Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli

Portrait of Count Rastrelli painted by Lucas Conrad Pfanzelt (1716-1788).

Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli (Russian: Франче́ско Бартоломе́о (Варфоломе́й Варфоломе́евич) Растре́лли; Florence, Italy, 1700 – Saint Petersburg, Russia, 29 April 1771) was an Italian architect naturalized Russian. He developed an easily recognizable style of Late Baroque, both sumptuous and majestic. His major works, including the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg and the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoye Selo, are famed for extravagant luxury and opulence of decoration.

Biography

Bartolomeo went to Russia in 1715 with his father, Italian sculptor Carlo Bartolomeo Rastrelli (1675-1744). His ambition was to combine the latest Italian architectural fashion with traditions of the Muscovite baroque style. The first important commission came in 1721 when he was asked to build a palace for Prince Demetre Cantemir, former ruler of Moldavia.

He was appointed to the post of senior court architect in 1730. His works found favour with female monarchs of his time, so he retained this post throughout the reigns of Empresses Anna (1730-1740) and Elizabeth (1741-1762).

Rastrelli's last and most ambitious project was the Smolny Convent in St. Petersburg where Empress Elizabeth was to spend the rest of her life. The projected bell-tower was to become the tallest building in St Petersburg and all of Russia. Elizabeth's death in 1762 prevented Rastrelli from completing this grand design.

The new empress, Catherine II, dismissed baroque architecture as an old-fashioned "whipped cream", and the aged architect had to retire to Courland where he supervised the completion and decoration of the ducal palaces.

His last years were spent in obscure commerce with Italian art-dealers. He was elected to the Imperial Academy of Arts several months before his death. A square in front of the Smolny Convent has borne Rastrelli's name since 1923.

References in modern culture

He is the subject of a composition, Rastrelli in Saint Petersburg, written in the year 2000 by Italian composer Lorenzo Ferrero.

Ten extant buildings by Rastrelli

#	Image	Name	Location	Date
1		Rundāle Palace	Pilsrundāle near Bauska Latvia	1736—1740 1764—1767
2		Jelgava Palace	Jelgava Latvia	1738—1740 1763—1772
3		Peterhof Palace	Peterhof near St. Petersburg Russia	1747—1755
—		Peterhof Palace Chapels	Peterhof near St. Petersburg Russia	1747—1751
4		Saint Andrew's Church	Kiev Ukraine	1748—1767
5		Smolny Convent	St. Petersburg Russia	1748—1764
6		Vorontsov Palace	St. Petersburg Russia	1749—1757
7		Catherine Palace	Tsarskoe Selo (Pushkin) Russia	1752—1756
—		Hermitage Pavilion	Tsarskoe Selo (Pushkin) Russia	1749
8		Mariyinsky Palace	Kiev Ukraine	1752 1870
9		Stroganov Palace	St. Petersburg Russia	1753—1754
10		Winter Palace	St. Petersburg Russia	1754—1762

Demolished buildings

#	Image	Name	Notes	Location	Date
1		Annenhof	Built of wood, replaced by Catherine Palace (Moscow)	Lefortovo District, Moscow Russia	1731 displaced 1736 burnt down 1746
2		Anna's Winter Palace	Replaced by Winter Palace	Saint Petersburg Russia	1732—1735 demolished 1754
3		Summer Palace	Built of wood, replaced by Saint Michael's Castle	Saint Petersburg Russia	1741—1744 demolished 1797
4		Winter Kremlin Palace	Replaced by Grand Kremlin Palace	Moscow Kremlin Russia	1747—1756 rebuilt 1798 demolished 1837

External links

• Media related to Bartolomeo Rastrelli at Wikimedia Commons