Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli

In 1716, Bartolomeo moved to Saint Petersburg, which became a new Russian capital just a four years before, accompanying his father, Italian sculptor Carlo Bartolomeo Rastrelli (1675–1744).[1] His ambition was to combine the latest Italian architectural fashion with traditions of the Muscovite Baroque style. The first important commission came in 1721 when he was asked to build a palace for Prince Demetre Cantemir, former ruler of Moldavia.

He was appointed to the post of senior court architect in 1730. His works found favour with female monarchs of his time, and he retained this post throughout the reigns of Empresses Anna (1730–1740) and Elizabeth (1741–1762).

Rastrelli's last and most ambitious project was the Smolny Convent in St. Petersburg where Empress Elizabeth was to spend the rest of her life. The projected bell-tower was to become the tallest building in St Petersburg and all of Russia. Elizabeth's death in 1762 prevented Rastrelli from completing this grand design.[1]

The new empress, Catherine II, dismissed Baroque architecture as an old-fashioned "whipped cream", and the aged architect retired to Courland, where he supervised the completion and decoration of the ducal palaces.

His last years were spent in obscure commerce with Italian art-dealers. He was elected to the Imperial Academy of Arts several months before his death.[1] A square in front of the Smolny Convent has borne Rastrelli's name since 1923. He is the subject of a composition, Rastrelli in Saint Petersburg, written in 2000 by Italian composer Lorenzo Ferrero.

#	Image	Name	Location	Date
1		Rundāle Palace	Pilsrundāle near Bauska  Latvia	1736–1740 1764–1767
2		Jelgava Palace	Jelgava  Latvia	1738–1740 1763–1772
3		Peterhof Palace	Peterhof near St. Petersburg  Russia	1747–1755
—		Peterhof Palace chapels	Peterhof near St. Petersburg  Russia	1747–1751
4		Saint Andrew's Church	Kyiv  Ukraine	1748–1767
5		Smolny Convent	St. Petersburg  Russia	1748–1764
6		Vorontsov Palace	St. Petersburg  Russia	1749–1757
7		Catherine Palace	Tsarskoe Selo (Pushkin)  Russia	1752–1756
—		Hermitage Pavilion	Tsarskoe Selo (Pushkin)  Russia	1749
8		Mariyinsky Palace	Kyiv  Ukraine	1752 1870
9		Stroganov Palace	St. Petersburg  Russia	1753–1754
10		Winter Palace	St. Petersburg  Russia	1754–1762[2]

Boris Vipper has speculated that Rastrelli's last (and unfinished) design was for the Neoclassical Zaļenieki Manor near Mitava.

• Media related to Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli at Wikimedia Commons