Moscow school

The Moscow school (Russian: Московская школа, romanized: Moskovskaya shkola) is the name applied to a Russian architectural and painting school in the 14th to 16th centuries. It developed during the strengthening of the Moscow principality. The buildings of Vladimir provided the basis of the Moscow architectural school, which preserved elements of the synthesis of the Byzantine and Romanesque styles.
In Vladimir and other older cities like Rostov and Suzdal, restoration efforts took place during the 13th century, rather than new architectural development. Vladimir never regained its former glory and only retained its formal status as the capital of the grand principality. By the end of the 13th century, there was a resurgence in the building of new churches in areas where political consolidation was taking place. The princes of Moscow and Tver fought for supremacy, which continued into the early 14th century. Tver was in the ascendant at first, with masonry building being revived in Tver nearly half a century before Moscow. The foundations of the first stone church in Moscow were laid on 4 August 1326 during the reign of Ivan I after the seat of the Russian metropolitan was moved to Moscow. The chronicler records:
Masonry building continued in the following years with the Dormition Cathedral being completed in 1327. This was followed by the Belfry of Saint John Climacus (1329) and the Cathedral of the Savior on the Bor (1330). Finally, the Cathedral of the Archangel was completed in 1333. The white-stone walls and towers of the Kremlin were built in 1366–1368. By the late 14th century, the Muscovite type of white-stone church emerged, being compact and having four pillars, heightened ribbed arches, tiers of kokoshniks, and carved decorative belts on the facades. This was a modification of the traditions of the Vladimir-Suzdal school. The Nativity Church in the Kremlin (1393–1394) is the oldest surviving monument in the Kremlin.
The Moscow architectural school, which extended to the smaller principalities that were incorporated, evolved steadily throughout the 15th century. In smaller towns, a more distinct type of church emerged, one that returned to the Vladimir school. A group of cathedrals built at the end of the 14th century and the beginning of the 15th century exemplifies the "early Moscow style" that preceded the arrival of Renaissance craftsmen. These include the Cathedral of the Dormition in Zvenigorod (1396–1398), the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin in the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery (1405–1408), and the Cathedral of the Trinity in the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius (c. 1422). Scholars of Moscow's architectural history have emphasized that the traditions of a number of Russian principalities were integrated into a unified system in the early 15th century. The Cathedral of the Savior in the Andronikov Monastery (1425–1427) is often cited as the main example of this.
The late 15th century marked a significant period for masonry architecture, with many new masonry buildings appearing in the Moscow Kremlin and in other parts of Moscow. Eight new churches were built within the Kremlin itself. Brick began to replace the previously used limestone ("white stone"), likely under the influence of brick architecture in northern Germany's coastal towns, with which Novgorod had trade connections. It is believed that that a group of Novgorodian masters worked in Moscow and introduced new techniques. Following the end of Mongol suzerainty, Ivan III transformed Russian architectural style after contacts with Italian cities were restored, introducing new features that were preserved throughout the following centuries. Italian Renaissance masters worked in Russia from 1475 to 1539. The career of Aristotele Fioravanti is considered to be evidence that Moscow attracted leading Italian masters. The Dormition Cathedral in the Kremlin (1475–1479) reflects the spirit of early Vladimir and Fioravanti used the Dormition Cathedral in Vladimir, a symbol of the center of the Russian Church, as his model while introducing new influences at the same time.
The basis of the Moscow school of painting was the synthesis of local traditions with Byzantine and South Slavic art. From the mid-14th century, two stylistic lines appeared: one associated with monastic art and the other with large-scale depictions. The flourishing of the Moscow school in the late 14th and early 15th centuries is associated with Theophanes the Greek, Andrei Rublev and Daniel Chorny. Andrei Rublev led the school in the early 15th century became one of the most celebrated Russian icon painters. Rublev's traditions were continued by Dionisius in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. His icons and frescoes were known for their refined proportions, decorative festive coloring, and harmonious composition. The achievements of the Moscow school significantly influenced the development of the all-Russian style in the 16th century.