In 1996, Mintimer Shaimiev, the first president of the Republic of Tatarstan, signed a decree on the restoration of the Annunciation Cathedral in the Kazan Kremlin. The next year, the builders restored the colors of the domes as they were at the beginning of the 20th century. At the same time, the artist Aleksey Sporius created a watercolor depicting the cathedral: the central part of the cathedral is featured in the scaffolding. The painter portrayed the moment of completing the work on the domes — they have already been painted in the original colors.
In Orthodox culture, each color has a special meaning in the architectural design. The golden color of domes means that the temple is dedicated to some church holiday — in this case it symbolizes the Holy Annunciation. The blue domes with stars on the four sides represent the Mother of God. The color of the sky denotes Her holiness and purity, and the stars refer to the three stars on Her maphorium (cloak) — the symbol of virginity.
The golden dome of the cathedral resembles the architecture of the katholikon, the main temple of the monastery, in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. It is built in the Ukrainian Baroque style — the domes of this style can be recognized by their characteristic pear-shaped design: often architects seemed to be building one onion-shaped dome on top of the other.
The cathedral’s tholobate — the uppermost cylindrical part of the structure — could still be crowned with a dome in the form of a hemisphere. Then another tholobate was placed on it with another onion-shaped or conical-shaped dome — this is exactly the structure that the artist captured in the picture.
The painter worked with light brush strokes, making full use of the transparent qualities of the watercolor. The work is distinguished by pure tones and fresh shades. The artist subtly conveyed the delicate joy of what was happening, as if he endowed the work with his own inspiration, drawn from the fact that the main Orthodox shrine of the Kazan Kremlin was being restored for a new life.
Alexey Sporius is an artist and Kazan architect in the fourth generation. He graduated from the Kazan Institute of Petroleum Engineers and worked in several design organizations, including the largest companies Tatargrazhdanproekt and Archproekt. According to his designs, the main entrance to VDNKh was built in Kazan, the Kazan Kremlin was landscaped and a square near the Leninsky Bridge was laid out. Since 1957, the artist became a member of the Tatar branch of the Union of Architects, and a year before his death in 1998, he joined the Union of Artists.
In Orthodox culture, each color has a special meaning in the architectural design. The golden color of domes means that the temple is dedicated to some church holiday — in this case it symbolizes the Holy Annunciation. The blue domes with stars on the four sides represent the Mother of God. The color of the sky denotes Her holiness and purity, and the stars refer to the three stars on Her maphorium (cloak) — the symbol of virginity.
The golden dome of the cathedral resembles the architecture of the katholikon, the main temple of the monastery, in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. It is built in the Ukrainian Baroque style — the domes of this style can be recognized by their characteristic pear-shaped design: often architects seemed to be building one onion-shaped dome on top of the other.
The cathedral’s tholobate — the uppermost cylindrical part of the structure — could still be crowned with a dome in the form of a hemisphere. Then another tholobate was placed on it with another onion-shaped or conical-shaped dome — this is exactly the structure that the artist captured in the picture.
The painter worked with light brush strokes, making full use of the transparent qualities of the watercolor. The work is distinguished by pure tones and fresh shades. The artist subtly conveyed the delicate joy of what was happening, as if he endowed the work with his own inspiration, drawn from the fact that the main Orthodox shrine of the Kazan Kremlin was being restored for a new life.
Alexey Sporius is an artist and Kazan architect in the fourth generation. He graduated from the Kazan Institute of Petroleum Engineers and worked in several design organizations, including the largest companies Tatargrazhdanproekt and Archproekt. According to his designs, the main entrance to VDNKh was built in Kazan, the Kazan Kremlin was landscaped and a square near the Leninsky Bridge was laid out. Since 1957, the artist became a member of the Tatar branch of the Union of Architects, and a year before his death in 1998, he joined the Union of Artists.
