Culture and Arts in Russia & Ukraine

[mendeleyev]

One of my favourite Russian painters is Boris Kustodiev, 1878-1927.



Home, by Kustodiev.



Reading of the Proclamation, Kustodiev.



Although not Russian, Giovanni Antonio Canal (1697 – 1768), known as Canaletto, was a Venetian artist famous for his landscapes and his work is adored by Russians.

[mendeleyev]

Art classes are still popular in Russia.



"Three Horsemen." Mikhail Vasilyevich Nesterov (1862 - 1942) specialized in painting religious symbolism.



Saint Olga, by Nesterov.



Nesterov's "Taking the Veil."



Nesterov was also fascinated by the work of Russian scientist Pavlov.

[mendeleyev]

Александр Яковлевич Головин (Aleksandr Yakovlevich Golovin), 1863-1930.  "Flowers."



Golovin's "Roses and Porcelain."



Golovin's "Flowers and China."


Golovin was a master at florals and used vivid colours on elegant settings (marble, china, porcelain, etc) to create his effects.

[Chris]

Jim

Giovanni Antonio Canal has many works of art in collections in the UK, here are two that I have seen, they are at Tatton Park in Cheshire, owned by the National Trust.

The Molo: Looking West. 1730.


Riva degli Schiavoni: Looking East. 1730



The Queen also owns a number of Giovanni Antonio Canals paintings and the National Gallery, London also has a number on display at any time.

[mendeleyev]

More about Orthodox Icons:

In his earlier introduction to this thread, Chris gave us a link to learn more about ICONS.  Its such an excellent site that we decided to post some of the information directly, giving credit to the Professor who has taken such time and effort to help us understand how icons are painted.

(Mendeleyev note: In Orthodox language ICONS are never 'painted' but instead are "written."  A painter of icons is therefore referred to as an "icon writer."  Professor Boguslawski has however kept with the common term of 'painter' for sake of simplicity.)

Alexander Boguslawski is a Russian professor of art (Rollins College) who has done much on the internet (non-profit) to promote the new artists of Russia and also to introduce Western audiences to historic Russian artists we'ver never met.  His explanation on Icons is excellent!

Professor Boguslawski says, "When we look at icons, we are struck by their apparent simplicity, by their overemphasized flatness, unreal colors, lack of perspective, and strange proportions. At that moment we should stop and remind ourselves that we are applying to icon painting those aesthetic criteria which allow us to enjoy the works of the Italian masters of the Renaissance. As viewers, we apply the familiar criteria to an unfamiliar artistic expression.

We are conditioned by the art of the Renaissance to appreciate the architectural details rendered in mathematical linear perspective, to admire the beauty of the human body, the lush landscapes stretching far towards the horizon, and the still lives with lights, shadows, and three-dimensional shapes so real that we can almost pick a glass from a table or an apple from a platter.

In a word, we are used to see on the surface of a canvas or panel something familiar, easily recognizable, something which we can adequately analyze by using familiar categories of perspective, color scheme, point of view, light and shadow, and volume. Unfortunately, we cannot use this kind of analysis on icon painting because, in contrast to the art of the Renaissance, icon painting is not illusionist, that is, it does not try to convince the viewer that the world depicted on the panel is real, but, on the contrary, tries to make sure by all the means it possesses, that the represented is unreal, ideal, dematerialized.

We cannot diminish the achievements of Byzantine and Russian artists by assuming that they did not know how to paint better. They simply consciously and purposely employed a completely different convention of painting, a completely different artistic language. To be able to appreciate the spiritual depth of icon painting we must learn at least the basic "grammar" of this language.

- Icon painting strikes us by the frontality of the figures. This frontality brings the figures in direct relationship with the viewer and gives the fullest expression to the faces.

- The faces of the saints have large, almond-shaped eyes, enlarged ears, long thin noses, and small mouths. Icon painters attempt to indicate that each sensory organ, having received the Divine Grace, was sanctified and had ceased to be the usual sensory organ of a biological man.

- Icon painting deliberately disregards the principle of natural perspective in order to avoid at any cost the illusion of three-dimensionality. Instead, it gives the impression of complete flatness and the lack of perspective. However, icon [writing] does use a perspective, called by scholars either reversed or inverted, just to indicate that this perspective is different than the illusionist perspective of the Italian masters. Inverted perspective depends on multiple points of view. But these multiple points of view are placed in front of the painting, not behind it, which results in background objects often being larger than the foreground ones and in distortions in shapes of some of the objects.

- In addition to the inverted perspective, icon painting uses the so-called psychological perspective which is based on the principle that the most important figure in the composition should be the largest and centrally placed. The viewer's attention is drawn to what is central and larger rather than to what is marginal and small.

