3D modeling methods and architectural history of the mansion on Tverskaya 21: a noble estate, the Moscow English Club, a museum

Beklyamisheva Alisa Andreevna Leading specialist, National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute" 123182, Russia, Moscow, Academician Kurchatov Square, 1 alisa0296@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

In recent decades, 3D modeling methods have been increasingly used in historical and archaeological research, which make it possible to recreate the appearance of both individual artifacts and lost architectural objects (including, in historical dynamics, with the reflection of all reconstructions). A number of works based on 3D modeling methods can be attributed to a new trend in historical urbanism aimed at reconstructing urban space in a certain historical period. In this regard, the attention of researchers has been repeatedly attracted by the lost buildings of the historical center of Moscow ^{[1, 2]}. Due to its special position and status, Moscow has repeatedly found itself in the epicenter of significant events in Russian history.

In this context, it is interesting to consider the architectural history of the mansion on Tverskaya Street at number 21, where the State Central Museum of Modern History of Russia is now located. Originally created as a city estate, since 1831 it has become a meeting place of the Moscow English Club, and after the revolution its halls were occupied by a museum. Changing its purpose, the building was rebuilt, the condition of its interior changed. Despite its wide popularity, the architectural history of the object can be traced in fragments. In this regard, the subject of the study was the changes in the appearance of the English Club building from the end of the XVIII century to the beginning of the XXI century, which are considered in the context of the historical development of the center of Moscow, and changes in the functionality of the building itself.

The history of the mansion and its owners

According to the apt remark of art historian B.R. Whipper, for the perception of the artistic organism of the building, "not only the types of the building, but also the movement in it" are necessary, by which one should understand "the whole rhythm of life that fills the building or once took place within its walls" ^{[3, p. 288]}. A number of works have been written about the owners and visitors of the famous English Club on Tverskaya Street, the most famous by journalist V. A. Gilyarovsky and historian A.V. Butorov.

The first owner of the building was the actual state Councilor Alexander Matveyevich Heraskov (1730-1799). His brother, the poet and publisher Mikhail Matveyevich Heraskov (1733-1807), was associated with the Masonic movement, therefore, the house on Tverskaya Street is reported in documents that in 1786 ^[4] meetings of the first Moscow circle of Masons took place in it, which included: M. M. Heraskov, A. A. Cherkassky, I. P. Turgenev, N. V. Karamzin, K. M. Engalychev, A.M. Kutuzov and N. I. Novikov.

In 1799, the house passed to the widow of A.M. Kheraskov, Anna Vasilyevna (nee Zybina), who sold the house to the Myatlev family ^{[5, p. 153]}. In a document dated 1802 from the OHNTD of the Central State Administration of Moscow, it is indicated that the privy councilor and cavalier Pyotr Vasilyevich Myatlev owned the mansion, and Major General Count Lev Kirillovich Razumovsky was already the next owner ^{[6, ed.1]}. According to the bill of sale dated May 11 , 1806 , the property was sold from Privy Councilor P. V. Myatleva Major-General Countess Maria Grigoryevna Razumovskaya ^{[6, ed.2]}. Anyway, the mansion turned out to be owned by one of the most famous and wealthy families in Moscow. L. K. Razumovsky (1757-1818) was the fifth son of Count K. G. Razumovsky and E. I. Naryshkina. He received a good education and built a successful career. In 1796 he retired and lived in Moscow, arranging holidays, performances, concerts and balls in his house on Tverskaya Street. Razumovsky's wife was Maria Grigoryevna Vyazemskaya (1772-1865). Her first husband was Alexander Nikolaevich Golitsyn, who was famous for his extravagance and penchant for an idle lifestyle. The Princess's brother, Nikolai Grigoryevich Vyazemsky, was married to Count Razumovsky's niece, E. V. Vasilchikova, because Lev Kirillovich often met Golitsyna in their house, "and his tender heart could not resist seeing her comeliness and the unfortunate situation in which she was due to her husband's tyranny" ^{[5, p. 153]}. After mutual consent, a divorce with Golitsyn took place, and then a marriage with Razumovsky. Alexander Nikolaevich himself continued to be friends with the count, often dined with his ex-wife and went to the theater with her. The story is widely known when, at the ball at Count V. P. Kochubey's in 1809, Emperor Alexander I, loudly addressing Maria Grigoryevna, called her a countess, which was taken for her official recognition in the world.

