Need help with HotMedia?
 previous room |
next room |
|
|
This interior, decorated to the design of Francesco
Bartolomeo Rastrelli, was one of the most splendid in the Winter Palace.
When restoring the church after the fire of 1837, Vasily Stasov recreated
its original look. The space of the church is divided into three architectural
volumes; two of them - the one closest to the entrance and the altar
portion - are provided with double rows of windows. The central volume
is crowned with a dome and accentuated by pylons with double fluted
Corinthian columns. The walls are decorated with the Corinthian pilasters
alternating with the arched windows that give light to the church
on two sides. The lower row of the windows is separated from the upper
one with the highly projected and fractured cornice. The gilded stucco
ornament made of papier-mache is the principal artistic decoration
of the church along with the ceiling painting The Ascension of Christ
by Pyotr Basin and the images of the four evangelists by Fiodor Bruni
on the vault sides under the dome.
The crimson draperies and gilded chandeliers complete the impressive
décor of the interior. |
