Savva Mamontov - a man with a subtle perception of art and extraordinary generosity. Thanks to him, visual arts, music and theater developed. He made a huge contribution to the treasury of the most valuable things in the cultural development of his era.
On October 2, 1841, in the distant Siberian city of Yalutorovsk, the future philanthropist Savva Ivanovich Mamontov was born in the family of a wealthy merchant. His father, Ivan Fedorovich, was a merchant of the first guild and supervised all the farms of the province. When the boy was eight years old, his family moved to live in Moscow. The affairs of the merchant family went uphill. The Mamontovs lived in a rented mansion on Meshchanskaya Street, where they often arranged chic balls and evening parties.
The childhood of Savva Mamontov
Despite the fact that the family was merchant, the orders in it were far from the traditional rules of their environment. Little Savva was brought up in an atmosphere of art, music, theater and literature. The manner of his father was more like the behavior of noble English lords. This greatly influenced the formation of the teenager, and from early childhood he was very different from other merchant children. If it were not for the tastes of his father and the atmosphere that reigned in the family, it is not known who Savva would eventually become. The boy received a good education. From an ordinary gymnasium, in which the future philanthropist initially studied, he was transferred to the Institute of the Corps of Civil Engineers in St. Petersburg.
Growing up youth
At nineteen, Savva Mamontov entered Moscow University at the Faculty of Law. It is not known what caused this choice of a young man, because in fact Savva dreamed of a theater. Theater was his passion. He did not miss a single premiere. His social circle consisted exclusively of the Moscow intelligentsia. In 1862, his father sent him to Baku, where the young man had to do business in the Trans-Caspian partnership. A few months later, Mamontov Jr. succeeded in trading and was appointed head of the Moscow department of the Trans-Caspian society. In 1864, a young businessman left for sunny Italy. There he took up his health and at the same time decided to study the silk trading market. Especially famous for silk weaving and sericulture Lombardy. Savva went there. And, of course, his love for the theater made him visit the famous La Scala in Milan.
During his intense Italian voyage, a young man gets acquainted with his future wife Elizabeth Sapozhnikova. The girl’s father was a major dealer in silk, so the marriage with Elizabeth brought the Mamontov family a serious social status. Everything turned out for the future patron, as well as possible. The honeymoon was decided to be held in Italy.
Father's legacy
The father of a young businessman Ivan Fedorovich died in 1869. The successor of the family business was Savva. In 1872, Mamontov became director of the Moscow-Yaroslavl Railway. Along with ownership of the railway, Savva managed a construction office, which was engaged in the supply of building materials. The young man delved deeply into business affairs and at the same time led an active social life.
The Abramtsevo estate, where the whole family settled, was bought from the writer Sergei Aksakov. Subsequently, it became generic. The spouses of the Mamontovs believed that children (and there were five of them) were better off growing outside the city in the open air, away from the excess city bustle. Savva decided that the worldview of the children is properly influenced by the surrounding nature and tranquility. The estate was rich and prosperous, with its own school, church, garden, greenhouse with exotic plants, a hospital, a bridge and a dam on the river Vor.
