Background
Konstantin Andreyevich Thon was born on October 26, 1794, in Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation to the family of a German jeweller.
Konstantin Andreyevich Thon
Large gold medal (first rank)
Large gold medal (first rank)
The Russian Academy of Arts
Elena Ivanovna
Alexander Andreevich Thon
1837
(The grandiose palace, famed for opulent interiors of its ...)
The grandiose palace, famed for opulent interiors of its 700 rooms and halls, was meant to symbolize the grandeur of the Russian state. It was a daring design which incorporated parts of earlier structures that had been standing on the spot. The palace has served successively as an official residence for the Russian tsars, Soviet rulers, and the Presidents of the Russian Federation.
1838
1843
1845
Konstantin Andreyevich Thon was born on October 26, 1794, in Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation to the family of a German jeweller.
Konstantin Andreyevich studied at the Imperial Academy of Arts (now the Russian Academy of Arts) (1803-1815). He studied Italian art in Rome from 1819 to 1828, and on his return home was admitted to the academy as its member (1830) and professor (1833).
In 1854, Konstantin Andreyevich was appointed rector of the architectural division of the academy. He first attracted public attention with his sumptuous design for the interiors of the Academy building on the Neva embankment. In 1827, Konstantin Andreyevich submitted to the tsar his project of St Catherine church at the Obvodnyi Canal, the first-ever design in the Russian Revival style. Thon's project was to become a revered model for other churches in St Petersburg and across Russia.
In 1830, Konstantin Andreyevich completed his design to date, that of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow. He and his disciples continued to work on the cathedral for the next 50 years until the master's death in 1881.
In 1836-1842, Konstantin Andreyevich supervised the construction of another ponderous church with a spacious interior, that of Presentation to the Temple for the Semenovsky regiment in Saint Petersburg.
From 1838 to 1851, Konstantin Andreyevich was employed in the construction of the Neo-Russian Grand Kremlin Palace and the Kremlin Armoury in Moscow. At the same time, he rehabilitated the abandoned Izmaylovo Estate into an almshouse for the veterans of the Napoleonic Wars.
Thon's last important commissions were the Nikolaevsky railway stations in Moscow and Saint Petersburg (1849-1851). After the death of his patron, the Emperor, Thon's failing health prevented him from working on other projects apart from the great cathedral in Moscow.
Konstantin Andreyevich Thon died at Saint Petersburg in 1881.