- When icon painters depict an event which took place inside, in an interior, they place all the participants in the event outside, indicating in the background the walls of the house, church, palace, or city. This allows them to "uncover" the very essence of the event and give due to the participants instead of having to deal with various interior elements which could obscure the meaning of the events happening inside.

- Since icon painting is not realistic, it shows no natural source of light and does not represent shadows. The only light in icons is the inner light of sacred figures and light of the divine Christ.

- Icon painting has the ability to represent several moments of the same action (story) on one panel. In the scene of the Nativity we can see not only the birth itself, but also the arrival of the Magi, the shepherds spreading the good news, Joseph being tempted by the devil, and even the servant women washing the baby. Some scholars call this the "continuous style."

- Other features of icons which help us in understanding their meaning are simplicity, clarity, measure or restraint, grace, symmetry or balance, appropriateness, and symbolic colors. [A.B.]


Taken from Alexander Boguslawski, Professor at Rollins College, http://www.rollins.edu/Foreign_Lang/Russian/ruspaint.html



Russian icon of the Virgin Mary.  All Eastern Catholic (Orthodox) churches refer to her as the Theotokos, a title recognized at the Third Ecumenical Council. The term means "God bearer."



Further note:  Emphasis (bold) added by Mendeleyev.

[mendeleyev]

Icons, continued:


Just over a year ago, 24 August 2007, DonAZ and I were chatting here at RUA about ICONS.  Don and his lovely wife Yulia live in the same city as the Mendeleyev family and they often travel to one of the Orthodox Monasteries in Arizona to spend a quiet weekend in prayer and reflection.  As such, Don and I were reflecting on some of the nuances of ICONOLOGY and how they are thought of in Orthodox terms. 

So here is a brief guide to iconography:

- An icon is a teaching tool.  Each icon tells a particular story, some are simple and some quite complex.

- An icon is an aid to prayer.  An Orthodox Christian does not pray TO an icon, instead we use the icon to focus our attention on a particular Biblical story, on a specific attribute about God, or about a specific problem or situation.

- Orthodox Christians do not worship icons.  We do venerate/honor the Biblical story or Godly character depicted in the icon.  We bow and kiss the icon as an act of humility regarding that particular story or Godly attribute.  In venerating the icon, we in reality "reach through" the icon, going past the visible, to join and touch the story behind the image. 

- Just as in history to kiss the hand or feet of someone in authority was a sign of submission, to kiss an Icon is a sign of submission to the truth told in the Biblical theme of the Icon.  In that vein, when you approach an icon notice that the person usually kisses not the middle of the icon, or the face of a person in the icon, but it is appropriate to kiss the picture of a hand or the feet of a personage displayed.

- Some icons tell the story of Godly saints from the past.  These saints were known for extraordinary character during their lifetimes.  Their icons remind us that each of us has been called to follow Christ humbly and that we also can be an icon (representation) of Christ to the world.

- As Don so wisely pointed out, it is not appropriate to collect icons as an "investment."  Many of us cherish certain icons in our life because they have special meaning via lessons we have learned through prayer, but we do not collect icons in the sense of collecting coins, stamps, stocks, etc. 

- There is a reason why icons are flat:  Scripture forbids images (statues, etc) and therefore an icon is flat, just like a window is flat.  It is sometimes mounted behind glass because the icon is a "window" to the Bible story or Godly attribute it represents.

- Icons are "written" and never "painted."  It tells a story or reveals a truth about God.  There are schools which teach "icon" writers how to create and write icons.  For an icon to be used in a church or for prayer it must have been written by an Orthodox iconographer and blessed on the altar of a church or monastery.

- An icon never uses a photo.  It must be "written" by hand.

- When entering a church it is appropriate to take a candle to light near one or more icons.  Candles represent incense going up to God because worship is a "sweet smelling sacrifice" to God.  After lighting the candle the worshipper bows and may kiss the bottom of the icon in humility.  Then he/she may stay there for a moment to quietly pray asking God for wisdom, needs, etc.  When finished lighting candles the worshipper turns and bows to the congregation, a sign of humility to brothers/sisters in Christ, and then takes his/her place among the other worshippers.

- If the icon features a Saint, the Virgin Mary, or Christ, one must kiss only the hand or foot of the person represented.

- Icons make appropriate gifts to another Orthodox Christian but without consulting a priest never give or sell an icon to someone who cannot appreciate what the icon represents.  An icon is never a "souvenir" or "antique." 

- Because our faith is eternal and spiritual lessons/principles live into eternity, the icon is a living representation of that spiritual lesson, Biblical story, or Saint.

- Most Orthodox homes have what can be called an "icon corner" or "holy corner" or one of several names.  This is where the family or an individual may come to pray.  Various icons are mounted on the wall.  Always facing East, there should be no other nonreligious photos or decorations mounted on this segment of the wall.  Normally a small shelf for lighting a candle is part of the arrangement.  A prayer book or copy of the Bible is also present for reading prayers and Scripture.

