Alexander (Alexandrovich?) Digby (Jr.) - Russian architect of Italian origin, who worked in the southern provinces of the Russian Empire. The namesake of his father, also the architect Alexander Petrovich Digby (senior) , who worked in Astrakhan at the turn of the XVII-XIX centuries [1] [2] , which often leads to confusion.
| Alexander Digby | |
|---|---|
| Basic information | |
| A country | |
| Date of Birth | |
| Place of Birth | |
| Date of death | |
| Worked in the cities | |
| Architectural style | and |
| The most important buildings | and the |
Content
- 1 Biography
- 1.1 Father
- 1.2 Son
- 2 Famous projects of A. Digby (Jr.) [1]
- 2.1 Adjustment of the master plan of Kerch 1831 and 1837
- 2.2 The bell tower of the Church of St. John the Baptist in Kerch
- 2.3 The Great Mithridates Staircase
- 3 notes
- 4 Literature
- 5 Links
Biography
Father
Alexander Petrovich Digby (senior) (1758 — after 1840) hails from northern Italy , from Tuscany . This was one of many foreign experts - architects, topographers, builders, who were attracted by Catherine the Great for the development of the southern provinces newly joined to the Russian Empire. Before his arrival in Russia, very little is known about his biography. He arrived in Astrakhan in 1786 and as a provincial architect worked fruitfully until 1803 [3] [4] .
In 1804, Alexander Digby (senior) wrote:
“ I am Italian by nationality and subject to His Majesty the Emperor of Austria, I am 46 years old, I am married, have four children and mother-in-law a widow ... I had the honor to serve Her Imperial Majesty as the architect of the provincial city of Astrakhan from 1786 to 1803 and during this period of time I fulfilled his duties with success and with all zeal ... ".
In 1803 he was brought to trial, but was acquitted, in 1818-1825 he worked in Odessa. Presumably in 1825-1830 he moved to Kherson [2] .
Son
Even a major study by V. I. Timofeenko, “The Architects of Ukraine,” does not provide any biographical information about Digby Jr. His kinship with Digby Sr. is still presumably [2] .
In the third decade of the 19th century, A. A. Digby (Jr.) worked in the Novorossiysk province ; his large buildings in Kerch are known, where he served as a city architect with I. I. Tumkovsky in 1830-1840.
Famous projects of A. Digby (Jr.) [1]
Adjustment of the Kerch Master Plan of 1831 and 1837
The general plan of Kerch F. Schall required processing, since the city did not become a provincial, but only the center of the Kerch-Yenikalsky city administration , a smaller administrative unit. It was produced twice, in 1831 and 1837, by city architects I. I. Tumkovsky and A. Digby Jr. The discrepancies of the 1821 drawing with nature were eliminated and the changes that occurred in the building were legally recorded. The plans of 1831 and 1837 served to determine the further territorial development of the city. According to the general plan, the Kushnikovsky Institute for girls, a district school, a hospital, and also bell towers for churches - Trinity and John the Baptist were later built. The growth of the territory of the city was restrained by natural factors: the swampy Melek-Cesme delta in the north and the saline lake at the site of the fishing port in the south. The problem of expansion was solved by draining the delta due to the digging of the canal (1834) [5] .
Digby Jr. developed a project for lantern lighting, erected customs buildings (1832 - 1836), built a bridge over the canal, designed paving of streets and led its implementation. Completed projects: county school (1835 - 1836, co-author I. Tumkovsky), Kushnikov Institute of Noble Maidens (1838 - 1841), city hospital, police department (1841), refectory and bell tower of the Church of St. John the Baptist (1834, 1842) . Digby's outstanding work was the creation of the Mithridates staircase, which became the main element of the world-famous architectural ensemble (1833 - 1837, co-author G. Toricelli ) [2] .
