Russian PaintingRussia is often viewed as the outsider of the art world, with creative genius frequently being hidden behind the representation of icons such as Rublov. However, with the succession of Pierre Le Grand, it was Europe which brought light to this otherwise ostensibly uncivilized empire. Saint-Petersburg suddenly rose out of the darkness thanks to the brilliance of an Italian artist, and for more than a century afterwards, became a highly important cultural focus. The all powerful Tsar, and later Catherine the Great allowed exchanges between Russian and European artists which eventually gave birth to a new Russian form of painting. Although this was greatly inspired by Italy and its vibrant colours, it stayed true to its foundations in Russian culture. However, it was not until the 20th century that a true national style came into its own with the emergence of the Ambulants and the Blue Roses. This was then followed by the revolutionary period which led to the Russian Avant Garde and then modernism. In this book, we come to understand the author's viewpoint on Russian culture as a combination of western culture as well as eastern. These influences are demonstrated in the works and cover a vast pictorial scope. Artists such as Borovikovsky, Serov, Vrubel, Briullov, Fedotov, Repin, Shishkin and Levitan, among many others, bring their own fundamental contribution to the history of art. Peter Leek puts the evolution of the history of Russian art after the fall of communism into perspective. |
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Academy of Arts Alexander Benois Alexei Andrei ballet became Borovikovsky Chagall Christ College of Painting colour contemporary costumes created Crimea depicting designed Diaghilev Dmitry drawings eighteenth century Elizabeth Petrovna exhibitions Flowers Fyodor genre painting Girl Golden Fleece gouache Grabar graphic art icon painting Ilya Repin influenced interior Isaac Levitan Italy Ivanov journals Karl Briullov Kiev Konstantin Korovin Konstantin Somov Kramskoï Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin landscape painting Leon Bakst lived Martiros Saryan Mikhail Larionov Mikhail Vrubel Moscow College Nesterov nineteenth century Oil on canvas opera painters Paris Parkstone/Aurora Pavel peasant Peter portraits portraiture produced realistic Roerich Russian Art Russian artists Russian Museum Russian painting Saint Petersburg Sapunov scenes Sculpture and Architecture Self-Portrait Sergei Shchedrin sketches Society for Itinerant studied style Sudeikin theatrical Tolstoy Tretyakov Gallery Tropinin Tsar Tsarskoye Selo Valentin Serov Vassily Perov Vassily Surikov Venetsianov Vladimir watercolour World of Art Yevgeny Lanceray Zinaida