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| St Basil Cathedral seen from the Moskva River, Moscow, Russia |
Moscow Summer 10, originally uploaded by loscuadernosdejulia.
I took the picture two weeks ago when I went on a Moskva River cruise. St. Basil’s Cathedral that is celebrating its 450th anniversary in 2011 and has already been a subject to an attack in July, was standing solemnly amidst the tourist buses and tourists themselves, eager to take a photo in front of one of the wonders of Russian medieval architecture.
The popular legend has it that Ivan the Terrible ordered the master masons who designed and built the cathedral to be blinded, so they could not produce anything similar or better than the cathedral. While the story is now generally held to be untrue, it stresses the importance this edifice has played in how Russian cultural heritage is perceived and estimated. Not even a French king, as far as we know, ever thought of killing or mutilating Leonardo, lest the great artist painted another masterpiece for another master. And yet in Russia, in the time of Michelangelo, another Titan of Renaissance, two architects were reportedly most cruelly denied the opportunity to practise their art and trade…
