World Studies Art Integration By R. Hedrick © 1998 WETA. All rights reserved

World Studies Art IntegrationBy R. Hedrick

© 1998 WETA. All rights reserved http://www.pbs.org/weta/faceofrussia/timeline-index.html

Introduction

The art of Russia, before the year 988, could easily be classified as primitive or pagan in nature. There is little evidence of any unifying style of art that can be identified as purely “Russian.” Few artifacts of art from this era have survived. Many of these were wood-carved objects and reflected primitive creations of gods.

In 988 Vladimir I, ruler of Rus, married a Byzantine Princess. He then converted from paganism to the Orthodox Christian faith of the Byzantine Empire. This religious introduction into Rus society planted a seed that would help cultivate the future of fine arts in Russia.

Microsoft ® Encarta ® Encyclopedia 2002. © 1993-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.


Byzantine Influences of the Middle Ages(9th - early 16th centuries)

The Orthodox Church provided a sense of unity for the people and inspiration for creative artists. A little north of Moscow, St. Sergius founded the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Monastery, which became a great religious and cultural center. One of the most important Russian icons, Andrei Rublev’s Old Testament Trinity, was commissioned to hang above the tomb of St. Sergius. “Of all the great icons that speak to the mind and heart of the Russian people, none does so more powerfully and more beautifully than this great icon of Andrei Rublev, which represents the Holy

Trinity,”—James Billington. © 1998 WETA. All rights reserved http://www.pbs.org/weta/faceofrussia/timeline-index.html

As the Orthodox Christian faith began to spread through Russia, so did the tradition of icon painting. Icon painting was derived from the mosaic and fresco traditions of early Byzantine churches. Russians seemed to embrace these Christian forms, and for the next 600 years, religious themes dominated Russian arts.

During the 8th and 9th centuries, iconoclasm was questioned as to whether or not it was a legitimate practice or sacrilegious idolatry. Although the practice of iconoclasm was not banned, a definite appreciation was developed for the difference between art that depicts reality and art that was created for spiritual contemplation.

By the time the 15th century appeared, the icons by Russian artists had begun

to surpass the quality of their Byzantine peers.

Byzantine Influences of the Middle Ages(9th - early 16th centuries)

Ready Made Culture

s

This beautiful icon, Our Lady of Vladimir, or Lady of Tenderness as the Russians call her, is in many ways a national icon of Russia and its story is that of Russia herself. It was first brought from Constantinople to Kiev, as an indication that the protection that Our Lady had given to Constantinople was now transferred to the new Slavic converts. Then it was taken North to Vladimir where it got its name, and finally to Moscow, to protect Moscow from the invasion of Tamerlane from the East. This maternal image humanized the Christian message for the Russian people. Our Lady is reaching down, tenderly to the baby Jesus who is shown to be already mature and wise, even as a child. Our Lady provided the ultimate protection. Her entry into heaven offered the salvation that Russians longed for, from all their troubles on earth.

RussianPerfection


Does Art Reflect Culture or Create it?

How did icon art influence the spread of Orthodox Christianity in Russia?

. . . Or was icon art nothing more than a reflection of what was happening in Russian society?

Byzantine Influence

This magnificent cathedral located in Moscow, the capital of Russia, was designed by Barma and Postnik and built for Czar Ivan IV (the Terrible). Construction began in 1554 and ended in 1560. This church demonstrates the Byzantine elements of tent roofs and onion shaped domes on drums. This ancient structure is located in Red Square next to the Kremlin, a large fortress built in the 12th century which contains government buildings, churches, and a museum.

Cathedral of St. Basil


Italian Influence, Russian Flavor

Assumption Cathedral Kremlin, Moscow. 1475-1479

http://www.archi.ru/english/index.htm

For most of Russia’s history, its architecture has been of a religious nature. For centuries churches were the only buildings made of stone and therefore the only buildings to survive from Russia’s ancient past. From around the 11th century Russian churches emerged with Greek cross plans, high walls with few openings, and sharply sloped roofs with many domes. Moscow followed in the late 15th century with medieval church architecture. Then, under Ivan III, foreign architecture began to appear. The Assumption Cathedral was designed by Italian architect, Aritotle Fioravanti. It is a blend of Russian architectural styles with classical proportions of the Italian Renaissance.

Renewed Interest inRussian Medieval Style

Cathedral of St. BasilRed Square, Moscow. 1554-1560


The Russian style of medieval churches was renewed under the reign of Ivan IV (the Terrible). This is when the Cathedral of St. Basil and Sophia’s Cathedral were built. However, future Tsars increasingly align themselves with European styles. Peter the Great designed St. Petersburg in the European style of the period as did many of his successors.

