Mansion of a and derozhinskaya fedor osipovich shekhtel. Excursion to the Derozhinskaya mansion (Residence of the Australian Ambassador) architect F.O. Shekhtel

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The Derozhinskaya mansion at 13 Kropotkinskiy lane, some researchers of Bulgakov's work rank as possible addresses of Margarita's residence (the so-called "Margarita's Gothic mansion"), the heroine of the immortal novel by Mikhail Afanasyevich. And although this mansion does not have so many chances to clearly claim this glorious name, the mansion is interesting at least because it was built by Fyodor Ospovich Shekhtel himself, to whose work I still will not approach with immersion. This mansion evokes a quiet, clearly enthusiastic response in your soul. It is felt that Shekhtel put into his image all his quivering understanding of modernity, however, showing a careful and sensitive attitude to his creation as a new cozy family nest, where decent, restrained wealth and taste of its owners should have been manifested ... at least from his point of view ...

Of course, one should dwell on the personality of Derozhinskaya herself. Alexandra Ivanovna, nee Butikova, was the daughter of a textile millionaire, merchant of the first guild, hereditary honorary citizen Ivan Ivanovich Butikov. After the death of her parents, she inherited all the possessions of the Butikovs in Ostozhie and the estates near Moscow, and the factories and shops went to her brother Stepan. In 1893, sixteen-year-old Alexandra Ivanovna was married to Pavel Pavlovich Ryabushinsky. In this marriage, a son, Paul, was born. But the marriage did not last long, and they parted.

Despite the church's non-recognition of divorce until 1904, already in 1901 she married the lieutenant of the Nikolaev Life Guards Cavalry Regiment Vladimir Valerianovich Derozhinsky. Alexandra Ivanovna decides to build a new house for the new family and for this purpose buys land ownership in Shtatniy lane, previously owned by Agrafena Vasilyevna Demidova. Derozhinskaya orders the project of the house to the most fashionable Moscow architect Fyodor Osipovich Shekhtel, whom she owes to her first husband, since Shekhtel built many buildings for the Ryabushinsky family. In 1901-1902 F.O. Shekhtel with the participation of his assistant A.A. Galetsky designed and built in the possession of A.I. Derozhinskaya is a magnificent residential building, an outbuilding and a garage.
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Shekhtel not only developed the project of the building, but also thought out the concept of the mansion's interiors: according to the drawings of the architect himself, furniture, fabrics, lamps, floor lamps, doors and platbands, rich bronze fittings and fittings were ordered. At the beginning of 1903 the house was put into operation.

By the way, simultaneously with the Derozhinskaya mansion, Shekhtel worked on the Ryabushinsky mansion on Malaya Nikitskaya ...
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This is an office. Once it also had a ceremonial decoration, but at the request of the hostess in the 1910s. was completely redone, even the wonderful Shechtel marble fireplace was dismantled.
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Canteen
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The house of Derozhinskaya has two floors and a basement. On the first floor, reception rooms and family rooms were arranged, on the second - a kitchen, rooms for children and their governesses. The basement houses utility rooms, servants' rooms and a billiard room. By the way, it was in the Derozhinskaya mansion that technological innovations first appeared: steam heating, exhaust ventilation, sewerage, water supply, electricity and a telephone.

The plan of the first floor of the mansion for orientation purposes.
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The courtyard of the A.I. Derozhinskaya. In the background - the building of the International Information Agency "Russia Segodnya" or, until recently, RIA "Novosti" at 4, Zubovsky Boulevard ...
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It was assumed that the walls of the mansion would be decorated with picturesque panels. But the planned places for them were just plastered. Shekhtel, at the request of the customer, recommended I.E. Grabar. But Derozhinskaya unexpectedly halved the cost of the work. Grabar refused as a result. Then the job was offered to V.E. Borisov-Musatov (1870-1905). Working with Derozhinskaya was a bitter disappointment for the artist. In October 1905 he wrote to Alexandre Benois: "My fresco failed. I wanted to paint it so much. So I dreamed about it. Although it is a colossal work. I made four watercolor sketches, and everyone liked them very much. Spring, summer and two - autumn ... The owner of the palazzo, where these frescoes are needed, nobly retreated, offering pennies for them "... Shekhtel was away and could not explain to the capricious customer that she was being offered masterpieces. At one time, he convinced Zinaida Morozova to accept the panels painted by Vrubel for her mansion on Spiridonovka. In the same autumn, Borisov-Musatov died.

