Blagovieshchenski Sobor
The Cathedral of the Annunciation is of a more elaborate and picturesque style than either the Uspenski or the Archangelski, which, in part, may be attributed to the fact that it is more intimately connected with the Royal Palaces than they are. Reached directly by the palace terrace, it is the complement of the Krasnœ Kriltso, and was used for the baptism of the royal children, the confessions of the Tsars, and religious ceremonies of a semi-state character. Its earlier designations were, among others, the “Church of the Grand-Ducal Court,” “Church of the Tsarian Vestibule,” and “Church of the Tsarian Treasury,” which clearly indicate the court uses for which it has been employed. It has nine cupolas; the roof of pointed vaults rising tier above tier is most characteristic of Muscovite architecture, and the entrance is by a flight of steps communicating with a covered gallery which surrounds the church, see page 178. Its early history is that of the others; first, a wooden church erected by Andrew in 1291, rebuilt in 1397; in 1409 the walls decorated with pictures by Rublev; in part demolished by Ivan III., who built again from the first floor up, and, completed in 1482, painted during the reign of Vasili Ivanovich; damaged by the fire of 1547 Ivan IV. restored it, and furnished cupolas covered with the gold he seized at Novgorod. The Poles in 1610 and the French in 1812 both spoiled it, but the last only partially, the fact that most of its treasures had been taken away to Vologda probably misleading them so that they did not make a thorough search for the valuables left within. During its recent restoration the architect found that earlier decorations existed beneath the outer coverings of plaster and paint; they were carefully uncovered and remain exposed.
The entrance is by the northern porch within the railed-off Sobornia Ploshchad; among the first mural paintings on the right are portraits of the ancient philosophers, Aristotle, Plato, Ptolemy, Socrates, Thucydides, Zeno, and others, with lengthy quotations from their writings on tablets they support; beyond, representations of the Saviour and the apostles, these pictures dating from 1771, the year of the great plague. The side posts of the doorways, richly carved, are of early sixteenth century native work—and some of the best specimens now extant. The interior of the church is small, and looks even smaller than it really is owing to an elevated tribune, or gallery, against the west wall, which served for members of the Tsar’s family to participate in the services without being exposed to public view, the Tsar himself being on the ground floor, opposite the ikonostas. The parquet is of Jasper mosaic, a present from the Shah to Alexis. Concerning it, an enthusiastic, travelled native author remarks: “It is a facsimile of a mosaic in St Mark’s, Venice; the only difference being that whereas the floor of St Mark’s is uneven, to represent the ripples of the sea and symbolise that Venice rules on the foaming waves, this is quite regular and uniform, emblematic of the vast steppes of which Moscow is the sovereign.”[D]
[D] This church has the further distinction of being the first supplied with a public clock, which was placed there by Lazarus Serbin, in the seventeenth century. About the south porch the last public discussions were held with dissenters led by the able Pafnuty.
Even more interesting are the old mural paintings, pre-Raphælite in point of time and in the argot of the studio “more than pre-Raphælite” in style. The subjects are biblical: the adventures of Jonah; the mysterious visions recorded in the Apocalypse; the punishment of the damned; the glories of Paradise, with much else that is curious. They are already the joy of a “school” and the admiration of Russian antiquaries. Though crude, unreal, and not a little absurd now, in the long ago, among the uncultured people to whom they were first presented, they cannot have failed to impress beholders powerfully, notwithstanding that their influence upon the art of the time was infinitesimal.