Lev Kekushev - architect: photo, biography, buildings in Moscow

At one time an outstanding architect, Lev Kekushev, was able to avoid a military career, which his father, an out-of-court adviser, had prophesied to him. The son managed to convince the parents of their relevance. He was the first brilliant architect working in the Art Nouveau style. A sign in the form of a lion was noted by all his works in Moscow by the architect Kekushev.

Family of the outward counselor

The biography of the brilliant architect Leo Nikolaevich Kekushev abounds in dark spots. Some researchers of his work and biography believe that he was born in 1862 in Saratov. Others argue that the architect was born in Vilna, that in the Warsaw province. We will start from this fact.

Lev Nikolaevich Kekushev grew up and was brought up in the family of the military. His father served as a major in the Pavlovsky regiment, which was stationed in the Kingdom of Poland. Apparently, it was there that he first met his future wife. Her name was Constance. She was the daughter of a Polish landowner.

In 1861, the head of the family decided to resign. He entered the civil service. His new place of work was the engineering building. Repeatedly in the service he had to move to other regions. In different periods he lived in St. Petersburg, Pskov, Novgorod, until he settled in Vilna. It was there that his son, the future architect, was born. By this time the father of the family had risen to the rank of a court counselor.

In addition to Lev Kekushev, who was the third child, there were 6 children. The family lived rather poorly. That is why the parents targeted their offspring to receive a decent education, as it provided an opportunity to count on a good career in the future.

The first experiments

By 1883, the young Kekushev Lev Nikolaevich graduated from the real school in Vilna. And since he had already shown obvious artistic ability and hated military drill, he went to St. Petersburg. He intended to enter the Institute of Civil Engineers, which happened the same year.

Within the walls of this educational institution he studied together with such future well-known architects as V. Velichkin, I. Ivanov-Shits and N. Markov.

When he was a student, Kukushev Leo Nikolayevich had to perform a number of independent student works, where he once again showed his extraordinary ability to paint.

At the end of his studies he defended his thesis project, which was called "Slaughterhouse in St. Petersburg". Shortly before the diploma, he managed to find work in the Technical and Construction Committee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. As a result, in 1888 he graduated from the university, becoming a professional civil engineer. In addition, he was awarded the Silver Medal for his success in architecture.

After that, Lev Kekushev worked for a short time as an assistant to the town planner. However, already in 1890 he decided to retire, going to the Holy See.

Mentor

In the capital, Kekushev decided to devote himself mainly to private architectural practice. So, he began his internship with the fashionable architect S. Eybuschitz, and also became his assistant. In this capacity, he took part in the construction of the Okhotny Ryad and Central Baths.

By and large these lessons of a prominent architect helped not only to crystallize the style of the young architect, but also to form a circle of potential customers, among whom were wealthy people from merchant families.

In addition, during the internship Kekushev managed to master the skills of various applied decorative techniques. This refers to forging, electroforming, as well as etching on glass and metal.

Own architectural workshop

Kekushev completed his internship in 1893-m. After that he opened his own architectural firm. Unfortunately, the documents on the activities of this workshop are almost not preserved. But there are data on the architects who performed his tasks, observed the erection of a number of construction sites and developed the decorative decoration of interiors and facades.

Such assistants were, for example, the brothers Shutsmans. They, including, took part in the design of the Korobkov mansion and Frank's apartment house. They also monitored the construction of the Nikolsky trade rows.

Other assistants of Kekushev were V. Voeikov and N. Shevyakov. In addition, through the school of the architect were prominent Russian architects A. Kuznetsov and I. Fomin.

In addition to working in the office, Kekushev worked as a teacher at the Technical School in the capital. For the needs of the institution, he managed to build a chemical laboratory.

Kekushev taught at the Stroganov Art and Industrial School. He gave his students lessons on silvering, iron forging and composition. Then he started working in one of the engineering schools.

For five years, Kekushev held the post of district architect. And he himself was able to erect a building with elements of Moorish style for the almshouse named after Hera.

Imperial order

By the mid-90's to Kekushev came the first glory. Gradually, he began to transform from an ordinary architect into an eminent architect. It was then that he received the order of the Emperor Nicholas II himself.

In these years, the official coronation of the new autocrat was being prepared. For the event it was decided to place a part of Tverskaya Street, the City Duma and Voskresenskaya Square. For this purpose, a competition was announced, where the best architects took part. As a result, the order was in the hands of Kekushev. And after a while he successfully completed this work. Since then, the name of the architect was already known throughout the empire.

New direction

The same period in the life of the master was also marked by the fact that the architect Kekushev, whose biography is full of interesting facts, gradually moved on to the architectural style of Art Nouveau.

The first such work was the house of Khludov, which is considered one of the brightest examples of this direction. By today, this building has been rebuilt, but the façade has been preserved.

This manner of the architect was supported by a number of capital builders and well-known philanthropists, among whom were Kuznetsovs, Nosovs and many others.

Savva Mamontov and apartment houses

By this time, a serious financial success came to Kekushev. He became a popular specialist in this field. The well-known businessman Savva Mamontov decided to attract a famous architect to his projects. For example, Kekushev took part in the construction of the Northern Railway, and also designed a water tower at one of the Moscow railway stations.

But, perhaps, the most grandiose joint project was the construction of the Metropol Hotel.