- Normally once you have obtained an icon it should never be sold.  If you find it no longer meaningful in your life, give it to your church or another Orthodox Christian who will appreciate it's meaning.  If an icon is damaged it should not be thrown in the trash, rather give it to a priest who will deliver it to a local monastery for dismantling.

- Families always give icons to a new bride and groom to remind them that prayer and faith are key components to a home which reflects the character of God.  (A home is a "mini-church" in which each person is accepted and loved just as Christ loves the church as the father is the family priest who represents the love God has for His children and the mother is the "Mary" who loves and serves her family.  Even though as humans we often fail in this mission, it should be our continual goal.)

- The most common icon given to a newly married couple is the "Wedding at Cana" icon.  Usually this is handed to the couple during the ceremony by the priest.

- You will have an icon of your personal "name saint."  Each Orthodox Christian has two names:  Their given name and their saint name.  The saint name is often taken from the saint who died (their heavenly birth) closest to your earthly birthday. 

- Upon entering an Orthodox Church you will notice an entire floor to ceiling row of icons, usually quite large.  This is called an "Iconastasis" and is literally a wall of icons.  It separates the holy altar from the main worship area.  There are always two doors in the very center.  These are called the "royal doors" and are sometimes open for view and sometimes closed depending on the various functions happening during the liturgy.

- Orthodox Christians can quietly move about during a liturgy to pray and light candles and you will observe this going on during a service.  Any time for this is appropriate except when Scripture is being read, the sermon spoken, when holy communion is served, or during a brief time called the "Great Entrance" when the prepared holy communion is brought out into the midst of the congregation.

- An icon "writer" is never to take on the status of celebrity therefore they prefer to remain in the background.

- Because God is the father and creator of all humanity, each of us is a "living icon" telling the story of God's grace to every individual.
 
I've probably left out some important items and apologize in advance.  Perhaps some of our other members can fill in as needed.

"May God grant you many years" (a blessing)
Mendeleyev


Popular for weddings, the "Wedding at Cana" icon can be ordered from a California Orthodox publisher here: http://www.conciliarpress.com/index.php?id=232&is_print_version=true&p=product&parent=19

[mendeleyev]

Women artists from Russia/Ukraine:


For centuries Russian art has been dominated by male artists.  The biggest reason is that women in history were not given the same education as men and in a field where an education and extensive tutoring is required, women are only now beginning to come to prominence as Russian painters.

There were a few (very few) however. 

One of them was Elisabeth Bohm which is the transliterated name 'Elisaveta Merkuryevna Bem' (Елизавета Меркурьевна Бём) who lived from 1843-1914.  Born in Petrograd (St Petersburg) to a noble Russian-Tatar family of Endaurov (Эндауров), Elisabeth married the prominent Russian-Hungarian violinist Ludwig Bohm who was professor of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory.

Elisabeth painted many watecolors, illustrated children books of the Folk Library (Народная библиотека) and in that series she was introduced by Leo Tolstoy. She also experimented with wood, glass and ceramics. Over time she began to specialize in teaching materials and postcards and today is one of the most collected postcard artists of that period.


Postcard art:


Кто в Москве не бывал, красоты не видал! (If one has not been to Moscow, one has not seen the beauty!)



"Napoleon" A mocking portrait of Napoleon which reads "The Enemy was terrible but God is merciful."



Подносила княгинюшка чару меда, зелена вина (The princess brought mead).  Mead is a fermented alcoholic beverage made of honey, water, and yeast sometimes known as "honey wine".



Кто за кого, а я за друга своего! (People stand for different things, and I stand for my friend!)

[Jared2151]

WOW !!!!

I love Patriarch's Pond.  You can 'feel' it, almost as if you were standing right there.

So much talent in one family. 

[mendeleyev]

Thank you Jared.  I enjoy that one also. 

[Chris]

Emergence of Impressionism - Late 19thC and early 20th C

Representational painting can be traced back centuries in Russian art. In the early 1700s,  Peter the Great collected and brought to Russia paintings from his travels in Holland and Brussels. He purchased Rembrandts and countless other works. Soon his collection was so large it warranted the establishment of the first public gallery in Europe which opened in St. Petersburg and featured paintings by Dutch and Flemish masters. Czar Peter's affinity for collecting was carried beyond his reign. By the end of the 18th century, the Russian monarchy had the finest collection of representational paintings in Europe. Although the attention of Russia's aristocracy was focused on foreign artists, Russia's own artists continued to develop under a steadily increasing flow of Western influence.

