The building of incredible beauty, similar to a teremok, is popularly called "Pertsova's Apartment House" or "House-Fairy Tale". "Terem" is located in the center of Moscow. Everything is unique in this masterpiece: the authors, the owners, the tenants, and, of course, the architecture itself. You can admire the high narrow roofs and majolica of this amazing building for hours. In general, this is a house-story, every centimeter of which has incredible value.
Fairy-tale house-teremok in Art Nouveau style.
House-fairy
A traveling engineer who made a great contribution to the construction of the country's first railways, Peter Pertsov acquired this site at the beginning of the last century on the advice of his good friend, patron of the arts Ivan Tsvetkov. The location was very good - overlooking the Moskva River and the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Pertsov promised Tsvetkov that he would decorate the future building in the old Russian style. From a young age, carried away by painting and having a delicate artistic taste, he decided to embody this idea with all his love for Russian art and on a large scale, since financial opportunities allowed it.
Outstanding engineer P. Pertsov.
Pyotr Nikolaevich decided to officially formalize the site and the house for his wife, since his projects related to the construction of railways were risky at that time, and he did not want to lose all his property in case of ruin. By the way, looking ahead, it is worth saying that in the end this beautiful Pertsov house almost lost it. During the construction of a section of the Armavir-Tuapse railway, he could not collect the necessary amount and asked for financial assistance from the famous industrialist Aleksey Putilov. He gave two million on the security of all the property of the Pertsov family, including this building. However, the engineer valued his new home so much that he bought it out very soon.
Peter Pertsov treasured this house very much. His wife was the official owner.
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Returning to the project itself, it is worth noting that the sketch of the artist-architect Sergei Malyutin was taken as a basis, which Pertsov chose from many different options.
House sketch.
House of Pertsova at the beginning of the last century.
Malyutin was a multifaceted person. He taught at the School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, worked as an illustrator (for example, he designed Pushkin's fairy tales), and it is also believed that he painted the first Russian matryoshka.
The house was not built from scratch: a fourth floor was added to the three-storey box building already on the site, a mansion was added from the side of the embankment, and a new building from the side street. All this was completed by high triangular roofs, a balcony and all kinds of decorative elements. Rich, variegated majolica decorated the main entrance, as well as the walls and pediments. The project successfully combined modernity and the traditions of Russian architecture. As a result, the house turned out to be very original and beautiful - “in a fabulous epic style,” as Pertsov himself put it.
Students of Stroganovka took part in creating this beauty.
The house is decorated with many mythical animals and birds.
A fabulous epic style, as the owner of the apartment building put it.
Majolica was created by Stroganov students. Here you can see the image of the Slavic-pagan sun god Yarila, and the deities Veles and Perun, depicted in the guise of the Bear and the Bull, and the Prophetic Bird (also a well-known ancient Russian character), and many other interesting creatures. And the balcony, built in the form of a hut, is supported by either crocodiles, or dragons, or seahorses.
It's like you're in a fairy tale..
The house was equipped with many apartments for rent, and the choice was for every taste - depending on the financial capabilities of the tenant. Pertsov himself settled here, occupying three floors, and his apartment had its own hotel entrance.
The interior decoration of the premises was striking in its beauty and sophistication. Tiled stoves, carvings, oriental smoking rooms, mahogany furniture …
Dining room in Pertsova's house.
People and destinies
The author of the project, Malyutin, also settled here. Here he painted his paintings. Unfortunately, during the flood of 1908, his apartment was flooded and most of the talented artist's canvases were damaged - including the painting "Kulikovo Field", which he had been painting for almost 10 years. Well, his wife, trying to save property and paintings during the flood, caught a cold and soon died. In general, the "fabulous" house did not bring happiness to its creator.
Self-portrait in a fur coat. Hood. S. Malyutin. / The painter captured himself against the background of a picture that he painted for 10 years. In 1908, it was destroyed by a flood.
Another basement apartment in the building was occupied by the Bat cabaret theater. It was a cult and famous place for those times, in which all the Moscow theater bohemians of the beginning of the last century gathered. According to rumors, the owners, actor-director Nikita Baliev and oil industrialist Nikolai Tarasov, gave such a spectacular name to the institution for a reason. When they first descended into the basement, a bat flew out to meet them.
Kachalov, Knipper-Chekhova, Stanislavsky, Nemirovich-Danchenko performed at the theater. The performances of The Bat were famous for their funny parodies and complete freedom of self-expression. According to the rule established in the cabaret, none of those present should be offended by anyone. Subsequently, after the theater was closed here, Pertsov added a basement to his three-storey apartment, since he lived just above it.
This house is worthy of a whole book - it has such a rich history.
Another famous creative community is also connected with this interesting house: after the revolution, members of the avant-garde artists association “Jack of Diamonds” lived in the “house” - for example, Alexander Kuprin (namesake of the famous writer), Pyotr Konchalovsky, Vasily Rozhdestvensky. These young and daring painters set new rules for themselves, experimenting boldly and deviating from academic norms. At the beginning of the last century, the "Diamonds of Diamonds" were considered rebellious artists, and now they are recognized as classics of the avant-garde.
The avant-garde community held exhibitions regularly.
If we talk about the fate of the house in the post-revolutionary years, it is imperative to mention Leon Trotsky. After the building was nationalized, he first moved into the apartment of one of the former residents, Pozdnyakov (who, according to rumors, kept a Negro servant at home, and in one of the rooms he had a winter garden with real living trees). After a while, Trotsky moved to a larger apartment, namely, to the former apartments of the Pertsov family. He appropriated the belongings of the former owners, and arranged official receptions for foreign guests in luxurious rooms.
The mansions of Leon Trotsky amazed foreigners.
With the advent of Soviet power, Peter Pertsov himself suffered a dramatic fate. At the time of the revolution, he was a member of the group of guardians of the values of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, and when in the early 1920s a large-scale campaign to confiscate and liquidate church property was launched in the country, Pertsov openly opposed it. Together with other active opponents of such seizures - priests, scientists, representatives of the intelligentsia - he became a defendant in the trial of the "churchmen", during which more than a hundred people were convicted.
Fortunately, an amnesty saved him from being shot - in connection with the anniversary of the revolution, the death penalty was replaced by imprisonment. The former homeowner was released a few months later. The remaining years he lived in a communal apartment, and for some reason the Soviet authorities did not need his talent and experience as an outstanding engineer.
After the war, the apartments were resettled. Now there are several organizations in the house.
Author: Anna Belova