Full Name: Montferrand, August Richard de
Other Names:
- Henry Louis August Richard de Montferrand
Gender: male
Date Born: 1786
Date Died: 1858
Place Born: Paris, Île-de-France, France
Place Died: St. Petersburg, Russia
Home Country/ies: France
Subject Area(s): architecture (object genre), Russian (culture or style), and sculpture (visual works)
Overview
Russian writer, architect and architectural historian. From 1806-1823, Montferrand studied architecture at the école de Speciale in Paris. After completing his studies, he worked for Charles Percier and Pierre François Leonard Fontaine, who were Napoleon’s architects. In 1814, Montferrand moved to St. Petersburg to accept the position of court architect. He worked with Karl Rossi to redesign St. Petersburg, building structures in the classical style, including St. Isaac’s Cathedral (1818-58), and the Alexander Column (1829-34), which is the world’s tallest column. Both structures were designed to represent Russia’s jubilation over the defeat of Napoleon. Monteferrand drew upon his knowledge of Chinese, Gothic, and Moorish architectural styles, which he incorporated into the design for St. Isaac’s Cathedral. He wrote several illustrated books about the construction of St. Isaac’s and the Alexander Column, where he described the construction process of each building, and provided a history of architecture from antiquity to the Renaissance.
Sources
Dictionary of Art
Contributors: LaNitra Michele Walker