The Presidential Library’s webinar to spotlight the history, theory and practice of architecture

On March 11, 2020, at 10:00 the Presidential Library will host a thematic webinar “Architecture: History, Theory, Practice”, which will feature the collections’ materials spotlighting about architectural monuments and establishing a connection between it, art history and the human development history. Ivan Dmitrievich Sablin, Ph.D., senior researcher in the sector of fine arts and architecture of the Russian Institute of Art History, will take part in the webinar as an expert on architecture.

At the webinar, students will be introduced to the scientific works of Russian and foreign historians of art and architecture, such as Igor Grabar, Banister Fletcher, Auguste Choisy and others, as well as to unique books and albums, some of which are available only in the electronic reading rooms of the Presidential Library.

Among the materials of the collections are the two-volume “History of Architecture” by a French engineer, the historian of architecture and construction equipment, Auguste Choisy; the book has long been as one of the main source for architectural education. In the publication, the author notes one important regularity: “Monuments of nascent architecture, thanks to their extremely simple forms, make it possible to grasp the inevitable connection between constructive methods and the gradual course in human development, due to which the history of art is an expression, in essence, of human history itself societies".

Of great interest are archival materials, which contain plans and drawings of state and private ownership buildings in Russia and abroad. For example, “Album of plans and drawings of public buildings and private property in different cities of France”.

The webinar’s participants will also learn about the unique album "Historical Exhibition of Architecture" of 1911. The exposition, organized by the society of architects and artists, presented all the major trends in Russian architecture, from Peter the Great to the era of romanticism. Among the exhibits were little-known works of Gonzago, Quarenghi, Belsky and other outstanding masters.

These and many other historical materials are available in more than 1000 remote access centers open in all constituent entities of the Russian Federation and 30 foreign countries. The Presidential Library’s electronic collections contain more than 870 thousand depository items and provide free access.

The webinars of various subjects are regularly held in the Presidential Library via video-conferencing mode. Thus, everyone has opportunity to discover the unique collections of the national electronic repository, learn about historical documents, publications and other materials little known to a wide audience.

The webinar “Architecture: History, Theory, Practice” will be broadcasted live on March 11 from 10:00 (Moscow time) online in the Live broadcasts section on the Presidential Library’s portal. Please, note that immediately before viewing the webinar in Live broadcasts section it is necessary to update the portal’s page.

The Presidential Library’s portal provides all the information about past and upcoming webinars in the Webinars section. The information about remote access centers is available at the Remote Access Centers section.