In the passport for the architectural monument of the mid-XX century, which was compiled for the mansion by Soviet experts, a separate paragraph contains the results of a sociological analysis formulated in the spirit of the times. They state that the majestic facade and rich decoration of the building reflect "the dominant position of the nobility, who in the era of reaction held power in their hands and used it to reveal their strength and importance in the development of a local architect" ^[4]. The building is a witness to the lifestyle of the nobility of the XIX century, the life of the city and the upper classes of society of this period. In 1831, the legendary noble Moscow English Club was located in the mansion.

Since 1834, the real privy councilor Prince Nikolai Grigoryevich Vyazemsky ^{[6, ed. 4]}, the brother of Maria Grigoryevna, became the owner of the mansion. His second wife was Sofya Egorovna Panina, whose son from his first marriage, Major General Alexei Alexandrovich Timashev-Bering (1813-1872), inherited the mansion ^{[6, ed.7]}. His wife Varvara Nikolaevna sold the house to Ivan Pavlovich Shablykin in 1872 . Already in 1880 A. A. Vasilchikov, describing the life of L. K. Razumovsky, notes that the house, "bought by the count from the Myatlevs, now belongs to Mr. Shablygin, the English Club is located in it" ^{[5, p. 153]}. I. P. Shablykin in 1831 was elected foreman of the English Club, after his death his eldest son Pavel Ivanovich (1841-1895) was elected foreman, and then his grandson Ivan Pavlovich ^{[7, p. 47]}. Interestingly, in different works, the surname Shablykin has a different spelling. So, in archival materials from the A.V. Shchusev GNIM — "Shatlykin", in the inventory from the Central State Administration of Moscow — "Shalbykin", Gilyarovsky — "Shablykin", Vasilchikov — "Shablygin". But the documents with his own signature indicate that the correct spelling is "Shablykin", the other options are wrong.

In 1894, when sufficient sums appeared in the club's cash register, P. I. Shablykin proposed to the board to purchase a house from him as a property ^{[7, p.46]}. According to the documents in the Central State Administration of Moscow, the left wing of the building and its central part passed into the possession of the English Club, and the Shablykins left the entire right part of the building ^{[6, unit 21]}. Tenants rented premises from the English Club: on the ground floor there was a cheese shop and its owner's apartment, a colonial store with a basement ^{[8, p. 198]}.

After the 1905 revolution, the club's business declined, and there was a need for a new source of income, so at the end of 1911 a plot of land with an area of 180 sq. fathoms on the main facade for 24 years was leased to the Podolsk philistine M. M. Levinson. By 1912, he had erected one-story retail premises on the allocated territory.

In 1913, Count Alexey Pavlovich Kapnist (1871-1918) bought the remaining part of the house from Shablykin ^{[9, unit 8]}, but, due to the events of 1917, he did not own it for long. During the war of 1914-1916, all the rooms facing Tverskaya Street were adapted for a hospital ^{[10, p.221]}.

In 1918, the house housed the food commission of the militia and a warehouse. In 1919 — several institutions at once, including one of the departments of the People's Commissariat of Education, then the interdepartmental commission for the organization of the Museum of architecture. Since September 1920, meetings of the Russian Society of Friends of the Book have been held in the building. In November 1922, the grand opening of the exhibition "Red Moscow" took place. Then the exhibition was transformed into the Historical and Revolutionary Museum of Moscow, and in 1924 the Museum of the Revolution of the USSR was created. In 1968, it received a new name — "The Central Museum of the Revolution of the USSR", and since 1998 — "The State Central Museum of Modern History of Russia" (GTSMSIR).

Thus, the object of research has a high significance for history and culture. The creation of its three-dimensional model allows you to visually consolidate information about the architectural changes that took place in the building in the context of changing its purpose.