Sophia’s Cathedral, Vologda. 1568-1570


Renewed Interest inRussian Medieval Style

Foreign Invasions

During the Time of Troubles many foreign invasions occurred. These invasions brought with them influences of culture from the outside world. As a result, Russian artists were becoming increasingly aware of secular themes in art. Once the westernizing policies of Peter the Great began to take hold, Russian art began to shift towards the influence of Western Europe. Portraiture, instrumental music, and dramatic productions, art that was once forbidden by the Russian Orthodox Church, was now becoming common place in Russian culture. By the mid-18th century, ballets, operas, chamber music, novels, and Baroque architecture were being enjoyed by the Russian people.

Time of Troubles (1598-1613)and Westernizing Policies of Peter the Great

Microsoft ® Encarta ® Encyclopedia 2002. © 1993-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Baroque Architecture

Church of Vladimir Icon of the Virgin, Pereslavl-Zalessky. 1745

(Provincial Baroque)


Baroque Architecture

The Cathedral of the Smolny Convent 1748-1764. Architect Bartolommeo Rastrelli. http://russia-in-us.com/attract.html

Secular Painting with European Influence

A Young Painter (after 1765)Ivan Ivanovich Firsov.

Oil on canvas, 67 x 55 cm. Tretiakov Gallery, Moscow.

http://www.rollins.edu/Foreign_Lang/Russian/frame2.html

Portraiture

Portrait of Catherine the Great (Before 1773). Alexei Petrovich Antropov.

Oil on canvas, 154.5 x 122.5 cm. The Kalinin Regional Art Gallery. http://www.rollins.edu/Foreign_Lang/Russian/frame2.html

“Window on the West”

Russian artists were now looking at Western European art, assimilating it, bringing it to unique levels of brilliance and achievement, and then adding a bit of “Russian” flavor to it. Saint Petersburg, which was the Russian capital founded by Peter the Great in the early 18th century, became a showpiece for this new process. It became Russia’s “window on the West.” By 1850 the art and architecture of St. Petersburg had become the model for all of Russia to follow. This model blended all the artistic influences of Russia’s past and present with the classical influences of ancient Greece and Rome.

Classical Influenceon Russian Architecture

Holy Spirit Church Lazarev Cemetery Moscow. 1783-87.


“Did Religious Themes Disappear?”

No. Despite what was happening in Saint Petersburg, art with Western European influence, spread slowly. The better established religious themes still dominated the art of Russia until the early 20th century.

•Did economics play a role in the spread of Western art?

•Did education play a role in the spread of Western art?

Bob Saler/Photo Researchers, Inc. Microsoft ® Encarta ® Encyclopedia 2002. © 1993-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Four Saints Icon14th century. Russia

End of the 19th Century

Due to the ever increasing influence of European culture, Russian painting, during the 17th and 18th centuries became more and more like the painting of the west. It was not until the end of the 19th century that unique Russian artistic styles began to appear. These styles reflected the liberal forces of social reform that were taking place in Russian society. They broke away from the classical tradition and created art that was focused on daily life. There was also a renewed interest in traditional Russian art forms such as decorative folk art and icon painting. This re-examination made artists aware of the power of two dimensional design. Art no longer had to be treated as a window into a space.

Daily Life

Village Burial. Vasily Perov. (1834-1911)


Landscape

Spring Flood (1897)Isaak Levitan.

Oil on canvas, 64.2 x 57.5 cm. Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow


Icon Influence

Costume Design for Saint John the Devine, (ballet Liturgy) Natalia Goncharova

Photo by Leslie A. Rahuba http://www.auburn.edu/academic/liberal_arts/foreign/russian/art/index.html

Wassily Kandinsky

The spirituality embedded in icons inspired artists like Wasily Kandinsky, who derived abstract paintings of St. George from icons of the dragon-slaying saint.

St. George, 1911, Kandinsky

© 1998 WETA. All rights reserved. http://www.pbs.org/weta/faceofrussia/timeline-index.html

Decorative Arts

Mummers, Ivan Golikov and Alexander Kitukhin. Box. 1924http://russia-in-us.com/Palekh

“Hello 20th Century!”

From 1910-1917, the Russian Avant-Garde movement, which was already in full swing, became more closely linked to the era’s industrial age and urban life style. Bright colors, simplified design, sharply angular forms, and emphasis on the high energy of the modern world became the basis for new and increasingly abstract art.

