Architecture of Smolensk fortress in pictorial and graphic works of the middle of XX — beginning of XXI century

The Smolensk fortress unites different fortification constructions of the city mentioned since 863. The most notable object of the defensive ensemble is the fortress wall built by «all the cities of the Russian state» at the turn of the XVI–XVII centuries. The image of the walls and towers, creatively interpreting the image of the Moscow Kremlin, is attractive for artists. During the XVII century the fortress played the role of a strategically important military object on the western border of Russia. Images of fortifications at this time are predominantly associated with military tasks. In the XVIII–XIX centuries, the fortress, deprived of a single contour, acquires the meaning of an urban symbol.

Smolensk fortress, fortification art, fortress wall, Russian architecture, fine art, defensive architecture