Description of the attraction
In 1905, the husband of the famous Russian actress, who shone on the stage of the imperial theaters, Maria Gavrilovna Savina, Anatoly Evgrafovich Molchanov, ordered the construction of a mansion for his wife.
Maria Savina since 1874 was the leading actress of the Alexandrinsky Imperial Theater. She played in the plays of Ostrovsky, who wrote roles "for her." The most striking roles of Savinova were considered the images of the heroines of Turgenev's works created by her. Savina was the founder and chairman of the Russian Theater Society (now the All-Russian Theater Society), the initiator of the first All-Russian Congress of Stage Figures. Savina is also known for her concern for the needy - she founded a house for elderly actors who left the stage (in our time - the House of Stage Veterans).
The building was designed by engineer Mikhail Fedorovich Geisler. Construction began in 1905 and completed in 1907.
The architect, who was one of the connoisseurs of Maria Savina's talent, while creating the project, tried as much as possible to recreate the aura of creativity and the spirit of the theater. On the first floor of the mansion, a large place was occupied by a library and a dressing room. A study and a dining room were located nearby. Dressing room, another dressing room and bedrooms were located on the 2nd floor. All rooms were decorated with paintings and stained-glass windows dedicated to theatrical, historical, mythological themes.
After the death of the actress in 1918, Molchanov opened a museum in the mansion dedicated to his wife. He worked until 1925.
The mansion was built in the Art Nouveau style. The free and visually light layout of the facade is built in accordance with the location of the internal premises. Constructive and technological solutions are at the same time elements of the facade decoration. A distinctive feature of the appearance of the two-story mansion is the unequal shape of the windows. This feature is one of the main features of the Art Nouveau style, distinguishing it from eclecticism. For Savina's mansion, this decision was not a functional necessity, but a stylization technique. Likewise, tiers and finishes with fine rapakivi granite and rough plaster were used as stylistic accents in the decoration. This shows the influence of the architect F. I. Lidval and V. V. Schaub, who were among the first to use a different texture for outdoor decoration. The facade was decorated by the craftsmen of the Chakhotin artel.
In his works, Geisler often paid much attention to floral ornamentation. It is also present in the decoration of the mansion. Traditional twisted plant patterns cannot be called traditional. Here you can see both lightness and a certain semblance of spontaneity. The frieze of the facade is decorated with majolica. The side sections of the building emphasize the liveliness of the composition. At the same time, they are simplified as much as possible and are not visually associated with the main facade. Such "single-facade" was an architectural feature widespread in urban development.
The interior decoration of the mansion is quite impressive. Wide flights of stairs cross the lobby, and halls, connected by stairs, form the center of the house. Curved openings are decorated with rectilinear triple lines. The "core" of the mansion is filled with decorative decorations that complement the chambered facade.
The main semantic and visual center of Savina's house is a stained-glass window depicting European and Russian classical heroes. The composition is divided into three parts. It is like a stage - it requires special attention, plunging into a kind of illusory world of theatrical truth and fiction. Details related to the world of theater symbolize the creative nature of the hostess and owner of the mansion.
The mansion of Savina and Molchanov is located in St. Petersburg at Literatorov Street, No. 17.