The panels that we see now are a remake, but rather carefully executed. During the last restoration, it was decided to restore the frescoes made according to the sketches of the artist Viktor Borisov-Musatov, preserved in the archives of the Tretyakov Gallery.
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One of Schechtel's favorite interior elements is the fireplace. In this house, it is surrounded by a wooden frame, and its upper part is supported by figures of a man and a woman ...
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Almost the entire wall of the grand hall is occupied by an impressive huge arched window ...
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In this office, the chandelier is no longer original ...
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The main staircase is located in the inner part of the house. Natural motifs are also used in its design, depicting wildly growing fabulous flowers.
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The flower cups are inlaid with ebony. And the whole composition is crowned by a copper lantern placed on a wooden pedestal.
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Spiral marble staircase ...
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The dining room is one of the most interesting rooms in the mansion, because a lot of original interior details have been preserved in it.
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By the way, in the walls of the village panels, in the photo below, ventilation grilles are disguised, hidden by intricate bronze overlays with patterns. Apparently this was a cigar-smoking area ... with a range hood.
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Wonderful Spider - Art Nouveau front door handles ...
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After the death of her brother, who had no children in the mid-1900s, Derozhinskaya inherited the entire family business. The brother did not conduct business successfully, the production was on the verge of collapse, but Alexandra Ivanovna took everything into her own hands, and also brought her husband V.V. into the management of the company. Derozhinsky, and things went uphill.
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Although the second marriage was for love, it did not last long. In 1910, Derozhinskaya married Ivan Ivanovich Zimin, a textile magnate, director of the Zuevskaya Manufactory Partnership. Alexandra Zimina already possessed considerable wealth and held a high position in society. At the same time, Alexandra Ivanovna maintained good relations with her former husbands. The memoirs of the British Consul in Moscow Bruce Lohart are preserved: “It is interesting for me to watch how Madame Zimina, a Moscow millionaire, every Sunday had dinner and played bridge with her three husbands - two former and one present” ...

In the third marriage, Alexandra Ivanovna had a son, Sergei. After the marriage of I.I. Zimin moves to his wife's mansion and gets a job as a financial advisor in her company.
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Little is known about Zimina's fate after the revolution. According to one version, she and her two sons left for Italy. After the revolution, the famous mansion was occupied by various Soviet institutions: the Cultural and Educational Society of the Ukrainian Rada, the out-of-school department of the People's Commissariat for Education, and after 1921 various diplomatic missions. Since 1959, the Australian Embassy has been located in the Derozhinskaya mansion.

In 2009-2013, the restoration of the mansion was carried out, during which some ceiling paintings and mosaic floors were restored. And most recently, the residence of the Australian Ambassador was located there.

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In conclusion, here are a few more views of the architectural details of the Derozhinskaya mansion.

A no less remarkable example of a private house of the Art Nouveau era is the mansion of A.I.Derozhinskaya, created by Shekhtel almost simultaneously with the Ryabushinsky mansion. The house in Kropotkinskiy (Shtatny) lane clearly testifies to the breadth of the architect's creative imagination, who by no means repeats the methods and solutions that were once found here, but generates new ones that are different from those previously tested. We can say that the mansion of A.I.Derozhinskaya is the alter ego of Ryabushinsky's house.

View from the courtyard

Alexandra Ivanovna Derozhinskaya (née Butikova) was one of the most prominent figures in secular Moscow at the beginning of the 20th century. Married at the age of sixteen to Pavel Ryabushinsky, the eldest son of a prominent manufacturer and banker, she was not happily married, as was customary in her social stratum, for commercial rather than “cordial” reasons. For a long time, the spiritual authorities refused to recognize the divorce, which did not prevent the former spouses from independently arranging their personal lives. In 1901, Alexandra Butikova-Ryabushinskaya joined her fate with the Horse Guards Lieutenant Vladimir Derozhinsky. A new union, which arose out of love, also turned out.

short-lived: in 1910 the marriage broke up. But it was this page of Alexandra Ivanovna's life that was marked by the construction of a luxurious Art Nouveau mansion.