Marc Chagall


Mark Zakharovich Shagal (1887-1985)

TwoDimensionalPalette

Tverskoi Boulevard. Aristarkh Lentulov. 1917

http://www.auburn.edu/academic/liberal_arts/foreign/russian/art/index.html

The Bolsheviksand the Free Market

After the 1917 Revolution, the Russian Avant-Garde embraced the new Soviet state (Bolshevik regime). They produced political posters and designed many of the country’s great public spaces to celebrate the Revolution. The Bolshevik regime had maintained complete control of the economy during the civil war, but after the war, the young government struggled to consolidate its political position and rebuild its infrastructure. The Soviet leader, Vladimir Ilich Lenin, decided to return the country to a market economy. The Russian Advant-Garde flourished and reached its height. New styles of art such as Suprematism, Futurism, and Constructivism were born.

Suprematism

Suprematism Kasimir Malevich and Lazar Lissitsky.

1918.

http://www.auburn.edu/academic/liberal_arts/foreign/russian/art/index.html

Suprematism was one of the many schools of art at this time. Cubo-Futurism and Rayonnism were also amongst the important styles of the era.

Constructivism

http://webserver.rcds.rye.ny.us/id/Art/Ed's%20artpage.html

Moment of Third International Vladimir Tatlin

The Soviet government’s emphasis on industrial power was strongly reflected in the work of the Constructivists.

Constructivism

The Moscow Times.com – Guide to Russia http://www.themoscowtimes.com/travel/whilehere/sights_inmoscow.html

Lenin’s MausoleumDesigned in 1924, Built in 1930

Alexei Shchusev, architect

Constructivism continued to evolve into the late 1920’s. It was then that the new

Stalinist state renounced the Advant-Garde in favor of Soviet Realism. The Stalinist

government repudiated the art of the Advant-Garde. It has been only in recent times that the Russian Advant-Garde has

been allowed to receive the world recognition it deserves.

Soviet Realism

Experimentation Died, Discipline was the Rule of the Day.

After Lenin died, the Soviet Communist party was in turmoil. Joseph Stalin emerged as the victor and made dramatic changes. From collectivized state-run farms to aggressive industrial production of capital equipment, everything was dictated from the top of government. Religion was violently suppressed and the Russian Avant-Garde was replaced by the solemn grandeur of Soviet Realism. Soviet Realism was art that promoted the Soviet political ideal. Although most paintings were reflections of the Soviet state, some artists were still able to maintain high levels of artistic quality.

Soviet Realism

To Great Stalin - Glory! Yu. P. Kugach et al. 1948

http://www.stanford.edu/~gfreidin/courses/147/propart/propart.htm

Soviet Realism

Letter from the Front Yu.P.Kugach et al.

1948 http://www.stanford.edu/~gfreidin/courses/147/propart/propart.htm

Soviet Realism

Sport Games at the Stadium S.M. Luppov. 1927

http://www.stanford.edu/~gfreidin/courses/147/propart/propart.htm

Patriotic PosterArt

Motherland Calls! I. Toidze Copyright © 2000 The Voice of Russia http://www.vor.ru/55/55_9/Plakat.html

Russia lagged far behind the western world as an industrial nation and it wanted to desperately catch up. Patriotic posters first appeared during the Bolshevik regime to urge the Russian people to be patriotic and to work hard so that Russia could flourish as a supreme power. The posters were very effective in promoting this idea. Years later, during World War I and II, patriotic posters again proved their power in unifying the resolve of the its people.

Patriotic PosterArt

Westwards! V. Ivanov Copyright © 2000 The Voice of Russia http://www.vor.ru/55/55_9/Plakat.html

Patriotic Poster Art

A.Plastov, The Germans are coming. July, 1941. 1941Copyright © 2000 The Voice of Russia http://www.vor.ru/55/55_9/Plakat.html

Patriotic Poster Art

V.Serov, The enemy has been here! 1942

http://www.vor.ru/55/Exhibition/Pic_eng.html

Copyright © 2000 The Voice of Russia

Conclusion

Soviet Realism remained the official art of the Soviet State until the 1980’s. As a result, many artists fled Russia to pursue artistic freedom. It was not until the crumbling of the United Soviet Socialist Republic that the Russian art world was

free to open its doors to the rest of the world. Today, Russian art is flourishing.

“What’s Happening Now?”

© 1998 WETA. All rights reserved. http://www.pbs.org/weta/faceofrussia/timeline-index.html

Rebellion of Pygmies, 1994, Max Kantor

“When I painted this crowds, I just painted them like they are on the streets now. But altogether it’s also a portrait of the end of the century. You can connect it with Russia but you also connect it, with the end of the century which is very sad time, because it was the age of great expectations, it was the age of efforts, it was the age of great constructions and great theories: awful theories, awful expectations, awful efforts, but great,”—Max Kantor, artist.

