THE MEANING OF SHATER FORM IN THE ARCHITECTURE OF RUSSIAN RENAISSANCE OF THE 16TH CENTURY

Abstract

The article is intended to clarify the original signification of a tent-shaped roof in church architecture in order to help Russian architects of the 21st century to use it meaningfully and in accordance with centuries-old tradition. The article deals with the problem of the genesis of the tent-shaped roof of the church and its primitive meaning in a wide cultural and symbolic context. Within the frame of a longstanding scientific discussion that lasted a century and a half different opinions had been expressed: the origin of the tent-shaped roof was linked with the traditions of Russian timber constructions as well as with the influences of Armenian, Georgian and even Indian architectural traditions. The article discusses the historical and culturalogical context of the creation of the first known masonry tent-shaped roof in the Church of the Ascension in Kolomenskoye built according to the commission of the Grand Duke Vasily III. The date of completion of the church is documented – that happened in 1532. The authorship of the project was discussed for a long time. Now it is considered to be definitely proved that the author was an Italian architect Petrok Maly (Pietro Annibale di Piza). The authors show the link of the meaning of the church in Kolomenskoye with the conceptions of Moscow as the New Constantinople and the Third Rome. We show the similarity of forms of the muscovite church with the description of the ciborium of the church of Saint Sophia in Constantinople in the text of Saint Germanus of Constantinople, known in the 16th century Russia.