At this time, Kekusheva was appointed chief architect of the two organizations. It was an insurance company that planned to build fashionable mansions under the "key" in the Art Nouveau style, and the House Building Society, which was engaged in the construction of Metropol. The idea belonged to the owner of the hotel S. Mamontov. Unfortunately, at some point he decided to give the contract to architect V. Vilkot. The construction began, but the Mammoth project could not be realized, because he was accused of large embezzlement and arrested. After a while he was acquitted, but business was ruined.

The new owners of the hotel again invited Kekushev to be able to handle the entire project of Vilcot. Professionals of their business believe that Kekushev's participation ensured the colossal success of the whole enterprise.

In addition to erecting the Metropole, Kekushev began to build his own profitable houses. Also, the architect built his own mansion on Ostozhenka. Entrepreneur G. List was admired by the architect Kekushev's house. He offered a huge price for the building. Kekushev could not refuse.

The culmination of creativity

The creative peak of Lev Kekushev came at the beginning of the twentieth century. At the turn of the century, he was already considered the founder and loyal follower of the capital's modernist style. It was during this period that the Moscow architect Lev Kekushev designed and built such buildings as the mansions of I. Mindovski and Nosov, the Iverian shopping arcades, and the railway station in Tsaritsyno. Also, according to his sketches, the entrance from the Arbat and a number of rooms of the restaurant "Prague" were designed. In addition, Kekushev had to decorate the halls of I. Morozov's private residence, which is on Prechistenka Street.

In general, all works in Moscow architect Kekushev performed at a high level. In these buildings his soul is invested. They are worthy of attention. For all its objects is characterized by an almost ideal study of interiors.

The Age of Troubles

When the first Russian revolution struck, public tastes began to change. If before the events of 1905 the luxurious early Art Nouveau prevailed in architecture, then after that the new trend was a laconic and restrained northern modern.

Unfortunately, the architect Lev Nikolaevich Kekushev either did not want, or could not work in a new direction, and his popularity and authority began to decrease.

In 1907, he was going to build a restaurant called "Eldorado". In fact, this project was to become one of the architect's biggest plans. However, another specialist began building the building. As a result, the construction was completed, but with large and serious deviations from the drawings of L. Kekushev. The last bright creation of the architect is the hospital in Preobrazhensky. It was erected on the eve of the First World War, in 1912.

The subsequent work of the architect Kekushev performed without much expressiveness and individuality.

Death

After 1912, the fate of Kekushev found a truly tragic shade. It seemed that the architect did not begin to take contracts at all. He only put pictures of his old creations in various editions.

Also, there were no mention of him at all. True, in professional journals it was possible to make sure that he, fortunately, is alive and sometimes moves to new apartments.

Such self-elimination, according to the architect's biographers, was caused by a mental illness. Other historians believe that the architect Kekushev became self-absorbed because of recent personal and career failures.

Be that as it may, when the October Revolution and the civil war began, the master disappeared altogether. It is still unknown when he died and when he was buried ... True, according to one of his relatives, Lev Kekushev died in 1917 in the hospital. And buried him in one of the metropolitan pogosts ... As the memory of himself left the architect Kekushev built in Moscow. You can see a photo of his works in the article.

In the bosom of the family

The personal life of the architect is rich in events. In this case, there were family dramas. In the late nineteenth century, Kekushev met Anna Bolotova, daughter of a retired staff captain. She was born and lived in Kremenchug, in the Poltava province. At the time of the meeting, this charming girl was only nineteen. Successful metropolitan architect was already almost 35. Despite the difference, beloved married. This happened in late April 1897.

Initially, the couple were genuinely happy. Their children grew up. In the property they had a dacha in the magnificent Silver Forest. Also, a few years after the wedding, they moved to their own mansion on Ostozhenka, as mentioned earlier. In fact, this "exclusive housing" spoke of the real rise of the professional career of the architect. Agree, luxury houses that were built by author projects, owned units.

According to the stories of the only grandson of the architect, Kekushev possessed a wonderful character. He was cheerful and kind to relatives, friends and colleagues. Loved pranks. But his real passion was always architecture. As a rule, he went up at six in the morning, after which he began to work in his office. According to the memoirs of his wife Kekushev, he was very enthusiastic person. And when he designed, often exceeded the necessary estimates. In this situation, he sometimes paid for himself the missing from his wallet in order to see the embodiment of his plans. Unfortunately, it is because of this character trait in the future that he left nothing behind, except for debts.

At least family happiness lasted about ten years. In 1906, Kekushev decided to move to a rented apartment. According to unconfirmed sources, the cause of the break was treason on the part of the architect's spouse. According to the researchers, she started an affair with one of her colleagues in the workshop of Kekushev.

Nevertheless, the couple repeatedly tried to establish their relations. In any case, there was a period when they lived together again. But then they again parted. All these attempts to keep the marriage were in vain.

Architect Kekushev: children

As mentioned above, the young family of Kekushevs had children. The firstborn of the famous couple was Nikolai's son. He was born at the very end of February 1898. In 1901 the wife of the architect gave him a daughter Tatyana. And the next year, the youngest daughter Katya was born.

His son later became a famous aviator. In 1924 he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. He then conducted military operations in the territory of the Central Asian republics.

In 1930 he worked as a flight mechanic of the polar aviation. At that time he was part of the crew of P. Golovin. These pilots managed to land at the North Pole for the first time, when the expedition of the famous polar explorer I. Papanin was preparing.

When the Great Patriotic War began and the blockade of Leningrad, Nikolai took a civilian plane to the inhabitants of the northern capital for a large land. On his account about fifty flights.

After the war, he was in prison, after which he went to the camp. When he was released, he decided to write a book about his memories. The most amazing thing about this work is that there are no details about the life and death of a famous father.