In the later half of the 19th century an in digenous Russian Realism emerged. It was formed by a nationalist group, the Peredvizhniki, also known as the Wanderers or Itinerants. Leaders of this group can be considered ancestors of the Socialist Realists. Their goal was to take art to the people through traveling exhibitions. The Peredvizhniki painted stretches of Russian countryside for the first time and advanced genre and narrative painting among Russian artists. By creating art that was understandable and meaningful, the Peredvizhniki further popularized Realism throughout the country. Inherent in the art of the Peredvizhniki was the goal of advancing social conditions and stimulating national pride. These same goals of making art accessible to the masses and using it to communicate a Socialist message reappeared almost a century later in the formation of Socialist Realism. The influence of the Itinerants lasted from 1870 until 1980. In shaping Socialist Realism, Stalin and Lenin had only to manipulate what was already quite familiar.

By the turn of the century a number of artists rejected the philosophy and careful representational painting of the Peredvizhniki. Artists looked again to the West and found inspiration in the revolutionary advancements made by Cezanne and in movements such as the Nabis, Fauves and Symbolists. An era of experimentation followed as the effects of Cubism,German Expressionism and Italian Futurism were absorbed by Russian painters.

The years surrounding the 1917 Revolution were dominated by artistic turmoil. Numerous avant-garde groups vied for control of the cultural climate. By the 1920s, two movements dominated: Suprematism and Constructivism with Kazmir Malevich and Vladmir Tatlin at their centers. Both artists gained many followers and enjoyed immense fame. Their work is respected throughout the world and has been the subject of numerous exhibitions. The Revolution created passionate fervor among artists and from it came Russia's most exciting avant-garde developments. In addition to painting, the areas of graphic design and stage design were extremely popular and employed many artists.

 In spite of the upheaval of the Revolution and Civil War there remained a strong underlying national conservatism. The Moscow-based group AKhRR, the Association of Arts of Revolutionary Russia, reflected the traditionalists response to the Revolution and Modernism. This group was the direct predecessor of Socialist Realism. Their goal was to document in a traditional Realist manner the achievements of the Red Army and to illustrate workers and peasants, the heroes of labor. They used an academic realist style in combination with loose Impressionistic style like Manet. The impressionist characteristics apparent in these paintings is the lack of acute detail, the passionate display of broad brushwork, lightened palettes, and a shift to rendering shapes and forms as naturally perceived in a glancing moment. Foreign influences were rejected by the group as they focused on creating a pure Russian art form that would devote itself to the cause of the Revolution.

In-fighting based on political and aesthetic differences and the emigration of many artists weakened the artist organizations and made their future vulnerable in the hands of the Communist government. The avant-garde climate challenged the sensibilities of xenophobic leaders. They soon recognized that a Realist style was needed to better control artistic output and to use as a powerful means of communicating the party agenda while eliciting socialist sympathy among the masses. In 1932, the Party Central Committee declared an end to factional fighting by dismantling all groups (including AKhRR) and declaring that all artists were to join in a single union. In 1934, greater attention was focused on the arts at the First All-Union Congress of Soviet Writers at which the Secretary of the Communist party, Andrei Zhdanov, proclaimed Socialist Realsim as the approved artistic ideology. Socialist Realism was defined as "realist in form, inspired by socialist beliefs and nationalist in subject."

Because former leaders of AKhRR had already established a similar philosophy, they were appointed as the leaders of Socialist Realism. Some of these artists were once Itinerants and their leadership symbolized a continuation in Russian art of socially conscious and politically motivated art that was proletariat in nature.

Many artists found meaning in their new role and their lives were in many ways improved. The government provided union members studio space, supplies, and commissions for which artists would compete. Society held Soviet artists in high regard and their stipends surpassed those of other professions. The Russian government assumed the role of sole patron of the arts and now exerted control over artistic production. Government patronage is in no way uniquely Soviet in nature or history.

The Socialist Realism umbrella covers fifty years in one of the worlds largest countries. It was a shared vision of utopia that linked the nations artists more than any one artistic trend. Soviet artists did however follow the same progression from Realism to Impressionism to Modernism that occurred throughout the world, only with much interruption, fear and persecution. The wealth of creativity being discovered today celebrates the triumph of the artists' spirit and soul that could not be repressed. The stories told here are powerful statements about a society in transition, one that remains in transition as it struggles between recognition of its political past and its fight to join a modern democratic world.

Examples

Landscapes





Still Life

[Chris]

Portraiture





Contemporary Russian Life

[Chris]

KIEV — Viktor Pinchuk, a billionaire known for his collection of Western artists such as Damien Hirst and Andreas Gurksy, is turning to Russia for his latest show.

The steel tycoon opened the largest exhibition of Russian contemporary art in Ukraine's post-Soviet history at the same time when the Kiev and Moscow governments were battling over natural gas sales.