The first thing that catches your eye as you approach the mansion is the steel fence with an imposing plinth and gate pylons, tiled with bluish green tiles. The drawing of the fence is based on the stylization of the floral motif, reminiscent of the ornaments of the Viennese Art Nouveau masters. The house has been set up with an indent from the red line and is sinking, as Moscow custom is, in the greenery of the front garden. The site in Shtatniy Lane, on which one of the masterpieces of Moscow Art Nouveau grew, belonged to the number of old noble estates concentrated around Prechistenka and Ostozhenka.

Fence grate

In 1901, Shekhtel already possessed solid experience in the genre of a private mansion and managed to develop specific techniques in a new style, his own recognizable author's handwriting. The architect endows the main façade facing the alley with signs of symmetry and asymmetry at the same time. The effect of symmetry of the composition is achieved through the introduction of a powerful accent - a large central projection topped with an attic with two cylindrical towers and cut through by a grandiose arched window. Risalit naturally dominates the appearance of the mansion, participating in the formation of the view perspective of the alley and sometimes evoking curious associations in the audience: one of his contemporaries compared it to huge binoculars.

The Derozhinskaya mansion. 2nd floor plan

While recognizing the key importance of the front facade for representing the image of the mansion, it should be noted that other facades - courtyard and side ones - also have considerable expressiveness. Here Shekhtel, as in Ryabushinsky's house, deliberately strives to overcome the traditional, classical hierarchy of the main and the secondary, the ceremonial and the utilitarian. And although it is impossible to speak of the equivalence of all the facades of the building in Kropotkinskiy Lane, each of them contains its own artistic quality, worthy of attention.

The front facade is characterized by the restraint of the decor, which contrasts so much with the polychrome of the Ryabushinsky mansion with its wide mosaic frieze. In the house of Derozhinskaya Shekhtel allows himself only a few blotches of sculptural relief, successfully "accompanying" the stylized pseudo-classical details of the facade composition. The courtyard and side facades are distinguished by even greater laconic design and, at the same time, by the clarity of the compositional construction. Shechtel's buildings invariably had a strong structural element, which makes this master one of the forerunners of 20th century architecture.

Risalit is a protruding part of the facade, extending to its entire height. Risalits add variety to the volumetric-spatial composition of the building.

Attic is a wall erected over a cornice crowning an architectural structure. Sometimes it is decorated with reliefs or inscriptions.

High relief above the entrance to the mansion

Entrance porch decoration

A characteristic feature of the Derozhinskaya mansion is the emphasized heroization of the image, achieved by opposing large, laconic forms to each other. The plan of the building was formed proceeding from the logic of the development of the interior space - this is the meaning of the design method “from the inside out”, which returned to the everyday life of European architecture of the XIX century in connection with the romantic “restorations” of the styles of the Middle Ages and then established in modernity. Although, unlike the Ryabushinsky mansion, the composition of the plan here is not so unambiguously determined by the central role of the main staircase, it is also characterized by the picturesque freedom of the location and configuration of the premises. As a result, the entire mass of the building is highly dissected, with many protruding volumes. Avoiding small details in the decoration of facades, Shekhtel manipulates the viewer's perception and achieves the effect of large-scale surprise. Its essence can be illustrated by an archive photo with a cabman at the fence of the mansion. If it were not for this staffage, both the fence and the mansion itself, for all its monumentality, would have looked rather intimate in size. The real dimensions of the building are a real surprise!

Mansion interiors

The interiors of the mansion are inextricably linked with its external appearance. This connection is not limited to stylistic unity, although the house of Derozhinskaya is a unique (even for Shekhtel) example of purity of style. All the premises are designed in the forms of Viennese Art Nouveau, practically without inclusions of "fluid" Franco-Belgian and admixture of historical stylizations that were found in most bourgeois mansions of that time, reflecting a greater desire of customers for respectability than for the artistic integrity of the everyday environment.