Working with sources and the 3 D modeling process

The sources identified in the course of the work for reconstruction can be divided into narrative and pictorial. The first group consists of materials containing a description and technical characteristics of the building, including the color of the walls, the condition of the facades and other information in text form. Sometimes the processing of this data caused difficulty, since most of the materials presented in the archive are handwritten, and the handwriting is not always easy to read. Moreover, in some documents there was damage to the text (paper breaks, ink blurring with water). The second group of sources includes drawings, plans and maps, photographs and images of the facade of the building. Considering that the mansion has survived to the present day, the tasks of reconstructing its historical appearance have been greatly facilitated.

Due to the complexity of some elements of the facade design, it was decided to use photogrammetry methods and a specialized Agisoft PhotoScan program. At the first stage, a detailed photographing of the building was carried out, pictures of the decor and white stone lion figures on the gate were made from different angles. For each object there were several dozen photos, which were then processed in Adobe Photoshop (the background was cleared). For each group of images in the program, a dense "point cloud" was obtained, on the basis of which 3D models were created (Fig. 1). Then each object was saved in OBJ format and refined already in the 3dsMax program.

Fig.1. The process of working with decorative elements in Agisoft PhotoScan

To recreate the architectural changes that took place in the building, it was necessary to turn to unpublished archival sources.

Two passports for an architectural monument, documents related to the order of pedestals for white stone figures of lions (the project and the estimate of 1958 for the manufacture of two pedestals made of white stone for sculptures of lions ^[11]), a color drawing of the facade of the building with the drawing of the fence are stored in the A.V. Shchusev GNIMA. From them, general brief information was obtained about the materials used for the construction of the building, its intended architects, the stages of construction and the years when the building was rebuilt and modified. But this information was not enough to create a virtual reconstruction.

The most important part of the documents on the history of the building is stored in the Central State Administration of Moscow in the Department of storage of scientific and technical documentation (OHNTD). The thematic fund contains project documentation on planning and construction, commission materials for buildings in Moscow. Case 455 includes documents of the Moscow City Council, plans and images of facades, documents from the Board of the IV-th district of communication Routes and public buildings, other materials related to changes on the site where the mansion is located. Case 456 contains papers related to the petitions of Shablykin, the main owner of the mansion, and the appeals of the elders of the English Club, who since 1894 owned the left and central part of the house, filed with the Moscow City Council, as well as petitions from tenants. In case 457 there are materials related to the post-revolutionary period, for example, data on the survey of the technical condition of the building and appeals to the Glavmuseum with a request to take measures to improve the building. The petitions and projects are accompanied by site and building plans, drawings of facades and individual elements.

Despite a fairly large number of sources, there are contradictions in them, and some information is also missing. In particular, it was not possible to find images of a two-storey building erected at the end of the XVIII century. and during the subsequent reconstruction it became the central part of the mansion. The earliest visual images date only to the beginning of the XIX century, when the building was already rebuilt. In addition, the analysis of petitions for reconstruction showed that some approved architectural projects were never implemented in practice, although they were fixed on the drawings. For this reason, the plans of the building, the site and the written additions to them were carefully compared. In the passports for the monument of architecture, which could facilitate the work, there are discrepancies and inaccuracies, each time requiring additional verification.

The initial task was to trace the architectural history of the building, to understand how it was built, how and when it changed, what were the additions and alterations. The building plans from the archive were processed in Adobe Photoshop and placed on the general layout, where the most significant changes that occurred in the building during the entire study period were noted (Fig. 2). Yellow indicates planned but unrealized buildings, purple indicates changes in comparison with the previous building scheme.

Fig. 2. Building layout with indication of changes

Then the periods that are most clearly and fully reflected in the available sources were selected to be visualized through 3D modeling.

 The materials necessary for the work were processed in Adobe Photoshop for convenience: the excess edges were aligned, trimmed, and the contrast of the images was increased.

To construct the geometry of the object, preference was given to the 3DsMax program, which has extensive capabilities for grouping, copying and editing elements. To create models of the building and individual elements, facade images, side drawings (or cross-sectional images) and site and building plans were combined.

The reconstruction of individual objects required the creation of complex figured details. For example, during the simulation of the passage, it was necessary to create decorative elements of its framing, and to recreate the terrace located in the backyard of the English Club, it was necessary to simulate two types of curtains, as well as details of the terrace itself.

