Moscow

Novodevichy Monastery

Many art students consider the old frescoes inside the cathedral of the Virgin of Smolensk to be the best examples of Moscow iconography. Particularly remarkable are those painted on the pillars. The cathedral is the oldest building of the Novodevichi Convent in Moscow, founded in 1524 by Vasili III to commemorate the re-annexation of the city of Smolensk to his realm. Though it is nowhere specifically stated, it is generally assumed that its architect was the same Italian Alevis' Novi, who earlier had built the cathedral of the Archangel Michael in the Kremlin. The new cathedral repeats the main features of the Kremlin's cathedral of the Assumption, though to make it slightly different, Novi raised it on a basement and put the cupolas closer to each other, which gave the new edifice a slimmer look. There is no information about the painters who decorated the cathedral after it's completion, nor about those who repainted them. Boris Godunov restored the cathedral in 1598 and ordered new icons for its iconostasis. Before that, Boris had lived for a while in the Monastery, and it was here that Patriarch Job asked his consent to become tsar of all Russia after the Zemskii Sobor, an assembly of representatives of various social groups, had offered him the throne a few days earlier. The scene is depicted in Mussorgski's opera, Boris Gudunov.

The convent was built as a fortress at the intersection of three crossings of the Moscow river. It was part of the defensive system that included the Donskoi and Danilov- Simonov and other monasteries. The convent was a prominent place for the royal and boyar women who became nuns. It was a favorite of the Tsars, who regularly bestowed great gifts for its endowment. The complex of 15 buildings, surmounted by golden domes, is one of the oldest religious complexes in the city. The brick walls were constructed at the end of the 17th century. There are seven churches within the walls. The entrance is under the Preobrazhenskaya nadvratnaya (Transfiguration gate) Church, built 1687- 89. In the Smolensk Cathedral visitors can admire a series of frescoes depicting the life of Basil III. Another special art work is the elaborate iconostasis, the gift of Peter the Great's sister, the Regent Sophia. Peter had her locked up in the convent's Chamber Prison with her lover thoughtfully hung outside her window after she fomented a streltzi uprising (the Khovantshchina). The bell tower was finished in 1690. The Uspenskaya (Assumption) church was built in 1685-87. Boris Gudonov's sister Irina, Peter's half-sister Sophia, and Yevdokia Lopukhina all lived in this convent. The Pokrov Church and the Refectory Church and several churches and residence halls also date from the period 1683-1690. The cemetery is a favorite tourist attraction since it contains the remains of many prominent personalities such as Nikita Khrushchev, Stalin's second wife, the writers Gogol and Chekhov, the filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein and the poet Vladimir Mayakovsky.

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