Wood is the dominant material in the interiors of the Derozhinskaya house. The design of the wood paneling, built-in furniture, lighting fixtures and fittings testifies to the strong impression that Shechtel made with the work of Joseph Maria Olbrich and, in particular, the Vienna Rooms, presented at the 1900 Paris World Fair. But the spatial drama of the premises, inherent exclusively in Shekhtel's talent, reveals in a new way the qualities of well-known decorative motives, conventionally interpreting the forms of the plant world.

Staffage - figures of people and animals depicted in landscape painting and architectural projects to revive the view and are of secondary importance.

Hall-living room interior

The interior of the living room-hall with a fireplace and murals based on a sketch by V.E.Borisov-Musatov

Hall-living room interior

The above-mentioned monumentalism (and even gigantism) is also characteristic of the mansion's interiors, in particular, for the living room-hall, the space of which is suppressed by a superhuman sweep. Items of equipment are also exaggerated in scale. The fireplace serves as a compositional accent of the room. The height is much greater than human height, which is emphasized by the stucco figures of a languishing man and woman, which exceed life size, flanking its portal. The walls of the hall are higher than the paneled walls.

The sculptural portal of the fireplace in the hall-living room depicting languishing male and female figures was made by Shekhtel himself, who did not hesitate to show his talents outside of architectural creativity.

the wooden panels were supposed to be filled with murals by Viktor Borisov-Musatov, who gained fame in the early 1900s for his pictorial elegies, reminiscent of the French Symbolists, but full of nostalgic sadness for country estate Russia. However, the customer played a cruel joke with the artist. “My fresco has failed,” Musatov wrote. “I made four watercolor sketches, and everyone liked them very much ... The owner of the palazzo, where these frescoes are needed, nobly retreated, offering them a pittance.” Shekhtel, who was absent from Moscow, could not intervene in time, and a short time later the artist was gone. One of the most interesting decorative and pictorial ensembles of the Silver Age remained unrealized ...

For the third time, Alexandra Butikova-Ryabushinskaya-Derozhinskaya married Ivan Zimin, a manufacturer and brother of the founder of the famous Private Opera in Moscow, Sergei Ivanovich. At the same time, she retained quite friendly relations with her former spouses. As a contemporary recalled, "Madame Zimina, a Moscow millionaire, every Sunday dined and played bridge with her three husbands - two former and one present." A popular legend says that in 1918 Alexandra Ivanovna and her two sons (from their first and third marriages) managed to emigrate to Italy. However, Sergei Zimin mentions her in his 1921 Moscow diary. Then traces of it are lost.

The Ostozhenka area has always been a place where Moscow millionaires lived, it is not surprising that in our time this street has the title of the most expensive street in Moscow. It was all the more interesting to get into one of the most famous mansions located in the side streets of Ostozhenka, in Kropotkinskiy (Shtatniy) lane - the famous Derozhinskaya mansion.

Before talking about the mansion, one cannot but say a few words about its owner, because she was an outstanding person. Alexandra Ivanovna nee Butikova was the daughter of a textile millionaire, merchant of the first guild, hereditary honorary citizen Ivan Ivanovich Butikov. After the death of her parents, she inherited all the possessions of the Butikovs in Ostozhie and the estates near Moscow, and the factories and shops went to her brother Stepan.

Marriages between merchant families at that time were not uncommon, especially between neighbors, and in 1893, sixteen-year-old Alexandra Ivanovna was married to Pavel Pavlovich Ryabushinsky. In this marriage, Paul was born. But the marriage did not last long, and they parted.

Despite the fact that the consistory did not recognize the divorce, and the process dragged on until 1904, in 1901 Alexandra Ivanovna married the lieutenant of the Nikolaev Life Guards Cavalry Regiment Vladimir Valerianovich Derozhinsky. She decides to build a new house for the new family and buys a property in Shtatniy lane, previously owned by Agrafena Vasilyevna Demidova. The choice of location is not accidental, in fact, the Butikovs were old-timers of Ostozhenka - three generations of the Butikovs lived in the 1st Ushakovsky lane (now Korobeinikov lane, building 1). Having broken down all the old wooden buildings, Derozhinskaya ordered the project of the house to the most fashionable Moscow architect Fyodor Osipovich Shekhtel, whom she owes to her first husband, since Shekhtel built many buildings for the Ryabushinsky family. In 1901-1902 F.O. Shekhtel with the participation of A.A. Galetsky designed and built in the possession of A.I. Derozhinskaya is a magnificent residential building, an outbuilding and a garage.