Works Cited

“The Face of Russia.” WETA ONLINE. ©1998 WETA. 15 August 2002.< http://www.pbs.org/weta/faceofrussia/timeline-index.html >

“Monuments of Architecture.” Architecture of Russia. (3 July 2002). 15 August 2002. < http://www.archi.ru/english/index.htm >

“History of Russian Art.” Microsoft ® Encarta ® Encyclopedia 2002. © 1993-2001 Microsoft Corporation

Boguslawski, Alexander. “18th Century, 19th Century, 20th Century.” Russian Painting. (17 July 2002). 16 August 2002. < http://www.rollins.edu/Foreign_Lang/Russian/ruspaint.html >

“Palekh.” Little Russia in US. (14 January 2001). 15 August 2002. < http://www.russia-in-us.com/Palekh >

Works Cited

“Baroque Architecture of St.Petersburg.” Little Russia in US. (14 January 2001). 15 August 2002. < http://www.russia-in-us.com/attract.html >

Mitrevski, George. “Russian Art.” Homepage. (1999). 19 August 2002. < http://www.auburn.edu/academic/liberal_arts/foreign/russian/art/index.html >

The first exhibition “Poster Artists – About War and Victory.” “Pictorial Art During the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945” (25 December 2000). The Voice of Russia. 17 August 2002. < http://www.vor.ru/55/55_9/55.html >

Works Cited

The third exhibition “Soviet Paintings of World War II.” “Pictorial Art During the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945” (25 December 2000). The Voice of Russia. 17 August 2002. < http://www.vor.ru/55/55_9/55.html >

Melliza, Ed. “Russian Constructivism (1914-1932).” (13 March 1997). St. Petersburg Project Home. 15 August 2002. < http://webserver.rcds.rye.ny.us/id/Art/Ed’s%20artpage.html >

“Photo by Igor Tabakov / MT.” The Moscow Times.com. (date unknown). 18 August 2002. < http://www.themoscowtimes.com/travel/whilehere/sights_inmoscow.html >

Works Cited

Freidin, Gregory. “Examples of Stalinist Posters & Political Art (1930-1953).” (18 March 2002). Homepage. 21 August 2002.< http://www.stanford.edu/~gfreidin/courses/147/proart/proart.htm >

Delahunt, Michael. ArtLex Visual Arts Dictionary. ©1996-2002. 24 August 2002. < http://artlex.com >

“Russian Art and Architecture.” The Official Guide to Russia. (6 December 2000). 12 August 2002. < http://www.geographia.com/russia/rusart01.htm >

The End

Return to Beginning

iconography - Pictorial illustration of a subject, or the collected representations illustrating a subject. Also, the study of subject matter and symbolism in the visual arts, as in collections of pictures constituting a complete visual record of a subject, or a visual dictionary.

http://www.artlex.com

Iconography

Avant-Gardeavant-garde - French for vanguard. Artists and their work which

stand in the forefront of new ideas, often in opposition to established ideas and traditions; art that's ahead of its time, innovative, experimental, heterodox. The modern era has invariably had a flourishing avant-garde, but many have said it is no longer possible in a postmodern era. The bourgeoisie, once alienated by the avant-garde, rarely question any longer the presentation of any avant-garde's productions by their public institutions. (pr. ah'vahnt-gard")



Iconoclasm

iconoclast - Originally, one who destroys sacred religious images. The original iconoclasts destroyed countless works of art-- religious images which were the subject of controversy among Christians of the Byzantine Empire, especially in the eighth and ninth centuries, when iconoclasm was at its height. Those who opposed images did not simply destroy them, although many were demolished; they also attempted to have the images barred from display and veneration.

Suprematism

A Russian Avant-Garde art movement that believed in the extreme of reduction with respect to non-objective representation. Suprematist art reflected the supremacy of pure feeling.


Constructivism

Constructivism or constructivism - A modern art movement developed in 1917 by the Russian sculptor Vladimir Tatlin (1880-1938). The aim was to construct abstract sculpture suitable for an industrialized society, and the work pioneered the use of modern technology and materials such as wood, glass, plastic and steel. Constructivism was introduced to Western Europe by Pevsner in Paris, and Gabo in Germany. The principles of Constructivism were highly influential in twentieth century Western art, although for political reasons its influence in Russia ended by 1921.

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World Studies Art Integration By R. Hedrick © 1998 WETA. All rights reserved