The Architecture Of St
Andrew McClarren
October 30, 2014
RUS 100
St. Basil’s Cathedral Essay
It goes without saying that St. Basil’s Cathedral commands attention and insists to be looked at. The structure and shape of the building in itself is incredible but with the addition of the exquisite, fantasy-like colors makes the cathedral all the more beautiful. Given its appearance, it’s quite surprising to many that it was constructed in the sixteenth century considering most architecture around the world during this time was gothic and lacked such bright colors and rounded features.
The Cathedral stands in Red Square, Moscow, Russia. Its construction was requested by Ivan the Terrible to celebrate his military victories and the capture of Kazan from the Tatar. In this time, Ivan the Terrible was most well-known for his barbaric cruelty and awful fits of rage and because of this, he and the church had often butt heads. For this reason, it seems rather odd that a political figure (especially one so heinous) could make the decision to construct a church especially during this time, but in fact, within the first several centuries of Christianity, the separation of church and state was rather common which made this sort of event relatively normal (Hepburn).
A variety of mysteries still surround the construction of St. Basil’s Cathedral. The builders themselves are still not entirely known. It is believed that a pair of brothers named Barma and Postnik Yakovlev were the head contractors. The most interesting rumor regarding the building of the cathedral in my personal opinion is that after the completion of the church, Ivan the Terrible had one of the brothers blinded so that he could never travel to another country or region to construct something more beautiful that this cathedral. There is no evidence of this and it is known that he had continued working as a contractor for several years following. Along with the supposed brothers building the church, a team of German stonemasons helped in
October 30, 2014
RUS 100
St. Basil’s Cathedral Essay
It goes without saying that St. Basil’s Cathedral commands attention and insists to be looked at. The structure and shape of the building in itself is incredible but with the addition of the exquisite, fantasy-like colors makes the cathedral all the more beautiful. Given its appearance, it’s quite surprising to many that it was constructed in the sixteenth century considering most architecture around the world during this time was gothic and lacked such bright colors and rounded features.
The Cathedral stands in Red Square, Moscow, Russia. Its construction was requested by Ivan the Terrible to celebrate his military victories and the capture of Kazan from the Tatar. In this time, Ivan the Terrible was most well-known for his barbaric cruelty and awful fits of rage and because of this, he and the church had often butt heads. For this reason, it seems rather odd that a political figure (especially one so heinous) could make the decision to construct a church especially during this time, but in fact, within the first several centuries of Christianity, the separation of church and state was rather common which made this sort of event relatively normal (Hepburn).
A variety of mysteries still surround the construction of St. Basil’s Cathedral. The builders themselves are still not entirely known. It is believed that a pair of brothers named Barma and Postnik Yakovlev were the head contractors. The most interesting rumor regarding the building of the cathedral in my personal opinion is that after the completion of the church, Ivan the Terrible had one of the brothers blinded so that he could never travel to another country or region to construct something more beautiful that this cathedral. There is no evidence of this and it is known that he had continued working as a contractor for several years following. Along with the supposed brothers building the church, a team of German stonemasons helped in