F.O. Shekhtel not only developed the project of the building, but also thought out the concept of the mansion's interiors: according to the drawings of the architect himself, furniture, fabrics, lamps, floor lamps, doors and platbands, bronze fittings were ordered. At the beginning of 1903 the house was put into operation. On the occasion of the housewarming, on February 6, 1903, the young couple gave a festive dinner: prentaniere soup, royal jelly, lamb lard, fried game, salad and ice cream. In the future, the house was not famous for dinner parties - businessmen gathered in the living room much more often than cultural figures.

Although the second marriage was for love, it also did not last long. In 1910, Derozhinskaya married Ivan Ivanovich Zimin, a textile magnate, director of the Zuevskaya Manufactory Partnership. And although marriage to a divorced woman was not welcomed by the Old Believers, they had to endure: Alexandra Zimin had significant wealth and even held a high position in society. At the same time, Alexandra Ivanovna maintained good relations with her former husbands. The following recollections of the British Consul in Moscow Bruce Lohart are preserved: “ It is interesting for me to watch Madame Zimina, a Moscow millionaire, every Sunday lunch and play bridge with her three husbands - two former and one real».
In the third marriage, Alexandra Ivanovna had a son, Sergei. After the marriage of I.I. Zimin moves to his wife's mansion and gets a job as a financial advisor in her company.

Little is known about Zimina's fate after the revolution. According to one version, she and her two sons left for Italy. According to the memoirs of Sergei Ivanovich Zimin, her husband's brother, Alexandra Ivanovna remained in Moscow, came to visit, but the family could not forgive her for deviating from the traditions of the Old Believers, they believed that her son should not be brought up by her. Most likely, she died in poverty from illness in the mid-1920s.

After the revolution, the famous mansion was occupied by various Soviet institutions: the Cultural and Educational Society of the Ukrainian Rada, the out-of-school department of the People's Commissariat for Education, and after 1921 various diplomatic missions. Since 1959, the Australian Embassy has been located in the Derozhinskaya mansion.
In 2009-2013, the restoration of the mansion was carried out, during which some ceiling paintings and mosaic floors were restored. And quite recently, the residence of the Australian Ambassador was located there, but since they have not yet had time to "settle down", there is very little furniture there. And yet, on the day of cultural heritage, thanks to the project "Out into the city", I managed to visit there.

First, let's take a look around the courtyard of the house.

The house itself is located at the back of the courtyard, and in front of it is a small garden.

The cast-iron fence is genuine, and the motive of its patterns will be found more than once in the design of the interiors of the house.

The facade of the building is faced with a single-color ceramic tile called "hog". An interesting element of the courtyard facade is the corner tower.

In the niches of the house there were such charming animals, but these are, most likely, decorations of the new owners.

The utility building in the courtyard is made in the same style and color scheme as the mansion, which unites all buildings on the site into a solemn ensemble. Alexandra Ivanovna had two cars of the Minerva brand with a capacity of 24 and 26 horsepower, for which a garage was built.

The most expressive part of the side façade is the huge reclining window located in the center.

The main entrance is decorated with the image of the mysterious Lorelei.

And through two pairs of massive doors we find ourselves in the hallway.

In the Art Nouveau style, the terribly beautiful is often found, so here it is: as if in contrast to the beautiful lady above the entrance, the handles of the internal doors are made in the shape of a spider.

In the hallway, the walls are decorated with oak panels with hangers and benches - chests.

Interestingly disguised toilet door.

To make it easier to navigate in the house, let's add a plan.

We go up the small stairs to the living room.