"Art doesn't have boundaries," Pinchuk said in an interview at his Kiev art center. "Ukraine is a place where art tendencies can intersect, coexist and enrich one another."

The 48-year-old industrialist built up his multimillion-dollar collection between 2005 and 2008 as art prices were pushed higher by Russian buyers. He wants his shows to enrich Ukraine, where ministers have blamed Russia for the country having remained one of the poorest in Europe.

Pinchuk's latest show, "21 Russia," features works supplied by galleries of 21 Russian artists including Dubossarsky and Vinogradov, Alexei Kallima, the Blue Noses, AES+F, Valery Koshlyakov and Dmitry Gutov.

Alexander Soloviev, Pinchuk's curator, said that while the display is a survey of leading artists during Vladimir Putin's era, there is nothing political about it.

"It's about art for art's sake," Soloviev said.

Still, one work has a political tint. Sergei Shekhovtsov's "Throne" is a 3-meter-high Styrofoam installation of a tsar's throne. It premiered at XL Gallery in Moscow in March last year, on the day of the elections that were denounced by pro-democracy campaigners for being under control of the Kremlin.

"Throne" is capped by mock video surveillance cameras, possibly a reference to the increased powers of security forces since Putin, a former KGB colonel, came to power.

Alexei Kallima's "Terek-Chelsea" (2005) is a 5-meter canvas that shows the Chechen football team defeating the English club owned by billionaire Roman Abramovich. In reality, the two sides never played each other. Terek was the Russian national soccer champion in 2004.

"It's easy to put East European art into a bracket, as if to say, 'They're wacky East European artists,'" said Ruth Addison, general director of Triumph Gallery in Moscow, which owns the Kallima work. "To show it along with Western art makes people question values and make comparisons."

Pinchuk also opened a show of works by British photographer Sam Taylor-Wood, including self-portraits from 2004 that show her suspended in air. The harness that held her has been digitally removed to give the impression of levitation.

Also featured is the world premiere of a video portrait of Ukrainian boxing world champions Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko. "3-minute Round" is a single work with side-by-side video portraits of the brothers, who are friends with Pinchuk.

"I've always been interested in boxing and these big powerful men and wanted to capture the moment of either victory or defeat after the fight," said Taylor-Wood. "Thank goodness they won."

Visitors were most impressed by Taylor-Wood's "Sigh" (2008), a 15-meter video installation with eight screens showing the BBC Concert Orchestra. While the music is heard, the performers have no instruments and are miming.

"The musicians were confused and reluctant when I asked them to do this," said Taylor-Wood. "They had to have exact physical memory of the music. I didn't want them to use instruments."

"Sigh" premiered at the White Cube gallery in London in October, and this is the second time it has been shown.

Pinchuk is a client of White Cube, whose owner, Jay Jopling, attended the opening.

Pinchuk owns 12 works by Taylor-Wood in the current exhibition. Taylor-Wood is represented by White Cube, as is German photographer Gursky and British artist Hirst.

"Please, no questions about purchases and money," Pinchuk said before we started the interview.

[mendeleyev]

Chris, I forwarded this on to my wife's agency, and found more in the Kiev Post:

 “Russia 21” is a collection of post-millennium art from 21 Russian modern artists, created during the last eight years. The works include large-scale projects, paintings and installations, all assembled in an exposition according to the contrast principle – young artists are displayed next to the very famous, new works, accompanying those already shown at international art forums. The project itself is focused on collisions in trends, generations, themes – representing the art scene of modern Russia.

[Voyager]

Chris, I forwarded this on to my wife's agency, and found more in the Kiev Post:

 “Russia 21” is a collection of post-millennium art from 21 Russian modern artists, created during the last eight years.

Any pictures Mendeleyev?

[Chris]

PARIS — Politicians who sometimes wonder about the deeper motivations of Russian diplomacy should pay a long visit to the most remarkable show of art from Russia ever staged anywhere.

On view at the Louvre, “Holy Russia” offers much more than a fascinating display of works of art from far-flung institutions inside and outside Russia.

The exhibition book, edited by Jannic Durand of the Louvre and Tamara Igumnova of the Moscow Historic State Museum, effectively puts together the material evidence illustrating the conflicting components that went into the making of Russian culture from its inception. The Kingdom of Rus, as it was originally known, came about as a synthesis of human groups and cultural characteristics that seemed as fit to go together as fire and water. It was founded in the ninth century by marauding Scandinavians pouring from present-day Sweden into lands largely populated by Finns mixing with Slavs who were slowly arriving from territories west of present-day Russia.

