Rinaldi, Antonio

Rinaldi, Antonio 

Born circa 1710; died Apr. 10, 1794, in Rome. Italian architect who worked in Russia.

Rinaldi was a student of L. Vanvitelli. In 1751 he went to Russia, where he worked as court architect from 1756 to 1790. His structures represent a transition from the baroque and the rococo to classicism. Baroque elements, such as complex spatial composition and detail, characterize Rinaldi’s buildings in Oranienbaum (present-day Lomonosov), including the Palace of Peter III (1758–62), the Chinese Palace (1762–68), and the Toboggan Hill Pavilion (1762-74). The interior of the Chinese Palace is marked by refined rococo ornamentation. The palace in Gatchina (1766–81, later rebuilt) and the Marble Palace in St. Petersburg (1768-85, now the Leningrad branch of the V. I. Lenin Central Museum) are noted for their tranquil classical exteriors, with simple articulation and forms.

All of Rinaldi’s buildings are distinguished by masterful interior decoration and by the effective introduction of painted and sculptured panels into the architectural composition.

REFERENCES

Gatchina. [Album. Introduction and text by S. N. Balaeva and A. V. Pomarnitskii.] Moscow, 1952.
Gorod Lomonosov (Oranienbaum). [Album. Introduction and text by G. I. Solosin.] Moscow, 1954.