Fig. 3. Drawing of the terrace. Drawing of the passage. Ownership plan for 1894 of the Central State Administration of Moscow. F. T-1. Op. 1. D. 456.

Fig. 4. Backyard terrace with stone ramp

To create curtains of two types, three splines created by the "line" tool were used: the first is a straight line, meaning the height of the future curtain, the second is a wavy spline, indicating the number and nature of fabric folds, the third is the silhouette of the future curtain (Fig. 4).

Fig. 5. The process of creating curtains

Splines were used to create railing and lattice elements. After the execution of the terrace cornice, a gap was obtained at the junction, which, according to archival images, was filled with a figure obtained after applying the "lathe" modifier to the spline (Fig. 5).

Fig. 6. Creating terrace elements

At the end of the XIX century, a metal umbrella appeared over the main entrance to the building. This is reflected in archival documents: it is marked and signed on the diagram. To recreate the appearance of the umbrella , a snapshot of the beginning of the XX century was used .

Fig. 7. Comparison of the photo, the archival plan of the site and the modeling element.

History of building alterations and simulation results

The central building of the manor complex was erected at the end of the XVIII century under A.M. Kheraskov ^[12], and initially it was a stone chamber with two floors. During the period when the Razumovskys owned the plot, the southern wing appeared (circa 1811). Then the central building was decorated with a portico and the northern wing was erected. Both wings were combined with the central building.

There is no consensus in historiography about the author of the building. V. A. Gilyarovsky also mentioned that the architect who built the palace for Kheraskov in the middle of a huge century—old park is unknown, although some attribute the work to Kazakov, and as for the attached wings, "they call Gilardi and A. Grigoriev who worked with him together - but even this is still speculation" ^{[7, p.15]}. In the work of E. A. Beletskaya and Z. K. Pokrovskaya, dedicated to the work of D. I. Gilardi, it is indicated: "... in the literature, this house is attributed either to D. I. Gilardi, or to A. A. Menelas, who built a lot for the Razumovskys. For the first time it was included in the list of Gilardi's works by I. E. Grabar without reference, however, to sources" ^{[13, p.138]}.

The passport drawn up by M. Baranovskaya and S. Toropov in 1943 for the building of the USSR Revolution Museum at 59 Gorky Street (Tverskaya Street was part of Gorky Street from 1932 to 1990) ^{[14, p. 62; 15, p. 358]} says: "The central building was built by order of Kheraskov (the writer's brother) at the end of the XVIII century according to the project of the arch. Menelaus, in 1814, commissioned by L. K. Razumovsky's Domenico Gilardi made a portico, ledges and wings, which gave the house an Empire character." A.V. Butorov expresses a different opinion in a book dedicated to the Moscow English Club, where he believes that there were three stages in the history of the construction of the building: the first building could have been built according to the plan expressed by M. F. Kazakov, then in 1806 A. A. Menelas worked on the building, who could have been the author of the extension of the southern wing of the building, and after that, the project could go to D. I. Gilardi ^{[8, p.186]}. In the architectural guide to Moscow, compiled by I. L. Buseva-Davydova, M. V. Naschokina, M. I. Astafieva-Dlugach, it is said that in the 1780s the central part was built, in 1811 the left wing was attached to the house according to a project created by architect A. Menelas, but the building acquired a completed appearance only after the fire of 1812, its architectural features suggest the authorship of D. I. Gilardi ^{[15, pp.362–364]}.

In the passport of 1943, the building, defined as a typical monument of Moscow architecture of the late XVIII— early XIX century Empire appearance, is given the following description: "At the heart is a central rectangle with an eight-columned Dorian portico connected by semi-circular wings attached to it with side projections forming a large kurdoner, separated from the street by an iron lattice on a white-stone basement, with gates decorated with lions. The entire middle part of the building is three floors (brick and white stone). The right wing on the second floor is wooden" ^[12].

In the first half of the XIX century. the estate was regularly repaired: the roofs were put in order, both minor and significant changes were carried out. In the materials of the Commission for Buildings in Moscow dated September 1834, it is indicated that the left wing of the building (right at the exit to the street) is two–storeyed (the first floor is stone, the second is wooden), the right wing is two-storeyed stone, the central building is three-storeyed stone.