The earliest surviving Russian chronicle, “An Account of Ancient Times,” tells of the alliance forged by the Slavs and the Finns against the “Variagi,” as Russians call the ancient invaders. Their feats extended as far as France where the “Varègues” or “Varenges” left their name to the town of Varengeville in Normandy — a detail ignored in the exhibition book. A chieftain called Rurik became the ruler of the new kingdom. Thus came into existence the Rurikid dynasty, the first in Russia that owes its name to the land of the Rus, known alike to the Latin chroniclers of medieval Europe and to Iranian geographers using Arabic, the international language of the Muslim East.

How deep the Scandinavian imprint was can be gauged from the weapons and jewels recovered from tombs on territories stretching from the north of modern Russia to the south of present-day Ukraine. The 10th-century fibulae excavated from a funerary chamber in the northern town of Pskov and another discovered in Kiev, now the capital of Ukraine, are no different from costume jewels of this type found in Scandinavia.

The rise of Christianity was the unifying factor that laid the foundation of Russian culture. As early as 959 a Princess Olga sent an embassy to the Germanic emperor Otto requesting the dispatch of a bishop, partly in the hope of raising the status of the kingdom of the Rus. To no avail. It was only in 987 that her grandson Vladimir, keen to obtain the hand of the Byzantine emperor’s sister, Princess Anne, agreed in exchange to adhere to Christianity. Byzantium, shaken by uprisings in its non-Greek possessions, desperately needed to recruit Variagi mercenaries. The deal was concluded. As good as his word, Vladimir ordered in 988 the conversion of the entire population of Kiev, which became the historical birthplace of Russian culture.

Acceptance of the new religion was not immediate. In the struggle for the throne of Kiev that followed Vladimir’s death, his younger sons Boris and Gleb, who had converted to Christianity, were slain by their brother Sviatopolk. Their memory as saintly martyrs was henceforth perpetuated in icons, the Russian word borrowed from Byzantine Greek for holy “images.”

A 14th-century icon from the monastery of Zverin in Novgorod shows the two brothers wearing an attire that reveals a third component in the complex mix of Russian art — the Middle Eastern element. While their swords reproduce the Western model, the pearl-studded leather strips hanging from their belts and their armlets are royal costume fittings worn by the emperors of Sasanian Iran and their early Islamic successors.

The multiple strands, North European, Byzantine and Middle Eastern, kept recurring through much of Russian history, occasionally interweaving in astonishing fashion.

A magnificent limestone capital from the Church of Nativity erected between 1192 and 1196 in the town of Vladimir has the shape of a Romanesque capital, but its formal ornament is carved in a style reminiscent of the repertoire of Islamic Iran with its distant Hellenistic legacy. A pillar from the same church associates five-lobed palmettes common in 10th- and 11th-century Iran with knotted motifs reminiscent of Viking ornament.

The fascination with Northern Europe, more particularly Germanic lands, was lasting. An armilla, or shoulder application, depicting the resurrection of Jesus in champlevé enamels on gilt copper, made in the late 12th century somewhere between the Rhine and the Meuse, was listed in the Cathedral of the Dormition treasury in Vladimir by the 17th century. The head of a man from the town of Old Riazan would not surprise in Romanesque sculpture from Burgundy.

By then a profoundly original figural art was blossoming, most of it known mainly from fragments. The head of a man painted in the late 12th century on the walls of the now vanished first cathedral in Smolensk is remarkable for its expressiveness.

An apex was reached in the first third of the 13th century. The twin influences of Ottonian Germany and Byzantine Greece blend in its ultimate masterpiece, the golden doors of the Cathedral of the Nativity in the town of Suzdal. The scenes painted in gold on the dark metallic ground are Byzantine in inspiration without really resembling Greek medieval art, while the lion masks are based on German prototypes. These too have a distinctive expressiveness.

Somehow, the mid-13th-century Mongol invasion followed by devastation and 200 years of occupation did not stop artistic creation.

Russian manuscript painting, unknown outside its homeland, produced stunning masterpieces. On a vellum leaf from “Simon’s Psalter” illuminated in Novgorod, Jesus stands in a stylized landscape, giving the viewer the searching look of a man intentionally alive.

Drastically opposite trends thrived simultaneously. The icon of Saints George, Climachus and Blaise, painted in Novgorod around the same time, is stylized in a rigid manner based on early Byzantine tradition. The elongated Climachus, about three times the size of George and Blaise, stands against an erstwhile emerald green and intense red ground, revealing a taste for contrasted colors that would be revived in avant-garde painting of the 20th century.

Western influence continued to creep in. Admirable frescoes have been revealed by fragments excavated in Pskov, where the Church of the Nativity and other ecclesiastical constructions demolished by Peter the Great stood until the 18th century. Two female figures in long veils, presumed to be saints, owe as much to awareness of Gothic art from 14th-century Germany in the handling of their smiling faces, as they do to the Byzantine Renaissance for the folds of their drapes.