The luxurious living room is the compositional and artistic center of the mansion. Its walls were supposed to be decorated with panels, and the architect recommended I.E.Derozhinskaya. Grabar, but the hostess halved the cost of the work, and the artist refused. After the job was offered to V.E. Borisov-Musatov, but it did not work out with him either. In October 1905, he wrote to Alexandre Benoit: “ My fresco has failed. So I wanted to write it. So I dreamed about it. Even though it is a colossal work. I did four watercolor sketches, and everyone loved them. Spring, summer, and two - autumn ... the owner of the palazzo, where frescoes are needed, nobly retreated, offering pennies for them". Shekhtel was away and could not explain to the customer that she was being offered masterpieces.

The panels that we see now are a remake. During the last restoration, it was decided to restore the frescoes made according to the sketches of the artist Viktor Borisov-Musatov, preserved in the archives of the Tretyakov Gallery.

One of Schechtel's favorite interior elements is the fireplace. In this house, it is surrounded by a wooden frame, and its upper part is supported by figures of a man and a woman.

Pearl-like lamps descend from the ceiling on thin metal threads, similar to a bizarre cobweb. And on the walls, ventilation grilles are disguised with patterns.

Almost the entire wall of the hall is occupied by a huge arched window, through which light literally floods the entire room.

To the left of the living room is the boudoir study.

One gets the impression that there are no straight lines in its interior, even the walls and cornices are wavy.

The design of the ceiling is also surprising: light bulbs are mounted in a fancy pattern.

The main staircase is located in the inner part of the house. Natural motifs are also used in its design, depicting wildly growing fabulous flowers.

The flower cups are inlaid with ebony. And the whole composition is crowned by a copper lantern placed on a wooden pedestal.

The next room is the study. Once it also had a ceremonial decoration, but at the request of the hostess in the 1910s. was completely redone, even the marvelous marble fireplace was dismantled.

Neither the interiors, nor the furniture in the study have survived, even the chandelier here is from a completely different opera.

The dining room is one of the most interesting rooms in the mansion, because many original interior details have been preserved in it.

To the right of the sideboard is a door to a spiral staircase for servants.

A narrow staircase led to the service rooms; its railings are made in the form of an openwork metal ornament, the basis of which is the curls found in other details of the interior of the Derozhinskaya mansion.

And back to the dining room. The furniture for it was designed by Schechtel using English and Austrian Art Nouveau motifs.

In place of the lost table in the center of the room there is a dining set from that era. To the left of the display case with dishes is a door leading to the kitchen.

At the end of the trip around the house, I present a small selection of the most vending decor elements, it's amazing how different they are, but at the same time, incredibly stylish.

Literature:
1. Ulyanova G., Datieva N., Zolotarev M. Dynasties of Zimin and Guchkov in the history of Moscow and Moscow province
2. Architectural heritage - Shekhtel.
3. PAM (Ground floor plan)
4. Zimin after the revolution:

Moscow Art Nouveau in the faces and destinies of Sokolova Lyudmila Anatolyevna

Mansion A.I. Derozhinskaya in Kropotkinskiy lane, no. 13 (1901)

This building is rightfully considered one of Shekhtel's finest creations and is one of the ten most striking examples of Moscow Art Nouveau.

It was commissioned by Franz Osipovich, who by that time had already become the most fashionable architect of the Mother See, Alexandra Ivanovna Derozhinskaya, who was familiar both with the architect himself and with his work, since her first marriage introduced her to the Ryabushinsky family, for whom Shekhtel built several beautiful buildings.

The mansion is located in the back of the courtyard; it is separated from the street by a beautiful wrought-iron fence, the drawing of which is called "The Rose of Glasgow".

The facade of the building, cut through by a huge arched window, is tiled with light green ceramic tiles and decorated with stucco in the form of floral arrangements and garlands. The main entrance is located not from the side of the street, but in the back of the courtyard.

Mansion A.I. Derozhinskaya

The house has two floors and a basement. On the ground floor there were living rooms, a library, an office and a boudoir of the hostess, and her husband's chambers. A beautiful staircase, decorated with wooden carved decor, led from the hall to the second floor, intended for children and their governesses. But the kitchen, which was also on the second floor, was connected to the dining room by a special "black" staircase, the railings of which were supported by forged elements that were combined with the fence of the mansion. The basement was occupied by utility rooms and servants' quarters. Everything was equipped in accordance with the latest engineering technologies: hot water heating, exhaust and supply ventilation, electricity, sewerage, plumbing, bathrooms and toilets and telephone communications.

