Ivan Vladislavovich Zholtovsky (Russian: Иван Владиславович Жолтовский, Belarusian: Іван Уладзіслававіч Жалтоўскі; November 27, 1867 – July 16, 1959) was a Soviet and Belarusian architect and educator. He worked primarily in Moscow from 1898 until his death. An accomplished master of Renaissance Revival architecture before the Russian Revolution, he later became a key figure of Stalinist architecture. He was one of the members of the art association ‘The Four Arts’, which existed in Moscow and Leningrad in 1924-1931.
Early years Ivan Zholtovsky was born in Plotnitsa, Minsk Governorate (in present-day Belarus) November 27, 1867. He joined Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg at the age of 20. Degree studies took 11 years till 1898 – strapped for cash, Ivan used to take long leaves working as apprentice for the Saint Petersburg architectural firms. By the time of graduation, Zholtovsky had a first-rate practical experience in design, technology and project management. He retained this hands-on approach for the rest of his career, being a construction manager in the original sense of architectural profession. Zholtovsky planned to relocate to Tomsk after graduation, but eventually received and accepted a quick job offer from Stroganov Art School in Moscow. He became a tutor in architecture just weeks after earning his own diploma – a part-time job that allowed plenty of time for professional practice.
The Renaissance Man, 1900-1917 From the very start, he joined the "traditionists" revival group (ретроспективисты, lit. retrospectivists), placing himself against then-dominant Art Nouveau (Russky Modern). His search for classic excellence took some time, as he was equally influenced by Russian classicism and Italian Renaissance. While Neoclassical revival was at this time the second largest school in Russia (in high demand in Saint Petersburg, less so in Moscow), the Renaissance influence was unique to Zholtovsky, and will remain his trademark style until his death. He traveled to Italy frequently, recording its architectural legacy. Zholtovsky's Italian collection is still frequently exhibited, including rare photographs of Venetian St Mark's Campanile prior to collapse on July 14, 1902 He spoke fluent Italian, translated Palladio’s Four Books in Russian (and eventually published them in 1938). Notable works of this period:
Tarasov House (Moscow, completed 1912) based on Palladio's Palazzo Tiene in Vicenza and, marginally, the Doge's Palace in Venice, is his best known pre-Revolutionary work. It served as American Relief Administration Russian Unit's headquarters during the Russian famine of 1921. Racetrack Society House (Moscow, 1903; he would return to Racetrack project half a century later) Nosov House (Moscow, 1908) Lipovka (Lipki, Moscow Oblast, 1908); built as a datscha for Alfred Ruperti, later reconstructed as one of Joseph Stalin's residences under the name Lipki, now part of Children's Oncology Institute Ivan Konovalov's factory with hospital, nursery and living quarters (Bonyachki estate, near Kineshma, 1912, with V. D. Adamovich) Practice, educator's work and outspoken public activity in artistic world earned him the Academic title as soon as 1909. By the time of the Russian Revolution, when he was reaching the age of 50, Zholtovsky was already considered a master builder, an elder in his profession.
Advisor to Bolsheviks, 1917-1926 Zholtovsky stayed in Moscow throughout the course of World War I, Revolution of 1917 and Civil War. In 1918, he and Alexey Shchusev led the Architectural Studio for the Replanning of Moscow, Moscow's only state architectural firm, hiring and training young men like Ilya Golosov, Panteleimon Golosov, Konstantin Melnikov, Nikolai Ladovsky and Nikolai Kolli (the 12 disciples, split evenly between constructivism and traditional art). There were few orders, mostly for repairs or additions of old properties, and very few actually materialized. As construction halted, he concentrated on education and urban planning studies. Zholtovsky continued teaching at Vkhutemas. Whether the architectural college in Leningrad (VKhuTEIN) was led by traditionalists, Moscow college (Vkhutemas) became a harbor for modernists. Zholtovsky was spared from revolutionary new-vs-old rhetoric: after all, he was the employer to many modernist architects, giving them whatever jobs he could secure (like the pavilions of 1923 All-Russian Agricultural Exhibition, a project managed jointly by Zholtovsky and Shchusev). Together with Shchusev, and relying on his juniors, Zholtovsky supervised the first master plan for redevelopment of Moscow. This work earned him a credit with the Bolshevik administration. He met with Vladimir Lenin and was very well received; according to Zholtovsky's own memoirs (as approved for print in the USSR), Master Plan was commissioned by Lenin himself, who wasn't exactly competent in architecture and couldn't recall any past projects of his contractor. Zholtovsky's plan, as reported to Lenin, relied on shifting urban development into greenfield land to the south-west of the city. Later, he and Shchusev settled on a less radical growth model with only minor attempt to break away from circular layout by cutting two major avenues through the city core. This plan was discarded by Stalin in 1932. Works of this period (none survived to date)
Novaya Moskva master development plan (1918–1923, lead planner Alexey Shchusev) All-Russian Agricultural Exhibition - general layout and management (with Alexey Shchusev), entrance gates (1923) AMO workers' low-rise community (with Melnikov, 1923) Soviet pavilion at Milan exhibition (1925–26)
Practice again, 1926-1932
When he came back from a long trip to Italy in 1923–1926, New Economic Policy (NEP) brought considerable relief to architects. Seasoned professionals were in demand again, mostly from state or semi-state companies. For a brief period, architects worked the old fashioned way, with their firms and apprentices. Some of Zholtovsky's students operated their own projects, some joined the firm. Zholtovsky's three better-known works of the time are:
State Bank expansion at Neglinnaya Street (Moscow, completed 1929) House of Soviets (Makhachkala, 1927) First Electrical powerplant (MoGES-1) expansion (Moscow, 1927)
Workshop No.1, 1932-1941
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