Tea at Trianon: Exploring Soviet Brutalism

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Thursday, April 4, 2024

Exploring Soviet Brutalism

From The Collector:

The classic example of Brutalist architecture—the closest in its nature to European and American representatives—is located in Georgia. It’s currently operating as the headquarters of the main bank of the country. Constructed as a central office of the Georgian Ministry of Highway Construction, it bore a striking resemblance to the iconic Canadian Habitat 67, a residential complex made from several hundred pre-made concrete blocks.

The leading architect, George Chakhava, was also the Deputy Minister of Highway Construction, so he had a chance to tailor the project to his needs and standards. Chakhava found great inspiration in the works of El Lissitzky and Russian Constructivists. His idea was to occupy as little ground as possible, so the building unfolds on its top floors that look like branches on a tree that are supported by a trunk. (Read more.)