One cannot pass over in silence the marble fireplace of the hall - the largest at that time in Moscow. But not because of its size, but because it is decorated with high relief depicting two human figures: a man with a face and a woman who turned away and covered her face with her hand. Now it is difficult to say why Alexandra Ivanovna chose just such a plot. They say that she was still very upset by the betrayal of her first spouse.

As always, Franz Osipovich thought through even the smallest details of the interior, making it a single whole, the main thing in which was style, convenience and comfort. In the interior decoration, at the request of the customer, wood was widely used: oak panels, furniture, unique parquet, wall panels, stairs, original window frames, as well as a bright detail - a scattering of ceiling lamps that change the intensity of the glow, framed with stucco flowers, the fashion for which has reached almost a century before us.

By the way, there were no chapels in the mansion, as was customary in Old Believer houses. And the further three (!) Divorces of Madame Butikova-Ryabushinskaya-Derozhinskaya-Zimina indicate that the hostess did not really hold on to the old foundations.

At the beginning of 1903 the mansion was finished. On the occasion of the housewarming, there was a gala reception with a dinner, the menu of which was also designed by Shekhtel.

But this did not mean the complete completion of the work: almost 250 square meters of area intended for ceiling and wall paintings were waiting in the wings. To make the frescoes, Shekhtel, who had a carte blanche, invited the talented young artist Igor Emmanuilovich Grabar. He enthusiastically got down to business and soon presented his sketches to the hostess for court. But probably our lady turned on the economy mode or simply showed her absurd character - she offered the artist only half of the promised amount (5 thousand rubles). He, naturally, refused.

She did not think in what position she had put the architect, who negotiated the terms of the order ... Reluctantly, Shekhtel persuaded the already recognized Viktor Elpidiforovich Borisov-Musatov to take up the work (by the way, for a cut fee). He examined the mansion, was completely delighted with it and agreed. It may very well be because of friendship with the architect.

The artist worked earnestly, made sketches that made a huge impression on everyone who saw them. But not on Mrs. Derozhinskaya.

Borisov-Musatov in a letter to A.V. Shchusev described the situation as follows: “The order with my frescoes did not take place, although the sketches were successful, as they say. But the lady probably thought that I would make them for her pleasure - for free. Therefore, I sold half of them to the Tretyakov Gallery, and the remaining two (alas?), In my opinion, are the best, I left for Paris. " He could not hide his bitterness in a letter to A. Benois: "My fresco failed ... I made four watercolor sketches, and everyone liked them very much ... The owner of the palazzo, where these frescoes are needed, nobly retreated, offering them a pittance."

Doesn't this remind you of today's powerlessness of creative people in front of the moneybags, who sometimes out of stinginess, sometimes out of harm, and more often, in order to demonstrate their complete impunity, do not pay creators?

“Shekhtel was away and could not explain to the capricious customer that she was being offered masterpieces. At one time, he convinced Zinaida Morozova to accept the panels painted by Vrubel for her mansion on Spiridonovka. In the same autumn Borisov-Musatov died "(from the site" My Moscow ").

They say that that huge black spider, which acts as handles on the inner leaves of the entrance doors, is a peculiar characteristic of the mistress of the house, given by the architect.

After 1917, of course, the luxurious mansion was nationalized. At different times there were located: the Cultural and Educational Society of the Ukrainian Rada, the school department of the People's Commissariat for Education, which was headed by N.K. Krupskaya (to whom of the young readers this surname does not say anything - the widow of V.I. Lenin). From 1921 to 1924 the building was occupied by the Norwegian plenipotentiary F. Jakheln and the Norwegian trade mission.

Spider door handle

Then there was a Chinese diplomatic mission in the mansion, which three years later was transformed into an embassy. In the early 1930s, there were representations of the Uzbek, Turkmen and Tajik union republics. During their stay in the Derozhinskaya mansion, the interior of the unique building suffered greatly: the hall was divided by a ceiling into two floors, fireplaces were partially dismantled, sconces and ceiling lamps were dismantled, unique furniture and some wall panels disappeared, paintings were painted over or pasted over ... In 1959, the mansion was handed over to the Australian Embassy.

