Works by Alexei Avdeev (1819 – 1885) — Architectural Prototypes and Style

The present study is the first attempt at a contextual analysis of the work of the architect A. A. Avdeev (1819–1885). The aim of the study is to understand the originality of the architect's creative approach and determine his place in the Byzantine style in Russian architecture of the third quarter of the 19th century. The research uses the following methods: historical and cultural description, formal and stylistic analysis, comparative analysis and iconography. The factual basis of the study is based largely on new sources, both published and archived in Russian State Historical Archive and Russian State Archive of the Navy. A detailed analysis of Avdeev's publications in the press and professional periodicals is carried out for the first time. The work clarifies a number of prototypes of Avdeev's architectural solutions: the architecture of romanticism, the Christian architecture of Rome and its interpretation in the work of the Prussian architects of the Schinkel school, the main and regional variants of Byzantine architecture, the architecture of the Caucasus. Other important results of the study are the clarification of Avdeev's biography (in particular, the routes of his travels abroad) and the history of the creation of some of his buildings. The result of the study is the definition of the place of Avdeev's work in the context of the Byzantine style as a unique branch of the style.