Fig. 8. View in the 1830s.

In 1855, a door was made from the second left front window of the first floor in the northern wing ^{[6, unit 7]}. The time when the Shablykin family owned the house was especially saturated with documents with petitions to the Moscow City Council for making changes to the construction. In 1874, Ivan Pavlovich Shablykin applied with a project to build four-storey residential buildings on the territory of the courtyard facing Tverskaya Street. The Special Commission agreed, approving the plan and drawing and issuing permission to break down small superfluous buildings on the site, "to build again stone four-storey residential buildings with basements" and to build the third and fourth stone residential floors over the existing stone two-storey building ^{[6, unit 8]}. Already in September 1875, Shablykin petitioned ^{[6, ed.9]} to postpone the implementation of construction, but at the same time asked for permission to make a stone superstructure over the right wing for a "residential photographic pavilion". The meeting of the Moscow City Council of September 12, 1875 allows, according to the approved detailed drawings, to build a fireproof lantern for photography over lit. A. on the third floor.

Fig. 9. View after 1875

In March 1875, Shablykin again petitioned the Moscow City Council, this time related to the demolition of small buildings on the site and the erection of the third and fourth floors above the building of the English Club Hotel ^{[6, unit 10]}. Already by June 1879, a new petition by Shablykin ^{[6, ed.11]} applies: to allow the photographic lantern to be destroyed and in its place to erect a third stone residential floor on two-thirds of the right wing, i.e. capturing the part where the "lantern" had previously been for a short time. In August of the same year, another petition is filed, related to minor changes ^{[6, unit 12]}: in the lower floor of a two-story residential building facing Tverskaya Street from two doors marked on the plan lit. "a", arrange windows, and from the window under lit. "in" arrange the door. By September 1879 and the summer of 1881, petitions for the next small additions and changes in ownership were submitted ^{[6, units 13, 14]}.

Separately, it is possible to allocate the building of the space in front of the facade as a gallery for club members and their families during the Highest entry into Moscow. According to the rules, women were not allowed in the English Club, but the time of coronations was an exception. The installation of large-scale structures required coordination with the city authorities, because the archive preserved drawings and plans of the gallery for the coronation celebrations of Emperor Alexander III in 1883 ^{[6, units 16, 17]} and Nicholas II in 1896 ^{[6, units 25]}, as well as requests for repair of balconies on the left wing, which are not they will withstand the loads if they go out to watch the celebration ^{[6, unit 26]}.

In 1883, there were two galleries: the first occupied most of the courtyard, the second, smaller, was completed on the left side. In 1896, the gallery was solid, but larger in size.

Fig. 10. View in 1883

In 1894, part of the house passed into the ownership of Shablykin to the English Club, which began work on the renovation and repair of the building ^{[6, unit 23; 16, unit 22]}. The foremen of the Moscow English Club — A. S. Kostanda, A. Ya. Germanov, Count A. E. Komarovsky, F. A. Beklemishev — ask the city council to give permission in the house of the English Club to make a passage 4 yards wide to the backyard in the left wing, the bottom of which is stone, and the top is wooden ^{[16, unit 24]}. Subsequently, this passage was sealed up, but it is still clearly visible in the interior where it passed.

Fig. 11. View in 1896

In 1899, repairs were carried out in the building and a new staircase was arranged in the hotel of the English Club (an extension on the right side).

Tenants of the premises also sent requests to the Moscow City Council. From the wife of the collegiate assessor Elena Afanasyeva, who had a shop in Shablykin's house on Tverskaya Street, in May 1890, a request was received ^{[6, unit 18]} to make a door to the street from the window in the rented room.

In July 1896, a petition was submitted from the elders of the club ^{[6, unit 27]} for the reconstruction of the terrace facing the courtyard of the club, with the replacement of wooden parts with metal ones.

In May 1899, a petition was filed ^{[6, ed. 28]} from the guardianship department to the Shablykin house with a request to allow the construction of a one-story stone house for retail premises on the site. It was supposed to be attached to the right wing of the building (a third of the wing in length starting from the facade). This case of the Moscow City Council lasted for a long time, from May 11, 1899 to December 31, 1899, and ended with the conclusion that the construction could be allowed if a number of conditions were met. Considering that there are no traces of this building on subsequent plans, the owners abandoned the idea of creating it.

