People of Russia

Quarenghi (Giacomo Quarenghi or Guarenghi) (1744 – 1817) – a famous architect and painter, son and grandson of the painter, was born in Bergamo, first studied painting in Rome under the guidance of Raphael Mengs, and then studied architecture.

Being 35 years old, arrived in St. Petersburg. to seek his fortune at the court of Catherine II. Even before his departure from Italy built arena in Monaco and dining room in the house Archduchess of Modena, in Vienna. By order of Catherine II, K. built in St. Petersburg. State Bank building, the Hermitage Theatre and the archway connecting the theater to the building of the Old Hermitage. Paul I appointed architect K. Imperial court and ordered him to build a house on Palace Quay, a dowry of Anna Petrovna Lopukhina.

In Tsarskoe Selo K. Alexander Palace built, representing in terms of two squares connected parallelogram, with a porch in the middle of a building, adorned with columns, and the theater building in the garden near the Grand Palace. Under Alexander I, he built the building of the Smolny Institute, combining new construction with the monastery, built graph. Rastrelli. The project K. (1 803) built St. Petersburg. Mariinsky Hospital for the poor. Among recent works are issued AK: English Palace at Peterhof, riding K. – Guards. Cavalry Regiment (in St Petersburg.) and a triumphal arch for the Narva Gate, erected to mark the entry into St Petersburg. Guard after the occupation of Paris.

Works of Karl performed in a spirit of the new Italian school, with its elegant, noble, but cold and dry style, totally unfit for the Nordic countries, where the columns, so beloved Karl. consuming a lot of light, and without sparing allocated by the nature of the North, but in buildings K. always noticeable taste and harmony of proportions. Consisted honorary freestyle obschnikom imp. Aqd. Arts. Um. in St. Petersburg., February 18, 1817 in Milan, in 1821, his son published his plans, etc. "Fabbriche e Disegni di Giacomo Guarenghi". Wed "Architect" (1872, £ 5).