Cameron Charles is a Scottish architect whose genius was developed and embodied in creations during the Enlightenment in the era of Catherine the Great in Russia. He created wonderful buildings in Tsarskoye Selo and Pavlovsk.
Young years of the architect
The date of his birth is not precisely established. Presumably this is the year 1745-1746. And although he was a Scotsman, it would be logical to assume that the future architect was born in Edinburgh, but historians indicate London as his birthplace. His father, a construction contractor, wanted to accustom his son to this craft and sent him to study at the Carpenters' Company. But the young man was attracted by something completely different. He studied drawing and engraving, and soon became an excellent draftsman and met the architect Isaac Bear, who carried him to the study of ancient baths and working on a book about them.
Italy
After the death of Weara, when the young man was twenty years old, Cameron Charles went to Rome to make accurate measurements of ancient Roman terms, and then correct the mistakes in the works of Andrea Palladio, architect of the late Renaissance, and bring the work of Weara to the end. It took six years. Then came the monumental theoretical work "Therms of the Romans" in both English and French. Catherine II got acquainted with him and was delighted. Then she invited the architect, who had not yet built a single building, but who brilliantly knew antiquity, to Russia.
In the Russian Empire
Cameron Charles arrived in Russia in 1779. He came from England through Denmark to Kronstadt, and then to Petersburg, and entered the service, having concluded a three-year agreement to work in a country where he was destined to become famous.
Replacing the magnificent Elizabethan baroque with a light and austere antique style, Cameron Charles proved that classicism is viable and far from those warm and sunny lands where it was born into the light. The architect was an ambitious, but stern and gloomy man who put up a wall between himself and people. In Russia, judging by the descriptions, Charles Cameron did not make close friends, even in the English diaspora. However, in 1784, he married Catherine Bush. In marriage, his daughter Mary was born.
Tsarskoye Selo
The empress was no less fascinated by antiquity than the invited master, and dreamed of seeing the recreated spirit of ancient Rome in Tsarskoye Selo. An extension was made to the Grand Catherine Palace in the form of a building of two floors, the first of which are Cold Baths, and the second - amazing Agate rooms.
The empress spared no money, and the creator gave vent to his imagination and knowledge. This case is built in the classical style, which mixed Greek and Roman motifs, and inside it is decorated with jasper, marble, agate, and gilded bronze. The building below was as if undermined by time. But the higher, the cleaner it became. The columns were smoother and shinier. The second tier stood completely timeless. He astounded the eyes of contemporaries. After each victory in the Turkish war, Catherine intended to erect a monument, combining antiquity and modernity. But this is not enough. Charles Cameron creates the Hanging Garden on the second floor. The royal village begins to transform. A newly built gallery with a colonnade leads from the Hanging Garden to the lake. It is completed by a staircase decorated with bronze sculptures. This ensemble was started in 1783 and completed three years later.
Interior work
In the Grand Catherine Palace, internal work is underway to transform the Empress’s private chambers and grand apartments. A bedchamber with unusual glass columns, a Divan room (otherwise called a “snuff box”), lined with white and blue glass tiles with colored foil lining, the Lyon living room, whose wallpapers were silk, Green and Dome dining rooms are all the masterpieces created by Charles Cameron. Work on changing the interiors was carried out in the late 80s of the XVIII century. These works of Cameron inspire contemporary designers.
Charles Cameron Salon
The large Russian-British interior gallery "Charles Cameron" is located in the center of Moscow on Bolshaya Gruzinskaya. Here they can create a magnificent, satisfying the highest requirements of the family nest, and finish the apartment. When working inside the apartment, all the wishes of the customer will be taken into account. In the dining room, for example, you can highlight the required zones. Its interior can be planned from the very initial stage, ending with such nuances as serving. Everything will matter: furniture, light, accessories, textiles. It is also possible layout and decoration of the hall - this business card apartment. Mirrors, consoles, lights - everything will be spectacular and stylish. The furniture in the lobby is subject to special requirements. Its main aesthetic function is to shape the space. The hall usually follows a small hallway and is decided in the general style of the apartment or house. This entrance area offers a view of the living room and combines with it with color, materials and decorative techniques. So, its center can be a classic chest of drawers, on which you can put bronze figurines, figures of birds or animals, vases and inlaid caskets.
The floor can be accented with a marble outlet. There are a lot of options. Experienced designers collaborate with the best world manufacturers, so originality, high craftsmanship, impeccable taste will be present in its design. Of course, artists will show their high skill in the design of the kitchen, bedroom, study, library.
Modern requirements for comfort and convenience will be combined with classic traditions. Specialists of the Charles Cameron Gallery will give advice on how to choose the right apartment in a new building. If the construction of a detached house is underway, then in this company you can get an opinion on roofing materials. The company knows absolutely every little thing that relates to the construction and improvement of a house or apartment. Since 2013, the gallery has been operating not only in Moscow, but also in Cannes. It has a unique library of catalogs and samples, allowing you to solve any problems. However, referring to the modernity and continuity of generations, we deviated somewhat from the original theme - Charles Cameron, the architect who created the style of classicism in Russia.
St. Sophia Cathedral in Tsarskoe Selo
Revive Orthodoxy, expel the Turks from Constantinople, give the grandson an empire - these were the dreams of the Empress. In Russia, in the Crimea, as it was liberated, cities with Greek names were founded - Sevastopol, Simferopol. And in her Tsarskoye Selo, she wished to build a temple similar to Sofia of Constantinople. Cameron did not copy it, but the similarity is visible immediately.
The central dome seems to hover over the entire temple; its elegance is emphasized by the unusual color of eight columns of black and red granite. He is not too similar to the usual Orthodox churches, but his contemporaries were delighted with him. The main thing in it is the simplicity and harmony of forms.
Works in Pavlovsk
In a vast landscape park on the steep bank of the Slavyanka River, a huge palace has grown.
It resembles a noble house, very harmonious and visible from anywhere in the garden. An alley leads to it, and free-form paths from different places of the park come down. The building is reflected in the river, and not far from the palace is the Temple of Friendship. It is a rounded rotunda, which is surrounded by 16 columns and is blocked by a flat dome. In the center of the dome is a round window that illuminates the pavilion. It is located in a meadow surrounded by openwork light birches, poplars and cedars, very harmoniously blending into the landscape. Here breakfasts and dinners were arranged, as well as concerts. And then Charles Cameron continues to build in Pavlovsk.
Architectural and landscape compositions
And on the other side of the river opposite the palace, the colonnade of Apollo is whitening. In a semicircle of Doric columns carved from limestone, there is a copy of the statue of Apollo Belvedere. The original structure was completely round. But in 1817, during a thunderstorm, part of the structure collapsed. The view became historically reliable, and this added to its picturesqueness. It was decided not to restore the colonnade, but to leave it that way.
In the regular part of the park, a poultry house was built, more precisely, the Aviary, the central hall of which was connected to two small pavilions on each side.
This construction was an allegory, a contrast between life and death. Between the sun-lit and grape-twined columns, birds flutter and sing, and in the pavilions are urns, ash-guards and genuine antique tombstones, which Maria Fedorovna, the wife of Pavel Petrovich, collected in Italy. This light, elegant and modest building is one of the most remarkable creations of the architect, imbued with sensitivity and tenderness, which is so consistent with the spirit of the XVIII century.
The Pavilion of the Three Graces, which is a covered terrace surrounded by ionic columns, is also magnificent. Inside is a sculptural group carved from a single piece of marble. The pavilion area is surrounded by a marble balustrade. One of the most beautiful views of the park comes off from it.