At the same time, on May 18, 1899, the guardianship department for the Shablykin house filed a petition for the construction of a new stone staircase in a four-story stone annex ^{[6, unit 29]}.

Another significant change concerns the territory of the English Club building in 1911 . A petition was submitted to the Moscow City Council ^{[6, ed. 40]} from Mikhail Mikhailovich Levenson. He asked for permission to build a stone one-storey building for commercial purposes in the rented possession of the Moscow English Club and to change the design of the windows of the first floor and the window jambs of the second in the left wing. As a result of the implementation of this project, the existing fence with lions was eliminated and one-story shops were built, blocking the view of the courtyard and the facade of the building. In this regard, at the request of ^{[6, unit 42]} Levinson, on January 13, 1912, a fence was also erected for a period of July 1, 1912 along Tverskaya Street with a length of 26 fathoms and a width of 2 and 1/2 arshins.

Fig. 12. View in 1912

By November 1914, the petition ^{[6, unit 45]} of the new owner, Count A. P. Kapnist, refers to the repair and installation of a store in the far part (next to the bend) of the right wing of the building. He was given permission to lay two spans on the ground floor to create shop windows and doors according to the plan submitted with the petition. By 1914, temporary wooden trading tents were placed near the right wing along the border of A. P. Kapnist's property.

The main activity of construction and reconstruction during the ownership of the plot of Count A.P. Kapnist fell on the building next to the club building, which housed the cinema "ARS". Count Kapnist is engaged in the arrangement of the cinema, so he submitted a number of petitions to the city council ^{[9, units 49; units 50]}. On the plans attached to these cases of the Moscow City Council, you can see part of the building we are interested in. They show that by this time a one-story commercial building had already been erected in the courtyard of the club between the wings-wings, and a fence was also marked separating the possessions of the club and Count A. P. Kapnist.

After the revolution, the white coat of arms of the republic on the pediment was replaced by the gilded count coat of arms of the Razumovskys ^{[10, p.]}, in 1919, the restoration of the halls was carried out, and in 1924-1926 the white stone fence was restored and the retail premises that covered the facade of the building since 1911 were demolished. At the same time, the white stone lions were returned to the gate.

In the post-revolutionary period, the building, which received a new status, needed repairs. In March 1922, the inspection of the roof by the Commission of Three at 61 Tverskaya Street revealed that the roof is still in satisfactory condition, but in the spring it will require partial repair and painting ^{[9, unit 57]}. Then a message was sent to the Glavmuseum twice ^{[9, ed.58]} that the building of the former English club needed to repair the walls and roof, as well as cleaning the yard from the remains of destroyed buildings and other debris.

The appearance of the ensemble in the 1940s was strongly influenced by the reconstruction of Gorky Street ^{[14, p. 62]}. The former English club remained the center of the facade development on the site up to Pushkin Square, but half of the side wings were cut off at the building and the fence with lions on the gate was moved to a new line ^{[14, p.63]}. The facades of the truncated wings remained for some time without proper decoration. The memory of this has been preserved in photographs, which also allow you to see how much the territory adjacent to the facade of the building has shrunk.

Fig. 13. View in the 1940s.

In 1949, museum wings were built in the courtyard, and in 1952 they had a second floor. At the beginning of the XXI century, repair and restoration works were also carried out in the museum building, during which by 2015 the historical appearance of the facade and the fence of the main building was restored, as well as the restoration of the figures of lions was carried out.

The study of the history of the building has shown that during its existence, the appearance of the building has repeatedly changed under the influence of a complex of factors. Perestroika was caused by a change of owners, their status, a change of functionality from a residential estate to a noble club, and then a museum, major urban events, a change in the way of urban life and economic reasons.

The author expresses gratitude to the State Central Museum of Modern History of Russia, the Central State Archive of the cityMoscow andTo the A.V. Shchusev State Research Museum of Architecture for the opportunity to get acquainted with archival materials during the preparation of this study.