The bell tower of the Church of St. John the Baptist in Kerch
In connection with the constant growth of the Christian population of Kerch after the annexation of Crimea to the Russian Empire, early medieval churches were already lacking. First, another church was built, and then a decision was made to expand the Church of St. John the Baptist. By August 1803, a three-nave western extension was built with choirs and a bell tower. By 1835, a northern rectangular annex was erected with pilasters and a pediment. In the early 1840s, the church was reconstructed again, while the old bell tower was replaced by a narthex, and instead of it, according to the design of Alexander Digby, a new two-tier bell tower was erected located on the western facade of the original temple [6] .
Church of St. John the Baptist. Watercolor I.A. Ivanova . 1803. Before the extension of the bell tower A. Digby
The project of the bell tower. A. Digby, 1842
Modern view of the bell tower of the project A. Digby
The design of the stairs to Mount Mithridates, architect A. Digby, 1830
Great Mithridates staircase at the beginning of the 20th century
Modern look
Great Mithridates Stairs
On Mount Mithridates , which dominates the central part of the city from ancient times, he designed and built a grand staircase in the 1830s, from which you can see a panorama of the city and the coast of the Kerch Strait to Taman. Now this work of architectural art has 432 steps leading to the top of Mount Mithridates. The construction of stairs was carried out from 1833 to 1840. Then there were 214 steps and they led to the building of the Kerch Museum of Antiquities ( Hephaestion served as a prototype) of the project of the architect G.I. Toricelli , also an Italian in Russian service. Stairs decorated with figures of griffins and large vases were the most decoration of the city. The staircase consists of three tiers connecting the foot of Mithridates and three terraces with city streets. Tiers are united by observation platforms located on the terraces, each tier is formed by alternating front and side staircases with platforms. Decorated balustrades and massive stone railings on curly racks were used to decorate the stairs, viewing platforms were decorated with griffin sculptures and decorative vases. The facades of viewing platforms and frontal marches are decorated with arches, the castle stones of the arches stand out in size and are decorated with bas-reliefs of lion heads. The project uses an artistic technique of reverse perspective [7] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Rudchenko, Shcheboleva, 2012 .
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Timofіnko, 1999 .
- ↑ Mikhailova M. B. Alexander Digby - the architect of classicism in the south of Russia // // Architectural heritage. - Issue 28: National features of the architecture of the peoples of the USSR / Ed. O. H. Halpakhchyan. - Stroyizdat, 1980. - S. 80–88 .
- ↑ Tarkova, 2011 .
- ↑ Salnikov Jr. A.A., Master of Architecture. Russian Kerch (1830 - 1900) Architecture . KERCH.COM.RU (04/23/2002).
- ↑ Ponomarev, Beilin, Beilina, 2009 .
- ↑ Mithridates staircase . Electronic media of KerchINFO ( 03.21.2016 ).
Literature
- Mikhailova M. B. Alexander Digby - the architect of classicism in the south of Russia // // Architectural heritage. - Issue 28: National features of the architecture of the peoples of the USSR / Ed. O. H. Halpakhchyan. - Stroyizdat, 1980. - S. 80–88 .
- Timofіnko V. І. DIGBI // ARCHITECTES OF UKRAINE KINTSIA XVIII - COB OF THE XX CENTURY (unspecified) . - Biographical writer .. - K .: NDITAM, 1999 .-- 477 p.
- Tarkova R.A. Astrakhan State University. The Italian footprint in Astrakhan: the Age of Enlightenment (Russian) // Volga Magazine. - 2011. - June 1 ( No. 75 ).
- Ponomarev L.Yu., Beilin D.V., Beilina S.A. Church of St. John the Baptist in Kerch (in sources and historiography of the XIV — XX centuries) // Sacrum et Profanum / ed. ON. Alekseenko, H. Hoffmann. - Sevastopol, 2009. - Issue. IV. Religion in human life and society . - S. 129-142 . - ISBN 978-966-8738-17-3 .
- Rudchenko V.M., Shcheboleva E.G. Province architecture // . - The history of Russian art T. 14 .. - M. , 2012. - S. 198–259.
- Anatoly Gorbatyuk. Fragments of the history of Odessa in the enfilade of bridges over the Quarantine beam (Rus.) // World Club of Odessa. - 2018. - No. 75 . - S. 51-60 .