The attraction to West European art persisted well into the 15th century. The silver-gilt and gilt copper panaghiarion signed in 1435 by Master Ivan Arip offers spectacular evidence of the admiration felt for German goldsmiths. The poly-lobed base and the raised stand with elaborate fleur-de-lis are in the best tradition of flamboyant Gothic monstrances. Curiously, the four lions and the kneeling angels supporting the paten and cover used in the Orthodox ritual send back echoes to much earlier German art.

The multiplicity of strands from East and West never dried up in Russia. When a steel helmet with gold overlay was commissioned for Ivan the Terrible who ruled from 1533 to 1547, the work was entrusted to a Muslim armorer, apparently called in from the lands of the Mongol-Turkic Golden Horde in southern Ukraine, if not from further south. This is shown by the characteristic Turkish shape of the helmet as well as the Iranian-derived arabesques associated with a large border of stylized Arabic script.

To the Russians themselves, the twin attraction to East and West never felt contradictory. Sergei Shchukin, one of the greatest collectors of French Impressionism, also had an outstanding collection of Iranian manuscript painting. In ballet, that supreme Russian achievement in Western-type performing arts, the Eastern touch is evident — as shown by Leon Bakst’s designs.

Nothing has changed. Early art and its ancient roots tell you why.



Holy Russia. The Louvre. Through May 24.












Source

[Olga_Mouse]

The earliest surviving Russian chronicle, “An Account of Ancient Times,” tells of the alliance forged by the Slavs and the Finns against the “Variagi,” as Russians call the ancient invaders.

So post-Christian "Повесть временных лет" is considered being a chronicle, while pre-Christian "Велесова книга" isn't even mentionned... 

As usual, everything is done to persuade the audience that before Christianity Rus' was just wilde \ disorganized \ unedicated \ illiterate \ etc.

Nothing new here, really! 

[Rasputin]

So post-Christian "Повесть временных лет" is considered being a chronicle, while pre-Christian "Велесова книга" isn't even mentionned... 

Is the veracity of the book questioned? Has it been definitely proven to be real as opposed to a 19th century forgery?

[mendeleyev]

The exhibition is part of an exchange and the opening marked the official beginning of the Year of Russia in France and the Year of France in Russia.

Before the opening ceremony, the Presidents and their spouses – Carla Bruni and Svetlana Medvedeva – talked with people on the square in front of the Louvre.



(President Medvedev and Mrs Medvedeva hosted the exhibit opening.)


After viewing the exhibition, the Presidents left notes in the Louvre guest book. “The Holy Russia exhibition is a very important element in the Year of Russia in France,” wrote Dmitry Medvedev.

The Russian exhibition includes artifacts organized by the Russian government archives and Historical Museums, encompassing over 1,000 years of Russian history. It includes 438 unique items from the collections of four libraries, one archive and 17 Russian museums, including the Kremlin, the State Historical Museum, the Tretyakov Gallery, and museums in the ancient Russian cities of Vladimir, Suzdal, and Novgorod.

A special greeting to exhibition visitors from the President of Russia reads: “The Holy Russia: Russian Art from the Beginnings to Peter the Great exhibition is one of the central events in the Year of Russia in France, taking place at the world-famous Louvre museum. Displayed here is an extraordinary exposition gathered from the collections of Russia’s leading museums and including true masterpieces of our nation’s historical heritage."

President Medvedev went on to say that, "part of the exhibition are ancient icons, a most emphatic and original element in Russian and global culture. Other exhibits are unique works in arts, crafts and jewelry, as well as sensational artifacts found by archaeologists and evidencing the Ancient Russia's highest level of development.

The exhibition displays the spiritual and cultural traditions of the Russian people and the great humanitarian values that bind Russia and France.

I am certain that the Holy Russia: Russian Art from the Beginnings to Peter the Great exhibition will be of great interest to the French public. I am confident that it will serve to expand the traditionally close cultural ties between our nations and become yet another catalyst for continued intercultural dialogue within common European civilization.”

[AvHdB]

Emergence of Impressionism - Late 19thC and early 20th C

Representational painting can be traced back centuries in Russian art. In the early 1700s,  Peter the Great collected and brought to Russia paintings from his travels in Holland and Brussels. He purchased Rembrandts and countless other works. Soon his collection was so large it warranted the establishment of the first public gallery in Europe which opened in St. Petersburg and featured paintings by Dutch and Flemish masters. Czar Peter's affinity for collecting was carried beyond his reign. By the end of the 18th century, the Russian monarchy had the finest collection of representational paintings in Europe. Although the attention of Russia's aristocracy was focused on foreign artists, Russia's own artists continued to develop under a steadily increasing flow of Western influence.

