David Grimm (architect)

David Ivanovich Grimm was a Russian architect, educator and historian of art of Byzantine Empire, Georgia and Armenia. Grimm belonged to the second generation of Russian neoByzantine architects and was the author of orthodox cathedrals in Tbilisi, Chersonesos and smaller churches in Russia and Western Europe. Grimm was a longterm professor at the Imperial Academy of Arts and chaired its Department of Architecture in 18871892.

David Grimm was born in a Lutheran family and attended the German Saint Peters School in Saint Petersburg. He completed the class of Alexander Brullov at the Imperial Academy of Arts in 18411848. His graduation honours entitled Grimm to take an Academysponsored study tour of Italy and France, but it was cancelled due to the revolutions of 1848 in Europe. Rather than waiting until the end of hostilities, Grimm opted for a study tour of the Caucasus that exposed him to the wealth of vernacular Georgian and Armenian architecture. In 18521855 Grimm travelled to Asia Minor, Italy and Greece, studying the Byzantine relics. These studies were summarized in Grimms 12volume Monuments of Byzantine architecture in Georgia and Armenia and subsequent works. Grimm became a professor of the Institute of Civil Engineers in 1856 and at the Academy in 1859.

Source: Wikipedia