Stepan Kovnir

Stepan Kovnir
A commemorative plaque to Stepan Kovnir on the facade of the Anthony and Theodosius Cathedral in Vasylkiv
Born	1695 Hvozdiv
Died	1786 Kyiv
Citizenship	Russian Empire
Occupation	Architect
Practice	Ukrainian Baroque
Buildings	Klov Palace, Kovnir building, Cathedral of Antonius and Feodosius (Vasylkiv)

Stepan Demyanovich Kovnir (1695—1786) was a Ukrainian architect of the 18th century, a master of Ukrainian Baroque. A subject of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, he was the author of many buildings of its architectural complex.

Biography

He was born in 1695 in the village of Hvozdiv in the Kyiv region, which belonged to the Kyiv Pustinno-Mykyl monastery from the 16th century. He worked as a stonemason from a young age.

He was a subject of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra (although exempted from all monastic duties). Around 1720 , he moved to Kyiv. The monastery suffered a great fire in 1718. Therefore, major reconstruction works were started here, in which Kovnir participated. At first, he worked under the guidance of Gottfried Johann Schädel, Vasily Neyolov, and other professional architects, and over time he himself received the qualification of "stone construction master".

It is believed that the first works of Kovnir were buildings of economic purpose - warehouses, storerooms, a locksmith's shop, a binding shop, a printing house. With the participation of Kovnir, the bell towers at the Near and Far Caves, the temple in Kitayiv, the Klov Palace, and other outstanding monuments of the Ukrainian Baroque were built . A striking masterpiece is the Kovniriv building on the territory of the Upper Lavra, a former service monastery building.

The builder gave almost 40 years of his work to the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.

Research of life and creativity

Research into the life and creative heritage of the master began only in the 20th century . The honor of clarifying many biographical data about Stepan Kovnir belongs to Boris Krytskyi , who in the 1950s and 60s , in particular, found out the year of his birth.

Kovnir's creations were admired by Professor Yuri Aseev , who wrote:

Kovnir did for the Lavra what Sansovino did for St. Mark's Square in Venice - he completed the historical process of assembling a harmonious architectural complex.

Creative heritage

• • Kyiv:
    • Kyiv Pecherska Lavra :
      • Kovnir building (1721—73) ;
      • bell towers in the Near (1759—62) and Far (1754—61) caves;
      • Klov Palace (1754—61, together with Vasyl Neyolov) ;
      • the iconostasis of the Church of the Saviour at Berestove ( 1760 , not preserved);
      • binding shop (building #13) (1757—70);
      • pediments of the Dormition Cathedral (1767-69, together with Y. Belinsky (Bilinsky ) and H. Pastukhov) ;
    • the bell tower of the Brotherhood Monastery in Podil (1756, not preserved);
    • Holy Trinity Church in Kitayiv ( 1763-67 ) .
  • Vasylkiv :
    • Antonius and Theodosius Cathedral with a bell tower ( 1756-58 ).

Works on the constructions of other masters

• • Kyiv :
    • Kyiv Pecherska Lavra :
      • The Great Lavra Belfry ( 1731 — 1745 , together with I. Rubashevskyi, the families of masters Gorokhy, Sharovary and others under the leadership of Johann Gottfried Schedel );
    • St. Andrew's Church (from 1749 , together with others under the leadership of Ivan Michurin, designed by Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli)

Dubious

• Velyki Sorochyntsi
  • Transfiguration church in Velyki Sorochyntsi (1723—1732).

Gallery

• 

  Cathedral of Antonius and Feodosia, Vasylkiv

• 

  Klov Palace, 1901

• 

  Cathedral of Antonius and Feodosia, Vasylkiv

• 

  Kitayiv hermitage, Trinity Church

• 

  Kitayiv hermitage, Trinity Church

• 

  Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Kovniriv building

• 

  Bell tower on the Far Caves

• 

  Bell tower on the Near Caves

• 

  Klov Palace

• 

  Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra

• 

  Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra

• 

  Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, bookbinding house (building #13)

Джерела

• R. Yu. Podkur. Ковнір Степан Дем'янович Archived 2016-08-17 at the Wayback Machine // Енциклопедія історії України : у 10 т. / редкол.: В. А. Смолій (голова) та ін. ; Інститут історії України НАН України. — К. : Наукова думка, 2007. — Т. 4 : Ка — Ком. — С. 390. — 528 с. : іл. — ISBN 978-966-00-0692-8.
• «Streets of Kyiv, Handbook» UE, Kyiv — 1995
• Encyclopedic guide "Kyiv". Under the editorship of A. Kudrytskyi. — Kyiv, HR URE, 1982
• "Kyivskie Vedomosti", No. 63 (3449) dated March 31 , 2005
• «Ukrayinks'ka kul'tura», № 1, 1995
• «Fine Art», № 1, 1971, с. 10.

External links

• Kovnir, Stepan Archived 2020-09-15 at the Wayback Machine // Ukrainian Little Encyclipedia : book 16: in 8 volumes / prof. E. Onatsky . — At the behest of the Administration of the UAOC in Argentina. — Buenos Aires, 1959. — book. V: Letters K — Kom — p. 664. — edition 1000 .
• Васильків Archived 2009-02-01 at the Wayback Machine
• Києво-Печерська лавра Archived 2019-05-01 at the Wayback Machine