The Creation of the Sixteenth-century Architectural Ensemble at the Solovetskii-Transfiguration Monastery
This article examines the major sixteenth-century architectural monuments of Solovetskii Transfiguration Monastery, with particular emphasis on the Preobrazhenskii sobor. Through the impetus provided by an exceptionally gifted and dynamic hegumen, Filipp, the monastery was able during the latter half of the sixteenth century to acquire the technical and physical resources necessary to initiate major building projects. The origins of this extraordinary architectural achievement can be attributed to a culturally and politically complex “triad” formed by the Novgorod eparchy, the Muscovite court, and the already substantial monastic centers of northern Russian culture. Although the monastery appears strikingly unusual, many of the architectural elements are found either in Novgorodian or in Muscovite precursors. The text and accompanying photographs (based on the author’s fieldwork) define the architectural forms, their possible origins, and their historical context.