya Mother of God". Her large brown eyes, full of sadness and love, look affectionately at the viewer. Unusually beautiful is her pale face, illuminated by an inner light. The image of the Mother of God is filled with love and human beauty.
Initially, sketches for the painting of the Vladimir Cathedral were prepared by M. A. Vrubel, but they were not accepted as the final version. Vrubel's brushes belong to the painting of the right nave of the cathedral. The authorship of M. V. Nesterov belongs to 4 iconostasis of the side aisles, the compositions "Christmas", "Resurrection" and "Theophany", as well as a number of icons of the main church and aisles. Among them, the icons of the holy noble princes Boris and Gleb and the holy princess Olga stand out especially. Written against the backdrop of a characteristic "Nesterov" landscape, the image of Prince Gleb is filled with sad poetry - as if a premonition of imminent death at the hands of a murderer falls like a reflection on the inspired face of the young prince ...
Svedomsky and Kotarbinsky together completed 18 compositions and 84 individual figures of the cathedral mural. Among them, full of drama and tragic pathos, the compositions "The Last Supper", "Christ before Pilate", "Crucifixion", vivid images of the ancient Russian princes Andrei Bogolyubsky and Igor Svyatoslavich, the hero of "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" stand out. The iconostasis of the cathedral was made of smoky gray Carrara marble. Multi-colored marbles from Italy, France, Belgium, Russia and Spain adorn the interior of the temple. The mosaic floor of the cathedral is also made of marble. Rich silver utensils for the Vladimir Cathedral were made by the well-known jewelry firm Khlebnikov.
Vladimir Cathedral immediately attracted the attention of contemporaries. Its artistic merits were hotly discussed, they were much argued about, but no one disputed the fact that the rapid rise of Russian art at the end of the 19th century found its bright and powerful embodiment in this building. Contemporaries unanimously called the Vladimir Cathedral in Kyiv "the first inspired work of Russian religious art."
