| Joseph (Osip Ivanovich) Bové | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 4, 1784 Saint Petersburg |
| Died | June 28, 1834 Moscow |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Work | |
| Buildings | Triumphal Arch of Moscow |
| Projects | Theatre Square in Moscow |
Joseph Bové (Russian: Осип Иванович Бове, Osip Ivanovich Bove) (November 4, 1784 — June 28, 1834, all n.s.) was a Russian neoclassical architect with Italian roots who supervised reconstruction of Moscow after the Fire of 1812.
Bove was born in St. Petersburg in the family of Vincenzo Giovanni Bova, a painter from Naples who settled in Russia in 1782. An oldest son in the family, he had two junior brothers, Michaele and Alessandro, who also trained in architecture and later became his associates. Soon after Joseph's birth, the family moved to Moscow.
In 1802–07 he attended the school of architecture at Expedition of Kremlin construction. Since 1807 he worked as an assistant to Matvei Kazakov and Carlo Rossi in Moscow and Tver. As a full-time employee of the Expedition, he was involved in various Kremlin maintenance jobs.
In 1813, after the Fire of Moscow (1812) that razed most of the city, Bove was hired by the Moscow Building Commission and assigned to lead the "Facade Department", responsible for approval of new facade designs and enforcing that new buildings are placed exactly at the new street lines according to the new master plan. The plan, however, was not finalized until 1817. Private builders were so numerous, Bove and the city failed to control them. Emperor Alexander, visiting Moscow, was enraged to see buildings painted in all kinds of colors, especially deep red and dark green, and issued a decree that limited city palette to modest, pale colours.
While Giliardi Family was rebuilding major public buildings like Moscow State University, Bove was in charge of designing and rebuilding the new Central Squares of Moscow and Red Square. His best known project, Theatre Square, was completed in 1825, however both Bolshoi Theater and Maly Theater were subsequently rebuilt, and the square lost its neoclassical symmetry. In fact, most of his buildings were demolished by accidents or real estate developers:
In 1824–25 he participated in reconstruction of Moscow Manege. He designed numerous private mansion in Moscow, but his most famous work remains the Bolshoi Theatre. Extant buildings include:
Bové died in Moscow and was interred at the Donskoy monastery.