Nikolay Zherikhov

Nikolay Ivanovich Zherikhov (died October 5, 1916, in Moscow) was a Russian Art Nouveau architect, active in Moscow in 1902–1914. A prolific author of apartment buildings financed by Broido, Wilner and Zaichenko real estate firms, Zherikhov stood out among contemporary architects for his use of decorative sculpture. Zherikhov's buildings are adorned with rows of life-sized figurative sculptures, including one extant case of explicit erotic art at no. 4, Plotnikov Lane.

Biography

Early life, career

Nikolay Zherikhov was born in a poor peasant family in Mahilyow area; exact date of his birth (1870s) and his education (probably Stroganov Institute) remain unknown. In 1897–1900 Zherikhov worked as drawing and writing teacher in Moscow schools; his first architectural work was made in 1902 for the Broidos, a Jewish family of real estate developers. His two brothers graduated from Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture; they collaborated with Nikolay but did not leave a notable contribution of their own. A prolific author of apartment buildings financed by Broido, Wilner and Zaichenko real estate firms, Zherikhov stood out among contemporary architects for his use of decorative sculpture.

Style, works

His use of sculpture has been linked to the legacy of Stroganov Institute school that focused on elaborate facade decorations. However, none of contemporary architects used sculpture so frequently and on such scale as Zherikhov. His best known work, a small 4-story apartment building on the corner of Plotnikov and Maly Mogiltsevsky Lane, completed in 1907, features a band of 40 life-sized figures arranged in groups of two or three in explicitly erotic settings. but the statement is refuted by historians as an urban legend. MalyMogiltsevskyLane, Zherikhov, 1900s Merzlyakovsky Lane,Moscow.Musical college Moscow, Schepkina,1913. Zherikhov

Death The architect died in his forties, in 1916, and was buried at Vagankovo Cemetery.

Gallery Plotnikov Lane building 136px 280px 200px 240px Alexander Pushkin,Leo Tolstoy on left. Nikolay Gogol,3rd from right Exterior