In 2009-2013, the building underwent a full-scale restoration work, during which some ceiling paintings and mosaic floors were restored. And on the walls appeared frescoes, made according to sketches by Borisov-Musatov, preserved in the archives of the Tretyakov Gallery. A remake, say? Objection: historical justice in relation to the artist. And it turned out beautifully. They say…

It was not possible to find the portrait of the owner of the mansion, but it is necessary to tell a little about her.

Alexandra Ivanovna Derozhinskaya(1877 - 1920s?) She was the daughter of a wealthy merchant of the 2nd guild, the owner of several textile factories, her own store on Myasnitskaya, mansions and the estate of Ivan Ivanovich Butikov, who preserved the faith of his fathers, that is, an Old Believer. After his death, the millionth fortune was divided between his son, Stepan, and the widow, Anfisa Fedorovna. The son did not have the business acumen of his father, and gradually the business began to decline, the legacy was melting before our eyes. After the death of her mother in 1890, her share passed to her daughter, Alexandra.

She was an energetic and determined girl. Despite the fact that at the age of sixteen she was married to Pavel Pavlovich Ryabushinsky and their son Pavel was already growing up, Alexandra began to delve into commercial matters.

After the death of his brother (in the 1900s), who had no children, part of his (the remnants, more precisely) of the family business passed to Alexandra. The active Alexandra Ivanovna became the head of the "Partnership of Ivan Butikov's Manufactories" and managed to organize the work so that she brought the "Partnership" out of the crisis and made it profitable again.

After a divorce from her husband - by the way, her son Pavel remained with his father - in 1901, Alexandra remarried. For great love, by the way. Her chosen one was the lieutenant of the Nikolaev Life Guards Cavalry Regiment under the leadership of Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich Vladimir Valerianovich Derozhinsky. He came from a poor family of hereditary military men. But he served, apparently, well, because for special valor his name was "written on the marble board of honor."

Having built a luxurious mansion in Shtatniy Lane (later, in 1921 it became Kropotkinskiy), the hostess dreamed of “twisting” a family nest in it. But in 1910, the marriage, in which heirs never appeared, broke up.

Soon Derozhinskaya married one of the largest Russian textile manufacturers - Ivan Ivanovich Zimin, director of the "Association of the Zuevskaya Manufactory", also, by the way, from among the Old Believers. Alexandra Ivanovna herself was not noticed in charitable affairs, but her new husband was a philanthropist: he financed Zimin's Private Opera, created by his brother Sergei. After his marriage, Ivan Ivanovich moved to his wife's house in Shtatniy lane.

According to her contemporaries, the owner of the mansion managed to maintain relations with all her husbands. Bruce Lockhart (1887–1970), British Consul in Moscow in 1912–1917, recalled: “It was interesting for me to watch Madame Zimina, a Moscow millionaire, eat lunch and play bridge every Sunday with her three husbands - two former and one real ... This showed tolerance and understanding, which at that time were beyond the perception of Western civilization. English wives, however, shrugged their shoulders with sanctimonious horror. "

For her ex-husband, V.V. Derozhinsky, retained a place on the board of the "Ivan Butikov's Association of Manufactures", and the new spouse became an official financial advisor.

In a marriage with Zimin, she gave birth to a son, Sergei. But this did not save the family: the couple divorced after some time.

After the revolution, there were various rumors about the fate of the owner of the luxurious mansion, which, despite the change of her name, remained in history as the "Derozhinskaya Mansion", after the revolution: it was more often replicated that she had emigrated. But in the memoirs of her last husband's brother, Sergei Ivanovich Zimin, a meeting with her in 1921 in Moscow is mentioned, when she was with Ivan Ivanovich Zimin and his son Serezha at his birthday party. I.I. Zimin died of typhus in 1922. His relatives never accepted the "double divorce" and believed that her son should be taken away from her. But the further fate of Sergei Zimin is unknown. As did his mother. According to rumors, for some time she was even forced to work at the "box office of the sweepstakes at the hippodrome" ...

From the book Two Petersburgs. Mystical guide the author Popov Alexander

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the author

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