Naryshkin Baroque
A tiered Muscovite church laced with European orders in white stone on red brick
How to recognise it
- Tiers of octagons on a cube, shrinking upward
- White carved window frames on red walls
- Shell motifs and broken pediments
- Church and bell tower in a single tower
- Broad ceremonial stairs and galleries
Why it emerged
Relatives of Tsaritsa Natalya Naryshkina and other boyars, who knew Europe through Poland and Ukraine, commissioned estate churches in a new taste. The style kept a soaring silhouette after tents were discouraged and added classical décor, foreshadowing Peter's reforms.
Examples
Church of the Intercession at Fili1690–1694The estate church of Lev Naryshkin, Peter I's uncle: the benchmark that named the style
Bell tower of the Novodevichy Convent1689–1690A six-tier bell tower from Regent Sophia's time, the vertical axis of a UNESCO ensemble
Sukharev Tower1692–1695 · Mikhail ChoglokovGate tower that housed Peter's School of Navigation; demolished in 1934 despite protests
Stroganov Churchc. 1696–1719Peak of the Stroganov branch of the style: walls covered entirely in carved white stoneMore in this style
- 1704–1707 Menshikov Tower — Ivan Zarudny
Meanwhile elsewhere
- Ife and Benin bronzes Africa
- Ming and Qing Porcelain Asia
- Classical Ottoman Architecture (Sinan) Middle East
- Mughal Art Asia
- Baroque Europe
- Dutch Golden Age Painting Europe
- Latin American Baroque Americas
- Ukiyo-e Asia