Peter the Great brought relatively few paintings to St. Petersburg. Further if I am not mistaken he never visited Brussels. The city was subjected to urban renewal by the French a couple years before his European tour. Peter did visit England, Greenwich, London and other cities somewhere in the UK I have a seen a painting of him. He spent quite a bit of time in present Netherlands spending a fair amount of time in Amsterdam and the village Zaandam just north of Amsterdam.

The strong Northern European collection of "old masters" that forms the core of the present day Hermitage was formed by Catherine the Great who was in fact German and by the noblity and wealthy in her court in St. Petersburg. At this point in Russian history there was greater wealth where as Peter was busy forming a nation.

[AvHdB]

Emergence of Impressionism - Late 19thC and early 20th C

By the turn of the century a number of artists rejected the philosophy and careful representational painting of the Peredvizhniki. Artists looked again to the West and found inspiration in the revolutionary advancements made by Cezanne and in movements such as the Nabis, Fauves and Symbolists. An era of experimentation followed as the effects of Cubism,German Expressionism and Italian Futurism were absorbed by Russian painters.

Russia never looked to the West for “inspiration”.  After 1880 though Russian (and the rest of the world) was clearly influenced by developments, primarily originating in Paris. As elsewhere in the art world Russian artistes emulated and developed these “isms”.  The artists who followed Impressionism were clearly creating styles that suited the taste of their local market, but what they painted was derivative from the influences originating in France.

In fact perhaps the most interesting period of Russian art is earlier. These artists developed a tradition that reached its high point from 1830 to 1860, but continued onto the end of the century. The art painted in this period was far different than what was common in Western Europe.

Even stranger and far more interesting is the devolvement of art America of this same period. What was depicted is very similar. In other words the art of both the developing nations of Russia and The United States paralleled and mirrored each other but also quite unaware of the other.

One can wonder why this is so. Both Russia and America had very limited contact with the dominant art centers of Europe before 1870, those being Rome, London and Paris. While B. West was American and became the President of the Royal Academy of Art in London he never returned to America. He did though welcome some artists from the “colonies” including G. Stuart. Perhaps the first American landscape artist to travel to Europe and study in The Hague with A. Schelfhout was in fact L. Remy Mignot in 1850.

As far as I know the vast majority of Western artists who traveled in the 19th century to Russia were in fact so-called court artists; they painted primarily portraits and historical paintings for the aristocracy. Though by approximately 1875 there were a few European (primarily German) teachers in the St. Petersburg Academies

The so-called Russian Naturalists and the Hudson River School, which later developed and became known as Luminism took their inspiration from the Dutch landscape paintings of the Golden Age. Paintings or prints of paintings by the Ruisdael’s  J. v. Goyen , and M. Hobbema, were known in both countries. The basic compositional elements were incorporated into the compositions created by the contemporary artists of the day in New York, Philadelphia, or St. Petersburg.

What inspired and propelled the artists in both countries was there own countries landscape. The vast open and (under) undeveloped wilderness was a source of inspiration in both countries to the artists who were depicting what they saw. This occurred quite unaware of what fellow artists on another continent were painting.

[mendeleyev]

Much of the contact with artists from the outside world was via those brought into Russia to work with local artists on building design projets at the Kremlin and of course as Saint Petersburg continued to grow. A good many of those were painters from Paris and Amsterdam.

[AvHdB]

In the New York Times (and elsewhere)

Stolen Caravaggio Is Recovered
By DAVE ITZKOFF
The Taking of Christ

A Caravaggio painting considered to be the most valuable work of art in Ukraine was recovered in Germany, two years after it was stolen from a museum in Odessa, Reuters reported. The painting, called “The Taking of Christ” or “The Kiss of Judas,” was made by Caravaggio in the early 17th century, and depicts Jesus and his apostles John and Judas as they are being separated by soldiers. It had belonged to a Russian ambassador to France and a Russian prince before it was turned over to the Odessa museum, where it was stolen in 2008. On Tuesday Anatoly Mogylyov, the interior minister of Ukraine, said in a briefing that the Ukrainian and German police had recovered the painting and detained members of a gang that focuses on high-value thefts who had tried to sell the work in Berlin. A version of the painting is also in the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin.

I doubt this is the most valuable work of art in Ukraine. But it is good that it is above water.

[ecocks]

I remember when this happened. I had been by the museum and noticed they were remodeling and had plastic sheeting flapping in the wind as an outside wall. It never crossed my mind though that the museum had not taken security precautions and just left the building with it's normal night watchman while a wall was down.

Live and learn.

[Ritchie30clayton]

There are some really good glimpses of Russian culture here but the culture of literature is neglected here.Let us not forget the contribution of Leo Tolstoy through his books like War and Peace.What a great writer he was!!

[mendeleyev]

Ritchie,

Here is a section on literature: http://ruadventures.com/forum/index.php/topic,5029.0.html

In agreement with you, why don't you add some material on Tolstoy in that section? It would be a cool contribution.